thesis

Reading Scripture with Both Eyes Open: God\u27s Story Could Be Hazardous to Your Status Quo

Abstract

The real-world ministry problem addressed in this dissertation is: Scripture is often read and studied in a de-storied, fragmented way as a result of the Enlightenment Project. This problem will be addressed by: proposing a theological narrative (Story) as the alternative way of reading and studying Scripture. Section 1 will discuss the problem of how readers of Scripture can be helped to understand themselves within the larger narrative of the Story presented from Genesis to Revelation. Section 2 will discuss the problem of reading the text of Scripture in a fragmented way as a result of the Enlightenment\u27s propensity toward propositional thinking aided by the addition of chapters and versus the 1500s. In Section 3 we will show that the antidote to foundationalism\u27s fragmented reading is story by reviewing some proposed solutions and one very real solution. Section 4 will offer a thesis that claims that the best way to understand Scripture is by grasping its metanarrative. As an antidote to reading fissiparously, Section 5 outlines a solution to the problem in a project in the form of a study guide which is a look at the Story presented in Scripture, ordered in Tom Wright\u27s five-act play model with an addition of a prologue, which can be used as curriculum. Section 6 provides an overview of the project specifications noting such areas as audience and budget. Section 7 is a postscript that will review and evaluate the project while offering suggestions for further study

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