Assessment

Continuous Assessment + Group Project

Module Aims

The Old Testament recounts the beginnings of our faith journey through the experiences of the people of Israel, whom God called, gathered and chose. Building upon the foundation of the New Testament module, this module aims to increase learner biblical literacy by introducing key characters in and for the journey of faith with a particular focus on foundational narratives. It also equips learners to perform childist readings and to evaluate adaptations of biblical stories for children so that they can make informed choices about suitable resources for the sacred scripture component of religious education in the primary school classroom.

Learning Outcomes

• — Differentiate the canon of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible in Jewish, Catholic and Protestant traditions.
• — Analyse portrayals of Abraham, Moses and David within the biblical narrative and assess their significance for contemporary discipleship.
• — Apply creation theology to the environmental crisis.
• — Conduct a childist reading of biblical texts.
• — Critically evaluate adaptations and retellings of biblical stories for children.

Bibliography

• — Barton, J., and J. Bowden, The Original Story: God, Israel, and the World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
• — Boadt, L., ed. R. J. Clifford and D. J. Harrington, Reading the Old Testament. 2nd ed. New York: Paulist, 2012.
• — Bunge, Marcia J. (Ed), The Child in the Bible, Eerdmans, 2007.
• — Caldwell, E., I Wonder. Engaging a Child’s Curiosity about the Bible. Abingdon Press, 2016.
• — Parker, Julie Faith, ‘Children in the Hebrew Bible and Childist Interpretation,’ Currents in Biblical Research 17/2 (2019) 130-157.
• — Pyper, Hugh S. and Caroline Vander Stichele, Text, Image and Otherness in Children’s Bibles: What is in the Picture? (Semeia Studies 56) 2014.