The fact that you have enrolled in this course indicates two things: first, it shows that you have already benefited from the knowledge of God's truth as revealed in the Scriptures. You have had the experience Timothy did, which has made you "wise for salvation" (2 Timothy 3:15). Secondly, it shows that you realize you have "enrolled" in the school of God's Word but have not yet "graduated." You want to follow Paul's encouragement to Timothy, to "continue in what you have learned and become convinced of" (2 Timothy 3:14). God has put this desire in your heart! His intention is for you to be not only a disciple (literally, a "learner") but also an "apostle"—one who can be sent to do His work and proclaim His message.
In order to proclaim God's message, though, you must understand it. And in order to understand it, you must learn how to interpret it. As Fee and Stuart say in How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, you need to discover what the Bible means by what it says. This course is designed to help you do that. It will teach you the principles to follow and the errors to avoid. You will learn the most effective methods of approaching each part of God's Word. You will become more aware of its variety and richness, and you will gain a deeper appreciation of the wonderful truths it contains.
Both of the textbooks for this course contain many complex ideas and important concepts. Bernard Ramm covers the history of hermeneutics and deals with some of the ways in which people have interpreted the Bible in recent years. Much of his vocabulary might be new to you; so it will be especially important for you to study the glossary and master the meanings of the words that are defined. In contrast to Ramm, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart spend less time on the history of hermeneutics and more on the need for contextualization. They discuss some of the newer approaches to biblical interpretation and present models that may challenge your thinking.
You have much work ahead of you! But if you study every part of this course carefully and thoroughly, you will receive great rewards. The Bible will open up to you in a new way. Things that seem obscure and strange will become clear and meaningful. You will develop an ability to apply God's Word with insight and authority to the problems and needs of your contemporaries. These rewards will be yours not because you will have simply learned a set of definitions and techniques, but because you will have learned how to correctly handle God's own, divine, inspired word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). And it is God's Word, not our ideas, which brings results that remain.
Course Prerequisites
Because of the difficulty level of this course, there are two prerequisites. You must successfully complete the Global University courses BL1113 Corinthians and BL1053 Acts or their equivalents before you will be permitted to enroll.
Course Description
Hermeneutics (BIB2053—Credit: 3 hours)
Unit 1 of Hermeneutics is devoted to the need to interpret the Bible and to a historical survey of the various methods scholars have used. Attention is given to the major schools of both the past and the present, spanning the approaches taken by the Jewish allegorists to those used by the modern liberals and neoorthodox interpreters. Unit 2 establishes the theological perspectives which are held by the evangelical scholar toward the Bible and deals with the fundamental concept and method of literal interpretation. The subjects of special hermeneutics are dealt with in Unit 3—of how doctrines are derived from the Bible, how the Bible speaks to the problems of everyday life, and how science relates to the Bible. The validity and proper use of the typological method is also discussed. Unit 4 identifies the distinctive types of literature the Bible includes (such as narrative, poetry, and parable), and explores the implications for interpretation that arise from this fact. Hermeneutics is designed with the overall goal of teaching the student how to study and interpret the Bible so that he or she may personally apply its teachings more consistently and publicly teach its truths more effectively.
Course Objectives
When you have completed this course you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate the need for interpreting the Bible.
2. Describe the major schools of biblical interpretation, beginning with the Jewish allegorists and concluding with the more recent liberal and neoorthodox theologians.
3. Identify the theological perspectives which form the foundation of the evangelical interpreter's approach to the Bible.
4. Apply the method of literal interpretation to the Bible, recognizing and correctly interpreting the various figures of speech and literary forms which are found in the Bible.
5. Appreciate the value of background studies of the Bible and describe how to use resources such as Bible histories, atlases, and dictionaries.
6. Demonstrate how the Bible should be used as a source for doctrine, a tool for personal devotions, and a guide for daily living.
7. Describe how the findings of modern science relate to the content of the Bible.
8. Define the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and answer objections to it.
9. Identify the basis, varieties, and limits of typological interpretation.
10. Distinguish between prophecy and predictive prophecy.
11. Use the entire Bible correctly and effectively in both your private life and public ministry.
Textbooks and Study Guide
You will use Hermeneutics by Peter Kuzmic with the textbooks it was written to accompany:
1. Protestant Biblical Interpretation, by Bernard Ramm. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1970.
2. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.
3. The Holy Bible. Quotations in the study guide are from the New International Version (NIV), 1978 edition, unless otherwise noted.
Study Time
We recommend that you have a regular time for study. Of course, you may take advantage of spare moments to study when you have them, but there is no substitute for a regular study time. Try to complete at least one lesson each week. In a classroom two or three class sessions would ordinarily be given to each lesson. Studying independently, you may expect to spend from three to six hours on a lesson.
How much time you actually need to study each lesson depends in part on your knowledge of the subject and the strength of your study skills before you begin the course. It also depends on the extent to which you follow directions and develop skills necessary for independent study. Plan your study schedule so that you spend enough time to attain the objectives stated by the author of the course as well as your personal objectives.
Study Methods
Be sure to read carefully the recommendations about study methods that are given in your student packet. They will help you know how to study a lesson, review for a unit progress evaluation on a group of lessons, and prepare for the final examination that covers all of the lessons. If you do not usually study as recommended, you will need to adapt your study methods to achieve the highest success in the course.
Ways to Study This Course
If you study this Global University course by yourself, all of your work except your final examination can be completed by mail. Although Global University has designed this course for you to study on your own, you may also study it in a group or class. If you study this course in a group or class, the instructor may give you additional instructions. If so, be sure to follow the instructor's directions.
Lesson Organization and Study Pattern
Each lesson includes: 1) lesson title, 2) opening statement, 3) lesson outline, 4) lesson objectives, 5) learning activities, 6) key words, 7) lesson development including study questions, 8) a self-test, and 9) answers to study questions.
The lesson outline and objectives will give you an overview of the subject, help you to focus your attention on the most important points as you study, and tell you what you should learn.
The lesson development in this course makes it easy to study the material thoroughly. By studying a section at a time, you can make good use of short periods of study whenever you have time, instead of waiting until you have time to do an entire lesson at once. The comments, exercises, and answers are all designed to help you achieve the objectives of the lesson.
Most of the study questions in the lesson development can be answered in the space provided in your study guide, while others require a notebook in which responses may be written. As you write the answers in your notebook, be sure to record the number and title of the lesson and to write them in correct numerical order. This will help in your review for the unit progress evaluations.
Do not look ahead at the answers to study questions until you have written your response. If you give your own answers first, you will retain what you study much better. After you have completed each study question, check your answer with those given at the end of the lesson. Then correct any mistakes you made.
These questions are very important. They will help you develop and improve your knowledge and Christian service. The suggested activities, too, will help you use your knowledge in practical ways.
After you have completed the lesson development, take the self-test, which provides a review of the lesson. However, before you take the self-test, you should review the lesson objectives. They indicate the things you should have learned in the lesson development. When you have completed the self-test, check your answers with those provided in your student packet.
Student Packet
The student packet which you have received with this course contains instructions for taking the unit progress evaluations and the final examination. It also contains the answers to self-tests, the unit progress evaluations and answer sheets, and other important forms. Use the checklist on the packet cover to determine which materials you should submit to your instructor and when to submit them.
Project
The required project asks you to demonstrate an ability to apply the principles taught in the course. Your work on this project will give you valuable practical experience in using the knowledge you gain. You can find the project at the back of your student packet. The project is worth 20% of your final grade and must be submitted to your Global University instructor before you may take the final examination.
Unit Progress Evaluations and Final Examination
Although your scores on lesson study questions, lesson self-tests, and the unit progress evaluations do not count in your course grade, you should send your answer sheets for unit progress evaluations to your instructor for correction and suggestions regarding your work. You can then review the materials in your study guide and your Bible concerning points that were difficult for you. A review of the lesson objectives, self-tests, and unit progress evaluations will help you to prepare for the final examination.
To obtain credit for this course, you must complete the assigned project, the service learning requirement (SLR), and the collateral reading assignment (if required). You must also pass the final examination. The examination must be written in the presence of an approved examining supervisor. Since we have examining supervisors in many countries, it probably will not be difficult for you to meet with the one in your area. Your advisor will work out the details with you.
Your course grade is based on the final examination (75 percent) and the course project (25 percent). If a two-credit course is being upgraded to three by a collateral reading assignment (CRA), the final examination will be 40 percent of your grade, the CRA will be 35 percent, and the course project will be 25 percent. Although the service learning requirement (SLR) is not graded, you will not receive credit for this course until the SLR assignment is completed and the SLR Report is submitted.
Your course grade will be listed as 90-100 percent, exceptional; 80-89 percent, above average; 70-79 percent, average; 60-69 percent, below average; and 0-59 percent, fail.
Fluent in several languages, Dr. Kuzmic completed all his studies summa cum laude. After receiving a teacher's diploma and graduating from a European Bible College, he earned his B.A. from Southern California College in Costa Mesa, CA; his M.A. from Wheaton Graduate School, Chicago, IL; and his M.Th. and D.Th. from the University Zagreb. In 1992 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Asbury Theological Seminary.
A former pastor of two growing churches and a practicing evangelist, Kuzmic is the founding president of the Evandjeoski Teoloski Fakultet in Zagreb/Osijek, Croatia, the only evangelical theological college with a graduate program in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. He was also a co-founder and chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Christians of (former) Yugoslavia, and currently serves as president of the Council of the Evangelical Council of Croatia. As founding president of Agape and New Europe Vision (evangelical relief ministries in Croatia and Bosnia), he takes an active role in ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of his fellow citizens.
Dr. Kuzmic is in great demand as a speaker. His global platform has included plenary addresses at Lausanne II in Manila (1989), Urbana (1990), the European Leadership Consultation (1992), and the National Association of Evangelicals Fiftieth Anniversary (1992), as well as other international gatherings. He has ministered in more than 70 nations on every continent.
An award-winning writer, Dr . Kuzmic has authored four books, including a major study on the history and influence of Slavic Bible translations upon their literature, languages and culture. He has contributed to numerous compendiums, handbooks and encyclopedias. A columnist for several religious and secular newspapers, he also serves as editor of Izvori, a Christian journal in the Croatian language. He also serves on editorial and advisory boards of several international journals, including the European Journal of Theology, Evangelical Review of Theology, Religion in Eastern Europe, Transformation, and Teologija I praksa. Dr. Kuzmic is chairman of the Theological Commission of World Evangelical Fellowship, a member of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, and a member of the International Board of AD2000 and Beyond.
Dr. Kuzmic and his wife, Vlasta, have three daughters: Tatiana, Kristina and Petra.
Your Global University Instructor
Your Global University instructor will be happy to help you in any way possible. Ask your instructor any questions you may have about arrangements for your final examination. Be sure to allow sufficient time so that plans can be made accordingly. If several people want to study the course together, ask your instructor about special arrangements for group study.
God bless you as you begin to study Hermeneutics. May your study enrich your life and ministry and help you fulfill more effectively your part in the body of Christ.
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