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Abbreviations | |
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Preface | |
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Introduction | |
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The Task of Interpretation | |
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The Need for Hermeneutics | |
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Why Hermeneutics? | |
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Hermeneutics Defined | |
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The Art and Science of Interpretation | |
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The Role of the Interpreter | |
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The Meaning of the Message | |
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The Text | |
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The Author and the Audience | |
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Some Challenges of Bible Interpretation | |
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Distance of Time | |
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Cultural Distance | |
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Geographical Distance | |
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Distance of Language | |
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Eternal Relevance--The Divine Factor | |
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The Goal of Hermeneutics | |
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Conclusion | |
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The History of Interpretation | |
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Jewish Interpretation | |
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Hellenistic Judaism | |
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The Qumran Community | |
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Rabbinic Judaism | |
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The Apostolic Period (ca. A.D. 30-100) | |
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The Patristic Period (ca. A.D. 100-590) | |
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The Apostolic Fathers (ca. A.D. 100-150) | |
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Alexandrian School (ca. A.D. 150-400) | |
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Church Councils (ca. A.D. 400-590) | |
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The Middle Ages (ca. A.D. 590-1500) | |
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The Reformation (ca. A.D. 1500-1650) | |
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The Post-Reformation Period (ca. A.D. 1650-1800) | |
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The Modern Period (ca. A.D. 1800--Present) | |
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The Nineteenth Century | |
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The Twentieth Century | |
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Post-World War I | |
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Post-World War II | |
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Recent Literary and Social-Scientific Approaches to Interpretation | |
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Literary Criticism | |
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Narrative Criticism | |
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Applications | |
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Critique | |
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Poststructuralism | |
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Reader-Response Criticism | |
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Deconstruction | |
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Social-Scientific Approaches to Scripture | |
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Classification | |
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Social History | |
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Application of Social-Scientific Theories | |
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Advocacy Groups | |
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Liberation Hermeneutics | |
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Cultural Criticism | |
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Feminist Hermeneutics | |
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The Canon and Translations | |
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The Biblical Canon | |
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The Canon of the Old Testament | |
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The Development of the Canon | |
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The Order of the Canon | |
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The Canon of the New Testament | |
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The Development of the Canon | |
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The Order of the Canon | |
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Criteria of Canonicity | |
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Canon Criticism | |
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Texts and Translations | |
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Textual Criticism | |
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Techniques of Translation | |
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The Major English Translations | |
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Choosing a Translation | |
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The Interpreter and the Goal | |
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The Interpreter | |
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Qualifications of the Interpreter | |
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A Reasoned Faith | |
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Obedience | |
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Illumination | |
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Membership in the Church | |
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Appropriate Methods | |
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Presuppositions for Correct Interpretation | |
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Presuppositions about the Nature of the Bible | |
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Presuppositions about Methodology | |
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Presuppositions about the Ultimate Goal of Hermeneutics | |
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Preunderstandings of the Interpreter | |
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Definition of Preunderstanding | |
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The Role of Preunderstanding | |
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A Philosophy of Interpretation as Preunderstanding | |
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Testing Preunderstandings | |
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A Christian Preunderstanding | |
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Preunderstandings Change with Understanding | |
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Preunderstandings and Objectivity in Interpretation | |
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The Goal of Interpretation | |
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Levels of Meaning | |
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Does the Text Have One Fixed Meaning or Several Levels of Meaning? | |
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Author-Centered Textual Meaning | |
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What Kind of "Meaning" Ought to Be the Goal of Interpretation? | |
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Legitimate Reader-Response Interpretation | |
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How Can We Assure that We Give the Reader Full Due? | |
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Validating Our Interpretation | |
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How Can We Validate Our Interpretation? | |
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Understanding Literature | |
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General Rules of Hermeneutics: Prose | |
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Literary Context | |
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The Importance of the Literary Context | |
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Principles of Hermeneutics Relating to Context | |
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Circles of Contextual Study | |
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Historical-Cultural Background | |
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The Significance of the Historical-Cultural Background | |
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Principles for Historical-Cultural Interpretation | |
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Retrieving the Historical-Cultural Background | |
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Word Meanings | |
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Crucial Issues about the Nature of Words | |
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Steps for Performing Word Studies | |
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Grammatical-Structural Relationships | |
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The Importance of Grammatical Relationships | |
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Steps for Discovering Structural Relationships | |
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General Rules of Hermeneutics: Biblical Poetry | |
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The Dynamics of Poetry | |
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The Sounds of Hebrew Poetry | |
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Rhyme and Meter | |
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The Sounds of Poetic Words | |
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The Structure of Hebrew Poetry | |
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Parallelism | |
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Basic Units of Parallelism | |
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How Parallelism Works | |
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Types of Parallelism | |
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Other Poetic Structures | |
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The Language of Poetry | |
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Imagery | |
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Devices of Poetic Language | |
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Similes and Metaphors | |
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Other Poetic Language Devices | |
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How to Interpret Poetic Language | |
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Larger Units of Poetry | |
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Sense Units | |
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Understanding Bible Genres | |
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Genres of the Old Testament | |
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Narratives | |
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Old Testament Narrative Genres | |
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Reports | |
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Heroic Narrative | |
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Prophet Story | |
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Comedy | |
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Farewell Speech | |
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A Sample Narrative: Judges 7:1-15 | |
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Embedded Genres | |
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Popular Proverb | |
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Riddles, Fables, and Parables | |
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Songs | |
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Lists | |
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Law | |
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Types of Old Testament Legal Material | |
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Casuistic Law | |
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Apodictic Law | |
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Legal Series | |
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Legal Instruction | |
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Principles of Interpretation--Law | |
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A Sample Legal Text: Exodus 21:7-11 | |
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Deuteronomy | |
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Poetry | |
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Types of Old Testament Poetry | |
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Prayers | |
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Songs | |
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Liturgies | |
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Wisdom Psalms | |
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Principles of Interpretation--Poetry | |
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Prophecy | |
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Basic Types of Prophecy | |
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Prophecy of Disaster | |
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Prophecy of Salvation | |
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Woe Speech | |
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Prophetic Dirge | |
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Prophetic Hymn | |
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Prophetic Liturgy | |
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Prophetic Disputation | |
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Prophetic Lawsuit | |
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Prophecy Against Foreign Nations | |
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Prophetic Vision Report | |
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Prophetic Narratives | |
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General Principles for Interpreting Old Testament Prophecy | |
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Interpreting Prophetic "Forthtelling" | |
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Interpreting Prophetic "Foretelling" | |
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The Many Ways of Fulfillment | |
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Specific Principles for Interpretation--Prophecy | |
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A Sample Prophetic Text: Isaiah 5:1-7 | |
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Apocalyptic Prophecy | |
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Wisdom | |
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Types of Wisdom Literature | |
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Proverbs | |
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Instruction | |
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Example Story and Reflection | |
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Disputation Speeches | |
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A Sample Wisdom Text--Proverbs 30:24-28 | |
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Conclusion | |
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Genres of the New Testament | |
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The Genre of the Gospels | |
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Implications for Interpretation | |
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Historical Trustworthiness | |
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Reading Horizontally and Vertically | |
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The Gospels' First Audiences | |
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Key Theological Issues | |
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The Kingdom of God | |
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The Ethics of Jesus | |
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The Forms Within the Gospels | |
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Parables | |
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Miracle Stories | |
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Pronouncement Stories | |
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Other Forms | |
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The Genre of Acts | |
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Implications for Interpretation | |
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Thinking Vertically | |
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The Significance of Pentecost | |
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Acts as Narrative | |
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The Genre of the Epistles | |
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Implications for Interpretation | |
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General Considerations | |
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Specific Considerations | |
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Distinctives of Hebrews and the "General Epistles" | |
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Individual Forms in the Epistles | |
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Creeds or Hymns | |
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The Domestic Code | |
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Slogans | |
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Vice and Virtue Lists | |
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Key Theological Issues for the Pauline Epistles | |
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The Center of Pauline Theology | |
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Is There Development in Paul's Writings? | |
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The Genre of Revelation | |
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Revelation as an Epistle | |
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Revelation as Prophecy | |
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Revelation as Apocalyptic | |
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Conclusion | |
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The Fruits of Interpretation | |
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Using the Bible Today | |
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To Gain Information and Understanding | |
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To Worship | |
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To Create Liturgy | |
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To Formulate Theology | |
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To Preach | |
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To Teach | |
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To Provide Pastoral Care | |
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For Spiritual Formation in the Christian Life | |
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For Aesthetic Enjoyment | |
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Summary | |
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Application | |
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The Importance of Application | |
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Avoiding Mistakes in Application | |
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Total Neglect of Any Context | |
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Partial Neglect of the Literary or Historical Context of a Passage | |
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Insufficiently Analogous Situations | |
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A Four-Step Methodology for Legitimate Application | |
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Determine the Original Application(s) | |
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Evaluate the Level of Specificity of the Original Application(s) | |
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Identify the Cross-Cultural Principles | |
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Find Appropriate Applications that Embody the Broader Principles | |
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The Role of the Holy Spirit | |
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Annotated Bibliography | |
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Hermeneutical Tools | |
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Annotated Listing | |
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Indexes | |
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Index of Subjects | |
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Index of Scripture and Ancient Writings | |
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Index of Authors and Names | |