GSU 1115 – Story & Structure of the Bible

 Story – the Bible has one, big story  Structure – the Bible’s big story is built of many little stories

 The Bible is a mosaic  The Bible is one BIG PICTURE  The Bible is made up of many LITTLE PICTURES

 Every little picture is meaningful in itself  The little pictures add up to the big picture  The little pictures are not the same as the big picture

 When we try to make sense of the Bible, it is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle of a mosaic  It is a hard task!

 You are writing a Biblical Theology paper  Systematic theology is shaped by logic (a system)  Biblical theology is shaped by the Bible

 Biblical theology explains the little pictures where they are found  Biblical theology explains how the little pictures contribute to the big picture

 Assignment requirements “A body section structured around an examination of the major texts in Bible that address the topic/theme” Pick out theme in the big picture and several little pictures that contribute to that theme

 Assignment requirements “How this text uses this topic/theme: major contributions, changes, developments, alterations” Explain the little picture in its original setting Explain how each little picture is different from the others

 Assignment requirements “The goal of this paper is to trace the way the topic/theme is used across Scripture” Explain the way the little pictures make the big picture

 Assignment requirements “A concluding section that summarizes the paper’s findings” Explain the big picture

 Assignment requirements “A concluding section that reiterates the importance of the theme for theology and the church, and provides one to two (1-2) points of application for believers” Explain how the big picture is important Explain how the big picture is useful