Religious Studies 3900/4900 [Core 10]
RELIGIOUS STUDIES SEMINAR: WHAT IS SCRIPTURE?
Spring 2004

Grant me, then, space for my meditations upon the hidden things of Thy law, nor close Thy law against me as I knock. Not for nothing hast Thou willed that the deep secrets of all those pages should be written, not for nothing have those woods their stags, which retire to them and are restored, walk in them and are fed, lie down in them and ruminate. Complete Thy work in me, O Lord, and open those pages to me. Thy voice is my joy, abounding above all joys. Grant me what I love, for I do love it. And this too is of Thy gift. Do not abandon what Thou hast given, nor scorn Thy grass that is athirst for Thee. Let me confess to Thee whatsoever I shall find in Thy books, and let me hear the voice of Thy praise, and drink of Thee and consider the wondrous things of Thy law from the first beginning, when Thou didst make heaven and earth, until our everlasting reign with Thee in Thy holy city.
--Augustine, Confessions XI.2 (trans. Frank Sheed)

Every man that writes is writing a new Bible, or a new Apocrypha.
--Thomas Carlyle

The only possible opening for a statement of this kind is that I detest writing. The process itself epitomizes the European concept of "legitimate" thinking: what is written has importance that is denied the spoken. My culture, the Lakota culture, has an oral tradition, so I ordinarily reject writing. It is one of the white world's ways of destroying the cultures of non-European peoples, the imposing of an abstraction over the spoken relationship of a people.
So what you read here is not what I've written. It's what I've said and someone else has written down. I will allow this because it seems the only way to communicate with the white world is through the dead, dry leaves of a book.
--Russell Means, "Fighting Words on the Future of the Earth"

When I hear a speaking, I am astounded:

    someone (who is somehow like me)

        is opening up (exposing to the world their own way of apprehending the world)

            and summoning me (interrupting whatever else was going on),

                presenting me with a sense of something (what they want to say)

                    that will affect my sense of everything (as I try to understand fully).

What is it, though, to have heard a speaking that decides something affecting me, a decree?

    Now it doesn't matter who spoke except that it was the decider (an authority).

        Now rather than opening up a subjectivity, the main import of the experience is to determine my subjectivity.

            Now I have a concrete duty.

                My interpretation of the speaking must serve my fulfillment of this duty.

                    And that goes for my interpretation of everything.

One way to arrange for an important speaking is to read from a script. To have that script in the first place, though, as a "text"--let us say, a text that is not simply a dictated, momentary message from a living speaker, like a print message on a cell phone, but a composed, enduring virtual speaking; how does that situation come about and what new situations does that create?

Who shall we say speaks from a text when its authorship is multiple, conjectural, forgotten?

Who, if anyone, is opening up or being opened up by such a text?

What does it mean to be summoned by such a text? (Are we drawn to it just by the knowledge that we can read it? Are we drawn to it by the living speakers who are activating it? Does it have a special public standing as a sort of monument? For whom does the text have authority?)

How can we determine what such a text wants to say? (With varying interpretations it seems to want to say many things, perhaps not harmoniously.)

What special powers does such a text have to guide our understanding of everything?

These are just a few of the suppositions and questions that can address the subject of "scripture," once we begin to ask where our assumptions about scripture come from and what they rest on (in our experience and in our reasoning). The purpose of this seminar is to pursue such critical thinking about the religious category of scripture in dialogue with the emerging field of comparative scripture studies.

Our readings will be drawn from various sources including these required texts:

Daniel L. Pals, Seven Theories of Religion
William A. Graham, Beyond the Written Word. Oral aspects of scripture in the history of religion
David Kelsey, Proving Doctrine. The Uses of Scripture in Modern Theology
[new edition of The Uses of Scripture in Recent Theology]

The ingredients of the seminar, and of the course grade, are daily participation (which can affect your course grade a third of a letter grade up or down), weekly journal writing (20%), serving several times as a recorder of class minutes and as a preparer of discussion questions (15%), designing and conducting two course units (either individually or in partnership with another student) (25%), and making a course book (40%). Assignments and grading are explained below.

SCHEDULE
subject to revision by announcement in class and/or e-mail

Week of
Jan. 12 Organization of course. Theories of religion: Tylor and Frazer (in Pals).
Jan. 19 Theories of religion: Durkheim, Eliade, and Geertz (in Pals).

Question #1: What is "scripture" as a new phenomenon in religious history?

Jan. 26 G. van der Leeuw, Religion in Essence and Manifestation, chaps. 58-64;
J. Z. Smith, "Sacred Persistence: Toward a Redescription of Canon"; W. C. Smith, "Scripture as Form and Concept"
Feb. 2 Graham, Beyond the Written Word, Parts I-II
Feb. 9 Graham III-IV

Question #2: What happens to scripture in traditioning?

Feb. 16 Student-led sessions: Traditions I-II
Feb. 23 Traditions III-IV
Mar. 1 Traditions V-VI

Question #3: What is the future of scripture in religious thinking?

Mar. 8 Extensions of scripture
Mar. 15 SPRING BREAK
Mar. 22 Scripture in theology. Kelsey, Proving Doctrine, I-II
Mar. 29 Kelsey III-IV

MARCH 30: 2004 SUMMERS LECTURE by M. Thomas Thangaraj

Apr. 5 Student-led sessions: Theologians I-II
Apr. 12 Theologians III-IV
Apr. 19 The future of writing and books: Derrida et al.

Course book due at assigned final exam time.

SOME TOPICS THAT SEEM WORTH EXPLORING

Differences between nonliterate and literate religious cultures; between orality and literacy in general
Relationship of scripture to sex relations (e.g., is text-based religion masculinist?)
Relationship of scriptural religion to ethics, politics, aesthetics
Political scripture: the constitution
Literary scripture: the literary canon
Is there a prospect of postliterary culture, and if so, how would its religious character change? How would it compare with preliterate or "archaic" religious culture?
Scripture and paradigm theory: to what extent does scripture control cognitive paradigms, to what extent is scripture formation and interpretation subject to change due to cognitive paradigm shifts?

GUIDELINES: PREPARING CLASS MINUTES

1. For the benefit of everyone in the class, make a concise record of the main points and questions of a class session. On average, something like five or six points, all fitting onto one page (with single-space typing), would be best. Do not aim for perfect or complete minutes--aim for useful ones.

2. This is your own portrait of the class and you should exercise your own judgment about what to include and what to leave out. But you should also feel free to check your notes and recollections with fellow class members and/or the instructor.

3. Give copies to all class members as they arrive at the next class meeting. There may be some discussion of the minutes. Don't be offended if changes or additions are suggested.

PREPARING DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Identify several issues in the assigned reading (and/or other experience) that you think would be worthwhile for the class to explore. Give a brief explanation of each issue, leading up to a question or two. Keep this on one sheet of paper. Thus, your question sheet will typically contain two or three short paragraphs.

2. Avoid posing factual questions. (Factual questions may be quite important, but if you want an answer to a factual question you should search for it right away!) Try to pose at least one good interpretive question and at least one good evaluative question.

Example of an interpretive question: What does a Confucian understand by "classic"?

Example of an evaluative question: How can a text garner religious loyalty from a community? (What do we think?)

3. Give copies of your question sheet to all class members at the beginning of class (after the minutes are discussed). Present the issue that you would like to be discussed first.

WEEKLY JOURNAL WRITING

1. By the end of each class week you should turn in a written reflection of at least 250 words (that would be one page typed) on any subject relating to the course. You may use any strategy you like to get at something. Try not to toss out a question without working toward an answer; working toward answers is what your journal is for.

2. You may skip one week's journal writing without penalty.

THE COURSE BOOK

All mankind is of one author and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another . . .
--John Donne

In this course we seek to understand the category of the book, the "holy book," "scripture," a true and authoritative relation to the divine achieved in writing. A "holy book" is an exceptional book, to be sure, and yet any book at all is the book, practically speaking, and your book while you are paying attention to it--including the book you will create for this course on the question of scripture. Your goal will be to identify the main issues pertaining to the nature of scripture, marshal a powerful array of relevant evidence, and put to work the most promising approaches to understanding scripture--all according to your personal vision of this topic and its relevance to your audience.

Here is a general design for your course book (you may, however, do it differently, if you offer an acceptable rationale). The book should include the following parts:

1. An introductory essay. This 8-10 pp. essay will lay out, for readers who are coming to the general question of scripture for the first time, a program of thinking about it. It will explain the question and why it matters. It will provide some sort of map of the issues that are to be confronted. Most importantly, it will indicate how these issues can be addressed--what sorts of analysis will be helpful, what sorts of evidence will be needed, and what sorts of answer will be helpful.

2. An anthology combining primary material with focused critical reflections.

(a) Primary material: a usefully limited selection of scripture samples and related material to stimulate the reader's reflection as strongly as possible, to represent the range of material that the student of scriptures ought to take into account, and to serve as points of reference for arguments made in the critical reflections.

You will want to compile some sort of index or scrapbook through the semester from which you can make a final selection of primary materials for your anthology. These primary materials should probably add up to at least 10 pp. of written text and no more than 25 pp. altogether.

AND EITHER:

(b1) Focused critical reflections in the form of four to six short essays (300-600 words each--around 2,000 words total) on specific issues. Most should refer somehow to primary materials that are included in the anthology.

Every week you'll have written journal reflections on the course. These will be relatively spontaneous and "artless." You can turn some of these into more "artful" pieces of writing. You can create entirely new pieces, too, if you wish, but at least two of the short essays for your anthology ought to be rooted somehow in your weekly journal writings.

OR:

(b2) SATISFYING THE CORE 10 REQUIREMENT: A 6-8 pp. reflection on your intellectual growth during your time at Millsaps, taking account of (a) the larger experience of liberal learning and the goals set for all Millsaps students, e.g. in the liberal arts abilities targeted by your previous Core courses, and (b) the more specialized experience of the religious studies major. How, in particular, does our investigation of the phenomena of scripture affect your understanding of the possibilities of enlightenment and empowerment you now see in oral and written communication?

[See specifications for the Frank and Rachel Ann Laney Award on p. x]

3. An epilogue of 3-4 pp. on how study of the phenomena of scripture relates to one or more of the theories of religion reviewed by Daniel Pals in Seven Theories of Religion. How helpful is the theory in interpreting the phenomena of scripture? How might phenomena of scripture imply refinement, major revision, or rejection of the theory?

4. You may turn in a draft of all of your course book, or some portion of it, to the instructor at any time to get a preliminary evaluation and suggestions.

GRADES

The course book will be letter-graded; all other work will receive a - (unsatisfactory), \/ (satisfactory), or + (very good), depending on the thoughtfulness it shows and, as appropriate, clarity of communication. Your record as of midterm will be interpreted by a midterm letter grade for which you will receive a rationale. In general, "A" means doing all assigned work carefully, thoughtfully, and successfully; "B" means a good overall record; "C" reflects a mixture of good work, unsuccessful work fairly attempted, and unsatisfactory work; "D" reflects a significant portion of work undone or a dominant portion done unsatisfactorily; and "F" is worse.

SOME COURSE POLICIES

1. Class Attendance. Being in class, being engaged with the work of the class, and behaving courteously are all expected. One discourtesy to avoid is coming into class late. Better late than never, definitely; but lateness counts as half an absence.
One percent of the course grade will be lost for each absence from class for any reason, beginning with the third absence. (For example, someone who missed class 7 times would lose 5% of the course grade, or half a letter grade.) The reason for this: our in-class inquiry is a crucial and irreplaceable part of the substance of the course.

2. Late papers. Written assignments turned in late will lose a letter grade or equivalent. Homework may not be turned in more than one week after its due date. No work of any kind will be accepted after the last day of final examinations. Exceptions to this policy will only be granted to the victims of unforeseeable and uncontrollable circumstances.

3. Plagiarism. Using the words or ideas of others without acknowledgement--that is, passing them off as your own--is a fraudulent practice called plagiarism. Plagiarized work will receive no credit and may result in expulsion from the class.

4. Incompletes. An "Incomplete" grade for the course will only be given to students who, due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances, find themselves unable to complete course requirements during the term and can reasonably be expected to complete them within a few weeks after the term's end. The "Incomplete" must be requested and appropriately justified before the end of final examinations.

5. Disabilities. Students with disabilities should contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to discuss their individual needs for accommodations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akenson, Donald H. Surpassing Wonder. The Invention of the Bible and Talmuds. Chicago: U. of Chicago, 2001.
Alter, Robert. Canon and Creativity. Modern Writing and the Authority of Scripture. New Haven: Yale U., 2000.
Bible and Culture Collective. The Postmodern Bible. New Haven: Yale U., 1995.
Denny, Frederick M., and Rodney Taylor, eds. The Holy Book in Comparative Perspective. Columbia: U. of South Carolina Press, 1985.
Childs, Brevard. Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985.
Coward, Harold. Sacred Word and Sacred Text. Scripture in World Religions. Delhi: Satguru, 1988.
_______, ed. Experiencing Scripture in World Religions. Maryknoll, Orbis, 2000.
Derrida, Jacques. "Force and Signification." In Writing and Difference. Trans. Alan Bass. Chicago: U. of Chicago, 1978.
_______. Of Grammatology. Trans. Gayatri Spivak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U., 1976.
Frei, Hans. The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative. New Haven: Yale U., 1974.
Frye, Northrop. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
_______. Words With Power. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990.
Graham, William A., Beyond the Written Word. Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion.  Cambridge:  Cambridge U., 1987.
Holdredge, Barbara A. Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture. Albany: State U. of New York, 1996.
Kelsey, David. Proving Doctrine. The Uses of Scripture in Modern Theology. San Antonio: Trinity, 1999.
Kugel, James L. Traditions of the Bible: The Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U., 1999.
Levering, Miriam, ed., Rethinking Scripture. Essays from a Comparative Perspective.  Albany: State U. of New York Press, 1989.
Patrick, Dale. The Rhetoric of Revelation in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999.
Ricoeur, Paul. Essays on Biblical Interpretation. Ed. Lewis Mudge. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.
_______. Figuring the Sacred. Religion, Narrative, and Imagination. Trans. David Pellauer. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995.
Sanders, James A. From Sacred Story to Sacred Text. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987.
Smith, Jonathan Z. "Sacred Persistence: Toward a Redescription of Canon," in Imagining Religion. From Babylon to Jonestown. Chicago: U. of Chicago, 1988.
Smith, Wilfred Cantwell. What is Scripture? A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993.
Tracy, David. The Analogical Imagination. New York: Crossroad, 1981.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Divine Discourse. Philosophical Reflections on the Claim that God Speaks. Cambridge: Cambridge U., 1995.

2009 Addenda:
Ford, David F. and C. C. Pecknold, eds. The Promise of Scriptural Reasoning.  Malden:  Blackwell, 2006.
Graham, William A.  "Scripture."  The Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed. Detroit:  Thomson Gale, 2005.
Griffiths, Paul.  Religious Reading.  New York:  Oxford U., 1999.
Henderson, John B.  Scripture, Canon, and Commentary:  A Comparison of Confucian and Western Exegesis.  Princeton:  Princeton U., 1991.
van der Kooij, A., and K van der Toorn, eds.  Canonization and Decanonization. Leiden:  Brill, 1998.
Ochs, Peter.  "The Rules of Scriptural Reasoning."  Journal of Scriptural Reasoning 2 (May 2002), online.
Pui-Lan, Kwok.  Discovering the Bible in the Non-Biblical World.  Maryknoll:  Orbis, 1995.
Smith, Steven G.  "What is Scripture?  Pursuing Smith's Question."  Anglican Theological Review 90 (Fall 2008) 753-775.
van der Toorn, Karel.  Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible.  Cambridge, MA:  Harvard U., 2007.
Vanhoozer, Kevin J.  First Theology:  God, Scripture and Hermeneutics. Downers Grove:  InterVarsity, 2002.