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Spring 2007 | Volume 30, Number 1
| Features
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The Multifaceted Bible
Literature, Scripture, canon, sacrament — and key to Christian formation
Professor of English Susan VanZanten Gallagher visits the SPU Library's Samuel J. Emmanuel Special Collections Room.
Just what is the Bible? In one sense, the answer is simple. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and a foundational text of Western civilization. It is also the sacred text — in whole or in part — for millions of Christians and Jews worldwide.
But the Bible is a book of rich
complexity, containing a vast compilation of writings composed over 1,600 years by 40 authors in three languages on three continents. Brimming with
literary forms, the Bible has so many facets that it both draws and intimidates readers.
For Robert Wall and his colleagues in the Seattle Pacific
University School of Theology, it’s a delicate balance to teach the Bible with intellectual honesty while at the same time helping move students toward deeper relationships with God. “If students leave a Bible class with clear definitions about Scripture’s importance for Christian formation,” explains the Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, “then they are more likely to believe that the Bible can be the object of serious study and the source of comfort, correction, and guidance for the church.”
To read the Bible with “skill and grace,” the goal of SPU’s Bible courses, requires Christians to understand the various “lenses” through which the church has historically viewed Scripture. Four Seattle Pacific faculty members describe some of these ways of approaching the Bible — and meeting God in its pages.
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from the president
Embracing the Christian Story
SPU President Philip Eaton asks what would happen if the Bible were at the center of the learning enterprise.
campus
Destination: Asia
SPU President Philip Eaton joined a historic delegation of U.S. university presidents that visited Asia.
alumni
Coffee as Change Agent?
Pura Vida employees, including several SPU alumni, engage the culture using a social-venture business model.
books, film, & music
Dark Alphabet
Jennifer Maier, poet and SPU associate professor of English, receives a literary award for her first book.
athletics
National Tournament Returns
For the first time in 10 years, SPU hosts the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Championship.
my response
Undone by the Word
Response writer Kathy Henning shares her journey to know the Bible better.
Response art
Pink Emperors
Class of 1973 alumna Jill Ingram introduces Response readers to “Pink Emperors.”
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