READING THE BIBLE GOD MATTERS XS IB CLE 2013-2014

WORKSHEET 5

Reading the Bible as Literature

ON THE PRINCIPLES OF LITERARY INTERPRETATION

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: Use the three principles of literary interpretation to come up with a full reading of a Biblical passage.

SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS: 1. As a group, agree on which text i.e. passage each of the members is going to read. 2. Individually, research about your passage. Make sure that your sources are valid and legitimate. 3. After gathering enough data, discuss among yourselves the passage you have chosen. Agree on the genre of the text. Cite evidences to support your claim (genre). Then articulate the Author Meaning and Text Meaning of the passage. When you do these, make sure that you employ the big ideas of the three principles on literary interpretation. 4. When your group is done, work individually for the Personal Meaning of the text. Elaborate on it i.e. articulate your context so that any reader would clearly understand your reading. 5. Complete the table on the next page. 6. When you are done, upload your worksheet to Scribd, and embed it to your PLW.

BIBLICAL PASSAGES (CHOOSE ONE):

The Potters Vessel

JEREMIAH 18, 1-12

Promises of Redemption & Restoration

ISAIAH 43, 1-11

The Parable of the Rich Fool

LUKE 12, 13-21

The Healing of a Deaf Man

MARK 7, 31-37

The Parable of the Lost Son

LUKE 15, 11-32

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NAME:

Kai Chang
LC NO.: DATE:

4
PASSAGE

August 6, 2013

The Potters Vessel

JEREMIAH 18, 1-12 LITERARY GENRE

Fictional
AUTHOR MEANING The author wants to show the reader that God is ultimately our creator. He can destroy or bring about new life anytime and anywhere he wants. Just like our fragile lives and our communities, and like a potter, he can shape us any way he sees t if ever we tend to disobey God. To make the perfect pot, God has to constantly mold us into the right shape and to remove irregular clays from the pot.

TEXT MEANING The text is about a potter molding pots however this is also a strong metaphor of God and his own molding of pots. God is constantly trying to shape us into good and kind people and like a potter, time and quality is needed. Perfection does not follow overnight.

PERSONAL MEANING I personally feel that the text signies how God intervenes and what he will do when he does intervene. God wants for us to be the perfect human beings. Being faithful, humble, hardworking, etc. The clay, for me, symbolizes us as human beings. The molding of the potter symbolizes God molding us into perfect beings. In the process however there are times that irregularities occur and the result is not favorable but it is a time consuming process. God is constantly molding us into the perfect shape and in the end, we ourselves also need to allow God to mold us into shape.

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