| LIR Courses | James Course Room | Online Study Guide |  |
| LIR Courses | James Course Room | Online Study Guide | |
How the study is structured.
Because of my prior experience
as a professor and a pastor, especially
having taught dozens of the SBC 'January Bible Studies' over the past 40
years of ministry, I have attempted to design the course along the lines
for a serious Bible student who wants to learn more about what the Bible
is attempting to say to our world today. No background knowledge of the
Biblical languages is assumed, nor much prior understanding of scripture
itself. The course represents a greatly simplified application of the
principles of historical-literary interpretation of scripture. My somewhat
extensive background in computer programing and web design have been brought
to bear in the creation of the course on the internet as a part of the
extensive Cranfordville.com web site. This LIR James study is also integrated
into a previous Winter Bible Study
section on James that has been used in churches for a weekend study of
James. References to aspects of this will show up in the study guide in
some of the lessons.
The Course Room for the
study is designed to make navigation from one part of the study to another
very easy.
 |
Syllabus | The
Study of James
Study Guide Lessons Lorin L. Cranford |
Office Hours |  |
The links in the gray box on the right side of the title section are less directly related to details of the course but contain links to helpful information.
Syllabus. This contains the material that you're presently reading -- an explanation of the study. Schedule. This page lists the schedule of study and contains hyperlinks to the Study Guide and to Translation Texts for the book of James. If you prefer to go directly to a particular lesson, then click on the Study Guide Lessons hyperlink in the center box.
Bulletin Board. This page contains news etc. about the course. It is the main way I stay in contact with class members outside of the class room. Any variation from the schedule of study will be posted here, along with other announcements that need to be communicated prior to a given class period. You will want to check this page the day before the class period for any updates that have been posted.
How to use the online study guide.
Office Hours. Although unlikely that you will need to set up a conference with my in the GWU office, it is possible to do so by clicking on this link. Once there, then proceed to the appropriate semester. Inside the schedule listing you will see a hyperlink Conference Time. By merely clicking on the desired time you can set up an appointment with me using the internet. Once you click on the Conference Time, an online Conference Request form will appear on your screen. Just fill out this form and then click on the Submit Form button at the bottom of the page. The request comes automatically to me at my office at home. I process these daily and you will receive a confirmation email that a conference has been scheduled in the GWU office, Lindsay Hall room 232. NT Study Aids. This hyperlink will take you to a page containing links to quite a number of supplementary materials related to the study of the New Testament. The section more closely related to our study is The Catholic Epistles; this is where materials related to James are located.
Bibliography. This link will take you to a project that was begun on Cranfordville.com in 2002, the creation of a massive bibliographic database for the study of the New Testament. As of the spring of 2003, over two thousand entries have been posted with a goal of eventually having over ten thousand listing of books and articles for the study of the Bible. For the listings on James thus far, go Bible Commentaries, then to Individual Commentaries and Articles, and finally to James.
1. Save a copy of each lesson along with the graphic files into a subfolder of your My Documents folder on your computer hard drive.The earlier form of this guide first appeared in the late 1980s in print form as A Study Manual on the Epistle of James: English Text, Fort Worth: Scripta Publishing, Inc., 1987. It was followed up with the companion volume A Study Manual on the Epistle of James: Greek Text, Fort Worth: Scripta Publishing, Inc., 1988, rev. ed. 1991.
You can do this while using your web browser by clicking on the File menu in the upper left hand corner of your screen. You will see a Save As command on the popup menu list. Click this on and most likely your computer will automatically open the My Documents folder. If note, use the Browse button to find this folder. You can create a New Folder by clicking on the folder icon with the red star at the top of the menu list in the popup screen. Name this new folder, James Study, then using your mouse curser click it on in order to open it. Once it is opened, then click on the Save button at the bottom of the popup screen. This will save the html file into this folder. Repeat these steps for each lesson.2. If you want to write out answers to the Exegesis questions for each lesson electronically, then bring up the desired lesson in your My Documents folder inside your word processing software such as Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. Most every current version of these software packages has the ability to read html formatted files. Once the file is loaded inside your word processor, you can insert your answers under the questions as you would normally type in materials inside a document file. Once you have finished working on a lesson, BE SURE to click on SAVE before exiting the html document. Otherwise, your work will not be preserved inside the document.
3. If you just want to use a printed copy of each lesson for note taking etc., then click on the Print command in the menu line at the top of the screen. This will activate a print command.
As can be detected from the above heading that appears in each of the Lessons, the study guide is broken up into five segments. A bit of explanation of each of these segments is in order. For an explanation of each of these segments click on the desired hyperlink above, or, scroll down the page. A hyperlink to Lesson 02 will be included for quick illustration of each item under the explanation of each of these sections.
Lesson #=====The Letter of James=====James #:# Last revised: 3/6/03
Scripture Passage Diagram Exegesis Application Bibliography
Some hyperlinked files are in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format. They can only be viewed by using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader available at
Scripture Passage.
This section begins with a copy of the Greek text of the pericope being
covered by an individual lesson. While most will not make use of this,
it serves to provide the student with a real live copy of the original
language text of scripture. Occasionally, reference will be made to individual
words or phrase in the text as a basis for interpreting the scripture text.
No knowledge of Koine Greek is assumed in the study guide. If you desire
the Greek text to show up on your computer screen and in printouts of each
lesson, then you will need to download and install on your computer the
free
BST Greek font set provided at the blinking hyperlink above. A link
to these fonts is provided in each lesson as well.
Below the Greek text will
be a listing of six English translations of the scripture passage, i.e.,
the pericope. These are intentionally lined up in three columns representing
applications of the two basic approaches to professional Bible translation
that have emerged over the past century with the establishment of Bible
Societies around the world. These two approaches are Form Oriented, (sometimes
called Formal Equivalence [FE]) and Content Oriented (sometimes called
Dynamic Equivalence [DE]). The Form Oriented translations are located in
the left column and include the King James Version (KJV), the New King
James Version (NKJV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The Content
Oriented translations are located in the right hand column and are represented
by the New Living Translation (NLT), the Today's English Version (otherwise
known as the Good News Version) (TEV), and the Bible in Basic English (BBE).
The center column, which represents where the vast majority of modern English
translations fall, defines translation methods that employ a combination
of these two basic approaches. These translations include the Revised Standard
Version (RSV; dominated by the FE methodology with some DE principles used),
the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV, with a greater balance between
the FE and DE methods), and the New International Version (NIV, with more
slant toward a DE oriented methodology).
These principles of Bible
translation are discussed at length in a chapter from my Greek
202 course study manual. It is formatted in the pdf file format and
can be viewed with the Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on the icon 
.
Ideally, the Bible student does initial reading of the scripture texts
in their original language forms, but this is usually limited to seminary
trained clergy. For those without skills for reading the Koine Greek of
the New Testament, the next best option is to do a comparative study of
multiple English translations of the scripture text. But the selection
of the various translations is pivotal to successful achievement from this
study. Over the years I've found that doing close study from several translations
that represent the spectrum of Bible translation methodology provides the
greatest amount of insight. The goal of the study of multiple translations
is to get the student weaned off looking just at English words, and focused
on the ideas expressed in the text. Because of the huge linguistic distance
between ancient Koine Greek and modern American English, no single English
translation can begin to capture more than a very small part of the meaning
in the original language text. Typically this would be no more than 15
to 20 percent of the meaning. By concentrating on ideas instead of words
the English language Bible student can manage to grasp significantly more
of the meaning found in the scripture.
In this Study Guide many
of the questions will ask you to compare words etc. among these six translations.
Frequently, not only will you be able to grasp the interpretation issues
better but also, different understandings of the meaning of the Greek text
will surface in such a comparative study. Also, the marginal readings of
many of the translations have been preserved in the listing so that you
can pick up on variations of wording that took place in the ancient copying
of the Greek documents of the New Testament. For an outline of this process
go to the topics list in one of my New Testament
survey courses, namely topic 1.7.
Diagram.
This second segment of each lesson utilizes a literary analysis strategy
that attempts to visually identify core thought expressions and the expansion
elements off the core statements. A detailed discussion of how to use this
procedure with the Greek text is found in my publication, Learning Biblical
Koine Greek, as well as being located in a pdf file on Cranfordville.com.
It can be viewed with the Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on the icon .
By visually identifying
the elements of each independent clause in the scripture text one can more
easily see how the ideas are put together in order to create the full expression
of thought. Additionally, this technique helps to identify how the series
of core statements hang together in order to create progression of thought
from beginning to end inside a nature unit of expression called a pericope.
An additional procedure called semantic diagramming can be applied at this
stage for creating an outline of the passage for preaching or teaching
purposes. But this Study Guide doesn't get into this deeper level of analysis.
In the first segment of
James 1:2-4 in Lesson 02, the diagram
shows up as follows:
(1) 1:2 Consider it pure joy
my
brothers
whenever
you may fall
into various trials
1:3 because you know
that the testing...produces endurance
of your faith
1:4 and
(2) let endurance
have its complete work
so
that you may be complete
and
whole,
lacking in nothing.
In the analysis of this passage, several aspects become clear. The two
core statements 1 and 2 are in the form of admonitions. That
is, we readers are encouraged to take specific actions. With statement
one, two expansion elements are attached. The temporal expression, "whenever
you may fall...", defines the instances when the adoption of joy is appropriate.
The second expansion element, "because you know..." provides the reason
for the admonition: we are to adopt the stance of joy because we know something.
The 'that clause' here serving as the direct object of the verb 'know'
defines the content of what we are to realize in the moment of trials.
The second admonition, statement 2, encourages us to allow a process to
run its divinely intended course. That is, we must not short circuit the
'endurance' that the trial is designed to produce. The intended consequence
of allowing endurance to run its course is specified in the "so that you
may be ..." clause. The three predicate adjectives here employ two common
Jewish poetic structures of first synonymous parallelism ("complete and
whole") that is then contrasted by its opposite ("lacking in nothing")
in an antithetical parallel structure. With the use of this very frequent
thought structure in the Jewish wisdom literary tradition, often employed
for emphasis sake, James put a powerful emphasis on the intended impact
of trials as producing the highest possible level of Christian maturity.
In each of the lessons,
questions in the exegesis section will attempt to use the diagram in order
to get into the thought pattern of the scripture text more clearly.
As a part of the Diagram
section, a second section will appear after the diagram under the label
Summary.
This section will attempt to highlight the basic rhetorical structure of
the passage from the diagram and from the translations. In the process,
the interpretative issues present in the scripture text will be introduced
as a way of setting the stage for the next segment, that called Exegesis.
Exegesis.
This third segment of each lesson is the heart of each lesson. The content
of this section is the raising of questions that are focused on various
interpretative issues necessary to clarify before a solid understanding
of the passage is possible. Assumed in the raising of these questions are
the historical - literary principles of biblical interpretation that have
evolved over the past several centuries. Through the almost two decades
of teaching a year long PhD seminar on New Testament Critical Methodology
at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, I gained enormous
insight into interpretative methodology, usually labeled by the Greek derived
term, exegesis. This was supplemented by studying with some of the world's
leading experts in this field at the German universities in Bonn and Heidelberg
during year long sabbatic leaves in the early 80s and early 90s. Because
this subject is so interesting to me, I have spent a great deal of my thirty
year plus teaching career learning everything I could about how to do better
interpretation of New Testament texts. One thing does become clear: the
interpretative approach used will tremendously impact the interpretative
understanding of the scripture text. When good methods are used, the likelihood
of good, solid understanding of the scripture text is much greater. If
you're interested in learning more about this subject, check out chapter
two of the New Testament Theology (Religion
314) course that I teach at GWU.
The first set of questions
will have to do with the Literary Setting of the passage. Determining the
context of a passage inside a New Testament document is an important part
of the interpretation process because this sets boundaries on the possible
meaning of the contents of the passage itself. Each passage is one piece
of the puzzle called the NT document. Interpretation is in part like putting
a puzzle together. Each piece has a certain place that it fits into and
thus contributes to the larger meaning of the puzzle.
The remainder of the questions
will deal with both historical and literary issues relevant to understanding
the passage itself. Considerable use of supplementary texts, both from
the canonical scriptures and from other ancient literature, will be made.
The design of the Study Guide
is that it be a self-contained study of the book of James. In keeping with
that design, the questions in the Exegesis section will employ hyperlinks
to and/or quotations of other texts. Thus you will be able to complete
the answering of each question by referring to the materials indicated
in each question. No additional text, either printed or otherwise, should
be needed for answering the questions.
Application.
This fourth segment of each lesson is intended more as reflection on the
study of the passage. In historical exegesis of a scripture passage, the
establishment of the "then" meaning of the text comes first. But the process
isn't really complete until a "now" meaning of the text is attempted. The
historical meaning of the texts needs to brückenschlagen werden, that
is, as the Germans say, "slung across the bridge from the past to the present."
If the study of scripture is to nourish us spiritually, then an application
or applications of the historical meaning of the text must be attempted.
Some observations may be
helpful here. So much of the contemporary devotional study of scripture
attempts to bypass the establishment of the historical meaning and jump
straight from the text to the present application. This short sighted approach
opens up a Pandora's box of interpretative evils. No effective boundaries
of meaning are established through bypassing historical exegesis. Thus
most any passage can be made to say whatever the interpreter wants it to
say. Such an approach additionally ignores a fundamental aspect about divine
revelation in the scriptures. The scriptures were given to individuals
in a very specific culture, language expression and time period. The Jewish
and Greco-Roman worlds of the first Christian century are unbelievably
different from twenty-first century American culture. And the initial expression
of the New Testament documents was addressed to that ancient world, not
to ours! Therefore, the NT text is shaped by that world. An understanding
of that world is essential before its meaning can be accurately grasped.
Only then can a well defined expression of meaning be established that
is to serve as the foundation for any legitimate contemporary meaning of
the passage. The limits of the historical meaning impose boundaries on
possible legitimate applications of the text to our world. This is at the
heart of historical exegesis of the scripture. In more recent decades,
deeper appreciation of the literary aspects of the text have taken their
place along side the historical aspects. Literary analysis is also essential
for clear exegesis. If you're interested in studying this more, then check
out my Lecture Notes on this topic
in New Testament 102, topic 3.1 at Cranfordville.com.
The Application questions
represent limited attempts to apply the scripture text to various modern
day situations. Sometimes, they challenge you as the reader to pause and
take spiritual inventory of some aspect of your Christian commitment. Whether
or not specific answers are written out, you should spend some time reflecting
on the questions. Through your prayerful meditation on these issues, there's
no telling what the Lord might do in your life through this study! I know
from experience after having taught this material for over three decades
that each time I go through it fresh experiences of God's presence and
new insights about application turn up.
Bibliography.
This fifth segment of each lesson highlights sources for additional study.
Hyperlinks to the massive bibliographic database are set up, as described
above. This bibliography is intended for a variety of uses, especially
at very technical levels of research. You will find listings in many different
languages, since authentic New Testament scholarship assumes the ability
to read materials in multiple languages, both modern and ancient. When
you come to such listings, just do what the old cow does while grazing
in the pasture. When she comes to a grassburr or a nettle, she just grazes
around it and keeps on going until she finds some tasty grass.
Additionally, some lessons
contain extra listings that are particularly relevant to the passage being
studied in a given lesson. These may be more helpful in further study.
Wow!
I thought there weren't supposed to be any tests in the LIR courses! You're
right, of course. There are no quizzes -- that count -- nor any grades
associated with this course. One limitation of the program is that
the quizzes only work with the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser or an
IE based browser, such as Dune Browser, NeoPlanet, Opera etc. If you're
using a Netscape or Mozilla based browser, the tests won't work. Sorry!
But, the WebQuiz quiz is
provided as a part of each of the lessons for a variety of reasons.
First,
some folks actually love taking tests! Believe it or not! And especially
love taking them if there's no grade associated with the test. These self-checks
are provided to scratch that itch for these folks.
Second, the quizzes
are PURELY OPTIONAL. If you don't want to mess with them, then ignore them
completely. Third, we're going to have some fun with them in the
class time, as we occasionally take the test as a class. They're intended
as a learning device with the objective of helping the Bible student learn
more about the scripture text.
The tests are designed
to be taken while you on the internet. You can enter your name or not in
the first screen that comes up. If you opt to not enter your name, then
enter the word 'test' in the two fields for first and last name. One question
at a time comes up on the computer screen. Once you've entered an answer
to it, then click on the Next icon 
in the lower right hand side of your screen. Once you have completed the
test, then click on the Evaluation icon 
at the bottom of your screen. The program will automatically grade your
quiz and display a Results screen. You have the choice of either printing
out this page or closing the test. The evalution will show you the missed
answers, as well as provide an explanation for the correct answer for each
of the questions. Each quiz can generate a total of 50 points.
Have fun! That's what the
tests are there for.
a division of 
All
rights reserved©
