Methods of Study

Question 1

What does Historical-Critical study seek to do?

Answer 1

• Uses critical thought
• Try to understand how the text came to be
• Try to find text’s original meaning in historical context
• Secondarily, reconstruct history behind the text

Question 2

What are diachronic methodologies of study?

Answer 2

• Study the text “through time”
• Focus on history of the text, how it got to its present form
• Look for meaning in previous forms and settings of the text

Question 3

What are synchronic methodologies of study?

Answer 3

• Study the text “with time”
• Focus on meaning within the text itself
• Look only at the final form of the text

Question 4

Give another name for synchronic methods of study.

Answer 4

Literary criticism

Question 5

What does textual criticism attempt to do?

Answer 5

• Identify transmission errors/changes in process of copying the text
• Get back to the original form of the text

Question 6

What does source criticism attempt to do?

Answer 6

• Identify sources for each section
• Looks for seams - contradictions, repetitions, different vocabulary and believes these are clues to different underlying documents pieced together

Question 7

What does form criticism attempt to do?

Answer 7

• Examine similar literary forms of expression, try to get back to original
• Find original meaning by looking for things in common and postulating original oral form
• Study original life settings when in oral form

Question 8

What does traditional history do?

Answer 8

• Looks at process of development

- Tries to understand how developed from oral -> written -> final document

Question 9

What does redaction criticism do?

Answer 9

• Show the motives of author/editors of text

- Tries to understand the beliefs of those who edited the text into its final form

Question 10

What does literary criticism do?

Answer 10

• Examine scripture as a work of literature
• Looks at literary form and characteristics
• e.g. find structures that give meaning, interaction between reader and text, see how it communicates a message

Question 11

What does rhetorical criticism do?

Answer 11

• Looks at how form of literature helps communicate its message
• Type of literary criticism

Question 12

What is canon criticism?

Answer 12

Canon criticism examines the final form of the Bible as used by a community of faith and studies what it means to people who believe it is the Word of God.

Question 13

Name the four diachronic criticisms.

Answer 13

Source criticism
Form criticism
Tradition history
Redaction criticism

Question 14

Name the three synchronic criticisms.

Answer 14

Text criticism
Literary criticism
Canon criticism

Question 15

What is inductive bible study?

Answer 15

It is a three part process: observe the text, interpret the text, and apply the text.