A scholarly, eight-week course in Old Testament studies will begin at 3 p.m. today in classroom C at the Presbyterian Church of Bella Vista.
The hour-long classes are free and open to the public. If people miss the first week, they are welcome to come for the other seven sessions, class leader J.R. "Doc" Irwin of Bella Vista said in a press release. Irwin was a member of an archaeological team at Tel-Balata, Jordan, the modern name for the Old Testament city of Shechem.
The course explores Old Testament history in the context of the whole panorama of ancient Middle Eastern history, said Irwin, who holds bachelor of arts, master of arts, master of divinity and doctorate degrees. He spent most of his career as a parish minister.
"Many people today read the Bible as though it arose in a vacuum," he said. "Yet, to understand the Bible fully, particularly the Old Testament, one needs to read it against the backdrop of a continuously evolving international scene with the rise and fall of numerous empires throughout more than two millenniums."
The course does more than discuss the historical framework within which the biblical events take place, he said. It also goes on to provide understanding of when, within that history, the various books of the Old Testament itself were written, edited and compiled.
Religion on 09/24/2014