Its the final blog of the semester and I cannot be happier. So here goes nothing for the final blog entry:

1. Give students a level of expertise in the discipline of biblical studies.

• I grew up in middle class Catholic Baton Rouge all my life and was taught really no other perspective of the Bible except what the Catholic church teaches. I never knew that there were so many different facets to biblical studies including but not limited to different critical methods in looking at the bible, different authors of the bible, and different “original” texts of the bible. There was also a good handful of books of the bible that are not in the catholic text that I did not know even existed. I also gained great clarification in the whole Hebrew, Jew, etc. history that used to confuse the life out of me before. This class definitely provides students to be entry level experts about biblical studies and provides them with knowledge to have an intelligent conversation about it in the future.

2. Provide the tools to read the Bible in an academic and critical manner.

• As mentioned above, I had never heard if the critical methods that can be used to look at the bible from many different directions. These methods are very effective in looking at the bible from many different points of view and for many different reasons. I do not think that I will ever read or hear a Bible passage in the same way again without thinking about what that Bible passage is actually revealing. I love the idea that things in the bible are told for a reason such as the story of the king in the bathroom and the guy held the sword in the whatever hand, etc. I always skimmed details in the Bible just thinking they were written that way because it was written so long ago! Nerdy but a very cool way to see things! This class definitely provided the right tools to read the bible academically and critically.

3. Improve student’s ability to effectively communicate and to write clearly matters involving critical thinking.

• For the love of all good things, there is no doubt that this class encompasses this goal. Each blog required some level of critical thinking and after writing 1000 words per blog there was no lack of thinking and sorting things out. Also, if you are not a good writer you certainly learned how to talk your way through an issue! You also basically had to be able to communicate to ensure that those reading the blog understood the idea you were trying to convey.

4. Improve the world.

• So maybe we are not all being flashed all over the news as improving the world but even the fact that each person participated in some type of service work is helping to improve something in one way or another. This could easily lead to a pay it forward effect of each person doing a little something to make the world a better place. So yes, through all of our projects we have improved the world in at least some way!
  

I do not agree with either James or Paul exclusively in the faith vs. work conflict. I feel that in order to live a truly fulfilling and dedicated life, you have to have a mixture of both faith and works. I think that there should be a greater emphasis placed on works though because I am a firm believer in the age old “actions speak louder than words.” Plenty of people can say that they have a strong faith in god and in god’s message but until you see this in action, it is kind of hard to believe. I do not think that faith alone can “get you into heaven” but you also cannot be a part of something that you do not say you believe in. I think it is important to have faith though even when times are rough. In this James vs. Paul conflict, they are both winners in my book because they both have good teachings but one just cannot be done without the other.

The best part of this class for me has been coming to class and learning about the Bible. The class itself was pretty low stress, low pressure, interesting, and not so structured. This is nice to have in the midst of all the strict sciences where you really have no leeway to actually discuss other things. I have also thoroughly enjoyed reading the Bible for Dummies book as it gives great simple insight to a different perspective of looking at the Bible. This book is so easy to read and actually very enjoyable. I always tend to remember more information in a book when the content is easily understood and where the content is actually enjoyable to understand. I really have a new appreciation for the Bible and for all the things that can be learned from studying it.

The worst part of the class for me is writing the blogs. I’m not at all saying that I do not see the point in writing the blogs because I totally do. I just do not enjoy writing at all. I never have and do not think that I ever will. I do appreciate the fact that there is some flexibility in what exactly is talked about in the blogs but the writing itself is not enjoyable to me. I also do not think that it in any way improved my writing skills. It did improve my thinking skills just not my writing skills.

I think that courses like this should be a part of Xavier’s core curriculum, I just feel that the outside work in the class was a little on the heavy side for an introductory class. The Dummies book is a great tool for teaching what needs to be taught in this class but all the extra readings on blackboard and on the bible dudes website were a little over the top. If the information that is trying to be conveyed cannot be taught in a lecture and 1-2 outside texts tops should be included with an introductory level class. This takes away from the classes that are truly going to be looked at for grad schools in the future. I know that most history, theology, african american studies, and fine arts classes want to be as important in considerations for grad schools (especially in a school that focuses mainly on science related majors) but the reality is that they are not and when those classes outside work truly damper and hinder time spent on those classes, I think they need some coursework revision.

This course’s best feature other than giving a good idea of biblical studies also teaches you how to think critically. In my field of study, chemistry and eventually pharmacy, I will need to think critically in many different situations. These are invaluable tools that can be used for many more years to come in my career.

“After writing 17,143 words in this blog, I now believe that my career choice has definitely been confirmed in being science based because I absolutely hate every aspect of writing. To me writing is boring, too subjective, and not something that I want to spend doing day in and day out for the rest of my life.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Week 15: Reflection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.