Man this semester was no joke and this class can really make you dislike writing. Biblical studies is a course I recommend many to take. I started this class with the basic knowledge that I learned in church, you know the bedtime stories and of course the major holiday tales, but now I see growth in my understanding of the written word. If you plan on earning an “A” in biblical studies my one true tip would have to be time management. Writing blogs that correspond to the class lecture and just basic understandings are essential to the course. Without effective time management this course will not raise your G.P.A.
While I read the Bible, I try to think when the text was written. Dr. Homan has showed us that at certain time periods in the Bible certain major changes occurred. I also want to know the importance of the text. In certain times people are going through certain situations and as you read the text you can feel the same emotions of the person writing the book. On an academic level I have learned to fully analyze a situation. Dr. Homan has showed my group many times that we as students need to not over analyze. Use basic thoughts and recognition to come up with the answers when reading and using critical thinking manners. Another main point would be to take it slow and carefully. If you read to fast, you might miss important words and the meaning of the text will change. A way a student can effectively communicate is always through verbal communication. When you choose this type of communication others realize your emotions and how you react to their responses. When verbal communication is not available, like in Biblical times, many chose to write and express themselves in that manner. There are many positive feedbacks to the written word. It can last over time and also the original meaning does not change with the passing of words from one person to another. A downfall to textual writing is that most text has to be rewritten and when this happens the people who write add their emotions. The true meaning of the words change and sometimes is lost in the newer translation. The best suggestions I could give is to read the text fully. After you read the entire passage you then go back and search for the answer needed. I have found that it saves you time and that you also know the full text, not just parts that are needed for the answers. My second positive reason for this type of comprehensive is when asked to elaborate on an answer you can do so.
Now for the question as to how I can improve the world. First, I am a young African American not in jail and I don’t have different women claiming I am the father of their babies. But even more importantly I am taking biblical studies and I am taking this course at Xavier University. That means I am in college. The choice to make myself a better person through education is an even better way of life than just saying I am not in trouble. So when I stick in there and earn my degree I can become successful and help promote others to do the same. I believe that this is the best way that I can contribute to society and with the hope that once I reach the top I can help others do the same I think that is how I help the world. The best part of intro to biblical studies is the freedom to express myself through textual criticism. Even when you give a wrong answer your opinion is valued because you can not really know what the true meaning of something (text) is if you did not hear it from the writer’s mouth. The way that this class is structured and how it flows makes biblical studies easy to comprehend and very an approachable subject. The worst part of this class would have to be these blogs. Sadly, I do not like them but I can not complain. Many of these writings require you to be long winded and they become quite tedious. You feel like you have reached a certain amount of word and once you use word count you find what you have wrote is only a portion of what is expected. I feel that biblical studies does need to be a part of Xavier’s curriculum. This is a catholic institution and I do feel everyone should learn more about religion. On an even deeper level, biblical studies is an opportunity to fully understand the bible. You learn so much in the introductory course that you might become encouraged looking further into this field. A negative outlook is that this class is mandatory. Some people do not know the Lord and religion is not their focus throughout life. So to make this class a underline principle that everyone must take is in a way not fair. Speaking from personal experience I do not like history that much and memorizing dates and trying to relate them to different eras makes me stumble. I do like this course and I think if the effort is put forth anyone can excel in this class but to the question do I feel this class will benefit everyone my answer will have to be no. I recently changed my major from pharmacy to business. This course is a requirement in both fields. As it relates to business, biblical studies helps one analyze many viewpoints on different subject matters. If one plans on excelling in the field of business this course will show you many ways people have already done so. The total amount of word planed for students to write this semester is 22,500. So yes Dr. Homan I am very appreciative when a teacher asks me to simply write a ten page paper, but these blogs could have bent he death of me. I really think if I would have been given more time I could have went back over my writings and added more detail to the meaning of the words I chose. Thank you for the opportunity to take your course and I want to say you are a great teacher. Class was fun!

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