Doing Reading in English

FOREWORD
English learning and teaching have changed a lot since the World Wars. It is no more seen as
an esoteric subject learned by a few but a popular medium of international communication at
all levels, "a link language". Some have spoken of English as a "library language" too. Both
views are significant.
Though English is not our Mother-Tongue we theologians in the Third World and, especially
in the churches, need English to communicate with each other in our multi-lingual and
multicommunal contexts. Therefore it is necessary to find new ways of teaching English to
help students of theology to fulfill the requirements laid down by the Board of Theological
Education of the Senate of Serampore and to study in English medium institutions.
This new text book 'Doing' Reading in English in 2 Volumes with Teachers' Manuals offers
new methods of teaching/learning English based on the findings of linguistic research. It is
based on the assumption that if English is taught meaningfully centering on the learner and
identifying totally with his/her point of view, with the insights gained by research especially
in the fields of social & psycholinguistics it will produce tangible results, that are positive in
consequence.
The author has studied this special area of ELT for over 18 years while teaching at the United
Theological College and has studied and recorded student-responses during this period. She
has taught Remedial & Advanced English & Study Skills to M.Th. & B.D. (Orientation)
students as well as to non-national students from Bangia Desh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and
Japan. Equipping herself further with specialized knowledge in the area of English for
Specific Purposes, she now offers to colleagues in the Senate of Serampore family and
abroad her attempt to satisfy the particular requirements of our students. She is Convener of
the Board of English Studies of the Senate of Serampore and in that capacity has worked on
the B.Th. syllabus changing it in 1986. This was well received.
The book is unusual as it combines large tracts of theological prose for reading
comprehension as well as for the learning of grammar and vocabulary. New methods of
Discourse Analysis have been applied to theological texts to enable the students gain powers
of decoding difficult prose when later s/he is forced to do so independently. Each Unit is
reinforced with Tasks for the students to perform with ample guidelines and sample student
work. All through the book the student is encouraged to learn meaning-fully and the Teacher
advised to be "enabler" not "scholar", "παιδαγωγος " not "διδασκαλος ".
With this new emphasis on student-participation in the learning process it is hoped that
students in all our theological institutions will be helped to shake off "unnecessary fears”
about English regarding it as an alien language. Indian students, the author claims here, are
adept at learning languages. No Indian is monolingual. Almost all of us are bi- or tri-lingual
and students of theology have never shied away from learning Greek & Hebrew, Latin,
Arabic, Araimic, Sanskrit & other Indian languages.
This book reaches out to students who have no access to proper libraries or perhaps to formal
teaching too, i.e. to those reading English in difficult, isolated circumstances. It assures them
of success in 'doing' English for Theology independently and it invites them to participate
whole-heartedly in the endeavour to master the language.
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I am glad the Senate of Serampore College has recommended the use of the book at B.Th.
level. I am sure it will give students & teachers practical help in the skill of learning/teaching
English. I congratulate the author, Mrs. Iris Devadason, on her good work.
Dr. Gnana Robinson

President
Board of Theological Education
The Senate of Serampore College - (University)
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Preface
How it All Began
This ESP (English for Specific Purposes) book is intended to satisfy the special needs of
students of Theological colleges reading Theology in English in accordance with the
requirements of the Senate of Serampore, West Bengal, India. Earlier in 1985-86 I had
changed the existing, heavily literature-oriented syllabus to one that fostered language-
learning. I had prescribed two very useful books which we have been using since then and I
am glad to state that the standard of English in a fairly large percentage of B.Th. papers has
risen considerably over the past ten years wherever teachers/institutions and students have
worked sincerely on these new texts in the New Syllabus.
I am deeply indebted to one of the authors of those books, Dr. W.W.S. Bhaskar, Former Head
of the Department of English in Bangalore University, whom I had often consulted then and
who inspired me to work on our own English Text.
Many of our Teaching-learning problems are, I believe, attitudinal and along with the off-
debated place of English in Indian society the urban-rural distinction makes for an unhappy
cultural divide. We English Teachers are faced with the problem of reconciling the two
disparate kinds of learning-teaching situations. In secular colleges "two streams" of students
may be identified and segregated, if necessary, for special "bridge" or "remedial" courses. For
the purpose of the Church, however, it is not wise to further widen the gap. Adult students
with a sense of vocation need to be treated with respect. ESP theory and practice caters
mainly to such students. A text-book that is subject- specific and an English Teaching
Programme that sees itself as a Service-Department is the solution to our needs.
This text book (in two Volumes with Teachers' Manuals) thus hopes to satisfy a long-felt
need for an English-learning book which would be subject-specific. This is an ESP Text-
book. It meets the learner half-way in his attempt to grapple with a language which is now
nearly alien to him.
What This Book Offers
The rationale in using authentic texts, as has been done here, is that when the text is from the
students' own areas of interest, the motivation to study is high. Both references and concepts
though highly academic are by no means culturally remote or beyond comprehension. The
student, by motivation and religious background is part of "the context of debate". In this
situation learning is rapid and psychologically the student is confident of himself. Much of
the "fear-psychoses" which a post-secondary student brings to the learning of English is
dispelled because of the familiarity of the subject. In my experience of teaching theological
students I have found that "academic enthusiasm" is thus created almost instantaneously and
is sustained throughout the period of study. The tasks that follow these authentic texts
reinforce compreheri5ion even as they relate to the students' real-life situations. Decoding
texts thus becomes integrated with the study of theology. There is ample scope for individual
reflection, pair-work and group discussion. In addition the method underlying these texts is
based on the advances made by the linguistic sciences - sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics
and the exciting discoveries of Discourse Analysis within the broad area of Applied
Linguistics which equips the student to later take up textual analysis independently and
confidently.
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This book is sent out to Teachers and students of English for Theology with the hope that
within ESP, ELTT (English Language Teaching for Theology) is seen as pioneer work in
India and in the world today. Students at the United Theological College, Bangalore, have
responded well to such teaching and it is my intention share with other teachers of English
some of the insights I have gained while leaching theologians-in-the-making and pastors with
potential.
Suggestions for improvement which are feasible will be gratefully received.
Iris Devadason
Bangalore, South India

28th February, 1998
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To the Student
Reading is important for academic success. As students of Theology you are expected to read
a staggering amount of academic prose. From reading The Bible in the original Hebrew,
Greek and other ancient languages, in English, or in your mother tongue, to massive
commentaries and dictionaries in fine print, to critical works by theologians, newsletters,
journals, book-reviews, you will be reading most of the time. In addition, the usual
requirements of study at college make intensive demands on your ability to read at speed and
to retain what you read. Usually, Reading fluency is a minimum of 200 WPM (words per
minute) though you may read faster than this, (do TIME your reading) and a comprehension
level of 70% i.e., if you are asked 10 simple questions on a 200-word passage that you have
read you must get at least 7 answers correct without re-reading the text. (Avoid lip, head and
hand movements while you read.) However, you may not be at this level of Reading Fluency
now. I hope you will attain this level or even do better after you have worked through this
book thoroughly. 400 WPM is a good speed.
Reading is an active skill. You must be fully involved in the text while you read, not passive.
Do not expect the Teacher to explain text to you. What you get out of a text depends on what
you bring to a text. An active, enquiring mind, equipped with sharp skills of reading will get
maximum returns. The text on the page is constant being the writer's voice or point of view.
How you respond to it is crucial because it is linked with all your previous knowledge of the
world, the subject of study and your own experiences. Participating or interacting with the
text is a skill of high-returns. It involves establishing logical relationships between ideas,
making inferences about people, facts, opinions or events you read about and analyzing and
synthesizing all information before you. No two readers are therefore alike.
To help you "enjoy" reading academic prose this book contains 'authentic' texts taken from
your area of study and real-world, moral/socio-political situations. The passages have been
selected by Subject Teachers and myself. Your familiarity with and interest in the subjects or
topics is an advantage while reading. You are already on the first step of the Ladder of
Efficient Reading because you understand the context of the Church, the Scriptures and
Theological Education. What further steps do you need to ascend? How should text be
approached?
First, learn the art of questioning texts. Ask-all kinds of questions, even very simple ones
like. 'Why should I read this book? Who wrote it? How will it help me?' Ask these questions
even before reading the actual text. Do not ignore Sub-title, Preface, Introduction, Table of
Contents, Bibliography, References, Appendix and Index. If the book has a loose cover read
the information on it and on the front and back flaps. These are usually critical comments. All
these give you a clue as to the inherent value of the book.
In 'DOING' READING IN ENGLISH we help you with Question-asked while teaching you
this art of SKIM-READING all through Unit I. In the next Unit and in much of what follows
we repeat this skill with other emphases.
Secondly, you must learn to SCAN a text for particular information. Remember how you
scanned the College Notice Board when the result of your Final Year Examinations was
declared? You did not read all the number or names. You looked only for your own!
SCANNING is highly selective reading like that. To help learn this skill special Tasks have
5
been set to send you to the text a second time. The exercises are quite simple but they help
you acquire a sense of the whole text.
Further, you need to know how the ideas in an extended piece of prose cohere. What are the
internal features of a text, of a paragraph within it, of the sentence within a paragraph and the
words within a sentence? Thus the large VOCABULARY input in all the Units and essential,
basic information on GRAMMAR so that you read meaningfully and profitably. Most of the
reading problems for Non-Native speakers of English like us is not failure to understand
particular words or phrases but how words, phrases, clauses and sentences work together to
give a particular SLANT to a text or BIAS: Reading is not mere "meaning-extraction".
Reading is also deciphering the writer’s TONE and INTENTION. Being sensitive to the
function of grammatical and lexical features in a text "reduces the uncertainty" that some
texts arouse in us. TEXTS NEED TO BE BOLDLY EXAMINED. If you do not understand,
the fault is not always yours. The writer's style could be a problem too!
Most of the Tasks in this book aim to get you involved in the task of interpretation of text
independently. The Teacher is only a guide. You must explanation at both sentence-level and
paragraph-level. You are allowed to use your Mother Tongue for discussion. This is natural.
Only, be careful to make yourself clear to other in the class who do not share your mother-
tongue. Fill-in the spaces provided with answers which seem best to you. Your teacher will
guide discussion on the most appropriate answer.
While filling-in Flow-Charts and grids or making up your own Visuals and while role-
playing, you will automatically begin to understand the different literary ‘genres' that
academic prose contains: the many rhetorical devices writers use in communication and it is
hoped that constant practice will help to transfer all these techniques of writing and
communication to your own academic writing and communicative abilities as well.
Throughout the book there are references to skills taught in previous Units and repetition of
Tasks. Such re-cycled exercises are habit-forming and will help you acquire success in
reading new material independently. Research has clearly indicated that a relationship does
exist between skill in reading (in English) and success in content subjects, i.e. what has been
explicitly taught here should eventually become implicit in your approach to reading
academic prose of a high standard and you should become proficient readers of English.
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CONTENTS
UNIT ONE
A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
The Sweep of Christianity Across the Graeco-Roman World - K.S. Latourette
• Pre-Reading Questions for Skimming

• Sentence Completion
• INTRODUCTION TO VOCABULARY STUDY
• Parts of Speech
• Word Formation
B OLD TESTAMENT
Resurrection - H. Ringgren
• Pre-Reading Questions
• Sentence Reformulation
• Scanning Exercise
• Parts of Speech in Combination
• PHRASES AND CLAUSES
• Advanced Vocabulary
C CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
The Printed Baptismal Formularies of the Antiochene-
Syrian Rite - Dharmaram College Studies (No: 14)
• INTRODUCTION TO FLOW-CHARTS
• for tracing thought-patterns
• INTRODUCTION TO COHESION
• Vocabulary Work
D RELIGIONS
Practices - L. Renou
• CLASSIFICATION
• Post-Reading Questions
• COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
• Advanced Vocabulary – more practice
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UNIT TWO
A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
The Great Peasants’ War - G M Williams
• Understanding Form for Understanding Meaning

• INTERNAL CONSTITUENTS OF A COMPLEXCOMPOUND SENTENCE
• Reformulation of sentences
• Converseness or Opposition
• INTRODUCTION TO DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
• The Prose of Argument
• Synonyms and Antonyms
B NEW TESTAMENT
Present Interpretation - T.G. Bake:
• Questions as a Linguistic Tool to predict Text

• Filling-in a Flow-Chart by scanning
• Vocabulary Work
• ANALYSIS OF PROSE-TEXTURE
• Synonymous words and phrases in apposition
• ANAPHORA, A CHAINING DEVICE
• Practice in Anaphora – resolution
C RELIGIONS
Religion and Human Experience - N. Smart
• Asking questions to decode meaning

• INTRODUCTION TO PARAGRAPH STRVCTURE
• Paragraphs as ways of thinking
• Features of a paragraph
• Tool for argument
• THE POWER OF ADVERBS
• Adverbs in "theophoric prose"
• Their scale of intensity
• Opinion and concept carriers
D THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

Contextualizing Theology - Shokie Coe
• Tracing Definitions
• WRITING DEFINITIONS
• Structure of definitions
• Useful Vocabulary for definitions
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UNIT THREE
A NEW TESTAMENT
First Chapters of the Four Gospels
• INTRODUCTION TO HISTORIC PROSE

• Note-Making
• TEXT-ANALYSIS
• Comparison and Contrast
B HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
The Reformation - a Chart - M.E. Gibbs
• INTRODUCTION TO NON-VERBALS
• Using Chronological Order and Past Tenses
• Team Work
C CHURCH AND SOCIETY

Church and Social Justice - Industrial Team,
St. Mark's Cathedral and CISRS, Bangalore.
• INTERPRETING NON-VERBALS
• Line Graphs
• Pie Charts
• Pictures
• Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion
D CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
The Church's Educational Ministry - J.M. Westerhoff - III
• Skimming
• Scanning
• Questions of Inference
• Practising Discourse Analysis
• CREATIVE NOTE-MAKING
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UNIT FOUR
A NEW TESTAMENT
The Cultural and Religious Background of Palestini
Judaism - B. Metzger
• Practice in Skimming and Scanning
• Practice in filling-in a Flow-Chart
• DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN:
1) Content and Style
2) Content and Comment
3) History and Story
• Vocabulary of criticism
B OLD TESTAMENT
The Book of Jonah - Two Views
• Pre-Reading Activity: Role-Playing
• Identifying Concepts
• EXERCISE IN DISCRIMINATION
• Vocabulary of conceptual description
C THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

Inclusive Language – H.P. Mabry
• Role-Playing for "brain-storming"
• Skimming
• Study-Reading
• Post-Reading exercises for dialogue and argument
• VOCABULARY OF GENDER-DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

Ways of Using Scripture - J. Gustafson
• Pre-Reading Activities based on prior knowledge
• INTRODUCING ENUMERATION
• Practice in Study-Reading
• Post-Reading Activity - applying information from text to real-life issues
• Vocabulary of enumeration
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UNIT FIVER
A OLD TESTAMENT
Joseph in Egypt - W. Harrelson
• INTRODUCING THE CLOSE-TEST
• Identifying Main and Sub-Topics to note shifting focus
• Distinguishing between Author's subject and Grammatical subject
• INTRODUCING INITIAL SENTENCE ELEMENTS
• Post-Reading exercises
B CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
The Beginning of Christian Worship - R.W. Wooton
• Using Skimming and Scanning for effective reading
• Classifying Initial Sentence Elements
• ANALYSING CONCLUSIONS
C NEW TESTAMENT
The Book of James - Two Views
• Pre-Reading Activity: Group Discussion - Activating personal and prior knowledge
• Exercise in discriminating between two views

The Christian Conception of Property - C.E. Gardner
• Pre-Reading Activity: Discussing a story
• Revision of all Reading Techniques
- Skimming
- Scanning
- Study-reading
- Creating a Flow-Chart
- Analysing Discourse
- Note-Making
Appendix
Some New Books of Grammar

Sources Consulted
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Unit I
Text A THE SWEEP OF CHRISTIANITY ACROSS THE GRAECO-ROMAN
WORLD : OUR FRAGMENTARY KNOWLEDGE
K.S LATOURETTE in A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
Task (1)
Skim through the following text and find answers to the simple questions we
have set for you. Answer them briefly in the spaces provided.
Questions
1. Where did Christianity stem from?
2. What is lacking in our knowledge of Christianity?
3. Where did people come from to hear Jesus?
4. When did a strong Christian community exist in Rome?
5. What did Paul declare in his Letter to the Romans?
6. When did Paul make his fateful journey to Rome?
7. When did Vesuvius erupt?
8. Who is associated with Alexandria in Egypt?
9. What is referred to as the great Hellenistic metropolis?
10. Where do we find hints of the early presence of Christians in Galilee?
The Text
The complete story of the spread of Christianity in its first five centuries cannot be told, for
we do not possess sufficient data to write it. Especially is our information for the early part of
the period provokingly fragmentary. That need not surprise us. What should amaze us is that
so much information has come down to us. Christianity began as one of the numerically
smallest of the religions which, stemming from the Orient, were being carried across the
Empire. Our knowledge of many aspects and persons of these centuries, even of those which
loomed large in the eyes of their contemporaries and would be prominently noticed, is
notoriously imperfect. Most of such records as were made have long since disappeared. The
circumstance that Christianity survived the Empire accounts for much of such information
about its history as has remained, for some Christians treasured the memory of those of their
faith who had gone before them and handed it on to posterity. Yet so small were the first
Christian groups that most of them escaped the notice of those who were commenting on
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their times and all but a few of such documents and inscriptions as they themselves left have
perished. Even he who would only sketch the main outlines of the history of the expansion of
Christianity in and beyond the Roman Empire in these years again and again finds himself
baffled.
The gaps in our knowledge are made the more tantalizing by hints that are given us of what a
complete record would reveal. In the accounts of Jesus' life in the Gospels we are given
glimpses of hundreds, perhaps thousands of followers in Galilee, yet we have only cursory
mention of the early presence of Christians there which would give us ground for inferring
that from the early disciples of Jesus there arose continuing Christian communities in that
region. We are informed that throngs from Tyre, Sidon, and beyond the Jordan came to hear
Jesus, and we hear of churches in these areas, but we do not know that they were founded by
natives who had been born during the lifetime of Jesus. Through Paul's Letter to the Romans
and what we read in The Acts of the Apostles we are aware of the existence of a strong
Christian community in Rome within less than a generation after the resurrection. Precisely
how it came to be we are not told. It was notorious that to Rome, the political centre and the
largest city in the Mediterranean world in that day, came representatives of many cults and
faiths, but who first brought Christianity, to the Eternal City we cannot tell, and until shortly
before the end of the first century we hear almost nothing about the Church there. Yet Paul
declared in his Letter to the Romans, written between twenty-live and thirty-five years after
the crucifixion, that the faith of that Church "is spoken of throughout the whole world",
words which seem to mean that Christianity had been long enough in the capital for the fact
to become very widely known. From the travel diary of a companion of Paul which has been
incorporated in The Acts of the Apostles we learn that there were Christians at Puteoli, on the
Bay of Naples, who greeted Paul on his fateful journey to Rome, between thirty and forty
years after the resurrection. We may guess that they came there, as did Paul, by one of the
most travelled of the trade routes, but as to who they were and when they first arrived we are
not informed. There may have been Christians in Herculaneum and in Pompeii, not far from
Puteoli, before the destruction of those cities in A.D. 79 by an eruption of Vesuvius, but we
can only guess at the means by which, if it was present, the faith was brought to them.
Although Mark is cautiously named as the Christian pioneer in Alexandria, in Egypt and we
know of a strong church there by the end of the second century, we cannot be sure of the date
or the source of the Christian Community in that great Hellenistic metropolis.
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Task (2)
Now re-read the text with meaning
Glossary
Words Parts of Meaning

Speech
1. Fragmentary adj incomplete, unfinished
2. Sufficient adj adequate
3. Amaze vb astonish, fill with wonder
4. Stemming vb spring from/originate in
5. Loomed vb appear, emerge, arise
6. Contemporaries n present, simultaneous, coexisting
7. Notoriously adv infamous, villainous
8. Treasured vb respected, adored
9. Posterity n future generations
10. Perished vb die, disintegrate,
11. Baffled vb confuse, perplex
12. Tantalizing abj irresistible, tempting
13. Glimpses n look, glance
14. Cursory adj sketchy, brief
15. Inferring vb read, understand
16. Throngs n crowd, mob
17. Cults n sect, group
18. Incorporated vb include, comprise
19. Fateful adj disastrous, devastating
20. Eruption (of Vesuvius) n Send out rocks, lava (the Volcano, in Italy)
21. Cautiously adv Watchful, wary, careful
22. pioneer n original, fundamental
23. hellenistic adj Grecian, of Greece
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Task (3)
Skimming
Complete the following sentences by referring to the text:
1) What should ( 1 ) us is that so much information has come down to us.
2) The first Christian groups ( 2 ) the notice of those who were commenting on their
( 3 ).
3) The gaps in our knowledge are ( 4 ) more ( 5 ) by hints that are given us of what a
complete ( 6 ) would reveal.
4) Paul declared in his letter to the Romans, written between twenty-five and thirty years after
the ( 7 ). that the faith of that church "( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ( 12 )
( 13 ) ( 14 ) ". words which seem to mean that Christianity had been ( 15 ),
( 16 ) in the capital for the fact to become very ( 17 ) known.
5) There may have been Christians in ( 18 ) and in ( 19 ) not far from ( 20 ),

before the destruction of those cities in A.D. 79 by an eruption of Vesuvius.
Task (4)
Vocabulary
(a) Find words in the text which mean the same as the following:
(i) surprise ......................................................... (1:3) ......................................
(ii) disappeared ................................................... (1:9) ......................................
(iii) survived ........................................................ (1:9) ......................................
(iv) hundreds and thousands................................ (1:19) ......................................
(v) metropolis ..................................................... (1:45) ......................................
(b) Find words in the text which mean the opposite of the following:
(i) sufficient................................. (1:2)..........................
(ii) fragmentary............................ (1:3) ..........................
(iii) small....................................... (1:12) ........................
(iv) precisely ................................. (1:27) ........................
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Task (5)
Q: Why does the writer call Rome the Eternal City?
------------------- o -------------------
Introduction to Vocabulary Study
The study of words is not merely a memory game, though a good memory is useful. You are not
expected to know just one meaning for a word and that too a word taken in isolation.
A word has a range of meanings and also has different forms such as Noun, Verb, Adjective
and Adverb, e.g.: the word LIFE.
LIFE is a Noun
LIVE is a Verb
LIVING is an Adjective
LIVELY is an Adverb
Again, VERBS have six forms:
Basic form = LIVE
Present tense form = LIVES
Past tense form = LIVED
Gerund = LIVING
Present participle form = LIVING
Infinitive form = TO LIVE
N.B. The suffix 'ing' is common to both Gerund and Present Participle forms as also to the
Participial Adjective, "Living" as in e.g.: The Bible is the living word of God.
Participial Adjectives also have the past-participle form "-ed" or "en"
e.g. "married man", "broken heart".
Thus, to study Vocabulary is to be aware of both the form of a word and its meaning in
context.
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MEANING is of two kinds:
i. Denotation: the actual reference of a word to something.
ii. Connotation: the associated meaning of a word.
e.g.: CUP= drinking vessel with or without a handle or stem. This is the denotation of
the word.
The Connotation of the word however, is = Fate, Experience.
as in
"My cup runneth over" Ps: 23. vs: 5
"Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me." Lk: 22. vs: 42
Further, words change meaning over the years.
E.g.: AWFUL (spelt 'aweful')
This word was once used to refer to the face of God. The angels did not look into God's
face as it was "awe-inspiring". But over the years the spelling of the word changed, the 'e'
was omitted and the word then meant 'terrible', 'dreadful' in the sense of 'awe-inspiring'
but soon degenerated to 'very bad', i.e. the connotation has now become negative.
Thus word study involves being aware of both grammatical forms and figurative use of the word.
A Good Dictionary is a must. Every student must have a dictionary. We recommend either:
OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNERS' DICTIONARY OF CURRENT ENGLISH
by A.S. HORNBY
OR
COLLINS COBUILD; ESSENTIAL ENGLISH DICTIONARY, a dictionary created by a team

of ENGLISH teachers and LINGUISTS of the BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY, U.K.
There are many other good etymologic al dictionaries but we have only mentioned dictionaries
for LEARNERS which are suitable for you at this stage. Dictionaries must be up-to-date always.
You must buy a new one every five years or so. As your language improves, buy an
ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY which provides information on word development.
THEOLOGY is a difficult subject and your language must be fit to express your thoughts. You
should also buy a THESAURUS, a DICTIONARY OF SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS. This
is available in the markets everywhere. Consult your teacher regarding how to use it. Be very
careful not to misuse it in your writing.
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Throughout this book you will be given strategies to read text meaningfully.
Try to understand these methods of decoding text and use them
while you read. The goal of this book is to make you
a confident and independent reader.
To help you understand grammatical form here is a list of the 8 parts of speech in English:
NOUNS / PRONOUNS / ADJECTIVES / VERBS / ADVERBS/
CONJUNCTIONS /PREPOSITIONS / INTERJECTIONS
Knowing the parts of speech helps us to respond fully to a text. It helps to identify the content
(meaning) of the text and helps us not to miss views (comments) of the author. E.g.: In the
sentence:"Unfortunately, some thinkers do not agree with this statement". The first word being
an adverb adds a comment to the author's belief that some thinkers do not agree etc. The author
thinks that this is unfortunate and we the readers must not miss this. Most theological prose is
nothing but a series of arguments and counter-arguments. In this context, it is important for the
reader to be aware of comments made by the writer on each statement. Failure to do so means
the student is not reading profitably and his effort to understand text is wasted. Therefore, use
grammatical clues in the text to decipher or decode the text.
Normally, NOUNS and ADJECTIVES are found in the subject/object position of the sentence.
The nouns are the TOPIC and the ADJECTIVES modify or qualify them. PRONOUNS
substitute for nouns. VERBS tell of EVENTS and ADVERBS qualify them.
Adjectives and adverbs maybe factual as in:
'big', 'small', 'young', 'old' (adjectives)
'swiftly', 'angrily', 'calmly', 'slowly' (adverbs)
OR
they may be "opinion carriers" as in:
'generous', 'pathetic', 'nervous', 'foolish' (adjectives)
'cowardly', 'foolishly', 'sincerely', 'strangely' (adverbs)
PREPOSITIONS show relationships between subjects or topics and s'ib-topics.
CONJUNCTIONS convey links and provide unity within sentences or paragraphs.

INTERJECTIONS are words or expressions used to convey a strong feeling such as surprise,
pain, or horror and which are said loudly and emphatically.
A knowledge of parts of speech is also very useful in translation work especially Bible-
translation to ensure accurate meaning. However, words tend to change their function despite
their form. i.e. the word light' maybe a noun or an adjective as in the following:
18
1. When you press a switch a light comes on. (Noun)
2. He wore a light suit to the party. (Adjective)
Further, forms tend to change by the addition of suffixes/prefixes. We shall study this next.
Prefixes and Suffixes / Word Formation
A good way of strengthening your English is to be aware of how words are formed in English.
For this you must know a little about the English language. English is a language that has been
influenced a lot by many other languages, for example, by GREEK and LATIN. If you are aware
of how these languages have influenced English then you will find that you have discovered the
key to reading faster, even without turning to a Dictionary.
Let us first look at the following words all of which are from Unit-1 itself. (Other Units could
also provide numerous examples but you can search for more examples later.)
Especially Variable Baptismal
Generally Illegible Sacramental
Provokingly Valuable Intertestamental
Prominently Communal
Notoriously Fragmentary
Precisely Customary Apocalyptic
Cautiously Expiatory Exilic
Subsequently Shadowy Democratic
Tantric
Annotation Notorious Unscientific
Conception Pernicious
Ablution Religious Formularies
Resurrection Dignitaries
Annotation Fateful Lectionaries
Obligation Unsuccessful
Recension Political Surviving
Historical Continuing
Widely Equivocal Stemming
Shortly Hagiographical Tantalizing
Numerically Congeniality
Substantially Liturgical Commemorative
Priestly Eternal Nonfigurative
19
Immemorial Iconography Interrelationship
Crystallize Excercitant Syncretism
Estrangement Postulant Antiochene
Hopeless Imperfect Canaanite
You must have noticed that these words are formed in a special way and some of them have
additions at the end or at both ends:
Crystal + ize. In + dispense- able. Hope + less. Symbol + ical.

These additions or affixations are known as PREFIXES and SUFFIXES. A PREFIX is added
before a word and a SUFFIX is added at the end of a word.
The word or part of a word at the centre is known as the root and roots in F.nglish are often taken
from Greek or Latin.
Therefore, it is essential for any student of English to first get acquainted with Prefixes and
Suffixes. Prefixes have meanings. In the following list we try to give you some of the meanings
along with the Prefixes:
A or An = not, without
Ante = before
Anti = opposite
Auto = self
Across = height; extreme
Bi = twice, two
Circum = around
Con. Co, Col, Con = with, together
De = down, reversing
Dia = through, across
Ex,E = out of, from
En. Em. El = in, into
Epi = on, upon
Eu = good
Hyper = over, beyond
Hypo = under
20
In = in
Inter = between, among
Macro = large
Micro = small
Mono = one, alone
Para = Near, beside, alongside
Peri = around, near, about
Post = behind, after
Poly = many, much
Pre = first
Prim = earlier, first
Pro = for, before
Re = again
Sub = under
Sup = under
Trans = across, over
Tri = three
Uni = one
Un, In, lr = not (Be careful about "in". It has two meanings)
Ultra = beyond, more than.
It would be useful if you used a Dictionary at this stage to check all these prefixes and to copy
out a few examples for each prefix. Later, as you start reading texts by yourself you will feel
confident when you attempt to guess meaning without reference to a Dictionary. However, you
must be careful not to assume that every word which looks like a prefix is a prefix. Do your
reference work now.
We now give you some common suffixes with their meanings.

-able/-ible = Capable of being
-ability = Capable of being
-an = Person
-cy = State
-acy = State, condition
-age = Quality
-al = Made of
-ate = Condition, office
21
-ary = Pertaining to
-ance/-ence = State, condition or quality
-action/-ion/-sion = condition or the act of
-cracy = rule of
-dom = state, condition, dignity, office
-ee = The object or receiver of action
-en = Of the nature of
-er, -est = more, most
-er, -or, -ar, -ist = the one who is/does
-full = full
-ery, -ese = characterized
-hood = state of being
-ic, -ical = science of, art of, made of, about
-ious/-ous = full of, of the nature of
-ology = belonging to
-ise/, -ise = to make like or affect with
-ite = native, follower
-it is = fever, inflammation
-ish = Belonging to, like (is used to form
Adjectives from nouns)
-ity = state of
-ism/ -ist = action or practice, state or condition
-less = Without, loose from
-ly = Like (adverbs of manner)
-ment/ -ness = Quality, state, condition
-some = Full of , causing
-ster = Person, one who is/does
-ure = State of being, condition
Suffixes are important mainly because they change words from one part of speech to another.
This is very important in English, for e.g. Imagination is a noun, Imagine is a verb,
Imaginative is an adjective and Imaginatively is an adverb.
Roots
Here is another list of the roots of words taken from Greek or Latin:
Anthropos = man Aud = Hear

Bio = life Bibl = Book
Carc = Cancer Chrome = colour
Chron = Time Cosm = Orders, world
Cycle = Wheel, circle Dict, Dic = Say, speak
Duct, duc = Lead Fact, fac, fect = Do, make
Fort = Strong Geo = Earth
Gram = Writing Hetero = Other
22
Homo = Same Manu, man = hand
Graphein = To write Medi = Middle
Logo = Word Mar = sea
Mater, matri = mother Mit, miss = Send
Metron = Measure Oide = song
Nomen, nym = Name Pan = All
Omin = All Pater = Father
Philos = Loving Pathy = Feeling, suffering
Phone = Sound Scrib, script = Write
Photos = Light Soph = Wisdom, wise
Phil = Like, love Tele = Far, distant
Secut, sequ = Follow Terr = Land
Tax, tact = Arrange, order Vene, vent = Come, go
Tempor = Time Vok, voc = Call
Tract = Draw, pull
Vert, vers = Turn
Volue, volu = Roll, turn
Using the list above you should not hesitate to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words that you
come across when you read highly academic prose. Refer to this list as often as you wish till you
are able to recall the meanings of all the PREFIXES, SUFFIXES and ROOTS.
Try this exercise to get started on the habit of recognising parts of words and trying to identify
word-meanings.
23
Theology/Theocracy/Atheist/Theophilus/Theologians/Theosophy
Theological/Theism/Theologically/Theosophical
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences using the appropriate word from the list given above:
1. __________ is the study of God.
2. The __________ says there is no God.
3. The United Theological College has many __________
4. __________arguments are difficult for the layperson to grasp.
5. __________ speaking, Faith is the evidence of things not seen.
6. Annie Besant founded the __________ Society.
7. __________ is revealed religion.

8. _________ is a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist teachings and seeking
universal brotherhood.
9. "___________" means "lover of God".
10. __________ is a system of government based on the laws of God.
------------------- o -------------------
Answer the following questions to help you understand what you have just done.
Q. I. How does considering parts of words help the defining process?
(Most of the sentences were definitional)
Q. 2. How does adding "a" before "theist" change the meaning of the word?
Q. 3. Which of the two has helped you to do the exercise with ease: context? or "awareness of
word-formation devices such as Prefixes and Suffixes"?
N.B. "Context" means other information around the sentences, and the fact that you are
students of Theology with prior knowledge about the subject.
24
Unit I
Text B RESURRECTION
HELMER RINGGREN in ISRAELITE RELIGION
Task (1)
Skim through the following text and find answers to

the simple questions we have set for you.
Answer them briefly in the spaces provided.
Questions
1) Which is the earliest passage looking forward to the resurrection?
2) What does the resurrection reflect of Yahweh' s power?
3) Who, according to Josephus and the New Testament, did not believe in the resurrection?
4) What is missing in the Qumran Documents?
5) Which book in the Apocrypha states that the wicked are destroyed?
6) Which books state that only the righteous are raised up?
7) Where is opinion sharply divided on the doctrine of the afterlife?
8) What is "new" in Daniel 12:2 if taken literally?
9) What reference is made to Persian ideas?
10) Who believed that Yahweh is more powerful than death and Sheol?
The Text
In postexilic Judaism, opinions are sharply divided on the doctrine of the afterlife.
Ecclesiastes expresses the conviction that man is basically no different from the animals:
they die, and that is that (Eccles. 3:19f). Even in Ecclesiasticus we still find the
25
conception of a realm of the dead (Greek hades, that is, Sheol), in which the departed
lead a shadowy existence, and where one cannot sing God's praises (Ecclus. 14:16;
17:27f). But besides such statements we find, even in the earlier period, isolated passages
looking forward to a resurrection of the dead.
The earliest of these is probably Isaiah 26:19:
Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. 0 dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
This divine promise constitutes the reply to a communal lament over the hopeless
condition of the land, especially the small size of the population. The oracle promises
God's intervention: the population will be miraculously increased when the dead are
brought back to life. A regular doctrine of resurrection is probably not to be found here. It
is noteworthy that the dead are brought to life by the dew, a phenomenon reminiscent of
ancient Canaanite conceptions, It should also be noted that what is really promised is the
return of the shades dwelling in Sheol; for this means in any case that Yahweh's power
extends over the realm of the dead and that Hie is mightier than death.
On the other hand, Daniel 12:2 states its belief in a resurrection in no uncertain terms:
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Here, then, the author is anticipating
the resurrection of the dead (either all of them or, if we take the passage literally, only
"many"): the righteous to eternal life, the wicked to eternal shame.
Of the Apocrypha, only II Maccabees mentions the resurrection; it speaks of the

righteous being raised up to an everlasting renewal of life (II Mace. 7:9, 14,36; 12:43ff),
while the fate of the unrighteous is described in general terms as punishment (II Mace.
7:14, 31, 36), without any mention of their resurrection. That only the righteous are raised
is also stated by the Psalms of Solomon (3:10ff.; 14:3,6,9; 15:10; 16:2), in Ethiopic
Enoch (22:13; 91:10.92:3), in the Testaments of the Patriarchs (Test. Sim. 6; Test. Judah
25; Test. Zeb. 10), and elsewhere; the wicked accordingly remain in a state of death
eternally (Ps. Sol. 14:6) or are destroyed (Test. Zeb. 10). Other passages, however,
presuppose the general resurrection of all the dead: earth, sea, the realm of the dead, and
Hell will then give up what was entrusted to them (Eth. Enoch 51:1; 61:5; II Esd. 7:32).
In otherwords, one generally held doctrine of the resurrection does not exist. In addition,
both Josephus and the New Testament show that the Sadducees did not believe in the
resurrection; and up to now no unequivocal statement of belief in the resurrection has
been found in the Qumran documents.
How did this new idea come into being in Judaism? Unfortunately, none of the passages
in question furnishes enough details about the mechanism of the resurrection to make
possible any conclusions about the origin of the idea. An answer can be given only within
the total context of general eschatology and apocalyptic. In this realm one must reckon
with a comparatively powerful influx of Persian ideas, which suggests that the doctrine of
the resurrection also drew its inspiration from that quarter. It must be remembered,
however, that the earliest text shows definite features of the ancient Canaanite
26
syncretism. It is likely that we have here one of the pillars on which the doctrine of the
resurrection was based. In any event, Persian influences cannot explain everything. The
old conviction that Yahweh is more powerful than death and Sheol must have made some
contribution.
Task (2)
Now re-read the text with meaning
Glossary
Words Parts of speech Meaning
1. Conviction n opinion, belief

2. Conception n thought, notion
3. Realm n domain, kingdom
4. Shadowy adj dull, dark
5. Isolated adj alone, rare
6. Constitutes vb establish, form
7. Communal adj shared, collective
8. Intervention n mediation, arbitration
9. Phenomenon n wonder, miracle
10. Reminiscent adj to reflect on past events
11. Literally adv exact, precise
12. Presuppose vb to assume beforehand
13. Entrusted vb assign, trust
14. Unequivocal adj clear, unmistakable
15. Furnishes vb provide, equip
16. Mechanism n device, means
17. Eschatology n doctrine of death, judgement,
heaven and hell
18. Apocalyptic adj grand or violent event resembling
those in book of revelations
19. Reckon with vb take into account
27
20. Influx n flowing in
21. Syncretism n attempt to unify differing schools of thought
------------------- o -------------------
Task 3
(a) In post-exilic Judaism, opinions on the doctrine of the afterlife are ..........................
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
(b) This divine promise is really ...............................................................................
(c) Neither Josephus nor the new testament .............................................................
In addition the Qumran documents contain ..........................................................
(d) Since Persian influences cannot explain everything perhaps the old conviction regarding
Yahweh .................................................................................................
Task 3 (b)
Fill in this grid regarding opinions on the Resurrection by putting a ( ) mark or a (X) mark, or
stating “how” in words:
Source Mentions Does not How: (i) definitely

Resurrection ( ) Mention (X) (ii) uncertain
Ecclesiastes
Isaiah 26 : 19
Daniel 12 : 21
II Maccabees
(Fill in these spaces)
Josephus
New Testament
Qumran
Documents
28
Task (4)
Vocabulary Study (Continued)
In the last lesson we looked at synonymy and the use of antonyms in academic prose.
This text contains another feature to good writing: the use of different parts of speech in
combination to convey precise meaning or to give emphasis to an opinion.
4a
ADJECTIVES NOUN
1. post-exilic Judaism
2. divine Promise
3. regular Doctrine
4. ancient Cananite Conception
5. everlasting Contempt
6.
7.
8.
Sometimes we have:
ADVERB VERB NOUN
Generally Helad Doctrine
Eternally Remain (in) death
Create your own phrases on the topic "Resurrection"
And we also have:
4c
ADVERB VERB
Miraculously Increased
Literally Take
Really promised
Find another example from this text
and also:
4d
ADVERB ADJECTIVE
Provokingly Fragmentary
Numerically Smallest
Notoriously Imperfect
29
Create your own about "The Indian Church"
Advanced Vocabulary
Task (5)
What are the differences or similarities in meaning between these pairs of words taken from the
text? (Use a Dictionary)
1. eschatology ……………………………………………………………….. apocalyptic
2. influx …………………………………………………………..………….. intervention
3. noteworthy ……………………………………………………………….. phenomenon
Task (6)
Writers often use phrases which convey more meaning than the literal meaning
e.g.: "Opinions are sharply divided"
This phrase suggests: conflict
In the following grid attempt to put in what you consider is additional meaning. Some have been
done for you.
Line Phrase Used Additional Meaning Translation

No. In Mother
Tongue
2-3 (they die). And that is that finality
14 It is noteworthy Emphasis
19 On the other hand contrarily
19 In no uncertain terms
33 In other words
46 In any event
Task (7)
i. Re-read the last paragraph of this text lines 38-47 and try to find reasons to explain why
Christians even today believe in the Resurrection despite the modern, scientific temper.
ii. Re-read the last sentence carefully. Could this be re-written as follows?
"The old conviction that God is more powerful than Science and Technology and
anything that man has written or discovered must be making some contribution today."
30
Think carefully before you list your reasons and before you justify (support the argument) or
refute it (reject the argument).
SPACE FOR YOUR REASONS

i) Statements Opinions
ii) Statements Opinions
Phrases and Clauses
Between the word and the clause comes a grammatical unit called the PHRASE: a Group of
words which convey meaning but not total meaning and lacking a verb and a subject. This is the
easiest way to distinguish this item. A phrase does not contain a verb, nor a subject.
Phrases contain words that are related to one another in the expression of an idea and they
modify other parts of a sentence. Modern grammar books also call them "modifiers".
Look at the following phrases:
a. in Bangalore
b. at night
c. by the river
These three phrases are introduced by prepositions (in, at, by), and are therefore called
Prepositional Phrases.
d. to sing carols
e. to learn
f. to believe
These three phrases are introduced by infinitives (verbs with 'to' before them) and so are called
Infinitive Phrases.
31
In the same way Participial Phrases are introduced by participials and Gerundive Phrases are
introduced by gerunds:
g. sitting in the front seat
h. reading from the Greek texts
i. praying to God
j. believing in the resurrection
Every word in a phrase, including the introductory word, is considered as the phrase. A phrase,
therefore, is the equivalent of a word.
As such it may have the function of a Noun, Adjective, or of an Adverb.
Therefore, phrases are classified both according to their internal structure and their external
function i.e. their relationship with words outside them.
Thus, we have Noun phrases acting as subject or object of a sentence. Adjective

phrasesfunctioning as adjectives and Adverb phrases acting as adverbs: E.g.
k. To pray for the sick = Infinitive phrase used as a subject.

1. Praying for others = Gerundive phrase used as a subject.
Thus they may be referred to as Noun
phrases.
m. The Bible bound in leather is mine = Adjectivephrase
n. He wants to study Greek = Infinitive phrase used as object.
o. He worked like a horse = adverb phrase modifying the verb 'worked'
Participial, infinitive and gerundive phrases are verbal phrases.
Now study the following carefully:

1. In post-exilic Jerusalem.
2. On the doctrine of the after-life.
3. Of a realm of the dead.
4. The hopeless condition of the land.
5. A regular doctrine of the Resurrection.
6. A phenomenon reminiscent of ancient Canaanite conceptions.
7. After the Vedic period.
8. Illustrating the development of the Antiochene baptismal Liturgy.
32
These phrases are from our own theological texts. Can you try to classify them judging by their
internal structure?
To classify them by their external function you must look at the context of the sentence.
E.g. Number (8) looks like a verbal phrase but it could be a noun phrase if it is in the
object Or subject position. So formally it is a verbal phrase but functionally it is a
noun phrase.
Task (8)
Attempt the following exercise:
Underline the phrases in the following sentences and say what kind they are.
a. We invited them to participate in the discussion.
b. Speaking at the function, he said that he was proud to have been invited as the Chief Guest.
c. Knowing Greek is a great help in New Testament studies.
d. To study the Old Testament requires a knowledge of Hebrew.
e. According to the writers of the Bible, man is born with the tendency to s
Now write a few phrases of your own:
i) …………………………………………………………………………………………….
ii) …………………………………………………………………………………………….
iii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
iv) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
v) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
Now try to compose some sentences in which there are a variety of phrases:
i) …………………………………………………………………………………………….
ii) …………………………………………………………………………………………….
iii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
iv) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
v) ……………………………………………………………………………………………
The use of phrases in your own writing helps to make your writing more interesting and
makes for greater unity in composition. Instead of writing a lot of simple sentences to convey
a lot of ideas you can subordinate some ideas by making them just phrases and thus acquiring
better sentence structure. This leads to syntactic maturity which is required at College level.
33
E.g.: I am learning Greek. I need to do so to study the New Testament.
This sentence can be written thus:
I am learning Greek to study the New Testament.
or
I am learning Greek - for the first time - to study the New Testament.
Phrases help you to add ideas as you go along without having to use bigger structures such as
clauses or writing new sentences.
Now let us look at Clauses which are the next big unit of composition.
Clauses are a group of words which again make sense but not complete sense in a sentence
even though they contain Subjects and Verbs. In the following sentence:
"We study very sincerely when the exams are due to begin".
The main idea is "We study very sincerely" as it makes sense by itself, but the rest of the
sentence, "when the exams are due to begin" would not make sense by itself. This part of
the sentence is a clause and it has a subject, "the exams" and a verb, "are".
Clauses are introduced by words such as:
When which/who while
Since because whenever
What whatever as
That so — that if
Unless though although etc.
These words are known as Relative Pronouns and they substitute for Nouns.
The function of a clause is to qualify other words in a sentence.
If a clause qualifies a noun it is known as Adjective Clause and these clauses are introduced by
'who' or 'which'.
E.g. This is the house which I sold last year.
He is the man who asked me for some help.
34
Try to write your own sentences here containing Adjective Clauses:
i) ………………………………………………………………………………………
ii) ……………………………..………………………………………………………..
iii) ……………………………………..……………………………………………….
iv. I love music ……………………………………………..…………………………
v. Do you know ………………………………………………………………….……
If a clause qualifies a verb it is known as an Adverbial Clause and these clauses are
introduced by the words:
As when since
Because if unless
Where how even though
Although though despite etc.
There are many kinds of adverbs and so we have many ways of introducing adverbial clauses.
E.g.:
1. I shall come when you send for me.
2. I may not attend the meeting since I am not feeling so well.
3. You must attend because you need to hear his lecture.
4. If he does not speak well you cannot blame me!
5. Unless you hear him at least once you cannot tell how good a speaker he is.
6. I do not know where he has taught before.
7. I hope you know how to find the place.
8. Although he is a Professor of Theology he likes to quote from the works of Shakespeare.
9. Despite the fact that we are juniors we are expected to attend every new programmed in the
college.
35
N.B. It will be useful if you could underline or put a circle around every relative pronoun so that
you get familiar with this device of writing and try to write like this yourself. Such sentences
are Complex sentences and very useful when you wish to say much in an essay.
Also try to underline or put within round brackets' ) the clause part of the sentence.
For a clearer understanding use square brackets [ ] for the main idea or the main clause, e.g.
[I love to play cricket] when (I go home on vacation).
36
Unit I
Text C THE PRINTED BAPTISMAL FORMULARIES OF THE ANTIOCHENE
- SYRIAN RITE
in BAPTISM IN THE MALANKARA CHURCH
DHARMARAM COLLEGE STUDIES (No. 14)
Task (1)
Skim through the following text and find answers to the simple questions
we have set for you:
Answer them briefly in the spaces provided.
Questions
1. Who was Eusebius Renaudot?
2. Who were Joseph Simonius Assemani and Joseph Aloysius Assemani?
3. What did Simonius ' other nephew publish?
4. When will H. Denzinger' s work become dispensable?
5. What is Denzinger's debt to Renaudot?
6. Which document, since 1960, is available in photostatic reprint?
7. What do the set of priestly prayers reveal?
8. What are the other elements added to the set of prayers for priests?
9. What are the common hazards a scribe faces?
10. What does the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris contain of interest to Syrian Christians?
The Text
In the foregoing pages a short survey has been made of the main sources illustrating the
development of the Antiochene baptismal liturgy during the period before the
estrangement between "Chalcedonian" and "anti-Chalcedonian" communities. This
survey served its purpose by directing the attention to the ritual elements which form the
usual pattern of 5 the initiation orders of an Antiochene type. The questions raised in it
had to be left without a definite answer; each problem would demand a separate and
detailed investigation.
A study, however, of the further development of the Antiochene-Syrian baptismal liturgy

would be outside the limits of our present project. Only by collecting the texts from all
37
the manuscripts in which Orders or partial Orders of baptism have been preserved, by
finding out the correct method of classifying them, by carefully comparing them with the
indications found in liturgical treatises, in canonical collections, in hagiographical texts,
in chronicles, wherever they might come to light, would it be possible to get at least a
dim view of the emergence of the characteristically West-Syrian baptismal ritual and to
delineate its earlier history.
Moreover, we must try at least to place the present Malankara Ritual in the context of the
fully developed Orders we do know of. A number of baptismal formularies of historical
interest, preserved in manuscripts which found their way to European libraries, have been
made available in print. From the literature on the subject, and more especially from the
notes scholars have left us concerning the Syriac baptismal Orders in a good number of
20 other manuscripts, we may safely deduce that the printed texts represent a reliable
cross section of the recensions of the ritual as it had been handed down for centuries in
manuscript form. Actually the differences between those recensions are as a rule of no
great importance. Therefore, we may be certain that those texts bring us into contact with
a tradition which Syrian Christians for centuries appreciated and kept alive.
Moreover there are, besides the ritual of the Malankara Church, the printed rituals which
today are in use in Syrian eparchies, prepared by dignitaries of the Church who wanted to
remain as faithful as possible to their precious heritage.
The Frenchman Eusebius Renaudot (d. A.D. 1720) has been the first in modern times
who in the course of his investigations of the Eastern liturgical manuscripts in the
libraries of Paris, studied the Syrian baptismal formularies in a really scholarly way.
Unfortunately the great work on the Oriental sacramental rites which he prepared could
not be published. In handwritten form his dissertations, translations and notes have been
preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. They have been used by the German
scholar H. Denzinger in the work which will be mentioned below.
The most important contribution to the study of our subject has been made by members
of the Maronite family Assemani who during the eighteenth century lived in Rome.
Joseph Simonius Assemani (1687-1768) gave in the volumes of his Bibliofheca
Orientalis a detailed description of the Oriental manuscripts, many of which he brought to
Rome himself, preserved in the Vatican Library and other Roman collections. Apart from
the liturgical material he made available in this way he wrote a number of treatises on
subjects concerning the Eastern ritual practices. The most important publication in this
field, however, is the series of volumes by the elder Joseph's nephew, Joseph Aloysius
Assemani (d. A.D. 1782). In the first three volumes he published a number of Latin and
Oriental baptismal Orders, all from manuscripts, adding to the Oriental texts a Latin
translation. Most formularies are divided into three parts (ritual of the Catechumenate,
baptismal rite proper, Confirmation) and in that way distributed over the first three
volumes.
A third member of the family, Stephanus Evodius Assemani (d. A.D. 1782), another
nephew of Joseph Simonius and his successor as prefect of the Vatican Library, is also
well known for his bibliographical work. He continued his uncle's description of Vatican
38
manuscripts and published a very valuable catalogue of the Oriental codices, liturgical
ones among them, in the Lorenzana and Palatine Library in Florence.
More than hundred years after the first volumes of Joseph Aloysius Assemani's Codex
Liturgicus were published, at a time when this work had become hardly available, the
Antiochene-Syrian baptismal formularies were made known in the collection of Eastern
sacramental Orders prepared by the German theologian H. Denzinger. It has been
reprinted a few years ago, s'o that Denzinger's still valuable edition is at present available
to al! theologians. In Latin translations it contains the rituals for the administration of the
Sacraments (as a rule more than one order is given) according to the various Oriental
Rites, with the exception of the Byzantine Rite services which are accessible in other
publications (the "historical" Byzantine formularies in J. Gear's Euchologion, the second
edition of which [Venice 1730] is also, since 1960, available in a photostatic reprint).
Although for the Antiochene baptismal formularies Denzinger used Assemani's

translations, putting the various parts of each Ordertogether again, (his section of his
work is more than a copy. For his annotations he not only relied on the introduction in the
Roman edition; he referred also to the elder Assemani's Bibliofheca Orientalis and
notes by Renaudot which he could consult thanks to the copy sent to him by his good
friend, Pabbe Migne. By distinguishing more clearly between "Jacobite" and "Maronite"
formularies he certainly put the material into a better order. He carefully listed the
variants in the wording of the formulas, adding the different readings noted by Renaudot
(in the apparatus indicated by
R). Even with Assemani's Codex Uturgicus before us, we must consult Denzinger as
well. We must hope that some day his Ritus Orientalium will be replaced by an up-to-
date collection, but until that time Denzinger's work remains indispensable.
The texts as found in Assemani and Denzinger, - or rather, the models on which the
formularies in Assemani's manuscript sources are based - are not very old in the form we
have them before us. They represent the later stage of composite Orders in which
elements, formerly written out in various liturgical books, have been combined into one
single sequence. Originally the prayer formulas were written in the book for the priest,
scriptural readings in lectionaries, the so-called diakonika in a special vademecum for
deacons; the chant parts were taken from collections of hymns, still known from a large
number of Syriac manuscripts.
Among the "historical" texts we are able to analyse, there is none which would be
comparable to a mere sequence of priestly prayers as found in early Latin sacramentaria
or in some Greek manuscript euchologia. However, in order to understand the structure
of our Syriac formularies we must realize that here too the nucleus of the ritual consists
of the set of prayers recited by the officiating priest, and that the other elements have
been added to it for a practical reason, additions which were not always written out in full
and which at times are only indicated by means of initia or short rubrics, at a former time
immediately understandable. Those succinct additions concerning precisions of the
performance of the ceremonies, the role played by deacons, readers, singers and the
whole congregation show quite a few variations which actually may represent the same
39
liturgical usage. But the set of priestly prayers is in each formulary substantially the
same, and this leads us to the conclusion that the tradition of the Antiochene-Syrian
baptismal ritual is very steady indeed. The major variants one observes, mostly bear upon
prayers such as the prumiyon which in all Syrian Orders are among the more variable
elements. For most of the minor variants the explanation is obvious. It could easily
happen that the division between ghonto and tlayto is indicated somewhat earlier in the
text; there is always the tendency to amplify the Divine Name by adding "our Lord";
there may be a duplication of adjectives where there was originally only a single one.
And then, of course, there are the hazards of copying or of trying to interpret the corrupt
or illegible words a scribe found in the model before him.
Task (2)
Now re-read the text with meaning.
Glossary
Words Parts o f Speech Meaning

1. estrangement n alienate, snub
2. ritual n ceremony, tradition
3. initiation n commencement, beginning
4. hagiographical adj relating to saints' lives
5. deduce vb discern, infer
6. recensions n revision of text
7. eparchies n diocese of the Orthodox Church
8. codices n plural of codex, manuscript volume
of ancient texts
9. variants n somewhat different
10. indispensable adj essential, necessary
11. vademecum n handbook carried about constantly
12. euchologia n Plural form for Euchologion. A
service book of liturgies, prayers,
rites of the Eastern Church
13. nucleus n core, essence
14. succint adj concise, briefly expressed
15. hazards n dangers, risks
40
Task (3)
One way of understanding a text thoroughly is to fill in a Flow-Chart of the ideas in a text.
Flowcharts help you to trace thought-patterns in a text, lo keep track of the progression of the
writer's argument.
Since this is the first time you are meeting Flow-diagrams in this book we are giving you some
help. Normally you create your own diagrams as you grasp meaning in text.
Flow-charts help you:

to conceptualize and see relationships between ideas
they help you to identify main-points and separate them from subordinate points
to "explain" a text to others
to plan your own writing
to read meaningfully
In the world of Science and Technology they are used frequently to explain a "process" or a
"machine's functioning".
(In Logic diagrams are used to show relationships between arguments)
41
Flow-Chart
BAPTISMAL FORMULARIES
Recapitulation
Rituals of the Malankara Church Q: What has been discussed
Q. What special rituals are we talking about? so far?
A. The initiation orders of an Antiochene A:
type especially ……
Q. what other printed rituals exist today? Q: What is beyond this text?
A: A: ….……………………….
……………………………….
Q: Who were the keepers of this precious

heritage?
A: 1)
2)
3)
Assemani Family
French Q: How many in this family were involved German
A:
Q: Why is Denzinger considered

indispensable?
A:
Q: What is the shape now of these texts?

A:
Q: What is constant?
What is flexible?
A:
Q: Is the present version totally reliable?

A:
Q: What is the writer’s comment on the

Antiochene-Syrian baptismal ritual?
A:
Q: How does the writer explain “Variations”?

A:
42
ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE USI
Introduction to Cohesion
Look at the words "however", "moreover" in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 and again in 9, "although",
and in 11 "However", "but" and in the last lines "and then, of course".
What is the function of these words in English?
These words are certainly not 'difficult' words which you must look up in a dictionary but they
are words which native users of English (those whose mother-tongue is English) use freely in
speaking and writing and which we as Foreign students of English do not use so freely as we
should.
Our speaking and writing, therefore, tends to be disjointed i.e. it does not flow easily and the
hearer/reader has to guess our meaning.
These words are like Traffic-lights sending signals to our hearer/reader and if we do not use
them our meaning is not fully grasped. The reader is forced to create links between sentences.
Reading then becomes difficult and a slow process.
In this Unit we teach you to take note of these "link" words as they help you to both write and
read meaningfully.
These words are not merely conjunctions which you have studied in Grammar but link-words or
link-phrases which we refer to as Transitions.
Transitions are words or phrases which connect two words or two phrases within a sentence or
connect two sentences within a paragraph or connect two paragraphs within along piece of text.
Look again at the transitions in our text.
'However' in paragraph (2) seems to mean:
"to whatever extent we studied the problems raised in paragraph (1) we would not be
helped in our present project"
'However' contains a negative element and shows a contrast.
'Moreover' in paragraph (3) means 'Besides', 'in addition', 'yet'. Just as paragraph (2) warns
against going beyond the limits of the present project, paragraph (3) asserts what it is we have to
do. Therefore, 'Moreover' adds to "However' in paragraph (2) and draws the readers' attention
to the purpose at hand.
Transition-words are, as mentioned, like Guide-posts on the roads telling those who travel
what they must do.
43
When a reader sees such words he is forced to either change direction or to follow the road
expecting certain things. In reading, this results in Prediction, the capacity to foretell what is
coming, which in turn results in quicker reading and profitable reading.
Thus, being familiar with Transition words is of immense value. It helps us to decode text. Here,
therefore, is a list of such words and a rough guide to what they mean.
We suggest you fill in the chart with a transition in your mother-tongue. This is very useful for
you will find that sometimes English has more varieties than our Mother-Tongues and that our
own languages can manage with less words. Being aware of this is useful for better reading and
writing in English.
TRANSITIONS
I. Transitions that Add: Translation
Moreover
In addition
Further, Furthermore
And
Besides, Also, Too
By the way
II. Transitions that Explain, Illustrate: Translation
Thus
For
Now
For e.g./For instance
In this case
Because, Since
In this way
As a matter of fact. In fact
In other words
That's how
Namely
Specifically
That is to say
III. Transitions of Time-Sequence: Translation
First, Second, Third etc.

Then
When
Afterwards
Later
44
Next
At Last, Last, Finally
IV. Transitions that Compare: Translation
Similarly, Likewise
As
Equally
In the same way
V. Transitions that Contrast: Translation

However
But
Unlike
In contrast
On the other hand
On the contrary
In spite of
Instead
Otherwise
Except for
Whereas
VI. Transitions that Concede: Translation
Although, Though, Eventhough

Yet, Still
Of course
Nevertheless
Anyway
At any rate
At least
After all
Clearly
Admittedly
VII. Transitions that Emphasize: Translation
Certainly
Indeed
In particular
Chiefly
Especially
Above all
Surely
Most important
45
VIII. Transitions that state, consequences, results, sum-up: Translation
So
Therefore
Then
Thus
Accordingly
After all
As a consequence
As a result
Consequently
Hence
In brief. In short
In fact
In that case
And then, of course
To sum up
Finally
In summary
At last
In conclusion
Here is a sample paragraph, by a student in which a few Transitions have been used.
‘Seminaries in India’
“Although there are many Seminaries in India they differ from one another having a particular
emphasis. UTC’s emphasis is in contrast with UBS’, similarly SIBS, for instance differs in its
teaching method. Some Seminaries give first priority to intellectual work but some do not do so.
Some give second priority to intellectual work while some give third or fourth priority to
evangelism and finally some give importance to some Justice more than anything else.
Consequently, Seminaries in India differ from each other in one way or another.”
Task (4)
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph to show that you do understand the significance of
the following words:
However, Although
Moreover, And then, of course
46
"Feminism" is not a new phenomenon. We have had ardent supporters of women for a long time
.................. some women feel that not enough has been said for women, They believe much more
has to be done to encourage women to come out of their homes and to express themselves
freely............................ there are still some men who speak of women in derogatory
terms....................... women’s organizations are doing much to undo or combat all this there is
plenty to do in this field Therefore we welcome organizations like Vimochana and Samrakasha
in Bangalore and the Beijing Conference in 1995. And ....................we believe that there should
be more conference at a local or national level.
Task (5)
Certainly, In contrast, And

In addition, thus, Such
For example, On the other hand
Now attempt a similar paragraph using 5-6 transition words/phrases from the list given above on
this subject:
"Infant Baptism"
Remember to write some sentences at the beginning and at the end as Introduction and as
Conclusion which may not have transition words at all to provide a natural tone and be
convincing to the reader.
TRANSITIONS LEND UNITY TO YOUR WRITING.
TRANSITIONS MAKE YOUR WRITING COHERENT.
Task (6)
Do this as Homework.
1. Find an interesting article in a newspaper or journal which has transition words and phrases
in it.
2. Make a photocopy of it.
3. On the photocopy of this article cross out with a dark colour all the transition words and
phrases.
4. Show this sheet to a friend and ask him/her to provide the missing words.
5. If the article is long allow 15 minutes. Otherwise allow 5-10 minutes for this exercise.
6. Check your friend's answer. Then show him the original text and discuss the mistakes or
alternate answers.
Consult your teacher if you have doubts.
47
Task (7)
Underline the suffixes in the following list of words and say which are Noun-suffixes and which
are Adjectival.
1. Investigation 6. Antiochene-Syrian
2. Formularies 7. Liturgical
3. Bibliographical 8. Valuable
4. Photostatic 9. Indispensable
5. Baptismal 10. Vedic
48
Unit I
Text D PRACTICES
L. RENOU in HINDUISM
Pre-Reading Activities
Task (1)
Make a list of the Church's special Days and Festivals (Feast Days) and their physical
manifestations. An example is provided below.
Example:
Church Festival Physical Sign Symbol or Ceremony
Easter i) White flowers in Church
ii) Sun-rise Service
iii) Colour of Vestments
1. ……………………………………………………………………………………………
2. ……………………………………………………………………………………………
and so on
Task (2)
Classify the above according to
1) Time 2) Place 3) People 4) Money
Task 3)
Now read text D
The Text
Ritual in the strict sense of the term lost its importance after the Vedic period; the old ceremonies
fell into disuse, their modem reflections being purely archaeological demonstrations. On the
other hand, external practices increased in importance. There was also a notable breaking down
of the relation between myth and ritual, which during the ancient period had been closely
associated. A wide diversity of procedures of worship reflects the diversity of approach toward
the Divine.
49
Unknown in ancient periods, the cult of the idol gained momentum with the development of
monumental iconography. To fashion the idol of a god, to install it in the sanctuary, to treat it as
"animated", to anoint it: all of these became major rites. Worship, or puja, is the 10 central point
of religious activity. The rite consists of welcoming the god as a distinguished guest. Bathing the
god, dressing him, adorning him and applying scent, feeding him, putting flowers around him
and worshipping him with moving flames accompanied by music and song: such are some of the
essential features of the rite. The idol is taken out of the temple in a procession which furnishes
the occasion for scenes which mingle mythology with themes of folklore. Taking place in the
temple, this type of ceremony is public; it carries no obligation for the individual. For some,
perhaps for the majority, the idol is the god himself, and we can classify this as idolatry; for
others, symbolical values are true values and the idol is nothing more than what it is in any form
of cult in which the sacred is incarnate in some concrete form.
Descended from the household hearth of olden days, the temple may range from the modest
village sanctuary with its crude idols to the religious cities which encompass within their walls a
whole cycle of activities and the mountain temples which aim to reproduce the cosmic mountain
Meru, pivot of the world. The temple is dedicated to a particular god. The image of this god is
accompanied by a particular attribute which can become autonomous. In the Shaivite context, for
example, this attribute is often a linga, a phallic emblem, which is perhaps of distant non-Aryan
origin. The linga is a short pillar of black stone, bare or engraved, around which is performed
puja of a votive character.
The existence of the temple presupposes a permanent clergy whose position in the social
hierarchy ordinarily remains quite inferior. Here and there in history can be found evidence of a
system of devadasis (sacred courtesans and danseuses) attached to the temple. There exist also a
body of domestic priests who are permanently or temporarily attached to a family either as
spiritual teachers (guru), as secular teachers (acarya) or as astrologers.
Quite different from these is the Samnyasin, or the "renouncing individual", who holds
himself aloof from social life and does not participate in religious practices. He has either chosen
the path of detachment since youth or has given himself to the "dispassionate" path (as
prescribed by ancient texts) after having passed through the other stages of life. He is called
Sadhu if he is independent; Svamin, if he belongs to some order; Yogin, if he practises yoga.
The idol is not necessary for the representation of a god. We have already mentioned the
existence of linga. There are, in addition, many other, nonfigurative emblems such as the more
or less complex geometrical patterns (yantra or mandala) which are used primarily in Tantrism.
The worshipper, at least in the elaborate forms of cult, submits himself to considerable
preparation: preliminary ablutions, food restrictions which may extend to the fast, corporal
postures and gestures of the fingers (mudra), control of the breath, "possession" (nyasa) by the
god of the body of the worshipper, etc. The notions of the pure and the impure are everywhere
evident: purity is perhaps the essential watchword of Hindusim and its religious practices of
purification are infinitely diversified.
Prayer consists of the silent recitation (japa) of sacred formulae (mantra) which are repeated
indefinitely. The mantra are composed of from one to a hundred or more syllables. Here we find
50
a tribute to the word as form, for many of the syllables (notably in the religious practices of
Tantrism) have no meaning while others consist of a simple mention of the divine name such as
"Ram(a) ! Ram(a)!"'This type of prayer is an aid to mental concentration and is thought to bring
about the desired effects of protection, fulfillment of promise or expiatory virtue.
Other elements of personal worship are the study of the Scriptures, and above all, meditation.
Strengthened by yoga exercises, meditation can lead to such a paroxysm of tension that the
exercitant can accomplish the ultimate aim proposed in all Indian religious thought; a state of
union with the Absolute.
Those religious practices performed at home are the only ones which are relatively obligatory.
Prayer three times a day (at morning, noon and evening) is accompanied by offerings to the gods,
to sages and to ancestors. In actual practice these religious activities are appreciably shortened.
According to the periods, more elaborate ceremonies are held in memory of ancestors (of three
direct generations on the male and female side) with offerings of water and sesame; the object of
this is to transform an indifferent or even pernicious dead soul into one who is useful and helpful.
The "sacraments" (samskara) constitute another series of personal rites. It is chiefly in these that
we find the surviving elements from the Vedic period. In modern times the 70 customary
sacraments concern birth, initiation into the Brahmanic life, marriage and death, Inasmuch as a
young boy belongs among the "twice-born", initiation marks his entry into Hindu society. This
ceremony, like most others, consists of the worship of fire in a manner similar to that of puja.
Agricultural, collective and commemorative rites are numerous. Still more numerous are the
"vows" (vrata) which are restrictions ortypes of activities to which an individual submits himself
freely at a fixed time in order to attain a certain religious merit or to obtain a definite object
which he desires.
Among the collective celebrations which are held either in the temple or in its surroundings
mention may be made of the feasts or festivals (utsava)'. for example, the worship of the
goddess Durga which lasts for nine days in October; the Festival of Lights (Divali) which occurs
about the same time; Holi, the Spring Festival in honor of Krishna. From time immemorial
crowds of pilgrims from one end of India to the other have assembled at certain privileged places
(one can actually draw a map of sites and routes with their relative importance). The Ganges is
considered the most sacred place, for it contains in itself the virtue of numerous tirthas or "fords"
which crystallize the manifestations which are sought. On the Ganges it is Benares above all
which attracts the attention of the devotees. But here as elsewhere imagination can come into
play: any stream of water may be called Ganges, be it only as much as is contained in a jug, and
this is sufficient under certain conditions to obtain the same benefit as can be had from a long
pilgrimage. Pilgrimages themselves may be occasioned by personal motives, by concern for
fulfillment of a vow, or they may arise with one of the anniversaries of great commemorations
interspersed throughout the Indian calendar.
It is scarcely necessary to recall that Hinduism includes certain elements typical of a popular
cult: worship of trees, of serpents and of special "genii" (which are often of demoniacal nature as
in the case of the goddess of smallpox). Magic, too, is widely practised as are astrology and other
forms of mantics.
51
Thus far we have chiefly been describing the Hindu cult of Vedic origin which includes religious
practices of a relatively simple and open kind. Different from this, at once more democratic and
yet more closed, is the Tantric cult: more democratic because it is the principle open to all men
and women whatever their social class; more closed, however, because it entails an initiation - or
rather, various degrees of initiation classified according to the qualifications of the postulant. It is
here, above all, that the help of a guru or spiritual master is necessary. Worship of the idol is
performed according to a complex procedure; substitutes and symbols are extremely elaborate.
Task (4)
Attempt a grid as shown by the teacher to point out similarities and differences between
the two faiths - Hinduism and Christianity. Be very objective and dispassionate. The study
of religions is a scientific study and in a pluralistic society such as ours we must overcome
bias, if any, and be impersonal in our assessment of other faiths.
Glossary
Words Parts o f Speech Meaning

1. disuse n lack of use or practice
2. myth n legend, fiction
3. procedures n routine, method
4. diversity n complex, mixed
5. cult n followers, band
6. momentum n impetus, urge
7. monumental n massive and permanent treatis
iconography on pictures or statues
8. sanctuary n a sacred place
9. animated v.t. to have life; enliven
10. rite n ritual, tradition
11. ritual n prescribed rites
12. furnishes vb to equip
13. obligation n responsibility, indebtedness
14. idolatry n worship of any other than God
15. incarnate adj embody, realized
16. encompass vb to form a circle around
17. cosmic adj universe, creation
18. pivot n point of rotation
19. autonomous adj functioning involuntarily
20. votive adj offered in fulfillment of a vow
21. presupposes vb presume, assume
52
22. hierarchy n arranged by rank
23. courtesans n prostitutes
24. danseuses n female dancers
25. aloof adj at a distance
26. ablutions n cleansing, washing
27. postures n stance, disposition
28. gestures n action, motion
29. watchword n a slogan, password
30. expiatory adj making amends for sin
31. paroxysm n anger, fury
32. exercitant n one who worships
33. pernicious adj deadly, harmful
34. commemorative adj remember, observe
35. crystallize vb form, develop
36. entails vb to involve as a consequence
37. initiation n commencement, beginning
------------------------ o --------------------------
53
Task (5)
Advanced Vocabulary
Arrange the following lexical phrases in order of their frequency in written English:
Use (a) for most frequent, (b) less frequent, (c) least frequent.
1. on the other hand
2. diversity of approach
3. central point of
4. in concrete form
5. elaborate forms of
6. obligatory
7. from time immemorial
8. imagination can come into play
9. in the strict sense of the term
10. closely associated
Task (6)
Classify these activities into 3 groups and give each group a heading:
- bathing the God
- worshipping him
- not to participate in religious practices
- to be aloof from social life
- dressing him
- to maintain food restrictions
- to be possessed by the God
- adorning him
- singing to him
- to meditate
- to take vows
54
Task (7)
Underline the suffixes in the following list of words and say which are Nouns and which are
Adjectival suffixes.
Devotee
Postulant
Invitation
Detachment
Votive
Classified
Collective
Non-figurative
Phallic
55
Unit II
Text A THE GREAT PEASANTS' WAR 1524 - 1525
G.H. WILLIAMS in THE RADICAL REFORMATION
Modern Christian historians in the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, as a consequence of their
concern for civil, social and ecclesiastical order and obedience - a legacy from Luther and his
resolute stand against the revolutionary appropriation by the peasant insurgents of his good news
concerning Christian freedom - have long perpetuated the customary burdening of evangelical
Anabaptism with the charge of having arisen out of a combination of heresy and sedition, while
historians standing in the Anabaptist tradition itself, because of their pacifism and aversion to
both Marxism and Secularism, have been primarily concerned to dissociate, so far as possible,
the peasant unrest from the Anabaptist witness. Both groups of Christian historians have
therefore largely left it to the Marxists, and others without confessional predisposition or
inclination, to vindicate the evangelical deals of the rebellious peasants. To work out a well-
proportioned account of what was, in 'act, the sixteenth-century interrelationship between the
seditious peasant camps and secretive Anabaptist conventiclers is not easy for anyone
dissatisfied with the programmatic Protestant, the pious Mennonite and the doctrinaire Marxist
accounts.
Clear is the fact that insofar as Anabaptism is understood as the espousal of believers' baptism, it
began after the outbreak of the Great Peasants' War in June 1924 (near Schaffhousen), for the
first recorded evangelical rebaptism dates from January 1525 although there were, of course,
Spiritualists, such as Muntzer and Carlstadt, who, actively or passively involved in the uprising,
were also concurrently opposed to the baptism of infants.
But if none of the participants in the peasant movement were at the time Anabaptists, it is
significant that they anticipated Anabaptism in three notable respects. The peasants, petty
burghers, and restless knights who banded together against the spiritual lords, both episcopal and
abbatial, and against the violation of ancient local rights by the territorial princes (1) commonly
called themselves covenanters (Bundesgenossen), (2) universally demanded the elimination of
tithes to absentee clerics, and (3) universally demanded the parochial or congregational election
of their pastors.
0f the Anabaptists whose military or evangelistic careers in the peasant uprising are adequately
documented, there are so few that a genetic or comprehensive account of the relationship
between the Peasants' War and Anabaptism is difficult to establish.
As it happens, Balthasar Hubmaier, soon to become the first important theological spokesman of
adult, or believers' baptism, who in the War bespoke the cause of the peasants and later
organised the refugee Anabaptists in Nicholsburg in Moravia, was atypical even on becoming an
Anabaptist for he is perhaps unique among the South German Anabaptists in having to the end
been willing to argue for the legitimacy of the word in the hand of a Christian magistrate, be it of
his Anabaptist patron in Moravia or of his Catholic executioner in Vienna. Thus, difficult though
it is, by concentrating on the evangelical impulses in war and its antecedents, we may rough in
the background against which five or six selected Spiritualists and eventual Anabaptists may
pass in review in the period up to the end of the Peasants' War in 1525.
56
In the perspective of the centuries, we can distinguish three phases of central European peasant
revolt: (1) the medieval phase of sporadic outbursts, 1291-1517; (2) The Great Peasants' War,
1524-1525/6, universalized and religiously undergirt by an appeal to evangelical freedom; and
(3) a decade later, the Munsterite uprising and synchronous revolts in Amsterdam and elsewhere
and, in Moravia, the concurrent sublimation of the refugee peasants' yearning for evangelical
social justice in the Hutterite communes, 1533-1535.
Glossary

1. Resolute adj determined, firm
2. appropriation n suitable, applicable
3. insurgent n rebel
4. perpetuated vb attempt, maintain
5. burdening vb strain, concern
6. heresy n desecration, blasphemy
7. sedition n revolt
8. pacifism n opposition to war
9. aversion n hate, dislike
10. dissociate vb separate, detach
11. predisposition n biased, prejudiced
12. vindicate vb defend, justify
13. conventicles n clandestine (secret) building used for this
14. programmatic adj plan of proceedings; trained to behave in a
programmed way
15. pious adj religious, godly
16. doctrinaire n/adj principle, philosophy / unpractical
17. espousal n adopt, support (marry)
18. passively adv inactive, peaceful
19. concurrently adv simultaneously, meanwhile
20. Episcopal adj regarding the church of England
21. abbatial adj relating to abbey
22. elimination n cleanse, remove
23. absentee n/adj nonattender, truant
24. parochial adj of a parish
25. documented adj proved with documents
26. genetic adj concerning the origin
27. bespoke vb be evidence of
57
28. atypical adj not typical, unusual
29. patron n supporter, ally
30. antecedents n ancestor, preceding
31. sporadic adj occasional
32. undergirt v.t support, strengthen
33. synchronous adj contemporary, simultaneous
------------------------ o --------------------------
Understanding Form to Understand Meaning
This is a difficult text because of its complex sentence structure in addition to its complex,
argument.
Thus we look at it first:
structurally at the sentence-level
and then
semantically at the paragraph-level
The first sentence of' this text contains 105 words. It is a complex-compound sentence as
Traditional grammar would claim. It may also be called an Aggregating sentence because of the
numerous ideas in it.
58
The structure of the sentence may be view this:
59
The meaning of the sentence simply stated is:
Two groups of historians view the Peasants’ War and its relationship to the Anabaptists
differently.
The First group, Modern, Christian, Lutheran and Reformed see it as an off-shoot of
misunderstanding by peasants, of Luther’s preaching regarding Christian freedom.
Therefore they blame the Anabaptists of heresy and sedition.
The Second group, Anabaptists themselves, being pacifist, have tried their best to delink the
two.
The chart that follows helps you understand in great details the Internal Constituents of just the
subject of the First Sentence.
N.B. Verb and Object not mentioned.
Subject Elaboration Further Explanation Language Devices

used.
1. Modern, Christian In the Lutheran 1) as a consequence of their 1) Adjective phrase
Historians and Reformed concern for civil, social and 2) Adverbial phrase of
Traditions ecclesiastical order and Reason*
obedience 3) – the dash mark
2) a legacy from Luther and used as parenthesis, to
his resolute stand against give additional
revolutionary appropriation information on the
by the peasant insurgents of subject
his good news concerning 4) Noun phrase
Christian freedom
2. Historians Standing in the Because of their pacifism 1) participial adjective
Anabaptist and aversion to both phrase
tradition itself Marxism and Secularism 2) Adverbial phrase of
Reason*
*
cf: p. 23 formally noun phrases, but implied adverbials
60
Task (1) Re-formation of sentences
Read the text again and then complete these sentences, as far as
possible, in your own words:
a) While historians standing in the Anabaptist tradition itself have been primarily concerned to
dissociate the peasant unrest from the Anabaptist witness, Modern Christian historians in the
Lutheran and Reformed traditions have …………………….………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………….………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………….……………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
b) The vindication of the evangelical ideals of the rebellious peasants was left to ……………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Who had no ……………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
c) The first recorded evangelical rebaptism dates from January 1525 and this was after ……….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
d) It is difficult to establish the relationship between the Peasant’s War and Anabaptism
………………………………….………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………….……………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Task (2a)
Attempt to break up paragraph (2) which again is one long sentence, into its
constituent parts.
To help you in this exercise we have framed some questions.
Answer these questions before you attempt the Task.
Q.1 To whom does ‘it refer ot in 1.2?
Q.2 Why is ‘after’ written in italics?
Q.3 What did Munize and Carlstadt believe?
Q.4 What do you know of their involvement in the peasants War?
61
Q.5 What does “in so far as” mean? (Translate it into your mother-tongue, this is a common
‘transitional’ phrase in English.)
Q.6 What is the significance of the word “although” and the expression “of course”?
Now attempt the taslk (2a) by filling in this grid:
Main Points or Subjects Elaboration of Subject or Language Devices used

Further Explanation
When you have finished filling in this grid with your Teacher's help you will realize that
Converseness or Opposition in meaning gives rise to this complex sentence structure.
Meaning is conveyed by special words or phrases and if the meaning is one of opposition,
questioning, denial and doubt the writer spontaneously uses such language. The title of the text
could have been:
Were the Anabaptists part of the Peasants' War?
or
What was the role of the Anabaptists in this war?
Task (2b)
Re-read the text in this light.
Sentence (1) sets the scene for debate by presenting two contradictory views.
Sentence (2) says both groups have left it to others to vindicate (or justify)
"the evangelical ideals of the rebellious peasants"
Sentence (3) conveys the author's opinion that this task "is not easy".
62
Therefore, in paragraph (2) we come across more contradictions and converseness. The dates of
the two events are different and, those involved in the uprising while not known to be
Anabaptists, were opposed to infant-baptism i.e. they were for adult-baptism.
Now let us read the whole text paragraph by paragraph and trace the development of the
argument or the sequence of the ideas.
The Sequence of Ideas
Paragraph (1)- Background to the Problem
Paragraph (2)- Conflation of beliefs
Paragraph (3)- Sympathies with Peasants
Paragraph (4)- "difficult to establish" relationship of Peasants' War and Anabaptists.

Paragraph (5)- again "difficult though it is". Further examples of those who were
Anabaptists yet sympathizers with the Peasants.
Paragraph (6)- Review of the situation from perspective of the centuries (from today's
point of view).
Most academic prose deals with such material.
Problems are presented, two or more views are expressed, opinions follow these views and
there may be counter-opinions too.
This is the PROSE OF ARGUMENT. The area of study being History the author cites proofs to
substantiate what he asserts. We, as readers, must learn to question or evaluate these
proofs/opinions. Reading critically is a must.
PATTERN OF PROSE
To help you read text profitably some linguists have analysed academic prose extensively and
graced a common pattern of argument or writing which may be seen in many such texts. The
pattern is as follows:*
1. Statement of the Problem, or a description of a Situation leading to a problem.
2. Elaboration of the Problem
3. Solution (by Analogy, sometimes)
4. Evaluation of the solution
* I am indebted to Prof. M. Hoey of Birmingham University (U.K.). for his work on Discourse Analysis, as also to
my teachers at Aston University - Birmingham (U.K.) who opened up these areas of linguistic research to me: Prof.
T. Bloor. Prof. Maggie Jo St. John.
63
A Sample**
The Title : The horror Spreads
Situation : Bride – burning in India increases due to the
The Problem : desire/greed for more dowry i.e. Dowry as a social-evil
Elaboration of the Problem : 1) economic situation
2) rural-urban or literacy-illiteracy factors
3) male-female values
4) mother-in-law syndrome
Solution : Law against Dowry-takes.
Arrest of individuals involved
Evaluation of solution 1) Ineffective police/legal system due to red-tapism
2) Should husbands be given life-sentence?

3) Sometimes women misuse the law and husbands seek
protection!
** The sample is based on an article from India Today'
64
Analysis of our Text
Title: Were Anabaptists part of the Peasants' War?
The Situation: Two Views

Modern historians have linked While. Anabaptists being
Anabaptists with heresy & pacifist........have tried
Sedition to dissociate them selves
from the Peasants' War.
The Problem: Confused Evidence
Muntzer & Carlstadt Peasants, not Anabaptists,

involved in the War were anticipated Anabaptism
pro-rebaptism in 3 ways etc.
The Elaboration of the Problem:
Very few Anabaptists Balthazar H, Anabaptist

whose military careers are and pro-Peasants was atypical
documented
The Solution:
In the perspective of the centuries the War of 1524-26 is religiously undergirt by the appeal to
evangelical freedom.
Evaluation of the Solution not found in this extract

but
normally your Subject-Teacher
(Prof. of Church History) offers this
to you or expects you to do so
after your studies are complete.
N.B. Critical evaluation while READING leads to profitable understanding of the text.
65
Task (3a) Vocabulary
Find synonyms for the following words or phrases in the text itself:
(Some are done for you)

1. Commonly Customary
2. Abult baptism -
3. Episcopal -
4. Heresy sedition
5. Parochial -
6. predisposition -
7. atypical -
8. pacifism aversion to Marxism
Task (3b)
Find Opposites ( Antonyms ) or related words (converse)

1. pacifism Marxism
2. Actively -
3. Sporadic -
4. Medieval -
5. Dissociate branded together
Note :
Sometimes opposition is not simply phrased e.g. “The spiritualists Muntzer & Carlstadt were
involved I the uprising but opposed to infant baptism,” Here, involved has appositive
connotation whereas opposed has a negative connotation.
Further, being opposed to infant baptism implies being in agreement with Anabaptists and this
duality of the two spiritualists led to the problem stated in paragraph (1).
66
Unit II
Text B PRESENT INTERPRETATION
T.G. BAKER in WHAT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT?
The need to interpret and make relevant the Scriptures has always been a primary concern of
Christian teachers and preachers. Every theological student knows that the third part of the
sermon must be the 'application'. The problem is not new. Yet so acute is it today that a new
technical term has been invented to describe it: hermeneutics. By this word is meant the
principles which should govern any attempt to expound and apply the ancient text of the
Scripture. It greatly exercises the minds of theologians, especially in Germany, and is producing
a considerable literature of its own. Why the fuss?
First, because the old idea that a text of scripture could be first expounded as a kind of divine
oracle, or infallible proposition, and then applied to a present problem in a mechanical and
external kind of way is impossible for us. It is just not as simple as that. Because of our historical
approach, and the different conception of divine revelation that goes with it, the question is
bound to be split up into two tenses: What did it mean then? And What does it mean now?
Try as we may, we cannot escape the difficult enterprise summed up in the oft-repeated and now
famous words of Dr. Leonard Hodgson, "What must the truth have been, and be, if it appeared
like this to men who thought and spoke like that?'
Secondly, the enormous advances made by Biblical historical scholarship in recent years - its
attempts to deal descriptively with Biblical ideas without smuggling into the description later
doctrinal presuppositions or modernizing notions, its concern really to get under the skin of the
Biblical authors, to see through their eyes, and think their thoughts – these advances have served
to bring into relief the great distance between their outlook and ours. Great New Testament
scholars like Johannes Weiss and Albert Schweitzer, for all their one-sidedness, have forced us
to recognise that the teaching of Jesus and of the first Christians was cast within the strange and
bizarre setting of late Jewish apocalyptic, with its emphasis on the end of the world. Rudolf
Bultman has opened our eyes to the affinities between NT ideas and the equally bizarre gnostic
speculations current in the ancient world. Krister Stendahl puts the matter thus:
Do these old documents have any meaning for us except as sources for our knowledge of a small
segment of first-century life and thought, or as a means for a nostalgic visit to the first era of
Christian history? If they have a meaning in the present tense and sense, on what grounds do they
have this meaning?
Thirdly, this sense of distance has been further accentuated by the vast revolution in human
thought produced by the Enlightenment and the rise of modern science. It certainly seems to be
the case that, up to quite recent times, there was sufficient affinity between the thoughts and
assumptions of the men of the NT period and those of western European man for the ideas of the
NT to be accepted and handled much as they stood. But ever since the enormous advances in
scientific and historical knowledge begun in the mid-eighteenth century, the ideas and
assumptions which modern man holds on almost every subject are poles apart from those held by
the NT authors.
67
So we ask the question: if these ancient documents still have meaning today, on what grounds do
they have it, and on what principles may it be discovered? We may first note three inadequate
answers. In the first place, it will not do to say that simply by concentrating on the actual subject-
matter of the NT (God, Jesus, grace, salvation etc.), the bridge between the centuries will be
overcome because divine revelation stands above history, and transcends it as by a miracle. This
is the view of Karl Barth, and so one must be careful, for it is unwise for pygmies to snipe at
giants. Still, it can be safely said that this element in Barthian theology no longer commands
wide acceptance. It failsto do justice to Bultmann's point that the understanding of any word or
document necessitates some congeniality between it and the person who hears or reads it. If a
man in this century is to make anything of the NT texts, then they must 'chime in' at some point
with the way he looks at things, and the questions he asks of life. And if these are, in many
respects, different from those implied in the texts, then the problem of interpretation remains,
and cannot, be got rid of simply by appeal to a theological principle. But secondly, it will not do
either to go along with an older generation of liberal' scholars, and simply try to reduce the NT
material to certain general principles, considered to be of 'permanent value' or some such phrase.
Such a procedure makes mincemeat of the texts, and is hopelessly subjective and unscientific.
Thus Father Tyrell, that great Roman Catholic modernist, once remarked that the portrait of
Jesus obtained by such procedures was simply a liberal Protestant face, seen at the bottom of a
rather deep well. What is more, these scholars were just as convinced as their conservative
opponents that the essence of NT faith could be adequately expressed in terms of certain basic
propositions; they were simply concerned to substitute different ones (e.g., the universal
fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, instead of salvation by the blood of Jesus, or the
like). But we have seen reason to doubt whether the essential reality of the NT faith can be
properly or definitely expressed in any set of verbal propositions, whether traditionalist or
liberal.
A third and equally unsuccessful attempt to deal with the difficulty is by appeal to the Bible as a
record of the 'mighty acts' of God within what is called 'salvation history', by which is meant a
great cosmic drama, beginning with the creation of the world, centring in the saving work of
Christ, and culminating in His coming again in glory at the end of the world. Historical events
are substituted for propositions as the foundation principle of interpretation. As we shall see,
there is an important truth in this approach, but in the naive way in which it is often expressed, it
also will not do. For one thing it tends to limit the divine activity to a certain section of history
and to evacuate the rest of it of any meaning. But also, the idea of 'salvation history', if
understood more or less literally as the working out of a divine time-table in human history, is
only possible on the small-scale view of history characteristic of the ancient Semitic world. But
what becomes of it when the time scale is extended by millions of years forward and backward?
Must it not be said that, when Christ failed to appear in glory to roll up the scroll of earthly
history soon after the resurrection, then this entire concept mould was, if not smashed to bits, at
least badly damaged? The attempt to express the essence of a Christian truth simply in
untranslated terms of a view of history belonging to the ancient world looks like a piece of
archaism. Granted that the early Christians expressed their experience of the finality of Christ,
and of the urgency of the Gospel message, in terms of a belief that the world would come to an
end at any moment, yet is it not absurd to think that we ought to force ourselves to believe
(against our better judgment) that the world may end tonight, in order that we may then have the
satisfaction of a greater sense of urgency?
68
Glossary
Words Parts of Speech Meaning

1. Relevant adj applicable, appropriate
2. Hermeneutics n interpretation, esp. of Scripture
3. Govern vb rule, manage
4. Expound vb explain, elaborate
5. Fuss n objection, agitation
6. Oracle n revelation, seer
7. Infallible adj reliable, accurate
8. Proposition n proposal, offer
9. Divine revelation n knowledge disclosed to man
by divine or supernatural agency
10. Enterprise n business, undertaking
11. Smuggling vb convey secretly in/out
Presuppositions n presume, assume something
beforehand, as a basis for argument
13. one –sidedness n partiality, prejudice
14. bizarre adj strange, odd
15. apocalyptic adj (see lb)
16. affinities n attraction, taste
17. Gnostic adj/n esoteric spiritual knowledge;
Christian heretic of 1st- 3rd centuries
18. speculation n conjecture, assumption
19. segment n fragment, a part
20. nostalgic adj sentimental
21. accentuated vb emphasized
22. assumptions n supposition, opinion
23. poles apart adj phrase as different as North and
south pole surpass, exceed
24. transcends vb surpass, exceed
25. to snipe vb those of intellectual inferiority to
(pygmies at giants) makes sly critical attacks on those
who are respected for intellect (fig)
26. congeniality n compatibility, suitability
27. chime in vb phrase join harmoniously with
28. procedure n method, routine
29. makes mincemeat vb phrase crushes, defeats
30. subjective adj personal experience
69
31. modernist adj liberal
32. conservative adj traditional
33. definitively adv convincingly, finally
34. cosmic adj universe, creation
35. centring in vb pharse revolving around
36. culminating in vb pharse reaching the highest point
37. naïve adj simplistic
38. evacuate vb clear out
39. scroll n writing on rolled material
40. concept mould n phrase framework or shape of ideas
41. archaism n to hold on to ancient, outdates ideas
------------------------- o ----------------------------
Task (1)
Comprehension – (Skimming)
In the previous unit you were encouraged to question the text even as you read it for the first
time. We gave you some questions to guide you in reading.
Asking questions is a critical skill of great value at tertiary-level study. However, some times
the author himself raises questions in the text.
How should you react?
Do not try to answer the questions raised in a text. They are there only to raise issues which the
author intends to answer. Sometimes the author may not answer the questions in the same text
(chapter) - he may answer them in the final chapter. Sometimes he may not answer the questions
at all. Question-raising is away of highlighting problems and issues that need further discussion.
In this Unit II b, the text is an extract from a book the title of which is a question:
What is the New Testament?
Paragraph one ends with a question:
"Why the fuss?"
Paragraph two contains three questions (find them). The quotation which follows paragraph
three contains two questions. (Mark them).
70
The fifth paragraph contains one question with another question in it (compound-sentence
structure). The last paragraph has three questions the very last sentence of this extract being a
question itself.
Totally the text has 12 questions:

WHY DO QUESTIONS OCCUR IN TEXT?
WHAT IS THEIR ROLE AS A LINGUISTIC DEVICE?
If used as a title or opening sentence of a paragraph a question is a device known as Labelling in

Advance,* whereby the author guides the reader's thinking and is almost saying, "I shall give you
the answers."
Reading is interaction between author and reader and so the author often "tells" you what is to
come by giving us labels in advance. No alert reader should miss them.
If the questions are found within the body of the text they reflect argument, denial or
refutation, assertions by denial (e.g. last sentence of this text) i.e. "it is absurd to think so......"
If they come at the end of a full text (not as in our extract) they could
• raise further issues,
• deny what exists, or
• even be used to forecast something.
ALWAYS READ SUCH QUESTIONS CAREFULLY
* Tadros: Prediction in Text. Birmingham University, unpublished Monograph -1987.
71
Task (2)
Scan-Reading
Try to fill this flow-chart while reading the text:
The Situation
The Problem
Elaboration of the problem
First Second Third
3. Inadequate solutions =
(Evaluation of Solution)
Task (3)
Vocabulary
Provide appropriate antonyms for the following:
(Use a Thesaurus, if you wish to)
1) If it is not a primary need, it must be _______________
72
2) Biblical scholarship has not made little advances. It has made _______________ leaps
forward.
3) The problem is not insignificant, it is ___________ .
4) If a theologian is not traditionalist he must be ___________.
5) Reducing the New Testament to general principles is subjective and unscientific and
condemned by Fr. Tyrrell who calls for greater ________________.
Task (4)
Prose Texture (paraphrases)
Since this text is so full of questions, denials, refutation and assertions of argument the writer has
written very precisely and clearly providing definitions for terms and opinions which are either
1) synonymous words/phrases in apposition
2) definitions that are scientific
3) definitions that are opinionated
e.g. In sentence one we find
"to interpret/to make relevant"
"Christian teachers/ Christian preachers"
Hermeneutics - by this word is meant the principles which should govern any attempt to
expound and apply the ancient text of the scripture.
73
Try to find some more examples and fill in the following grid:
Word Synonymous word/phrase or definition
1. Divine oracle
2. Mechanical
3. Oft-repeated
4. Strange
5. Jewish apocalyptic
6. Subject Matter of
New testament
7. Salvation history a)
b)
8. Smashed to bits
9. Christian truth in
Untranslated terms of
A view of history
10. World may end tonight
Prose- texture or Density achieved by Anaphora
Introduction
Language uses words to express thought just as the weaver at a loom uses threads to weave
cloth
But weaving involves threads running in two ways: the warp and the woof.
So too a text of prose has two dimensions 1) the linear 2) the "chaining"
The linear is the one in which the writer moves from left to right adding idea to idea/concept to
concept even if he has to use the aggregating kind of sentence. We have just seen this in the
preceding section Unit ll(a).
74
The Chaining dimension involves putting in links or chains within a sentence and between two
sentences which linguists have called "Binding", "Linking" or "Cohesive devices"* (cf: Unit l(c))
which lead to unified writing.
There are many ways of chaining in English and we have looked at major devices like
Transitional words/phrases (Unit 1 (c)), clauses, complex and compound sentence structures.
However, one chaining device little spoken of in classrooms is ANAPHORA or CATAPHORA -

backward and forward references in a sentence or between two sentences by the use of simple
grammatical forms such as pronouns, determiners. noun and verb substitutes etc.
In this section we make you aware of Anaphora to help you read accurately and to write
concisely, precisely and in a good, unified prose-style.
Anaphora is the device of making in written or spoken text an abbreviated
reference to some entity or topic mentioned earlier in the text so that the
reader can identify easily the entity/topic mentioned earlier.
E.g:
S 1** ""Die problem is not new. Yet so acute is it today that a new technical term has been
invented to describe it: hermeneutics,"
In both cases "it" refers lo "the problem." "It" is the anaphoric device and "the problem" is
its referent.
In the next two sentences we have "this" and "it" as anaphors but the referent now is
"hermeneutics".
However, the word problem itself is a noun substitute for the entire first two sentences
which become referents for 'problem'.
S2: "The need to interpret and make relevant the scriptures has always been a primary concern
of Christian teachers and preachers. Every theological student knows that the third part of
the sermon must be the "application".
There are thus 3 referents:

1. Sentence I & 2 (cited above)
2. The problem
3. Hermeneutics
and
* Halliday & Hasan: Cohesion in English.
** Sample 1 and so on.
75
Five anaphoric devices which are pronouns:
4 "it" or "its"
I "this"
and one anaphora which is a noun-substitute (as mentioned above)
The need to interpret and make relevant the scriptures has always been a primary concern
of Christian teachers and preachers. Every theological student knows that the third part of the
sermon must be the 'application'. The (problem) is not new. Yet so acute is (It) today that new
technical term has been invented to describe (it): hermeneutics. By (this) word is meant the
principles "which should govern any attempt to expound and apply the ancient text of the
scripture. (It) greatly exercises the minds of theologians, especially in Germany, and in
producing a considerable literature of (its) own. Why the fuss?
Fig. 1
N.B. The word 'problem' is both anaphor first and referent afterwards.
You, the student, might think:

WHY THE FUSS?
(i.e. about anaphora!)
So, go ahead and read the second paragraph where we come across:
MULTIPLE ANAPHORA
S3: "First, because the old idea that a text of scripture could be first expounded as a kind of
divine oracle, or infallible proposition, and then applied to a present problem in a
mechanical and external kind of way is impossible for us.
S4: (It) is not as simple as (that).
S5: Because of our historical approach, and the different conception of divine revelation that
goes with(it), the question is bound to be split up into two tenses: What did(it) mean then?
and what does (it) mean now? ................... famous words of Dr. Leonard Hodgson,
S6: 'What must the truth have been, and be, if (it) appeared like(this) to men who thought and
spoke like (that).
To which referent does it refer to in S4?
To which referent does that refer to in S4?

Again, the next sentence contains referents like 'historical approach', 'divine revelation', 'the
question', 'the truth' and these are followed by the anaphora "it" 3 times and by the 2
pronouns 'this' and 'that':
76
Task 5(1)
Can you put in arrow marks" to clarify meaning? Do this on your text.
Use a pencil to encircle anaphors first and then draw the arrows.
Usually the referent of an anaphora goes before it and it is easy to establish the link. Sometimes,
however, we have to think carefully, understand the context and then establish the link.
This text is full of such anaphora and at times the reader may be confused.
For e.g.
In the above paragraph did you find it easy to find the referents for "it"?
Did you think "it" in S4 ("It is not as simple as that") refers to "the fuss" in paragraph (1)?
or "hermeneutics" which greatly exercises the minds of theologians in Germany in the earlier
sentence?
or
Can you argue that 'if refers to "the problem" (i.e. - the two opening sentences)?
or
Is "it" a mere "dummy expression" like
e.g:
S7: 'Why is it called a mouse?'
(i.e. the computer's monitoring device)
In my own sentences above: 'it is easy' and 'did you find it easy?'
where 'if has no specific meaning.
The other chaining device is CATAPHORA or pointing forwards to a topic (the
referent).
e.g. paragraph (4) the Quotation following paragraph (3).
S8: 'Do these old documents have any meaning for us - except as sources for our
knowledge and etc.?'
"Old documents" is mentioned for the first time and the sentence is a quotation from
Stendahl,* though we can agree that 'scriptures' is the referent and 'old documents' are
noun substitutes for scriptures.
*
We don’t know the earlier lines in the quotation and so the referent is unclear.
77
Again in paragraph (5): the-last lines –
S9: "But ever since the enormous advances in scientific and historical knowledge began in the
mid-18th century, the ideas and assumptions which modem man holds on every subject are
poles apart from those held by New Testament authors."
N.B. You will observe that cataphora resembles the 'which' (relative pronoun) of a relative
clause.
Earlier in S3 we saw "First, because the old idea that a text of scripture...........
Here too there is cataphora as the pronoun "that" explains "which idea".
Linguistically speaking cataphors and Anaphors are together called ENDOPHORS.*
There is also EXOPHOR: to refer to items, by pointing to them in the external world
rather than in the text.
e.g. S. 10: "Pick that up and put it over there"
Where the two exophors point to something in the real world which speaker and listener
can understand in particular situations.
Thus, "Dr. Hodgson's oft-repeated and now famous words:
S. 6 What must the truth have been and be if it appeared like this to men who thought and
spoke like that?"
S.I I St.Paul: (ACTS 2:16) "This is that which the prophets spoke of."
All New Testament scholars can comprehend this easily.
Thus, anaphora of all kinds is a reference whose referent is a concept or topic which exists in
the preceding text or situation.
A good reader follows this "chaining device" as he reads.
*
Halliday and Hasan, 1976.
78
SAMPLE OF ANAPHORA RESOLUTION:
TEXT REFERENT ANAPHORA

E.g The enormous advances made by Biblical
historical scholarship in recent Years – its attempt to Advances These
deal descriptively with …………. its concern to see
through their eyes and think their thoughts – these Biblical scholarship Its
advances have served to ………… their outlook and Biblical authors Its
ours. Their
Their
Their
Task 5(ii) Now try this part of the text?
TEXT REFERENT ANAPHORA
1. “So we ask the question: If these ancient

documents still have meaning today, on what
grounds do they have it and on what principles may
it be discovered?
2. In the first place it will not do to say that simply

by concentrating on the actual subject matter of the
new testament the bridge between the centuries will
be overcome ………………………. Above history
and transcends it as by a miracle. This is the view of
Kari Barth ……………. For it is unwise for pygmies
to snipe at giants.
Read the following passage from the text carefully:
Task 5(iii)
"If a man in this century is to make anything of the New Testament texts, then they' must "chime
in" at some point with the way he2 looks at things, and the questions3 he4 asks of life and if these5
are, in many respects, different from those6 implied in the texts, then the problem of
interpretation remains, and cannot, be got rid of simply by appeal to a theological principle."
79
Now identify the Referents or Antecedents of the underlined anaphors:
Anaphor Referent or Antecedent Kind/Function

1. They
2. He
3. The questions
4. He
5. These
6. Those
80
Unit II
Text C RELIGION AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE
NINIAN SMART in THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OF MANKIND
Throughout History and beyond in the dark recesses of men's earliest cultures, religion has been
a vital and pervasive feature of human life. To understand human history and human life it is
necessary to understand religion, and in the contemporary world one must understand other
nations' ideologies and faith in order to grasp the meaning of life as seen from perspectives
often-very different from our own.
But religion is not something that one can see. It is true that there are temples, ceremonies,
religious art. These can be seen, but their significance needs to be approached through the inner
life of those who use these externals. Consider the ceremony of baptizing a baby. How can we
understand it, save by knowing what the idea of baptism means to Christians and by knowing the
hopes and feelings of those who participate in the occasion? We must see the way in which the
externals and inner meanings of religion are fused together. This is why the history of religions
must be more than the chronicling of events: it must be an attempt to enter into the meanings of
those events. So it is not enough for us to survey the course which the religious history of
mankind has taken: we must also penetrate into the hearts and minds of those who have been
involved in that history.
Religion is a doubly rich and complex phenomenon. Not only has it the complexity indicated by
this need to hold together its outer and inner aspects, but it also has existed and exists in a variety
of forms of faith. There are many religions to be discovered in the world. The study of these is a
fascinating and stimulating task, for not only is this variety a testimony to the richness of the
religious sense and imagination of mankind, and often-though by no means always - to the
nobility of the human spirit, but also it gives rise to some profoundly important questions about
the truth of religion.
But just as it would be unwise to make claims about the nature and scope of science without
understanding something of the present state of the sciences, together with their methodology
and history, so it would not be helpful to speculate about religious truth without a proper
knowledge of the facts and feelings of religion. The aim, then, of this book is to try to convey
these facts in relation to the experiences, which religions attempt to express. The intention is to
describe, rather than to pass judgment, on the phenomena of religion. The intention is not to
speak on behalf of one faith or to argue for the truth of one or all religions or of none. Our first
need is to understand. The result, I hope, will be that the reader will be in a better position to
judge wisely about religious truth.
The description of religion and its history could be said in one sense to be a scientific
undertaking, for it is necessary to look at the facts dispassionately and objectively. Of course, as
we have already partly seen. it would be foolish to think that being 'objective' means that we
only look at temples, churches, and outer behavior. We must penetrate beyond what is publicly
observable. How could we give a proper account of Paul's apostolate without referring to his
shattering experience on the Damascus road? This experience was not observable by others,
though Paul's outer behavior was. But though there may be difficulties in our appreciating fully
81
the content and quality of prophetic, mystical and other forms of religious experience, there is a
sense in which we can deal with them objectively, That is, we can describe these inner events
and meanings without prejudice and with sympathetic understanding. The study of religions is a
science, then, that requires a sensitive and artistic heart.
But just because religion has a profound impact on people's beliefs and emotions, religious
people often find it hard to be objective and dispassionate about the faiths of other folk.
Agnostics too, who may have broken away rather violently from religion, often have difficulty
being objective about it. It is sometimes said that religion entails commitment and that without
belief there cannot be real understanding of a faith; and it is sometimes therefore inferred that it
is impossible to appreciate a faith to which one is not committed.
This conclusion is a dangerous exaggeration. It is an exaggeration for, as a matter of fact, a great

deal of sensitive work in the comparative study of religion has been done in the last hundred
years - and this implies that some people are capable of understanding other people's faiths.
Moreover, dialogue between adherents of different religions has been growing in this century.
Admittedly, there has been some bad and prejudiced work done by scholars in this area, but it
is absurd to hold that religious commitment must blind a man to the virtues of faiths other than
his own. Furthermore, this is a dangerous thesis since it is liable to make people feel that there is
no need to make a sympathetic effort to try to understand other religions.
The range of our survey must indeed be great, both in space and time. Each of the great
religions is like a growing organism. It is necessary not only to see how the different parts of a
faith like Christianity or Buddhism stand in relation to one another: it is necessary also to
understand the life of a faith from the time of its inception. We cannot understand Christianity
without knowing the circumstances of its birth two thousand years ago.
In this sense, the study of religions has to have an historical component. But history also
shows that some religions have declined or disappeared, and some of these have been too
important for them to be neglected in an account of the religious experience of mankind. Thus
Zoroastrianism, though only now practiced by a small number of people - nearly all of them
Indian Parsees - was at one time a powerful and flourishing faith; and one indeed that rested on
profound intuitions about the nature of good and evil.
82
Glossary
Words Parts of Meaning
speech
01. recesses n Secret place, deep, inner part
02. vital abj Active, essential
03. perasive abj Tending to pervade, spread
04. feature n Characteristic, detail
05. contemporary Adj Present, coexisting
06. ideologies n Boby of beliefs/ideas/attitudes
07. grasp n Understanding, hold
08. perspectives n Apoint of veiw
09. fused vb Combine, unite
10. chronicling vb Entre or relate in order of time
11. penetrate vb Entre, infiltrate
12. phenomenon n Wonder, miracle
13. complexity n Intricacy, involvement
14. fascinating adj Attractive, unusual
15. stimulating adj Arousing, stirring
16. testimony n Evidence, statement
17. speculate vb conjecture
18. dispassionate adv unemotional, fair
19. objectively adv unbiased, unprejudiced
20. apostolate n apostleship, leadership in reform
21. shattering adj smash, destroy utterly
22. prejudice n bias, discrimination
23. agnostics n atheist, non-believer
24. inferred vb implied, presumed
25. adherents n supporters, followers
26. thesis n idea, proposition to be proved
27. liable adj Legally responsible
28. inception n beginning, origin
29. component n constituent part
30. declined vb Decrease, disagree
31. flourishing adj grow, prosper
32. profound adj penetrating, deep
33. intuitions n the direct perception of truth
83
Task (1)
To read this text profitably we use the Question again. This time we must ask questions as we
read. The exercise will help us to identify with the writer's craft and with his line of reasoning as
well.
Instructions
Read sentence (1).

Ask Q(l): Is religion still important today?
Read sentence (2), the first part only and
Ask Q(2): Can't we understand life without religion?

Read sentence (2), the second part and
Ask Q(3): Why should we bother about other nations' ideologies and faith?
or
Why should we grasp the meaning of life as seen from perspectives different from our
own?
Practise this method of identifying with the writer's craft by asking similar questions at the end
of each sentence or, if the sentence is too long - ask questions between the two parts of a
sentence.
Task (2)
Having read the first two paragraphs, so critically, asking questions as you read, write a 50-word
summary of the author's definition of religion.
Task (3)
In paragraph 3 we have a sentence beginning,
"The study of these is a fascinating and stimulating task —————————— about the truth
of religion",
Instructions: Break up this sentence, into 3 or 4 simple sentences analysing its component parts
as done in Unit II (a).
84
The Paragraph's Structure
In this section we look carefully at the basic unit of meaning in discourse: the paragraph.
The paragraph is not just a unit of composition -it is a way of thinking.
In the previous section some paragraphs were short and some very long. In this text we have 9
fairly short paragraphs.
• Some of them are linked to the previous ones by the use of the conjunction "but" and will
therefore be less important or contradict an earlier idea. There are three of them. Identify
them.
• Some begin with anaphoric references: two in fact i.e. references to what appeared before.
Can you find them?
• There are therefore four paragraphs which seem to contain important thoughts or assertions.
Yet, here again, three paragraphs 3, 5 & 8 begin in the usual way with subject + verb +
object (SVO)-type sentences.
i.e. "Religion is a doubly-rich and complex phenomenon",

"The description of religion and its history................. objectively",
"The range of our survey must indeed be great both in space and time",
but paragraph (1) begins differently.
Can you tell how and why?
This paragraph begins with an extended adverbial phrase, "Throughout history and beyond in
the dark recesses of men's earliest cultures" .............. which leads to the main idea....…
"..... religion has been a vital and pervasive feature of human life",
This is because the author wishes to emphasize the great time span that he is concerned with in
this book, "The Religious Experience of Mankind", before he makes a point.
I. Thus, paragraphs, which are a way of thinking may begin in different ways:
1) subordination of ideas - p. I (by the use of subordinate clauses or anaphoric

devices as in p. 7)
2) contradiction of ideas - p.2
3) statement of opinion - p.3. and etc.
II. To decode the content of a paragraph one must not only read carefully the opening words
or phrases but also look for the internal structure of the whole paragraph.
Paragraphs usually contain a Topic Sentence followed by subsidiary sentences. The Topic
Sentence conveys the main thought - a combination of some subject and a precise opinion or it,
85
and the subsidiary sentences or specific supports contain subsidiary details or specific
information which uphold the main idea.
The topic sentence usually comes first in a paragraph but this is not a requirement. It may also
appear in end-position or mid-position.
Usually the structure (internal) of a paragraph looks like this:
These are deductive or inductive patterns.
To deduce is to infer from a general principle by reasoning.
To induce is to reach a conclusion reasoning from the particular to the general.
This structure in a paragraph leads to clarity in writing by the use of logical processes.
III. How does the author proceed to develop an idea having stated it in one of the two ways
mentioned above?
He normally proceeds by:
* repeating or rephrasing the idea
* contrasting it as seen in previous lessons or comparing it with an opposing viewpoint.
* exemplifying it - citing an example, statistics or anecdote
* justifying it - gives reasons, viewpoints to support or prove his point and
* he may add fillers, quotations or sub-topic* sentences, smaller ideas supporting main
argument which are not specific details and yet not as important as the main issue.
Therefore, a good reader must cultivate this sense of internal structure to be able to see the
total organisation, the larger body of the text made up of these parts.
If the writer has added unnecessary parts a good reader knows how to ignore them.
*
cf. Unit V (a).
86
Reading is a selective process. Ignoring a part which is irrelevant is a skill known as "active
inattention" i.e. as you read you skim past matter which is not adding to the main idea.
Your success as a reader depends upon the way you visualize the thought within the paragraph.
Thought is structured and you must see it thus.
Task (4)
Study the following diagram:

I II III
A a ---- A 1 ---- A 1 ----
b ---- 2 ---- 2 ----
b(i) ---- 3 ---- 3 ----
b ---- Questions
B a ---- B 1 ---- B 1 ----
b ---- 2 ---- 2 (1) ----
c ---- Quotation (2) ----
3 ---- (3) ----
C 1 ---- C 1 - question
2 ---- - question
2 (1) ----
(2) ----
(3) ----
Which one of these outlines of the pattern of the previous lesson is most appropriate? (Unit
IIb)
N.B. Discuss your choice with a partner first and then with the class. The teacher will guide
the discussion.
What"- you think A, B & C stand for?
What do 1, 2, 3 stand for?
Visualizing the thought-pattern in spoken or written discourse is a skill which you can use in 3
more ways apart from profitable reading:
1. While participating in seminars or group discussion where there is no time to jot down
points.
2. While listening to a lecture so that you can take notes meaningfully even if the lecturer
repeats points.
3. While writing summaries, so that subordinate matter is skillfully discarded.
--------------- o ---------------
87
The power of Adverbs
"Adverbs add meaning to verbs, adjectives and to other adverbs. Any elementary grammar book
will tell you about Adverbs.*
At this tertiary level it is important that you are familiar with adverbs because authors use
adverbs in powerful ways to convey information, regarding time, place; to add opinions,
emphasize or modify opinions.
Look at these examples from your texts:

1) In postexilic Judaism ..........................
2) .......................from Tyre, Sidon and beyond the Jordon ..........................
3) .......................... in the Lutheran and Reformed Traditions.
4) .......................... in recent years
5) In the perspective of the centuries..........................
6) During the centuries between the close of the Old Testament period and the opening of
the New Testament period..........................
7) About one hundred years before the beginning of the Christian era.
8) In the eastern delta region.......................... excellent land for grazing and farming ……….
9) In the foregoing papers..........................
10) From the Biblical point of view ..........................
Also, in this text, the opening lines are
"Throughout history and beyond in the dark recesses of men's earliest cultures
…………………”
Where even without specific references to dates we get a clear sense of time because of
adverbials as also a sense of space: "the dark recesses of men's earliest cultures."
Adverbs normally tell about

Time when ?
Place answering Where?
Manner the questions How ?
Why ?
Thus Adverbs Phrases and Adverbs Clauses do the same.
*
Please refer to high school grammar books to refresh your memory. You may also refer to the list of books in the
Appendix here.
88
In the examples cited above 1, 2, 8, 9 refer to places
4,5,6,7 refer to time
3, 10 refer to spatial relationships.
i.e. the "places" they refer to are not geographical but conceptual places.
The words "traditions", the phrase "point of view" evoke intellectual places or spaces
Theological or "theophoric"* prose is full of such use of language. The grammar books identify
the following kinds of Adverbial Clauses:
Adverb Clause of Time/Frequency when, whenever, since
Adverb Clause of Place/Direction where, wherever
Adverb Clause of Reason because, since
Adverb Clause of Cause/Purpose due to, since
Adverb Clause of Result/Consequence Introduce bv consequently, so that
Adverb Clause of Manner or Degree as well as
Adverb Clause of Concession although, even though
Adverb Clause of Condition If, unless
In theophoric prose one often finds Adverb Clauses which describe a situation or a point of time
which is abstract.
For this, I find it convenient to use the term "Adverbial Clause of Situation"**
e.g.
"When our aim is the communication of information and ideas we can teach through assigned
readings and classroom lectures, supplemented by questions for discussion"
or
"When our objective is a process of reflection on important social issues and private concerns
then such methods may not only be inadequate but actually destructive.
In these sentences "When" is not time in the "hours" or "days" sense nor can it be substituted by
"if".
The word "if contains the sense of a conditional word and conveys uncertainty.
*
Word coined by David Crystal, an authority on Linguistics.
**
My contribution.
89
But here the speaker is not at all uncertain. He is referring to a particular state of affairs, a
situation, in fact, which exists.
Adverbs may be further classified by their function.
1. Sentence Adverbs - These adverbs modify not just the verb but the whole sentence
eg. "Admittedly, this is a dangerous exaggeration"
or
"This is a dangerous exaggeration unfortunately"
2. Conjunctive Adverbs - These adverbs establish a relationship between one sentence oi

clause and the preceding sentence or clause and again they modify the whole sentence:
result therefore, accordingly

addition moreover, besides
contrast however, nevertheless
condition otherwise
time then,
& etc.
3. Explanatory Adverbs - These adverbs illustrate or enumerate

viz. namely
e.g. for example
i.e. that is
4. Relative Interrogative Adverbs - when, where, why, how.
5. Exclamatory - How, as in
"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! "
The Position of Adverbs:
The Adverb has a greater degree of flexibility than any other part of speech.
It can fill one of three positions

INITIAL POSITION
(greatest emphasis) e.g. Sometimes she comes late.
MID-POSITION
(with verb. In spoken English) e.g. She sometimes she comes late.
FINAL POSITION
(after the verb plus object or e.g. She come late sometimes.
90
other complement)
= less emphatic than initial
but more than mid-position.
Some types of adverbs/adverbials occupy all 3 positions, some only one or two of these
positions. Strictly, adverbs should be placed before the subject or after the object and never
between verb and object.
There may be exceptions to this rule but this is the commonly agreed upon rule.
Time Place Subject Modal Frequency Verb Object Place Time

Aux
1. -- -- I Would Usally Correct Essays At home At night
2. -- At home, She Could Normally Work on Her -- Till late

thesis at night
Task (5)
Attempt to create two sentences of this kind.
Task (6)
Find these adverbs in Text IIc

1. profoundly
2. wisely
3. dispassionately
4. objectively (2)
5. partly
6. rather violently
7. admittedly
Read the text carefully and describe

a) their position
b) their function
Task (7)
Find Adverbial Clauses or phrases in the text and do the same as above.
Look out for words like 'since', 'though' (for = because), because. Your teacher will help you.
91
Sentence adverbials have a wide range of possible structures as in:
i) in all frankness - a prepositional phrase
ii) to speak frankly, to be frank - an infinite phrase
iii) frankly speaking - an "-ing" participial phrase
iv) if I may be frank - a finite verb clause
Task (8)
Complete the following list using similar sentence adverbials with the word: "Truthful"
1)
2)
3)
4)
You will notice that Adverbials contain other parts of speech like
frankness (noun)
to be (infinitive)
frank (adjective)
in (preposition)
THIS FACT SHOULD NOT CONFUSE YOU.
Adverbs have been called the "rag-bag" of English grammar because they seem to contain
everything! When a word or phrase cannot be easily classified it seems like it is thrown into this
category of "rag-bag".
But, as you have seen, Adverbials are very important in academic prose.
Adverbs may intensify or modify statements

e.gs. Write your own here
Really fantastic!
Absolutely delicious!
Can't possibly!
extremely foolish
(adverb + adjective)
Indeed !
92
Task (9)
Mark the scale of intensity conveyed by these adverbs in the following list:
The first five have been done for you.)
Adverb Fairly Very Limit

Completely - -
Gradually - -
Partly - -
Absolutely - -
Largely - -
Mainly -
Altogether
Steadily
Only
Seriously
Significantly
Highly
Wholly
Necessarily
Leisurely
Task (10)
Look at the list of adverbs and adjectives taken from theological texts:
Adverbs Adjectives
Seriously continuing
leisurely overlapping
equally cultural
necessarily ongoing
indiscriminately fitting
theologically dangerous
significantly historical
implicitly supernatural
intellectually traditional
highly secular
existentially religious
manifestly existential
wholly meaningful
perpetually
Sometimes we use an adverb as an intensifier or modifier of an adjective. For each sentence

given below, we give an opposite opinion, using one of the intensifiers given above and one of
the adjectives.
93
Examples:
A: I thought the lecture was so boring!

B: But I found it wholly meaningful.
A: I expected the lecturer to condemn supernatural happenings.

B: How could you? He has been perpetually traditional in his thinking.
A: Believing in such things can be dangerous.

B: Why? Not if you are intellectually honest.
Attempt a few pairs in this style.
Adverbs act as opinion/concept carriers
Some adverbs convey facts, but some convey opinions or concepts.
For example:
S1 Religion is a doubly rich and complex phenomenon.
S2 It gives rise to some profoundly important questions about the truth of religion.
S3 Thailand has been impregnated religiously and culturally by Hinayana Buddhism.
S1 = fact (outer and inner aspects)

S2 = opinion (author's view)
S3 = concents (religious and cultural)
Clearly, one must not ignore Adverbs of the 2nd and 3rd kind.
94
Unit II
TEXT D ONTEXTUALIZING THEOLOGY

SHOKI COE in MISSION TRENDS NO. 3
THIRD WORLD THEOLOGY
Throughout the history of the Theological Education Fund there has been a continuing concern
for indigenization in theological education-a term and a process which have been debated in
mission circles of both older and younger churches for a long time. This is understandable, as
indigenization is a missiological necessity when the Gospel moves from one cultural soil to
another and has to be retranslated, reinterpreted, and expressed afresh in the new cultural soil.
Why, then do we now use a new word, contextualization, in preference to indigenization?
Indigenous, indigeneity, and indigenization all derive from a nature metaphor, that is, of the soil,
or taking root in the soil. It is only right that the younger churches, in search of their own
identity, should take seriously their own cultural milieu. However, because of the static nature of
the metaphor, indigenization tends to be used in the sense of responding to the Gospel in terms of
traditional culture. Therefore, it is in danger of being past-oriented. Furthermore, the impression
has been given that it is only applicable to Asia and Africa, for elsewhere it was felt that the
danger lay in over-indigenization, or uncritical accommodation such as expressed by the cultural
faiths, the American Way of Life, etc. But the most important factor, especially since the last
war, has been 'the new phenomenon of radical change. The new context is not that of static
culture, but the search for the new, which at the time has involved the culture itself.
Dr. Kosuke Koyama, a longtime Japanese missionary in Thailand, has put this situation in a
graphic way. He says there are two Thailands today: Thailand One, saturated by its nature, the
seasons with which the rural community is tied up, symbolized by the leisurely pace of the water
buffaloes, and impregnated religiously and culturally by Hinayana Buddhism; Thailand Two,
undergoing rapid social change, urbanization, industrialization, modernization, symbolized by
the cars crowding the cities and the jet planes coming in from ll over the world. He goes on to
say that it is as if the Lord of Hosts is conducting the controversy with Thailand One (The
unchanging one) through Thailand two, which is crying out for change. (See Kosuke Koyama,
"Thailand: Points of Theological Friction," pp. 65-86 in Asian Voices in Christian Theology.
So in using the word contextualization, we try to convey all that is implied in the familiar
term indigenization, yet seek to press beyond for a more dynamic concept which is open to
change and which is also future-oriented.
Contextuality and Contextualization
We who are in the Third World are faced with a new historical reality, where many contexts, old
and new, are converging, sometimes in coexistence, sometimes in radical conflict. Dr. Koyama
mentioned Two Thailands. There are many places with even more overlapping contexts,
sometimes in a bewildering state of coexistence as in Hong Kong, sometimes in a revolutionary
ferment, as on the mainland of China seen through its cultural revolution, Either by accident or
by Providence we have used two words instead of one, contextuality and contextlialization. I
believe this to be Providential.
95
To take context seriously does not necessarily mean, it seems to me, taking all contexts equally
seriously, because all are not equally strategic for the Missio De/in the working out of His
purpose through history. By taking context seriously theological education may have to seek the
help of other disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, etc. But that is not all of the task.
Behind it all is the missioiogical discernment of the signs of the times, required of the People of
God.
Dr. Jurgen Moltmann warns of the danger that academic theology may become so contextualized
that it becomes fossilized theology, and all the more dangerous because we are not aware of it.
But equally there is a danger of contextual theology becoming chameleon theology, changing
color according to the contexts. Contextuality, therefore, I believe, is that critical assessment of
what makes the context really significant in the light of the Missio Dei. It is the missioiogical
discernment of the signs of the times, seeing where God is at work and calling us to participate in
it. Thus, contextuality is more than just taking all contexts seriously but indiscriminately. It is the
conscientization of the contexts in the particular, historical moment, assessing the peculiarity of
the context in the light of the mission of the church as it is called to participate in the Missio Dei.
Such conscientization can only come through involvement and participation, out of which
critical awareness may arise. But it should also engender that capacity to respond and to
contextualize. Authentic contextuality leads to contextualization. The two cannot be separated,
though they should be distinct. This dialectic between contextuality and contextualization
indicates a new way of theologizing. It involves not only words, but actions. Through this, the
inherent danger of a dichotomy between theory and practice, action and reflection, the classroom
and the street should be overcome. Authentic theological reflection can only take place as the
theologia in loco, discerning the contextuality within the concrete context. But it must also be
aware that such authentic theological reflection is at best, but also at most, theologia viatorum:
and therefore contextuality must be matched by the contextualization which is an ongoing
process, fitting for the pilgrim people, moving from place to place and from time to time, in
awareness that there is no abiding place which is not subject also to the changes of time.
Thus, the T.E.F. does not speak about "contextual theology" nor "contextualized theology" but
about contextualizing theology.
Glossary
Words Parts of Speed Meaning

1. Indigenization n born naturally in a region
2. Missiological Adj concerned with mission
3. Contextualization n within a context/surroundings
4. Preference n selection, choice
5. Indigenous adj native, local
6. Indigeneity n being native, local
7. Milieu n environment or medium
8. Static adj unchanging condition
9. Graphic adj vivid, illustrative
10. Saturated adj soaked, full
11. Impregnated adj beget, bear
96
12. Urbanization n remove rural character of a district
13. Controversy n argument, dispute
14. Dynamic adj vigorous, energetic
15. Converging vb meet, intersect
16. Coexistence n live/exist at same place/time
17. Overlapping adj partly cover & extend beyond
18. Bewildering adj confuse, perplex
19. Ferment vb grow, blossom
20. Providence n fate, destiny
21. Providential adj fortunate, lucky
22. Strategic adj essential
23. Discernment n awareness, discrimination
24. Fossilized adj incapable of further development
25. Chameleon n lizard which changes colour
according to its surroundings
26. Indiscriminately adv haphazard, making no distinctions
27. Conscientization n rousing conscience
28. Assessing vb evaluate, analyze
29. Engender vb to cause, produce
30. Authentic adj reliable, genuine
31. Dialectic n logical argumentation
32. Dichotomy n branching, division into two
33. Ongoing adj continuing, current
97
Studying Definitions
In this extract we find the author involved with definition of terms such as:
- indigenization
- conceptuality and contextualization
The most common way to introduce anew term is by comparing or contrasting different aspects
of it.
Before he does this, however, the author looks at the old term, "indigenization" closely and by
implication we can form a definition of the new term.
Indigenous, Indigeneity Contextuality

Indigenization Contextualization
1) Source of the A nature metaphor – Therefore, he says, the new term has
words of the soil taking root to be all this yet
in the soil
2) Nature of the Static, relating to Dynamic and

metaphor traditional culture
3) Weakness- Is past-oriented and Future-oriented for

applied only to Asia, Third-World Realities
Africa
BUT
Where old & new contexts
Since the last war there has
been radical change Coexist as or conflict as
in Hong Kong in China
Example: The two Thailand’s
By Dr. kosuke koyama
N.B. This table is based on paragraphs 1-5. Re-read these paragraphs carefully.
98
Task(1)
Fill in the following table starting to read at paragraph 6. Some guidelines have been put you
Contextuality
1) To take context seriously

a) Means
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
b) Does not mean (state why) …………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Being too academic has its dangers – Theology can become
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
3) Yet a danger of contextual theology is that it may become
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Therefore Definition (copy it out here)
Contextuality is ………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Authentic contextuality leads to Contextualization

Contextualization is a new theology which involves …………………………………………….
Because of this, theory & practice reflection & action, classroom & street ……………………….
THEOLOGIA IN LOCO leads to …………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………… an ongoing process
Thus the T.E.F. does not speak about contextual (the adjective) nor contextualized (the
participial adjective) but about contextualizing Theology (the present continuous form).
99
Writing Definitions ourselves
Theology is a subject which uses definition all the time. Theologians need definitions to talk of
God, Man, Good, Evil, Life and Death among other such profound concepts.
In your libraries you will find special Dictionaries of theological terms.
Example: (RR: -03; -003) by Alan Richardson.
So it is important that we look at the following 5 aspects of this skill carefully.*

1 ) The structure of a definition.
2) Defining by comparison and contrast (as in our text)
3) Defining by exemplification
4) Defining by classification
5) Defining by negation.
The structure of a definition
When we define an object or concept we usually use this format:
A (an) X is a Y which Z_________________.
e.g. (i) A computer is an electronic device which has proved very useful to modern man.
e.g. (ii) Truth is an attribute of the Divine which saints have struggled to attain.
In both sentences whether the Topic was a physical object like a computer or an abstraction like
Truth the structure of the sentence is the same.
The first step is to place the topic in a class or category to which it belongs
e.g. a computer is an electronic device.............

Truth is an attribute of the Divine............
The second step is to add its distinctive feature by the use of an adjective or defining clause.
e.g. ....... which has proved very useful to man.
....... which saints have struggled to attain.
*I am grateful to a number of American College books on Writing for shaping my thinking on this subject especially
to "Writing as a Thinking Process" by Mary Lawrence - Ann Arbor, Michigan ELTI - 1971.
100
e.g. (from text) Indigenization is aterm and a process which has been debated for a long
time in mission circles of both older and younger churches.
Definition by Comparison and Contrast
In this form of definition, sometimes, more than one sentence is required. In paragraph 7 Dr.
J. Moltmann warns of "academic theology which may become fossilized".* Equally,
"Contextual theology may become chameleon** theology which changes colour according to
contexts."
By comparing and contrasting two extremes he defines what contextualization is.
At a simpler level we may say "Theology like philosophy is a subject which calls for
reflection but unlike philosophy it takes for its subject the supernal and the supernatural."
Definition by exemplification/anecdote
God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers.
Definition by classification
"Reputation is what people think you are. Personality is what you think you are. Character
is what you really are".
Definition by Negation
1) "Contextualization is not static and past-oriented like indigenization but is dynamic and
future-oriented "
2) Malcolm Muggeridge said, "Mr. Nehru was not the first Prime Minister of India but the
last Viceroy!"
From the above examples you must have observed that definitions can be both
1) Personal and opinionated (subjective)

2) Factual and scientific (objective)
*
Unchanging.
**
Animal like a lizard which changes colour easily.
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Task (2)
Write definitions of any five of the following based on the ideas suggested to you regarding
structure and content:
102
1) Photocopying 6) Terrorism
2) Computers 7) Suicide
3) Internet 8) Organ-transplants
4) E-Mail 9) Atheism
5) Facsimile 10) Feminism
11) Success
12) Justice
13) Love
14) Truth
15) Beauty
Useful words/phrases
to define form attitude
to clarify species movement
in other words class phenomenon
to explain device
by............ is meant type
category kind
aspect method
characteristic property
condition attribute
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Unit III
Text A CHAPTER I FROM THE GOSPELS ACCORDING TO ST. MATHEW,
ST. MARK, ST. LUKE AND ST. JOHN, IN ANY VERSION OF AN
ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
The gospel story, in secular terms, has often been called "The Greatest Story Ever Told." In the
Bible we have 4 versions of this story in the four gospels which you will study in great detail in
your 'Bible' class.
In this unit we need to compare and consider the different kinds of writing involved in retelling
stories. There are two genres (kinds) involved:
1) story (fiction)
2) history (record of actual events)
Historians claim that history deals with real actions in the past and is not like Literature which
deals with imagined events with no definite time restriction.
While studying the gospels theologians group Mathew, Mark and Luke for their similarities in
recording history, they make a synopsis (summary) of their work and refer to the three writers as
synoptists, and the three gospels as synoptic gospels. In matters where they differ theologians
speak of the Synoptic Problem.
The word 'problem' is very significant when we readhistory. How much ofwhat is written in the
gospels is historically accurate? Why are there differences in recording actual events? This is
the point at issue.
Some of us Christians insist that nothing in the Bible should be questioned - that everything in it is
the direct Word of God.
[You will study all this in great detail in the 'Bible' Class]
Yet there are differences in reporting.
Our interest in historical writing is different because we look at the kind of language used and its
purpose or point of view.
In this lesson we will read the first chapters of each gospel to note differences in historical writing,
but we will look at history from 3 different angles.*
*For this particular insight I am indebted to Ms. Nancy S. Struever in "Historical Discourse", P. 302, Ch. 10 of
Handbook of Discourse Analysis - 1995 ed. by Teun A. Van Dijk.
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1) History as narrative (telling, factual)
2) History as Rhetorical Style (presentation)
3) History as Argument (Truth, discrimination)
As we consider the distinct features of the categories a new way will emerge of looking at the
Gospel narratives purely from these linguistic point of view. This is important as Biblical
Criticism which gave rise to Literary Criticism in the past is now also using linguistics for
exegesis.
[In the next lesson Unit 4-a, "The Cultural and Religious Background of Palestinian Judaism",
Metzger speaks of several literary categories. He says, "The First Book of Maccabees is "a stirring
narrative", told "in a sober and straight forward account" or "sober and unadorned style" whereas
The Second Book of Maccabees was written "in an artificial and florid style" and as a result his
book "is arhetorical and melodramatic account historically less trustworthy than I Maccabees".]
So, analysis of a writer's language is highly relevant for students of Theology too.
1. HISTORY AS NARRATIVE
History is an objective record of what existed (people, places) or what occurred (events). The writer
never uses the word 1' but how he records events is important. In a narrative (story) the telling of
the story gives meaning to events. Each historian tells a story in a different way and this story-
element makes history different from other social sciences. Linguists speak of the difference
between "Knowledge-telling" and "Knowledge-transforming".
2. HISTORY AS RHETORIC / STYLE
The historian uses figures of speech such as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, irony and tells his
story in a poetic way.
3. HISTORY AS ARGUMENT
Intelling his story ahistorianis "making acase", like alawyer, for some particular opinion or point of
view.
If there was no argument history would be mere reporting (journalistic) or mere fiction (story),
History must contain an argument in the narrative, e.g. Unit II a, "The Great Peasants' War'
which was full of debate.
Further, let us distinguish between "Historical narrative"
e.g. Girish Karnad's "Tughlak" where a real figure from history in a real background of history
is presented imaginatively and the reader accepts this passively; as also the novels of Sir. Walter
Scott e.g. Ivanhoe etc.
and
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Narrative History where past action is recorded and the reader responds critically and shares the
author's quest (search) for truth and meaning. The gospel accounts belong to this category i.e. (I)
above.
Task (1)
Read the 1st chapters of the 4 gospels in any version of an English translation of the Bible
Make notes in column form of the 1st chapter in each gospel.
e.g. The gospel according to St. Mathew has been filled in for you.
Verses Chapter 1 Verses Chapter 1 Verses Chapter 1 Verses Chapter 1

Mathew Mark Luke John
1-17 Geneology
of Jesus
upto
Joseph
18-21 The Angel

visits
Joseph
22 & 23 Prophecy
fulfilled
24 & 25 Jesus is
born
When you have filled in the columns you will see-at-a-glance your analysis of the texts and the
differences in presentation will be very clear.
Note to the teacher:
1) Allow I hour for this exercise as class work or home work.
Class-work, in pairs or groups would be more interesting with no reference to commentaries

etc. Avoid theological debate.
Students need only to analyse structure.
106
Task (2)
In the following grid put in ( ) marks where a writer has mentioned what is stated above or a (X)
mark where he has ignored this item.
The first two are done for you. (cf: as in Unit I d)

Special Geneology Foretelling John the Foretelling Calling Jesus Jesus, Poetic
reference of Jesus of, and the Baptist’s of the of preaching described symbols
to recounted birth of ministry Birth of disciples and as Son of for
audience the John Jesus healing God Jesus
and the Baptist the
purpose Divine
of
writing
specified
Mathew X
Mark X X
Luke X
John X X
Task (3)
History as Narrative
History as Rhetoric
History as Argument
Reflecting on your notes and the entry in the grid complete the following statements with the terms
given above.
1) The gospel of Mathew. Chapter I is a fine example of history as …………………………..
2) In the gospel of John. Chapter 1. we find a clear example of history as rhetoric in verses
.................. but verses 19-28 show us how we can have history as .............................. for the
Pharisees raise questions here. Towards the end of the chapter, St. John give us history
as................. In fact, verses 35-51 tell of the calling of the disciples and this narrative is
repeated in verses 15-45 of St. Marks gospel.
3) Because St. Luke begins his gospel explaining why he writes and to whom he writes we can
call this history as..............................
4) However, Mary's "Magnificat" andZacharias' prophecy (in St. Luke's gospel) regarding God
helping the lowly may be labelled history as............................
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5) Although 'Marks' gospel opens (v:i) with a statement regarding Jesus as Son of God which is a
theological statement he does not present an argument here. This opening chapter is more of a
good example of history as...................................
6) Verses 5-45 in St. Lukes' opening chapter are another clear example of history
as....................................................
By now it should be clear to you that we can read any text meaningfully if we have definite
categories in our minds regarding the kind of text we are reading.
Earlier, in ll(a), you were taught to look at text using Hoey's method of problem - situation -
elaboration - solution - evaluation of solution. This method is good for academic texts as in ll(a)
which was, incidentally, "history as argument".
But while reading narrative history, such as the gospels, it is useful to consider historical writing
from these three view points.
Remember Reading is an ACTIVE exercise. The reader should not be

passive or merely receptive.
108
Unit III
Text B FROM JERUSALEM TO NEW DELHI: THE STORY OF THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH –M.E. GIBBS
THE REFORMATION
THE REFORMATION FALLS INTO THREE MAIN DIVISONS
109
Sometimes writers condense information (rather than elaborate it) in Tables and Charts
OR
they condense it after they have elaborated upon it to help the reader get an overview of the details
of the argument or explanation. Tables/charts present data in a direct, precise, efficient way.
Tables/Charts save time in comprehending text.
They encourage the reader's eye to compare pieces of data - to see more readily their
meanings and relationships.
At the academic level, especially in an abstract subject like Theology there is rarely scope for
illustration or pictures. However, we do have visual representation in Tables or Graphs which are
called NON-VERBAL items.
Tables are usually made up of numerical data in columns and the data are usually arranged in either
descending or ascending order.
The text we will be studying in this lesson is a chronological table and has specific dates as the
subject is historical, but it has other information too.
This table shows the history of the Reformation. How do we respond to it? How should we
interpret a Table? Here are some suggestions:
• What is the subject of the Table?

• What are the headings for each column?
• What order is the data presented in?
• Compare data in the different columns.
• What conclusions can you draw from the table?
• Write down your interpretation of the Table in a few sentences.
• Identify any words or symbols you are not familiar with. Find out and jot down their
meanings before going on or guess their meaning by re-reading the text.
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Task (1)
Reading Comprehension
Using the following worksheet attempt to interpret the Chart on the Reformation.
1. What is the subject of the Chart?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. How many columns are there reading vertically?

3.
a) ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Reading horizontally ?
b) ………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. What are the headings for each column?

Vertical Horizontal
…………………………………………. ………………………………………
…………………………………………. ………………………………………
…………………………………………. ………………………………………
…………………………………………. ………………………………………
5. What order is the data presented in ?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. What conclusions can you draw from this table/regarding the story of the Christian Church ?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
111
7. Write down, in a few sentences, your interpretation of this text
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
N.B. Useful expressions for you to choose from while answering (6) above.
This table shows that ..........................................................................
The subject of the table .......................................................................
The data are presented in.................................................................... order.
............................ is listed at the top of the columns and...................... is listed at the side
of.................... in the .................. column.
The left-hand column indicates..........................................
The ...........................column indicates x etc.
By studying this table we conclude that..........................................
The trends revealed by this table are that .......................................
The pattern of the Reformation in............................. is ...........................
These trends/patterns imply that ..........................................
Tables and charts can help us better understand complex or abundant information by presenting it
graphically but interpreting them correctly requires developing the skill of accurate questioning.
Here is a chart made up by a student of the Old Testament regarding God's covenant with Man. It
was included in his essay i.e. you can present much information in Tabular form.
112
113
Task (2)
Your class will be divided into groups to do the following assignment:
Topic: The Indian Independence Movement

Task: To create a chart on this topic like the one you have just studied on the Reformation.
Step I : The whole class must discuss the subject with or without the teacher present, and make
rough notes.
Time allowed: 1 hour
a) Identify phases or movements within this larger political movement.
b) Discuss the topic from the point of view of time (chronological order) or space
(geographical or physical order e.g. N.S.E. or West of India) or ideology i.e. reasons for the
movement.
Step II:Your teacher or group leader will assign a specific area to each group.
You must have a minimum of three and a maximum of six groups.
Step III:Spend one week collecting information from the Library or from people (secondary
sources or primary sources) and share your material within the groups.
N.B.: You must arrange to meet outside the class hours also.
Step IV: Choose a "scribe" for each group to write up the facts of your chosen area (time, space,
ideology) and help her or him to create a table or chart. Use chart-paper large enough to
write in.
Step V:(a) Meet the other groups and put all your findings/charts together to create one, clear
chart on this topic exactly similar to our text.
[you may start either at 1857 - "The Indian Mutiny" or later]
(b) Choose someone with a good handwriting to write out data clearly on a large A-3 size
sheet of paper to present this in class, one week later.
Optional: Make photocopies of this chart for each student, reduced to A-4 paper.
Step VI:Share with your teacher and classmates what you have learned about condensing large
amounts of information in Tabular form.
(no marks for this assignment as it is group-work)
114
Task (3)
Writing exercise (Individual work)
(Homework for the following-week)
Select any one event or one person from the Reformation Chart i.e. from the text.
Example : St. John of the Cross (person)

Thirty Years War (event)
And write a 250-word paragraph on this topic. You must do reference work in the library for this.
The style you will be likely to use is chronological order, narrating facts in sequence (of time) and
you will probably use past-tense and past-perfect tense. Be sure you put dates in chronological
order.
115
Unit III
Text C From CHURCH & SOCIETY published by

St. Marks Church & CISRS - Bangalore (See P. 109)
What is a graph?
A graph is a diagram that exhibits a relationship between two variables. Each variable is
represented by one axis on the graph. The most common graph is the Line graph with which you
may be familiar already. There are also Bar-graph depicted vertically or horizontally and the
circular or Pie-graph.
Graphs are also referred to as Charts, Usually information is first set in a Table and then transferred
to a graph. Tables are very precise as they contain statistical information. Graphs, on the other
hand, reflect movements, trends, distribution and are useful in making comparisons.
In a Line graph, two lines stand at right angles. The horizontal line usually represents Time and the
vertical line represents amounts or numbers of something (people, temperature, age etc.) and is
clearly labelled and so it can be easily recognised. It looks like this:
Line Graph
Bar-Graphs
May be vertical or horizontal bars that vary in length to represent a quantity.
116
Pie-Graph*
N.B. In a Pie or Circular graph, the circle represents an entire unit. Parts of the circle represent
portions of the unit.
How should we interpret graphs?
Once again, to understand a graph answer the following questions:
• What is the subject of the graph?
• What do the horizontal and vertical axes represent?
• What trend or pattern does the graph reveal?
• What are the implications of the graph?

i.e. what is not precisely stated but only suggested
• What conclusions can you draw from this information?
• What predictions would you make?
You may use the following worksheet when interpreting a graph
1) The subject of the graph is.................................................................………………………

………………………...........................................................................................................
*
Pie-circular shape, like a cake or a pie.
117
2) The horizontal axis represents .............................................................……………………..
………………………...........................................................................................................
3) The vertical axis represents .......................................................………………….......……

………………………...........................................................................................................
4) The line on the graph illustrates the relationship between ........................…………………

................................................. and................................................………………………..
5) The trend revealed by this graph is........................................................……………………

………………………...........................................................................................................
6) One of the (trends/patterns) that becomes clear from this graph is ..........…………………
………………………...........................................................................................................
7) If this trend holds (remains permanent) ..............................................…………………….

………………………...........................................................................................................
8) By studying this graph, we can predict that ..........................................……………………

………………………...........................................................................................................
9) Some of the obvious implications from studying this graph are

……………............................................................ one.....................................……………
10) .................and two.........................................................................………………………….
11) In conclusion...................................................................................………………………...
………………………...........................................................................................................
118
The text of this lesson is a combination of Pie-Chart and Pictographic or Pictorial-Chart.
119
Task (1)
Study the graph for this lesson on Medicine in India carefully and then fill in the numbered spaces
with items selected from below:
a) 90% hospital beds

b) in some places 60,000 people
c) 80% of doctors
d) costly nursing homes
e) 20% doctors and 10% hospital beds are in rural areas
f) one doctor available
g) 80% of our people live in rural areas.
Task (2)
Provide some words (Adjectives or Adverbs of differing intensity) to describe the following:
1) Attitude of some doctors to their profession...........................................……………….
..........................................................................................................
2) Situation of medicine in India...............................................................…………………
..........................................................................................................
3) Nursing Homes...................................................................................……………………
4) Condition of the rural people.................................................................………………….
.................................................................................................................
5) The rich people..................................................................................……………………..
Task (3)
1) Write 2 sentences about the facts revealed in this graph. (You may state obvious facts. Be
careful about your sentence structures)
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
2) Write one sentence which conveys your opinion on the same.

...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
3) Mention two reasons why you formed your opinion

1) ...............................................................................................................……………
2) ...............................................................................................................……………
120
4) Attempt to classify the reasons you mention.
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
5) If you were in a position of power how would you help to rectify this situation?
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
...............................................................................................................…………………
121
Task (4)
Study the following picture
Write three short paragraphs regarding:

a) This picture
b) Its relationship to the pie-chart you have just studied
c) Its implications for the role of the Church in society.
122
Unit III
Text D THE CHURCH'S EDUCATIONAL MINISTRY

J.M. WESTERHOFF III in VALUES FOR TOMORROW'S CHILDREN
Daily, each person who claims to be a Christian communicates through his words and actions his
understanding of the Christian faith. In the same manner the church, as a community and
institution, communicates through its corporate life the nature and character of the Christian faith. It
is primarily through such means that children and others learn what it means to be a Christian.
But how often have we met people who reject the Gospel or are unable to make a genuine decision
for or against it because they never had the good news properly communicated to them? How often
have we met people who accept what they think is the Christian faith, but never really became
Christians, because they too never had the faith truly communicated? The lives of this second group
who claim to be the bearers of the Gospel make it difficult for others to make an honest decision.
Communicating the good news, i.e. offering children, youth and adults an authentic experience of
it, is an essential aspect of the church's educational ministry. This education occurs through the life
and actions of the faith community wherever it exists. The church communicates its faith by
being the community of faith, by offering to persons an experience of its message.
Yet in order for the church to be this kind of educating community, it must struggle to understand
its message; it must engage in that painful attempt to decide what it must be and do so as to
faithfully communicate its faith. This process demands time for reflection.
Without a living example, Christian education is all but impossible. "No truth," wrote Horace
Bushnell, "is really taught by words or interpreted by intellectual and logical methods. Truth must
be lived into meaning before it can be truly known." That's true. But unless Christians sit down and
discover what their actions mean, they might communicate a distortion of the Gospel.
There are some people in the church today who in their concern for education have become action-
oriented. They have realized the importance of the experiential aspect of the church's educational
ministry. They are emphasizing that important aspect of education because many of us have
forgotten it. Nevertheless sometimes they need to be reminded of the necessity for reflection and
study.
Why? Because the actions of the faith community are not automatic. They are a result of a serious
search for those actions which best express its faith. There are two basic aspects to the Gospel: one
expressed through words and' ideas, and the other lived as the Good News. The words are
necessary in order that the living word might be identified and interpreted, but the words without
the living Word are shallow and bare. The keys to all education are experience and interpretation.
Education becomes Christian education when both of these occur to a person within the faith
community.
One of the Early Church Fathers said, "Christianity is not talk." Some days you would think that is
all it is. In church education we have been long on talking and short on living. Most of the time we
use the proper words: speaking them with the satisfaction of knowing that they have been used
123
for centuries. With words we attempt to describe and interpret the Christian faith. When we utter
them we assume that they are understood by others, that they are filled with significance. But words
are symbols for experiences. Without the experience they are at best memorized definition without
power, at worst non-sense syllables.
For example, Christianity has rightly been characterized as a religion of salvation. Christ is another
name for the one who saves. The Christian faith affirms that God has acted, acts, and will act in the
lives of men and nations to heal the sick, make whole the disrupted, free those in bondage and
liberate those in captivity. The words "salvation" and "saved" are used to identify where that
experience is taking place. They are the symbols used to interpret how God calls us to behave in
relationship to our neighbor. But have we experienced health, wholeness, freedom and liberation in
the church? Do we know what it means to seek those blessings for others? For too many people
the words "saved" and "salvation" have negative rather than positive meaning. They do not point to
the Word at all. I find few churchmen who acknowledge that these words have significance for
their lives; few who say that they point to experiences in the church which have changed their lives,
few whose behavior reveals that they live in their power.
Church education needs to be about both the Word - living experiences persons have in the faith
community - and the words how we talk about (in defining and interpreting) those experiences.
Church education cannot afford to do anything less than be about the total life of the community of
faith. It is difficult to conceive of a solitary Christian. To be a Christian is to be in fellowship with
that historic community of faith called the church. To experience and understand the Christian faith
is to participate in the life of a contemporary faith community - a congregation, that is, wherever
two or three persons gather to make real in their experience the heritage and tradition of the church
and share that experience through their corporate activity in the world.
"My thesis", wrote Ellis Nelson in his book Where Faith Begins, "is that faith is communicated by
a community of believers and that the meaning of faith is developed by its members out of their
history, by their interaction with each other, and in relation to the events that take place in their
lives". I agree.
Frequently we have tended to behave as if Christian education were exclusively or primarily

classroom instruction in the Bible or explanation of beliefs through sermons and lectures.
Increasingly it will be necessary to place an emphasis upon the experiential aspects of all planned
and unplanned learning which takes place in the faith community.
Take forgiveness, for example. The church is often the last (rather than the first) place a person in
need of acceptance or "love for nothing" can expect to receive it freely. Yet without that
experience, instruction in the nature of grace will be less than meaningful. The first concern of
church education needs to be the life of the community where the experience of the Christian
faith can be made real. Only then will the education task of interpretation have significance.
Paul Tillich described the church's educational task as introducing each new generation into the life
and mission of the faith community. He explained that this happens through experience or
participation in the community and through identification and interpretation of the experience. One
without the other is a denial of the church's educational ministry.
124
The problems of church education therefore are not to be attributed to an inept church school. No
matter what the inadequacies of church schools, church school teachers, or church school
curriculum, the problems which prevent church education from reaching its goals are within the life
of congregations and their failure to be communities of faith and mission, communities of action
and reflection.
The church must once again take seriously that as an educating community it is called to be a
witnessing and learning community of faith. Many of the implications of these remarks will be
found in the following chapters. At this point we only want to make clear our contention that
church education is not just one aspect of the church's life, but integral to its total life.
There are those who believe that the institutional church will die. I do not. Rather I concur with
Krister Stendahl, who said, "It is unrealistic to believe that 'institutional religion' will fade away.
There will of course be substantial changes in the structure of these institutions, but that does not
make them less institutional." But reform there must be. And I sense that here and there new life is
appearing. The reform I speak of is radical reform-radical meaning fundamental, going to the roots
or origin.
Because of its position in the world, the Early Church was truly an educating-learning and
witnessing - faith community of committed-acting and reflecting - Christians. For too long
Christianity has been a favored "official" religion in our society. The church has been secure and
privileged; to be known as a Christian has been popular, to belong to a church, socially accepted.
But as long as the church cannot be distinguished from the culture, and the life of its people cannot
be distinguished from the lives of other people, church education will remain without an adequate
foundation.
125
Glossary
01. corporate adj Regarding a corporation or group
02. distortion n Misrepresentation, deformity
03. experiential adj Of experience
04. shallow adj Meaningless, hollow
05. assume vb Understand, suppose
06. affirms vb Confirm, swear
07. disrupted adj Interrupt, disordered
08. bondage N Slavery, imprisonment
09. conceive Vb Think, imagine
10. solitary adj Alone, lonely
11. heritage n Legacy, inheritance
12. frequently adv Often, regularly
13. exclusively adv Limited, intimate
14. denial n Refusal
15. inept adj Incompetent, weak
16. implications n Suggestion, reference
17. integral adj Essential, necessary
18. concur vb Agree, coincide
19. substantial adj Considerable, real
20. favored adj Better, select
21. secure adj Safe, protected
22. distinguished adj Famous, eminent
23. adequate adj Sufficient, enough
24. foundation n Basis, base
Phrases
All but Adv Everything short of
Long on (colloq) Well supplied with
Short on (colloq) Partial or total lack of
-------------- o -------------------
Compared to some texts that you read in Unit II this text contains simpler language. With all the
practice that you have had so far you will be able to interpret this passage quite easily. For
convenience please number your paragraphs in the right margin so that we may make cross
references.
You may wish to try these simple skim-type and scan-type exercises first.
126
Task (1) Skimming
Skim-read the entire text and copy out the quotations in it.
1. Horace Bushnell:.............................................................................................…………..
……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
2. Early Church Father.......................................................................................…………..

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
3. Ellis Nelson : ................................................................................................……………..

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
4. Paul Tillich : ................................................................................................……………..

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
5. Krister Stendahl: .........................................................................................…………….

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
Task (2)
Write down the impressions you have received regarding the Church’s educational ministry
through these quotations.
……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
Q : Is the writer pessimistic or optimistic about this ministry?

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
Q : What is the meaning of the last paragraph?

……………….....................................................................................................................
……………….....................................................................................................................
127
Task (3(a))
Scanning
Scan through the text, reading particular paragraphs as directed and answer the following
questions:
1) What do you think is the relationship between the main title and the sub-title? In how many
paragraphs can you see definite references to children?
....................................................................................................................……………
...................................................................................................................…………….
2) Read through paragraphs 1-5 and say which sentence of all this is most suitable to be
considered as topic Sentence. (cf unit IIc) You may copy it down.
....................................................................................................................……………
...................................................................................................................…………….
3) Read through paragraphs 6-8 and mark out Noun Concepts. List them here:
Once has been written for you
1) Concern for education. ..............................................................................…………

2) ..............................................................................................................…………….
3) ..............................................................................................................…………….
N.B. Observe how Noun Concept are formed by suffixes which usually from Adjectives. Here, in
combination with nouns, they help to express concepts/ideas.
4) What indirect reference is there in paragraph 7 to the Eplistle of James Ch: 2 Vs 17–26?
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
5) Read further and describe how the author distinguishes between – “the word” and “the words”.
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
6) Is there a clear topic-sentence in the paragraph on “the word” and “the words”? Copy it out
here.
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
7) What is the writer’s comment on “saved” and “salvation”?

....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
Task (3(b))
128
(Now re-read the text)
Questions to be answered after re-reading the text.
Study the questions based on inference and your general knowledge.
Q1. Does the author condemn the church or praise it when he speaks of forgiveness? Why does
he mention grace here?
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
Do you agree with him? Yes/No?
Q2. Why does he say that church schools are not to blame but the congregation?
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
Q3. What is the main difference between the Early Church and Todays’ Church I the West?
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
Q4. What is the role of the Indian Church in Indian society today? Is it the same as the Western
Church? State reasons for your answer.
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
....................................................................................................................………………….
...................................................................................................................…………………..
129
Task (4)
Reading with Meaning
Another way of interpreting this text is to apply Hoey’s method of discourse analysis taught to you
in Unit II(a).
Attempt to fill in the following Grid thus:
(1) (2) (4) (5)

Situation Problem Solution Evaluation of solution
Read Paragraphs 1 & Read Paragraphs Para 7, 10, 11, 14, 16 17
3 and restated the 2,4,5 & 6
situation here
(4 a) = solution by
Analogy = 18
( 3 ) Elaboration of
problem
8,9
Q 12? 13? 15?
Where would
You place these three

Paragraphs ?
Reading in this fashion, with categories in our minds is profitable reading. No line or paragraph that
we read is neglected. We identify with the author totally and try to see whether he is writing
according to some such criteria.
We are not expecting the writer to write link this but when he does use one of the steps mentioned
above we are fully receptive to his meaning.
Thus reading with meaning is “valued-based” reading. Reading becomes an exciting exercise as
we try to fit bits prose into conceptual categories.
N.B. You will find these 5 steps useful when you write essays too. Always keep them in mind both
while reading and writing.
Task (5)
Spider Notes – a new way of making / taking notes.
Now that you have read this text by skimming, scanning, studying and critically organising text
structure here is another way of "entering" text. Normally you should use this method for a new
text, but in this lesson we introduce it to you to try out in this same text to allow you to first
understand this method. Later, you can try this when you hear a lecture or read a book for the first
130
time. Note-taking is done in the class from lectures. Note-making may be done in the library while
reading from a book/books/journals. In this method created/originated by Buzan,* your notes are
visually presented, but in a free manner, unlike the Tables and Charts we studied in the previous
lessons.
You start by writing the topic of study right in the centre of the page. Then, as you read, you draw
lines outwards (spider-leg fashion) for each main-point you identify, to which, you can attach sub-
points, or add numbers.
The lines drawn outwards may represent facts/concepts/ references or any classification or headings
which you may wish to impose on the text.
*I acknowledge my debt to the University of Aston's Library - in Birmingham, U.K. for their generosity in distributing
hand-outs compiled by different teachers in the University.
131
In this method you keep turning the paper around to accommodate your notes but you try to fit in
all the material of one chapter or one book or one lecture on one page only. This method helps you
to discriminate, be selective and see the entire text and its constituent parts.
Being a simple structure it has flexibility and it helps you to add material in between, as you read
further. You can even use two different colours if you wish for main subjects and add your own
comments in another colour.
Note-making now becomes an active response to text no matter how difficult or dull it is.
Exercise (i)
Change the diagram (above) by fitting in the context of paragraphs 14-18, as you think
appropriate. [There is no one answer to this exercise. This exercise in Note-making is to aid
your understanding alone]. You may add new "legs" for new points.
Exercise (ii)
What do you notice about the structure of this text from the diagram? Tick the most
appropriate answer-
a) it is full of ideas that are new

b) it repeats these new ideas many times
c) it is constructed loosely
d) the paragraph-structure is deductive (cf UNIT IIc)
Exercise (III)
Go back to any text in Units I & II and attempt to make notes in this visual form.
You may find this strange, at first, but with practice, you will find this easier than linear
notes which are bulky.
HOWEVER YOU ARE FREE TO USE THE FORM OF NOTE-MAKING WHICH SUITS YOU
BEST.
Do not feel guilty for rejecting what does not appeal to you as you are the best judge of the me
appropriate study method for yourself.
All the exercises in this book aim to build up your confidence in self-study in English. Nothing is
being forced on you. A variety of reading techniques are described. Use whatever appeals to you.
132
Unit IV
Text A THE CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS B ACKGROUND OF
PALESTINIAN JUDAISM
BRUCE M. METZGER in THE NEW TESTAMENT - ITS
BACKGROUND AND GROWTH
Although it is needful for the student of the New Testament to know something of the political and
social conditions of Palestinian Judaism outlined in the previous chapter, it is even more necessary
tor him to be acquainted with the cultural and religious background of Jesus and His
contemporaries. What books influenced the thinking of Jews in Palestine? How did Jewish beliefs
and aspirations find expression in the rise of religious sects and parties? Who were the scribes and
rabbis, and what was the nature of the piety fostered by the synagogues? The answers to these and
similar questions bearing on the inward spiritual life of Palestinian Jews are of central importance
in understanding the matrix in which and from which the Christian Church emerged.
Survey of Intertestamental Jewish Literature
The Bible of Jesus and His earliest followers was the Hebrew Scriptures which today are called the
Old Testament. The most important of the ideas and ideals which molded the intellectual and
religious life of Jews came from the laws of Moses and the writings of the Hebrew prophets. It is
obvious that no one canduily understand the New Testament without taking into account the thirty-
nine Books of the Old Testament, and it is assumed that the readers of the present book have some
knowledge of the contents of the Old Testament.
During the centuries between the close of the Old Testament period and the opening of the New
Testament period the Jews continued to produce religious literature. Much of this was on a
distinctly lower level than that included in the Old Testament, and was never regarded by
Palestinian Jews as possessing the same religious authority as the Books of the Old Testament. At
the same time, most of these intertestamental books were widely read, and exerted a lasting
influence on religious life and thought.
In contrast to the authoritative or canonical literature of the Old Testament, these intertestamental
books were called apocryphal, a term which originally meant 'hidden'. Traditionally, fifteen such
books or parts of books, belong to the Apocrypha, but besides these there are many other similar
works which also are apocryphal.*
* The books traditionally called the Apocrypha have been available since 1957 in the Revised Standard Version, both as
a separate volume and bound at the close of the Bible. For a convenient edition with introductions and notes, the
Oxford Annotated Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965) may be consulted.
133
The intertestamental literature falls into several literary categories. According to their SJDJect
matter, these books may be classed as (a) historical; (b) legendary or novelistic; didactic or
sapiential; and (d) apocalyptic. The following are representative examples " each category.
(a) About one hundred years before the beginning of the Christian era an ardent admirer of the
Maccabean patriots wrote, perhaps at Jerusalem, the story of the three brothers -Judas, Jonathan
and Simon - who had freed Judea from her Syrian oppressors and restored the purity of her worship
(see chapter 1 above). The First Book of the Maccabees s a stirring narrative, told by one who was
proud of the achievements of the sons of Mattathias. The unknown author depended upon annals
and archives of historically valuable materials, and he put this material together in a sober and
straightforward account. Taken as a whole, I Maccabees is an exceedingly valuable source of
information concerning the Maccabean uprising and its aftermath, covering about forty years (175
to 134 B.C.).
The Second Book of the Maccabees deals with a period of about fifteen years, extending from just
before the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes (175 B.C.) down to the year 160. Thus the Book is in
the main parallel to the first part of I Maccabees, though independent of that work. Unlike the sober
and unadorned style of I Maccabees, the unknown author of 11 Maccabees chose to write in the
artificial and florid style of what is called "pathetic history" so popular in Alexandria at that period.
As a result his Book is a rhetorical and melodramatic account historically somewhat less
trustworthy than I Maccabees.
A special aim of the author seems to have been the honoring of the temple at Jerusalem. Not only
does he frequently refer to it with obvious affection and reverence (as in 2:19; 22; 3:12; 5:15-21;
14:31; 15:18 etc.) but he is concerned to relate fully the circumstances connected with the
institution of a great national festival of the Jews - the annual feast of Dedication, commemorating
the purification of the temple three years after its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes. Likewise, II
Maccabees throws light upon the development of doctrine among Palestinian Jews during their
struggle with the Seleucid dynasty. The author makes it clear that he holds rather fully developed
doctrines of Providence, of retributive justice, and of the resurrection of the body. Furthermore, his
description of the frightful persecution and martyrdom of a Jewish mother and her seven sons, who
refused to renounce their faith (Chapter 7) became for Jewish and Christian readers alike an object
lesson worthy of devout imitation.
Among the purely legendary or novelistic Books of intertestamental literature are the stories of
Tobit and Judith. The former is an entertaining and moralizing narrative written about 190-170
B.C. A devout Jew in Nineveh named Tobit has the misfortune of losing his eyesight after having
performed the pious act of providing honorable burial for members of his race who had been the
victims of persecution. Subsequently his son Tobias goes on a lonQ journey to Media in order to
reclaim a sum of money that had been left in trust with a friend of the family named Gabael. The
adventures of the young man accompanied on his journey by the angel Raphael, who is disguised
as a travelling companion and guide, are both entertaining and edifying. Managing to overcome a
foul demon that threatened his life, Tobias marries a beautiful girl; he also obtains aconcoction
which, on his return home, effects acure on his father's blind eyes. Though the story reminds one
of the Arabian Nights tales, it proved to be valuable for inculcating lofty moral standards in
personal life and in family relationships. For example, Tobit's exhortation given to his son just
before starting his journey includes the Golden Rule in a negative form: "What you hate, do not do
134
to anyone" (Tob 4:15). It is not surprising that a Book which manages to combine religious and
ethical teaching with an entertaining story of travel, love, adventure, conflict, and a happy ending
had a wide circulation.
The Book of Judith is another adventure story which attained wide circulation. It reflects the belief
that God will defend His people if they observe His law; otherwise He will allow their foes to
prevail. The heroine of the stirring tale is a Jewess who combines the most scrupulous observance
of the Mosaic laws with a grim and cunning bravery in the face of great personal danger. In the
midst of war between the Assyrians and the Jews, the city of Bethulia is in grave danger of being
destroyed. When it seems that all hope must be abandoned, Judith undertakes to outwit Holofernes,
the General of the Assyrian forces.
As compared with the story of Tobit, which inculcates such virtues as gentleness and kindliness,
the plot of the Book of Judith is strenuous, not to say fierce and almost vindictive. The name of the
heroine was doubtless chosen to suggest her as a counterpart to that doughty warrior, Judas
Maccabeus. The story relates how, during a banquet held in Judith's honor in his tent, Holofernes
drinks much more wine than he had ever drunk at one time before. While he lies on his couch in a
drunken stupor, Judith seizes his scimitar and, with a prayer to God for strength, cuts off his head.
Glossary
Word Parts of Speech Meaning
1. aspirations n earnest desire

2. piety n being devout, religious
3. fostered vb promote growth
4. molded vb moulded, to bring into certain shape
5. assumed vb consider as being true
6. exerted vb bring to bear, to influence
7. sapiential adj of wisdom. Book of Proverbs etc.
8. ardent adj zealous
9. annals n historical records year by year
10. aftermath n Consequences
11. accession n entering upon an office, to take up office
12. florid adj showy, ornamental
13. desecration n spoil sacred character
14. retributive adj vengeful, see (22) below.
15. reclaim vb to get back
16. edifying adj improve morally
17. concocting n made up of mixed categories
18. inculcating vb impress, urge
19. prevail vb be victorious
20. scrupulous adj extreme thoroughness
135
21. strenuous adj energetic, unrelaxing
22. vindictive adj seeking revenge
23. doughty adj strong, fearful
24. stupor n a dazed state
25. scimitar n curved, broad, sword
-------------- o -------------
Task (1) Skimming
Skim through paragraph (1) only and answer the following questions:
Q What was outlined in the previous chapter?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q What according to the author will he discussed here?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q Why does he say this is important?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Q What do you think "matrix" means?

Have you come across this word in Geology, Biology or Mathematics'
Is it related to "mater" (L) for "mother"
Guess the appropriate meaning.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Now re-read the paragraph. Next, start reading the section (1) 'Survey of intertestamental Jewish
Literature' and do the next Task.
136
Task (2)
Attempt to fill in the following incomplete flow-chart to show the sequence of ideas contained this
text.
Try to fill in the blank spaces as you read or after you have scanned through the text.
Intertestamental Literature
137
Task (3)
The following is a list of words that the author has used to describe the content and style of the
books of the Apocrypha.
Try to relate these words to the appropriate texts as follows:
e.g. 1) fierce and vindictive (style)

= Book of Judith
2) feast of dedication (content)

= I Maccabees
Content Style
1. Temple at Jerusalem 1 . Melodramatic ……………………… …...
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
2. Story of love, travel adventure  2. Happy ending

and conflict Bk:. ………………………………………..
Bk:. ………………………………………..
3. Doctrines of Providence and retributive 3. Artificial and florid
justice Bk:. ………………………………………..
Bk:. ………………………………………..
4. Ressurection 4. Entertaining
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
5. Gentleness and Kindness 5. Unadorned and sober
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
6. Maccabean uprising 6. Sober and straightforward
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
7. Persecution and martyrdom 7. Less trustworthy
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
8. Lofty moral standards in personal life and in 8. Moralizing, edifying
family relationship Bk:. ………………………………………..
Bk:. ………………………………………..
9. Religious and ethical teaching 9. Stirring
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
10. Development of doctrine 10. Rhetorical
Bk:. ……………………………………….. Bk:. ………………………………………..
138
CRITICAL READING
(1) Content and Comment
In Unit III (a) we looked at historical writing closely. We looked at it from three angles:
- History as narrative
- History as argument
- History as style
In this text the author refers to STYLE often as we saw in Task (3).
He also uses the words "less trustworthy" which refers to the idea of "authenticity" or genuineness
and reliability.* (We mentioned this aspect in III (a) i.e. "Some Christians hesitate to question
anything in the Bible".) Following this he speaks of "the special aim of the author" of II
Maccabees, being to honour the temple at Jerusalem. He also says how he does this:
Viz: "with obvious affection and reverence".
This draws attention to the fact that a text has both CONTENT and COMMENT.
A writer not only says something (content) but he also comments on what he says. (Translate
these 2 words into your mother-tongue so that you are fully aware of their significance. Ask your
subject-teachers for their help, if needed)
While reading a text you, the reader, must watch out for these differences, to get maximum returns
from reading. Here, the author is Metzger and he comments on "the unknown author" of I
Maccabees. Later, while telling us about the stories ofTobit and Judith, Metzger makes comments
all along.
The following task will help you to identify the author's comments interspersed with the text. The
first part, on Tobit, is done for you.
* These two concepts are highlighted in John Webster's book 'An Introduction to the Study of History.' Webster is a
former Professor of Church History at U.T.C. and my colleague.
cf: Unit IVb - historicity of Book of Jonah
139
Task (4): Identifying Comments
Section (b) : Legendary or Novelistic
Sentence (1) Among the purely legendary or novelistic books of intertestamental

literature are the stories of Tobit and Judith.
= CONTENT
Sentence (2) The former is (in entertaining and moraliwg narrative written about
190-170 B.C.
= COMMENT
Sentence (3) A devout Jew in Nineveh named Tobit has the misfortune of losing his
eyesight after having performed the pious act of providing honourable burial
for members of his race who had been the victims of persecution.
= CONTENT
Sentence (4) Subsequently his son Tobias goes on a long journey to Media in order to
reclaim a sum of money that had been left in trust with a friend of the family
named Gabael.
= CONTENT
Sentence (5) The adventures of the young man accompanied on his journey by the angel
Raphael, who is disguised as a travelling companion a/id guide, are both
entertaining and edifying.
= CONTENT and COMMENT
Q. Can you mark where the comment begins?
Sentence (6) Managing to overcome, afoul demon ............... father's blind eyes.
= CONTENT
Sentence (7) Though the story reminds one of the Arabian Nights tales, it proved to be
valuable for inculpating lofty moral standards in personal life and in the
family relationships
= COMMENT
Sentence (8) For example, Tobit's exhortation ......................... to anyone (Tob 4:15)
= CONTENT
Sentence (9) It is not surprising that a book which manages to combine religious and
ethical teaching................................had a wide circulation.
= COMMENT
N.B: Of the nine sentences five are purely content and three are comments. One sentence
both content and comment making 9 sentences totally.
140
Now do the same with the Book of Judith as indicated below:
Copy out 9 sentences in full here Tick the appropriate box : ( )

Content Comment
1. He book of Judith …………………………………

2. It reflects ………………………………………..…
3. The heroine ………………………………..………
4. In the midst of war ………………………….…….
5. When it seems ……………………………………..
6. As compared …………………………………..…..
7. The name …………………………………………..
8. The story ……………………………………..……
9. While he lies ……………………………………….
II COMBINATION OF STYLES IN TEXT
Now that we have read this text very closely a further reading of the whole text shows up the
different kinds of writing used by Metzger to suit his particular purpose. Paragraph (1) is the
introductory paragraph and it clearly defines the whole issue. His purpose is stated clearly.
Paragraph 2 : is section (1) survey of Intertestamental Jewish Literature - The Old Testament.
Paragraph 3 : Jewish religious literature inferior to the Old Testament.
Paragraph 4 : Neither authoritative nor canonical
Paragraph 5 : Intertestamental Jewish Literature falls into four categories.
Paragraph 6 : (a) First Maccabees
Paragraph 7 : Second Maccabees
Paragraph 8 : Comment on (7)
Paragraph 9 : (b) Legendary or Novelistic books (Tobit) and comment.
Paragraph 10 : Book of Judith
Paragraph 11 : Comment and continuation of the story.
You will notice that paragraphs 1-5 are purely Academic, Instructional and informative. Metzger is
just telling us about the background to the New Testament.
From paragraphs 6 -II, describing both Historical and Legendary/Novelistic categories he is

analytical and critical. This is because he is not just dealing with facts as before, he is not just
telling us about something he is transforming information regarding two types of writing.
III HISTORY AND STORY
It Unit-llla we studied historic writing. In this Unit we come across another "genre" (form) the
TTC>RY AS USED IN ACADEMIC WRITING.
141
The author is talking about legend, novel or story. Sometimes stories are used to illustrate a point.
cf Unit V(a) - Joseph in Egypt (we will discuss this later). Sometimes stories and episodes are
Additional information (cf. Vol: 2. Unit l(a))
what we should remember are a few characteristics of a story when it is introduced between large
chunks of academic text:
1) being "story" it holds the reader's interest totally.
2) it can be quickly read. Our speed in reading increases naturally because we want to know
“what happens next?"
3) it is easily remembered and recalled because it is additional though related to the author's
main purpose. It helps us to remember the main purpose too.
4) it is written in a dramatic style ("the historic-present" tense) i.e. openings and conclusions
tend to be direct or abrupt.
5) it can be the opening of a text as in V(a) or conclusion as in our text.*
6) it may predict or suggest something?
N B. In this text both the stories are told in exactly 9 sentences each.
Q. Is this a coincidence or is it deliberate?
Q. Could you tell the story of David and Goliath or any other Old Testament story in this similar
structure and style. Try to do so.
*
Though our text is an extract Metzger goes on to speak of other stories and then concludes the chapter.
142
Unit - IV
TextB(i) BOOK OF JONAH

The Author and Date
Jonah the son of Amittai prophesied during or shortly before the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753
B.C.- 2 Kings 14:25). It should not, however, be taken for granted that the Book was necessarily
written by Jonah himself, as it is throughout in the third person.
The usual modern claim, based on linguistic evidence reinforced by the almost universal
unwillingness to accept its miraculous element, is that the Book is post-exilic, and that it was
written as a protest against the national exclusiveness of those that had returned from exile. We are
far from convinced of the truth of the argument. We shall later show that the Book fits into the
needs of the middle of the eighth century B.C. We have insufficient evidence (only Hosea for
certain) for the language of the North in the century before its fall to be dogmatic about the date of
literature claiming to come from there. We agree with Sampey, "The Book of Jonah is anonymous,
and we really do not know who the author was or when he lived. The view that Jonah wrote the
story of his own disobedience and his debate with the merciful God has not been made wholly
untenable."*
Historicity
The uncertainty as to authorship need not affect ourview as to the historicity and accuracy of the
Book; the oriental memory does not need to be tied to ink and parchment. If it was indeed written
(and the same claim is made about Ruth) as a protest against the illiberality of the dominant spirit in
post-exilic Judaism, it would hardly have had much effect unlessit had been universally accepted
as true.
Decisive should be our Lord's use of the Book as historical (Matt. 12:40f; Luke 11:30). The appeal
to our Lord's self-emptying (Phil. 2:7, R.V. - the 'kenosis' theory) is invalid, for He who had not the
Spirit 'by measure, would surely have been able to distinguish between history and parabolic or
allegorical teaching however noble.
Apart from the deep-rooted dislike of the modern spirit to accept the miraculous, there is no really
valid argument against the historicity of the Book. A man's unwillingness to accept the miraculous
lies outside the scope of rational argument, and indeed our own willingness to accept is primarily
an act of faith based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which in the last analysis we accept
unhesitatingly because of what we know of Him. The other arguments against the historicity of
Jonah are really arguments against an early date for its writing.
* ISBE, article Jonah
143
The Purpose of the Book
Our estimate of the Book's purpose will to some extent depend on the date we assign to its
composition. Still it should be clear the closing words are the climax of the Book. "And hould I not
have pity on... persons that cannot discern between their right hand, their left hand; and also much
cattle." Jehovah is not merely the Creator of all life but its Lord, and 'He loveth all He made."
The idea that the early Israelites looked on Jehovah merely as a localized 'tribal deity' has been
largely exploded.* Their belief in Him as Creator was fundamental, even if its implications were
often overlooked or forgotten. Jonah forgot one of them, when he tried to run away from Jehovah
to the sailors (1:9f). Just as the ordinary Israelite of the time attributed real, though perhaps vague
powers to the gods of the other nations, so the sailors had quite understandably assumed that
Jehovah was the god of the hills of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 20:23).
Another implication was that Jehovah was the absolute Lord of the nations, doing His will in and
through them as He willed. But Jonah shows that this power was linked to a loving kindness which
embraced all His creation.
This lesson of the power and love of God needed urgently to be learned in the middle of the eighth
century B.C. In 745 B.C. Pul seizedthe throne of Assyria and called himself after one of the famous
kings of the past Tiglath-Pileser (II 1). From then on Assyria was to be the rod of God's anger (Isa.
10:5) smiting Israel until it ceased to be a people, and Judah until it was rough to the verge of
destruction (Isa. 1:9). In this time of unparalleled distress God's spokesmen had to see clearly that
Jehovah was the Lord of Assyria, and that behind all His smiting was his love. Where this truth was
not grasped, the only logical course was to turn and worship the "victorious" gods of Assyria as did
Ahaz Manasseh (2 Kings 16:10-16; 21:3).
* Cf. Wright: The Old Testament against Its Environment
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UNIT IV
Text B(ii)
39
JONAH
Jean C. McGowan, R.S.C.J
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Alonso, J., "Leccion teologica del Ubro de Jonas,” Mix. A. Pmz Gayma (Mad.id, 1960) 79-93.
Biser, E., "Zum Fruha=chrristlichen Verstandnis des Buches Jonas," BiKi 17 (1962) 19-21, DM, J.
A,, "Paralelos entre la narracion del libro de JOMS y la parabola del Hijo Prodigo," Bill +o (1959)
632-40 Dubarie, A. M., "Jonas," RSPT 46 (1962) 181. Feuillet, A."Jonas," VDiiS 4 (1948) 1104-
31; "Le Livre de Jonas,' R'n.e du Clerge Africam 18 (1963) $09-21, Le Lwre dc Jma. (BJ; Paris,
l~l); "Le sens du Livre de Jonas," RB 54 (1947. 340-61; "Les sources du Livre de Jonas," RB 54
(1947) 161-86 Freedman, D. N„ "Jonah l, 16," JBL 77 (1958) 161-63 Goldberg, A. M., "Jonas in
der jiidischen Schriftauslegung,' BiKi 17 (1962) 18-19. Knoch, 0„ "Das Zeichen des Jonas—
Votbild Christi," BiKi 17 (1962) 15-16. Landes, G., "Thi Kerygma of the Book of Jo.iih," inter p
21 (1967) 3-31.hfink, N., "Jona ging zur Stadt hinaus," BZ j (1961) 185-203. Loretz, 0., Cotteswort
und menschliche Erfahnmg (Freiburg 1964); "Herkunft und Sinn der Jona-ErzahIung," BZ 5 (1961)
18-29. Schildrilberger, J., "Was bedeutet die literarische Gattung fur die Auslegung der biblischen
Bucher," BiKi 17 (1962) 4-7- Schreiner, J,, "Eigenarc, Autbau, Inhalt und Botschaft des
Buche'sJonas," BiKi 17 (1962) 8-14. Scott, R. B Y., "The Sign of Jonah: An Interpretation," lnterpr
19 (1965) 16-25. Smart, J. D., "Jonah," IB 6, 871-94. Smith, G. A., The Book of the Twelve
Prophets (London, 1928). Snaith, N. H., Kotes on the Hebrew Text fff.Jmah (London, 1945).
Stanton, G. B., "The Prophet Jonah and His Message," BS 108 (1951 237-49, 363-76. Steffen, U.,
Das Mysterium van To und Aufirs'.ehunj; (Gottingen, 1963). Van Hoonacker, A. Les douze
petits prophetes (Paris, 1954).
INTRODUCTION
2 (1) Authorship and Date. Commentators who have interpreted the book: as an historical
narrative identify Jonah with the Sth-cent. Prophet mentioned in 2kgs 14:25 and consider him to be
the author of the book. However, the majority of scholars today deny Jonah's authorship and date
the book between 400 and 200 BC, Their arguments can be summarized as follows. The satirical
tone in which the author writes about the Prophet in the third person suggests that he was not
writing about himself. The lack of significant details, such as the name of the land where the fish
left Jonah and the name of the king of Nineveh, suggests that the author was not writing about
contemporary events. The language of the book is not that of the 8th-cent. A number of words used
are not found elsewhere in the OT but only in later Hebr literature. The use of a number of
Aramaisms indicates a date later than the 8th cent. (cf. A. Gelin, R-T I, 745. Loretz, BZ 5, 19-25).
The Totality of the author is more like the mentality of the mid-5th cent. Other OT books, such as
Ezr, Neh, and Ru, bear witness to the fact that in post-exilic Israel there was a strong current of
interest in the question of Israel's relations to the nations, which would form a natural background
for the theme of Jon. For these reasons, this book of unknown authorship is dated between 400-
200.
145
3 (II) Integrity. The unity of the book as a composition has been denied by some who find in
it apparent interpolations and transpositions. But attempts to recompose the story in its "original"
form seem rather artificial. Most recent scholars defend the unity of the book as a whole (cf.
Feuillet, BJ 9). However, scholars agree that the psalm in the second chapter does not fit well into
the whole. The language is different from that of the rest of the book in that it lacks the Arainaisms
found elsewhere. More significant, however, is the fact that the sense of the psalm seems to
indicate that it is misplaced. It is a song of thanksgiving with, apparently, a Sitz im Leben of
deliverance from danger. The danger of death is expressed in water symbolism, because for the
Israelites as well as for the Babylonians the sea was the kingdom of death. Jonah's psalm is so
worded that it might be a song of gratitude sung by any Israelite delivered from any mortal danger.
However, it is hardly appropriate for an individual to recite from the belly of a fish. It would be
more appropriate for Jonah to pray this psalm after his deliverance when he was safe on dry land.
A R. Johnson (SIlr6n in Old testament Prophecy (ed. H. Rowicy: Edinburgh, 1950] 82-83) is
of the Opinion that the psalm is ail independent composition introduced into the narrative either
by the author himself or by an interpolator. The purpose the insertion would be either to supply
the prayer mentioned in 2:2 without regard for appropriateness, or to express Jonah’s gratitude for
deliverance, in which case it is misplaced. The hymn expresses gratitude in the language that is
typical of the psalms of thanksgiving for deliverance from danger without specific mention of
particular circumstances. But this face docs not necessarily mean that it is not original, for the
psalms do not always adapt themselves to concrete situations.
4 (III) Literary Form. If the book is studied in relation to its life setting in post-exilic Israel, if
it is compared to the legends of the prophets, the narratives of symbolic action, and the OT
parables, if it is examined with sources on which it seems to depend, and if it is analyzed in its
outer stylistic form, this composition appears to have the characteristics of didactic fiction rather
than historical narrative.
The life setting of Jon cannot be determined with the precision that is possible with sonic other
parts of the OT. The book itself gives no hint of the particular circumstances that influenced its
composition. We are told nothing of the author and nothing of the audience for which he wrote. But
although we have little knowledge of its particular life setting, we have some idea of the book's
general cultural background. Against this back-ground we can understand the author's didactic
intention. In an age when Israelites were tempted to hope more to the destruction of their enemies
than for their salvation, the author conveys a message about the extent of the Lord's mercy.
Among OT narratives that have the activity of the prophets as their subject matter, there are two
types to which the Jonah story can be compared: the legends of the prophets, and the narratives of
symbolic action (cf.Bentzen, 701283-93, A. Robert, R-T 489-91) The legends of the prophets are a
later development of the historical genre in which the authors take liberties with historical facts to
teach a lesson (cf. 1 Kgs 12:33-13:32; 17-19; a Kgs 8:7-15; 9:1-13). The narratives of symbolic
action are stories in which the activity of the prophet has sign value (cf. 1Kg:- 20:35-43. 32:11;
2Kgs 13:14-19: Is 20: Jer 37:1-8; Ez4-1-l5) The similarities between the Jonah story and these two
kinds of narratives about prophets suggest that the author of Jon has as his chief concern the
teaching of a religious message.
146
R. B. Y. Scott {op. cit.) identifies the literary form of the Book of Jonah as a parable with elements
of allegory. This interpretation is shared by others (Van Hoonacker, op. cit., 316-18; Smith, op.
cit., 499, Bentzen, IOT I, 145; J- D- Smart, op. cit., 272). Some of the characteristics of the OT
parables (2 sm 12:1-14; 14:68: 1 Kgs 2o:339-41; Is 5:1-~; 28:24-28) arc shared by the book:
closely knit structure; vividness; brevity; didactic purpose. Jon is less abstract than the
parables; it identifies its subject and delineates his character with the appearance of historicity. All
the OT parables make their point inescapable by including usually in the last verse an explicit
explanation of the meaning of the story. The author of Jon gives us no such explanatory epilogue.
Inasmuch as these two characteristics of OT parables are lacking, it would seem preferable to use
the broad term "didactic fiction" rather than the more specific term "parable."
5 By a study of parallels in i Kgs, Jer, and Ez, Feuillet (:Les sources du live de Jonas” RB 54,
161-86) reaches the conclusion that Jon is neither a mere popular legend nor a simple historical
account; rather it is the work of a highly instructed Israelite who had so assimilated the Scriptures
as to be able to use them for his particular didactic purpose.
Although scholars differ as to the term that should be used iii determining the literary form of Jon,
they would agree that the book is not to be classified as history Their reasons may be summarized
as follows. It lacks the significant topographical, historical, and chronological details that would
give the narrative the precision of an historical account. The presence of certain grotesque
elements, such as the fish and the plant, gives the narrative the atmosphere of legend. The structure
of the book its neat division into two artfully paralleled parts underscores in an ironic way the
paradox of the plot. The similarity between the situation of Jon 4:3 and 1Kgs 19:4, and yet the
striking contrast between the characters of Jonah and Elijah, suggest that the author deliberately
paralleled the Elijah story for didactic reasons. The main characters of the narrative are more
typical than realistic. The frequent echoing of other OT passages is evidence that the book is a
carefully worked out literary composition. The tone of irony, which has been subtly achieved both
in the structure of the narrative and in the way previous Scriptures arc echoed, suggests that the
author intended to write satire rather than history. The crisp brevity and closely knit unity of the
book, which gives no details except those that bear directly on its religious message, suggest a
didactic rather than historical purpose. The abrupt ending of the narrative once the moral of the
story has been pointed suggests that the author was not attempting to give an account of an
historical event with an historical outcome but rather that he was making use of a story as an
illustration of his religious message. The formulas used to describe God (1:9* 4)> 35 well as the
affirmation of the universality of the Lord's mercy given in the final verse of the book, suggest that
the story of the recalcitrant Prophet served as a carrier for the author's theological views. For these
reasons, Jon is to be classified as a didactic narrative, satirical in tone with a profound theological
purpose.
6 (IV) Outline. Jon is an artfully 'structured composition with a twofold division significant
with regard to its religious message. Jonah benefits from the Lord's mercy in the first part only to
begrudge that mercy to others in the second part. The Book of Jonah may be outlined as follows:
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(1) First Mission (1:1-2:11)
(A) Jonah's Vocation (1:1-2)
(B) Flight to Tarshilh (1:3)
(C) The Storm (1:4-16)
(a) Jonah Under Suspicion (1:4-9)
(b) Significance of Storm (1:10-12)
(c) Jonah Cast Into the Sea (i :i3-l6)
(D) The Large Fish (2:1-11)
(a) Jonah Swallowed (2:1-2)
(b) Hymn of Thanksgiving (2:3-10)
(c) Deliverance (2:11)
(II) Second Milsion (3:1-4:11)
(A) Jonah Sent Again (3:1-4)

(a) The Lord's Message (3:1-a)
(b) Jonah's Preaching (3:3-4)
(B) Conversion of Nineveh (3:3-10)
(a) Repentance (3:5-9)
(b) Forgiveness (3:10)
(C) Jonah's Anger (4:1-4)
(a) Jonah's Plea (4:1-3)
(b) The Lord's Answer (4:4)
(D) Jonah Under the Gourd Plant (4;5-11)
(a) Jonah's Bitterness (4:5-8)
(b) The Lord'1 Reproof U:9-ti)
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Glossary (i)

01. linguistic abj Of languages
02. exclusiveness n Shutting out
03. far from convinced abj phase not at all convinced.
04. insufficient abj inadequate
05. evidence n proof
06. dogmatic adj assertive, authoritative
07. anonymous adj author unknown
08. untenable adj cannot be defended
09. historicity n truthfulness
10. illiberality n unscholarly, narrow-minded
11. decisive adj Conclusive, final
12. invalid adj unacceptable
13. parabolic adj expressed in a parable
14. allegorical adj Symbolical meaning
15. exploded vb Blow up, burst
16. implications n Suggestion, intent
17. fundamental adj essential, basic
18. assumed vb to take as a fact
19. verge n edge, border
20. unparalleled adj Priceless, rare
21. smiting vb attack, strike
22. grasped vb Hold, understand
Useful academic phrases
1. really valid argument A useful, acceptable argument
2. outside the scope of Beyond the limits
3. in the last analysis ultimately
4. to some extent A little bit
5. deep-rooted dislike Strong hatred
6. attributed ….x… to ……y To relate ….x….. to ……y
7. the only logical course The only possible solution
8. the verge of At the edge of
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Glossary (ii)

01. satirical abj sarcastic
02. indicates vb reveals
03. mentality n intellectual make-up/attitude
04. interpositions n Interjections, interruptions
05. transpositions n change, reverse
06. recompose vb compose again
07. artificial adj not natural
08. lacks vb Shortage, deficiency
09. apparently adv seems to be
10. mortal adj fatal
11. misplaced adj out of place, inappropriate
12. concrete adj real life
13. adapt vb adjust
14. didactic adj morally instructive, aphoristic
15. symbolic adj abstract, theoretical
16. closely-knit structure adv-adj-n unity in writing
17. vividness n Impressive, legendary
18. brevity n of short duration
19. abstract adj theoretical (summary)
20. delineate vb report, depict
21. inescapable adj that which you can’t miss
22. explicit adj very clear, accurate
23. popular legend adj-n well-known story
24. topographical adj detailed description (on map)
25. underscore vb highlight, emphasize
26. paradox n inconsistency, contradiction
27. typical adj normal, characteristic
28. irony n contempt, ridicule
29. crisp adj brittle
30. recalcitrant adj obstinately defiant
1. hardly appropriate not suitable
2. with regard to regarding, in respect of
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In this lesson we learn the art of discrimination between two texts. Two writers have written on the
Book of Jonah and we have to "Study-Read" them i.e. we are to read accurately and yet critically.
Before we do that however here is a Pre-Reading Activity for you to do.
Task (1) - Role-Playing
Four students in the class must read the Book of Jonah out aloud in English, dramatically, taking
the following four parts:
1) Jonah 3) Sailors (1 or 2)
2) God 4) Narrator
Task (2)
Identifying Concepts
What words would you use to describe

- the behaviour of Jonah?
- the moods of Jonah?
- his attitudes?
- the attitudes of the others?
- the role of God?
Your teacher will guide you. You may use your Mother-Tongue freely but try to translate words
into English to share your ideas with others.
Task (3)
What is the moral of the story?
What is its purpose?
Is the story symbolic?
Read Mathew 12:40 and Luke 11:30
Do these references add meaning to this Book?
What does the whale symbolize?
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Task (4)
What kind of a person was Jonah? Answer in a few words.
Task (5)
Class work or Homework
Re-tell the story of Jonah in a few sentences as in 4(a)
(You may do this orally if you wish)
Task (6)
Read the two texts on Jonah and answer me following questions:
1. What are the main differences between the view points of the two writers with respect to
the authorship, date and historicity of the Book of Jonah?
2. What points do the authors agree on?
3. Which author (i) or (ii) would be most likely to make the following remarks and what
would be the other author's reply?:
i) The language of the Book of Jonah is late.
ii) The message of the Book of Jonah would have been very relevant around 750 B.C.
iii) The Book cannot be historical.
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Unit IV
Text C LANGUAGE AND COMMUNITY:
INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE - H.P. MABRY
The words we use are seldom neutral. When others speaks to us we are usually touched, both
consciously and unconsciously. We may be delighted, informed or hurt by the way they speak to
us. Similarly, others may be delighted, informed or hurt by the words we use. Words have power.
The words we use transmit "facts", ideas, emotions, and values: they thereby shape attitudes,
influence action and change or reinforce others' perceptions.
Because words have power, the words we use can help to build a community where each member is
recognised as child of God; conversely, the words we use can undermine a sense of community,
create social divisions and obstruct the reign of God among us. The words we use, and the way we
use them, are influenced by the cultural and social systems in which we are involved. These
systems are pervaded by sin: casteism, tribalism, sexism, racism, classism and other "isms" which
separate us from each other and restrict us from being fully known. Consciously or unconsciously,
we may use words which perpetuate these "isms", divide the human community and thereby
continue our sin.
As Christians, we hold that the word which is everlasting is the Word made flesh. We believe this
Word crosses cultures, social systems, sexual differences and all other boundaries which separate
us from one another. We believe this Word judges our sin and invites us to join in building a larger,
more inclusive community. Because we seek to be followers of this Word, the words we use should
express this discipleship.
We know that language is fluid and changing - old words lose their original meaning, and new
words enter our vocabulary. Therefore, our concern about the words we use is not a foolish fad;
instead, it is a recognition of the necessity of an on-going effort to use language that is caring and
just - through using words which are inclusive, respectful and clear.
This means that here at the United Theological College we must try to avoid words and languages
which are divisive, paternalistic, demeaning or hurtful, and that we try to use words and languages
which say what human dignity, inclusive community and justice suggest......
Here we are mainly concerned with the practice of using sexually exclusive language, which is
especially offensive in a community which confesses the unity of all its members in Christ.
Most of us have grown up in patriarchal cultural traditions which have perceived men as strong
protectors and women as weak, in need of protection and expected to be chaste and sacrificial.
These differences are gender differences - cultural meanings ascribed to being male or female but
not necessarily inherent in these biological distinctions. While growing up in basically patriarchal
cultural traditions, we tend to become socialized to these cultural meanings and internalize
differential norms regarding what persons should or should not do by virtue of being of a particular
sex.
153
In such ways our understanding of what it means to be a man or a woman have been culturally
constructed. The languages which we have inherited carry these culturally constructed meanings.
Through the uncritical use of our inherited languages we often perpetuate meanings which are no
longer acceptable and which are even unjust. Most of our languages reflect a patriarchal
background dominated by a male-oriented system of values. Our continued use of male-dominated
language, in our worship life as well as classrooms and other campus discourse, causes many to
feel excluded, not welcomed as full participants in our worship life, classroom work or ordinary
campus discourse. Even worse, our use of male-dominated language tends to create a hierarchical
order in which women are regarded as subordinate. Such an order attributes to many men a status
higher than what is warranted by their present abilities, denies to women opportunity to develop
their full potential, and is thereby detrimental to both men and women becoming fully human.
When this order appears to be sanctioned by religious institutions, through the use of male-
dominated language, it is often given a sacrosanct status to which it has no right. Faithfulness to
Christ who invites us to join in building a more inclusive community requires that we, in our
worship life, classroom work or ordinary discourse, avoid the use of any words which exclude or
subordinate persons on the basis of their sex.
In view of these concerns it is important, and expected, that care will be taken to use inclusive
language in the preparation of assignments, reports, research papers, theses, translations, worship
liturgies, sermons, College publications, and other forms of communication within the College
community. The following guidelines indicate how the problems of exclusive language can often
be easily avoided through the use of more inclusive words and phrases.
Inclusive Language in Relation to Persons
Terms such as "man" and "mankind" have often been used to refer not only to human males but
generically to all humankind. However, this is increasingly not acceptable. More is
involved here than a change of fashion. Beneath the traditional use of male language in a generic
sense was the assumption (conscious or unconscious) that females are subordinate to males. Our
continued use of male-oriented language reinforces such assumptions. It is therefore imperative
that we not perpetuate such ideas by continuing to use sexually exclusive language.
The avoidance of exclusive language regarding persons is often not difficult and generally can be
done without awkwardness. For example, instead of "man", "men" or "mankind" we
can usually use one of the following: people, all people, men and women, women and men,
humanity, persons, everyone, all of us, we.
Sometimes we may notice persons attempting to be inclusive by substituting terms such as "he or
she" for the older generic "he". This is one possible solution to the problem of exclusive language,
but it is not the best. It only often sounds rather awkward, but also reflects an individualism alien to
the corporate consciousness of the Biblical tradition. As God's people, we need to learn to think and
speak in more corporate as well as inclusive ways. Through changes in the language we use we can
often accomplish both at once. For example,
"A man who is honest is generally respected"

is both exclusive and individualistic.
154
"A man or woman who is honest is generally respected"
is more inclusive but individualistic and somewhat awkward.
"People who are honest are generally respected"

is both inclusive and corporate, and hence preferable.
As far as the English language is concerned, the plural form will often be gender-neutral.
Two further considerations merit attention here. Often "man" is used as a 'suffix or prefix of
another word to designate a position, occupation or status, e.g., chairman, postman, manhood. Such
usage implies that only men perform these tasks or attain this status. Such usage is not only
inappropriate but unjust, for it fails to recognise that women perform such tasks and attain such
status also. Words which are sexually-neutral are therefore more appropriate and just, e.g.,
chairperson, person who delivers the post, human maturity, adulthood.
Similarly, men holding professional positions are normally addressed by their professional title,
while women holding professional positions are often addressed not by their professional title but
with reference to their marital status. Thus, men will be addressed as "Professor", "Reverend" or
''Doctor", while women with similar qualifications or position will be addressed simply as "Mrs."
(if married, indicating to whom she belongs), or "Miss" (if not married, indicating that she does not
yet "belong" to some man). Even when the professional title is used for women, it will be combined
with "Mrs." (Dr. Mrs.) or "Miss" (Prof. Miss), with the same implications. The marital status of
men is never similarly included with the title, not even their gender (Dr. Mr.). Though this form of
sexism was discontinued in faculty listings in the UTC Year Book after 1990, in common address
and writing of names in other places it still continues. One should simply use the professional title,
whether listing or addressing either a woman or a man ...............
Inclusive Language in Relation to God
God who is Spirit does not possess a body and therefore can be neither male nor female. Yet
whatever else may be said of the One whom we worship, this much must be affirmed: God is
personal. Therefore, the use of personal language in a poetic or metaphysical sense is both
appropriate and necessary.
It is understandable that in the patriarchal societies in which the Biblical writings first appeared,
such personal language for God was primarily masculine. But frequently we out do the Scripture in
exclusiveness and neglect the obvious fact that the Bible also uses feminine imagery with respect to
God.
Deuteronomy 32:18 speaks of "the God who gave you birth." In Isaiah 66:13 God says: "As one
whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you." Jesus speaks of Himself as a hen who would
gather her brood together under her wings (Matt. 22:37 and Luke 13:34), and compares God to a
woman who sweeps her house until she finds a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). Several of the theologians
in the early centuries of the Church felt free to address God as "Mother".
155
Even in a predominantly patriarchal context, then, it was appropriate to think of God in both
masculine and feminine terms. How much more true this is in our age as we reject the notion of the
domination of one sex over the other. Exclusively masculine imagery for God does much to
perpetuate sexist attitudes and practices. The Church which proclaims the freedom offered to all by
the Gospel cannot be a willing participant in the oppression of half the population of the world, no
matter how unconscious or "well-intentioned" that means may be.
In selecting our language about God, three matters deserve particular attention:
First, as already noted, God is at least personal. The difficulties of exclusively masculine language
are not solved by making God appear to be impersonal. In our efforts to discover and to develop
more adequate language, we must attempt not to limit but rather to expand the concept of God to
encourage a balance between masculine and feminine imagery.
Second, we need to remember that Jesus was a male. Perhaps the culture into which He came
required this. We might speculate that if God had become incarnate in a matriarchal culture, the
incarnate one might have been a female. But history cannot be changed. What is most significant,
however, is not the maleness of Jesus but the human nature which the Word assumed.
Third, because of these historical facts the relationship between God and Jesus Christ came to be
spoken of as that of Father and Son.
These three considerations set parameters for our revision of theological language. We cannot fall
into the trap of supposing that Jesus was a sexless being (and therefore not truly human). Nor is it
entirely adequate to substitute impersonal language (such as "Creator", "Sustainer") for personal
language ("Father", "King"), when referring to God, for our language about God must speak about
God's being as well as God's function.
Given these parameters, what can be said about the use of inclusive language with respect to God?
In many cases, exclusive titles can be readily avoided. Of course, without ecumenical consensus we
cannot revise the historic baptismal formula: "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit." But in beginning a prayer which opens with no specific relation between the first and
second persons of the Trinity, we can appropriately address God using a title which is not sexually
exclusive, e.g., "Compassionate God" Instead of sexually exclusive titles like "Mother" or "Father"
it is also possible in some circumstances to use the inclusive "Parent". Another possibility is to
alternate male and female terms, using "Mother" in one part of a prayer and "Father" in another.
While we necessarily will use some male nouns and pronouns in speaking of Jesus Christ the
number of these can often be reduced by using appropriate substitutes, e.g., "Guide", "Teacher" or
"Saviour" in place of "Lord" or "Master", and thereby enrich our understanding
of our multi-faceted relationship to Jesus Christ.
As always, care should be taken to avoid both clumsiness that calls attention to itself and unfamiliar
words that distract from the flow of worship. The problem of revising our language about God can
sometimes become especially difficult when we recognize the masculine origin of many titles
traditionally used for God, e.g., "King", "Lord", "Master" Often substitutes can be made using other
156
terms such as "Sovereign" or "Teacher". Poetry, however, presents a greater problem for it is
virtually impossible to find one syllable words that represent "King" or "Lord" in an inclusive way.
Thus a challenge is placed before us. Much theological work must be done before our historically-
shaped concepts of God can be reformulated in a more inclusive way. Sensitivity and creativity are
needed on the part of all of us as we seek to proclaim the God who is greater than our words have
allowed us to understand.
Glossary
1. seldom adj rare, not often

2. neutral adj independent, fair
3. transmit vb spread, send
4. informed adj knowledgeable, aware
5. reinforce vb strengthen, harden
6. perception n recognition, awareness
7. conversely adv opposite, reverse
8. undermine vb weaken, disable
9. obstruct vb block, interfere
10. restrict vb confine, limit
11. perpetuate vb attempt, maintain
12. inclusive adj comprise, encompass
13. fluid adj smooth, not stable
14. fad n fashion, style
15. on-going adj continuing to exist
16. divisive adj tending to divide opinion
17. paternalistic adj restricting freedom by well-meant rules
(like a father)
18. demeaning adj degrading, dishonouring
19. ascribed vb attribute, charge
20. inherent adj potential, possible
21. patriarchal adj paternal head of a family
22. socialized adj friendly
23. internalize vb personalize/subjective
24. detrimental adj harmful, injurious
25. sacrosanct adj pure, sacred
26. generically adv applied to a large group
27. individualism n particular, singular
28. corporate adj regarding a corporation
29. affirmed vb confirm, testify
30. out-do vb excel, exceed, surpass
31. speculate vb suggest, suppose
32. matriarchal adj woman as a head of a family/tribe
33. assumed vb to accept as a fact
157
34. parameters n limiting factors
35. virtually adv essentially, nearly
Pre-Reading Activity
Task (1)
Discussion of Female/Male roles:
1. Your teacher will group you into pairs female/male or male/male if males dominate.
2. Each pair must make a list of characteristics of an Ideal Man and an Ideal Woman i.e.
male students will write about the Ideal Woman and female students will write about the
Ideal Man.
(If the pair is male/male in a class full of men students or female/female in a class of women
students then one person must assume the role of the other sex.)
3. Use many Adjectives and Adverbs.
4. You are allowed only 8-10 minutes.
5. Show your list to your partner.
6. Discuss to what extent your list has been influenced hy ideas taken from the Bible.
7. Are these some of your likely sources in the Bible? Tick the appropriate box.
(i) the garden of Eden story
(ii) the 31st chapter of Proverbs
(iii) the 5th chapter of Ephesians
(iv) women of the Old Testament
(v) women of the New Testament
8. What else has influenced your thinking? Mark Y = Yes. N = No.

- a person Y/N
- school/college Y/N
- a book that you read Y/N
- television Y/N
- film/film stars Y/N
9. Were you also influenced by the different roles of female and male in society? If so,
indicate which roles by putting a ( ) mark against the following
(i) as sons
(ii) as daughters
(iii) as wives
158
(iv) as husbands
(v) as mother
(vi) as father
(vii) as grandmother
(viii) as grandfather
Now read the Introduction to the Text.
INTRODUCTION
This text is about "The United Theological College's continuing search for truth and justice." (F.S.
Downs, 1994)
In October 1993 the author Dr. Hunter Mabry, prepared a draft of the booklet, from which this text
has been taken, for discussion among a few members of the UTC Faculty and their spouses. This
text is an extract. After much discussion and a one-day seminar too the booklet "Language and
Community: Inclusive Language" was published in UTC in 1994.
The booklet is concerned with problems regarding the language we use about God and the so called
generic use of masculine terms e.g. all people of whatever gender being spoken of as "mankind".
Further, since English is not our Mother Tongue it is difficult to be sensitive to the connotation of
words used about women which are derogatory (degrading).
In addition, the English language - keeps changing as it is influenced by socio-cultural

developments in the world, like the Women's Liberation Movement and the advances made by
technology. Example:
(1) Ships, cars and other vehicles are referred to as "she". Today, with women driving cars and
women astronauts in spaceships to whom will the pronoun "she" refer to?
(2) In American English the word 'dame' is "slang" i.e. non- standard English, and is used for a
woman.
In British English, 'dame' is a title and a term of respect for elderly women as in "Dame
Sitwell".
(3) The word "WOMAN"
In Jesus' time the word had a positive connotation. Jesus even referred to his mother as 'woman'.
John 19-26: "Woman, behold thy son!" Many lay-people would think the word "woman" spoken to
a mother sounds rude because they would not know the context in which it was used by Jesus.
These details were perhaps left to Bible Translation Committees. The average English-speaking
person would have preferred the word "Mother" instead, just as Jesus called other women
"Daughter".
159
Even today a person making a public speech begins courteously by saying "Ladies and Gentlemen"
and we find Notice-boards in public places saying 'Ladies only'.
However, in a democratic world, where no ranks are recognised (a lady is a woman from the
upper classes especially in the European countries) there is a tendency to use the words WOMAN
or WOMEN.*
It is common to say "Women's Hostel" instead of "Ladies' Hostel", yet. "ladies" is still used by
many as a polite or courteous way of referring to women. This is the old usage and old habits die
hard.
4) Also, there are differences in connotation due to cultural traditions. Example:
In Hindi literature the flower "the rose" is referred to as "the king of the flowers" i.e. the
connotation is male, but in English literature the rose always has a female connotation:
"My love is like a red. red rose

That sweetly blows in June.......etc."
by Robert Burns
Thus words and their connotation are constantly changing in different circumstances (cf: Unit I-
a: Introduction to Vocabulary)
The language used by Christians in prayer, sermon and song though they may be used
Generically
i.e. mankind for women and men

brethren for brothers and sisters
sons for children
have made ordinary people actually think that these terms refer to men rather than to women. In
many communities men even think that Heaven does not include women, i.e. that salvation for
a woman is only through a man.
Thus, women remain marginalized and cannot identify with very popular and beautiful
traditional hymns and prayers. They feel excluded.
This booklet prepared by Dr. Mabry at UTC reflects all these concerns. It tries to provide
practical, "inclusive" alternatives to traditional, masculine language.
It is not a fashionable venture trying to identify with feminists. Nor is it a trivial matter.
We, at UTC, are not concerned so much with "proper" language as with Truth and Justice.
* The plural form is pronounced as wimin and the apostrophe mark is put before the letter 's'.
160
Task (2) Skimming
Skim through the text and copy out the sub-headings given by the author.
a) ...................................................................................................................
b) ...................................................................................................................
What do Appendix A + B contain?

1) ....................................................................................................................
2) ....................................................................................................................
Task (3) Study-Reading
Now answer the following questions as you study-read the passage. Put a (•/) mark in the
appropriate box.
Q. 1. When others speak to us "we are usually touched" means:

a) words hurt like arrows
b) we do not like to hear
c) we are affected in some way
2. "Because words have power"

These words at the beginning of paragraph 2 are a summary of paragraph I, in fact
Yes ?
No ?
3. What does the reign of God mean in this paragraph?

....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
4. Is sin too strong a word for the "___isms" that the author mentions? Do you agree? Would you
like to suggest another word?
5. In Unit lll(d) Westerhoff spoke of the word and the words we use.
Which sentence in this paragraph reflects that idea? Copy down both the sentences, from Unit
Hid and from here.
161
Westerhoff Mabry
6. (Paragraph 7) What is the author's avowed intent or purpose here?

....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
7. In this paragraph (7) the author introduces the concept of Nature and Nurture i.e. what is given
to us by God and what is imposed on us by our society. Provide an example each for what is
expected of:
(i) a boy
(ii) a man
(iii) a girl in society
(iv) a woman
1) a boy is expected to …….............................................................................

....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
2) a man is expected to ................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
3) a girl is expected to ..................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
4) a woman is expected to .............................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
8. What is "even worse", according to the author, in these culturally constructed roles?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
State why: .....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
What is sexually exclusive language?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
How can we avoid it ?
....................................................................................................................
162
9. "We outdo the scriptures in exclusiveness and neglect the obvious fact that the Bible also uses
feminine imagery with respect to God." (paragraph 16)
Explain ........................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
10. Name all the alternatives suggested by the author to change the present situation:
1) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
2) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
3) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
4) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
Appendix A
Inclusive Words and Phrases
Instead of Use
brothers in Christ brothers and sisters in Christ

sisters and brothers in Christ
the family of Christ
chairman chairperson
chair
convener
church fathers theologians of the early church
the common man the average person

ordinary people
housewife homemaker
lady (as a modifier, e.g. lady doctor, teacher (or whatever the
doctor, lady teacher) woman's occupation)
163
man, men (used generically) person
persons, people, all people,
women and men
men and women
everyone, all of us
humanity
man and wife husband and wife, the couple
manhood adulthood, maturity
mankind humanity, human beings, people, humankind
spokesman spokesperson, speaker, representative
watchman guard
the weaker sex women (or men, depending on your perspective)
Language About God
King Ruler
Lord Sovereign
Father Creator
Master Parent
Kingdom of God Realm of God

Reign of God
Rule of God
Appendix B
Examples of Inclusive Hymns

(Numbers given are those in The United Methodist Hymnal)
Away in the Manger (217)

Beneath the Cross of Jesus (2q7)
Bread of the World in Mercy Broken (624)
Breathe on Me, Breath of God (420)
Christ, from Whom All Blessings How (550)
164
Come Down, O Love Divine (475)
Come O Thou Traveller Unknown (386)
For the Beauty of the Earth (92)
Go, Tell It on the Mountain (251)
Go to Dark Gethsemane (290)
God Created Heaven and Earth (151)
God, Whose Love is Reigning O'er Us (100)
Good Christian Friends, Rejoice (224)
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (127)
Hope of the World (178)
I Love to Tell the Story (156)
I'm Goin'a Sing When the Spirit says Sing (333)
Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise (103)
In Christ There Is No East or West (548)
In the Cross of Christ I Glory (295)
Jesu, Jesu (432)
Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult (398)
Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee (175)
Just as I am (357)
Let There Be Light (440)
Let There Be Peace on Earth (431)
Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song (544)
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (384)
More Love to Thee, O Christ (453)
My Faith Looks up to Thee (452)
Near to the Heart of God (472)
Nearer, My God, to Thee (528)
O Breath of Life (543)
O God Who Shaped Creation (443)
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go (480)
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (286)
O Spirit of the Living God (539)
O Young and Fearless Prophet (444)
Open my Eyes, That I May See (454)
Rock of Ages, Cleft for me (361)
Saranam, Surinam (523)
The Strife Is O'er, the Battle Done (306)
This is My Song (437)
We Are Climbing Jacob's ladder (418)
What Wondrous Love Is This (292)
When Charity and Love Prevail (549)
When Morning Gilds the-Skies (185)
Wind Who Make All Winds That Blow (538)
Woman in the Night (274)
Your Love, O God H (120)
165
Post-Reading Exercise
Study-Read the Appendices A+B
Task (4) (Appendix A)
"This is a list of new terms for traditionally used words/phrase
Discuss with your partner ways of improving this list or make comments on each item. What new
ideas have you gained on female/male roles while doing so?
Write brief one-sentence answers.

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
Task (5) (Appendix B)
Here is a list of Hymns which use Inclusive Language. Find some more in your own church's
hymn-book or even in your mother-tongue and copy them out here.
[You can take two weeks for this task]
1. ............................................................................................................
2. ............................................................................................................
3. ............................................................................................................
4. ............................................................................................................
5. ............................................................................................................
6. ............................................................................................................
Additional Work (Optional)
Imagine a dialogue with one male member of your congregation on this topic of Inclusive
Language.
(i) Write, briefly, what you think he would say on this topic.
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
(ii) If the condemns this subject how would you answer?

....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
166
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
(iii) If he is impressed and would like to propagate this subject how would you use him in your
Church?
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
Vocabulary Work
Exercise (1)
Put the following words into one or two of the three columns below depending on whether you
think they apply to one more than the other:
Work in pairs. Use a dictionary if you wish.

Discuss your choice with your partner.
Aggressive - Ambitious - Sympathetic

Shy - Confident - Quiet
Beautiful - Handsome - Strong
Kind - Caring - Gentle
Nagging - Rude - Polite
Efficient - Gossip - Discussion
Chat - Talk -Complaining
Cry - Argue -Row
Brutal - Brave -Weep
Female Male Neutral
167
Exercise (2)
Discuss the connotation of these words with regard to male/female parameters
1) Petty
2) Plucky
3) Picturesque
4) pig-headed
5) physique
6) piercing
7) effeminate
8) teacher
9) arose
10) boss
168
Unit IV
Text D WAYS OF USING SCRIPTURE

JAMES M. GUSTAFSON in THEOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS
The existence of a variety of materials in Scripture necessitates some general principles for
clarifying a more coherent and simpler view of the message of Scripture. The use of Scripture in
Christian ethics first involves the determination of the theological and ethical principles which will
be used to bring coherence to the "meaning" of Scripture's witness. In a previous publication I
distinguished a view of Scripture as the revelation of a morality that is authoritative for the
judgments of Christians from a view of it as a revelation of theological principles that are used to
interpret what "God is doing", and thus, in turn, can give clues to what man as a moral agent is to
do in particular historical circumstances. If Scripture is the revelation of a morality, its application
to the Cambodian invasion would require that one judge that event in accordance with moral
laws, precepts, and commands given in Scripture. If Scripture is the revelation of the action of God,
one applies it to the Cambodian invasion by interpreting that event in the light of an answer to the
question, "What is God doing in our contemporary history, and particularly in Cambodia?" Here I
would like to refine these types before proceeding to suggest a more constructive statement.
The most stringent use of Scripture as revealed morality can be stated in the following way. Those
actions of persons and groups which violate the moral law revealed in Scripture are to be judged
morally wrong. The idea of moral law becomes the principle for ethical interpretation. Two issues
immediately emerge. One is the content of the moral law, and the other is the mode of its
application. For Jewish religion these can be answered more simply than they can for Christians,
although even in Judaism the answers are complex. The law would be the Torah, and halachah
would provide the tradition for application. The parts of Torah that would be applicable, and the
procedures for its application through. Mishna, Talmud, the Codes, the Responsa, all involve
judgments on the part of the learned rabbi who might come to a decision. But there would be clear
Biblical authority in the tradition for using Biblical law, and the tradition provides a continuity of
historical judgments
and general procedures by which a new judgment might be made.
For Christian religion this use of Scripture is even more difficult. What is the moral law that is
revealed in the Bible? Torah would be an insufficient answer. There is also the "new law", and just
what that is has to be determined. If the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels are the new
law, then something like the method of halachah might be appropriate; but on the whole the
Christian theologians have not worked in this way. Further, if the new law is the "grace of the Holy
Spirit written in the heart", as it has been judged to be by both the Catholic and Protestant
traditions, it can no longer be limited in its references to the moral teachings of the Scripture
interpreted to be law. It is "the life-giving law of the Spirit", to quote Romans 8:2 (NEB), a text that
is persistently cited in the history of Christian ethical thought.
Christians have no codifications of the moral law of Scripture and its interpretations comparable to
the Shulhan Arukh and the Code of Maimonides; even the codifications of law in the canon law
tradition of the Catholic Church appeal heavily to the natural law tradition developed in the west,
rather than to Scripture. Even Fundamentalists have highly selective ways of using Biblical
169
evidence. There are clearly ethical principles at work that govern their choices of texts to be applied
to particular moral situations and that provide ways of explaining texts which prima fade would
contravene the positions they would take.
Perhaps agreement on the primacy, if not the exclusiveness, of the "law of love" could be asserted
about the Christian Scriptures, recognizing their continuity with Jewish Scriptures. "For the whole
law can be summed up in a single commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself,"' writes Paul
(Gal. 5:14, NEB), a claim also found in other parts of the Scripture. If this were judged to be the
material content of the new moral law, the modes of its application to situations like the Cambodian
venture would vary markedly. For some persons it might have a pacifist application; one does not
love himself by taking his own life; surely one does not love his neighbor by taking his. For others
it becomes a high-level general principle which is applied to the complexities of a war through the
mediation of the structure and principles of just-war thinking.
A second use of Scripture as revealed morality could be stated as follows: Those actions of persons
and groups which fall short of the moral ideals given in Scripture are to be judged morally wrong,
or at least morally deficient. The notion of moral ideals becomes the principle of ethical
interpretation. Three issues emerge here. The first is whether the language of moral ideals is itself
warranted by Scripture. Is the language of ideals as intrinsic to the Scriptures as is the language of
law? How these questions would be answered depends to some extent upon how one interprets
"ideals", If a moral notion has to refer to some timeless entity, a metaphysical value, in order to be
an ideal, it is safe to say that the language of ideals is more at home in Greek ethics than in Biblical
ethics. If, however, it refers to a vision of the future in which "The wolf shall live with the sheep,
and the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall grow up together, Isa. 11:6",
(NEB), the promised fulfillment might well function as a vision of the ideal future. The New
Testament idea of the Kingdom of God has functioned this way in Christian ethics from time to
time in Christian history, most prominently in the social gospel writers.
Glossary

1. necessitates vb require, compel
2. clarifying vb explain, reveal
3. coherent adj understandable, logical
4. distinguished adj famous, acclaimed
5. precepts n that which is a divine command
6. Contemporary adj present, coexistent
7. constructive adj helpful, useful
8. stringent adj tough, disciplined
9. violate vb offend, attack
10. emerge vb appear
11. applicable adj suited, desirable
12. procedures n rules, conduct
13. insufficient adj deficient, inadequate
170
14. appropriate adj suitable, rightful
15. persistently adv constantly repeated
16. cited vb quote, refer to
17. codification n arrange (laws etc) as code
18. selective adj choosy, careful
19. prime facie adv & adj based on first impression
20. contravene vb go against
21. primacy n being first in rank
22. exclusiveness n expensive, high-class
23. asserted vb declare, state
24. modes n manner, way
25. venture n project, undertaking
26. vary vb diversify, alter
27. pacifist adj peaceful, calm
28. mediation n arbitration, facilitation
29. deficient adj inadequate, backward
30. notion n belief, idea
31. warranted adj suitable, appropriate
32. intrinsic adj fundamental, basic
33. entity n being, object
34. metaphysical adj spiritual, visionary
35. prominently adv famous, significantly
------------------ o -------------------
171
Pre-Reading Activity
Task (1)
1) Write a definition of Ethics or Morality using the structure taught to you in Unit ll(d).
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
2) What is the source of the Christian's accepted standard of right behavior?

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
3) How would you define the Bible?

(Use the structure of a definition again. Try various kinds of definition i.e. by contrast, by
negation etc.)
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
4) Check a map to find the location of Cambodia - if you do not know it already. Write in one
sentence where exactly it is.
..............................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
5) What do you know of the USA's presence in Cambodia?

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
(Use the library if you wish)
When a text is difficult to understand it helps to search within the text for language clues which
will help the reader to grasp meaning. Often a writer will use the device known as enumeration to
help the reader follow the flow of ideas and to predict what comes next.
ENUMERATION* is a verbal reference to what will come next. The author usually tells us What
he plans to write with specific languageclues. If we look out for these clues or signs we will read
profitably. Enumeration has many forms:
1) Numerals 'two', 'three', 'four' (exact) and
'a number of, 'several', 'a few' (inexact)
* Tadros, A.: Prediction in Text - 1987 Monograph - University of Birmingham, U.K.
172
la) Also numbers like l(i),ll(ii), etc.
and letters like A(a), B(b) etc.
2) Enumerables (that which can be counted)

e.g. advantages, aspects, functions, attempts,causes,views etc.
3) Given recoverable from the text
& New not recoverable from the context
e.g. Unit V(a) Joseph in Egypt
The 'Joseph Story' being known to all of us is "given", whereas "the time of the movement of
Semitic peoples into the Eastern Delta Region" is unknown and the writer makes a suggestion. This
is "new".
4) Sequencing Signals: 'firstly', 'secondly',

lastly', 'finally'.
'one', 'next', 'then', 'also'
'another', 'too'
5) Grammatical Parallelism: Similar sentence structures

(i) It enables....................................................... It makes
......................................................................................
(ii) What WP. know.......................................................what we believe.
6) Repetition of Key-word or Synonym

(4+6 are the same cohesive devices mentioned in Unit lie)
N.B. Enumeration is also anaphoric or cataphoric.
All this may sound very simple but these are language clues for quicker reading by the technique
of predicting text.
Tracing the devices of enumeration alone will help us arrive at the following structure which
represents the concepts in the essay:
173
Definitions of the Message of Scripture
a) Revelation of a Morality
b) Revelation of the action of God (not described here)
Words used
1. these types - A, B
2. the most stringent = (the first use)
3. two issues
4. one, the other I, II
5. for some, for others - 1, 2
(b)
6. the second use
7. three issues emerge here - the first - I (2+ 3)
(second, third not described)
174
Task (2) Re-formulation
Read paragraph (1) very carefully. In the last lines of this paragraph the author says "I'd like to
refine these types".
Q I. What is he referring to? (copy out the sentence)

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
Q2. In a previous publication he distinguished a view of scripture as ...................

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
............................................................................................ circumstances.
Q3. What is the consequence of this type?

.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
Q4. If (however) scripture is revelation of the action of God then we would ask
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
Paragraph (2) In this paragraph the writer gives us clues to meaning all along. He writes:
"The most stringent use .......................................................................................………………….

(this implies there are less stringent uses and he says "in the following". The next 2 sentences are
very specific and explain why the use is "stringent". The third sentence which follows these two
begins with the words,
"Two issues..............................................................................................................
* Name the two issues here:

1) .......................................................................................................................
2) ..........................................................................................................................
* He makes a further sub-division or classification by writing

"For Jewish religion..............................................."
What, therefore, is the other religion that he talks about?
175
.................................................................................................................
176
Task (3(a))
Read paragraphs 3,4, & 5 carefully and answer
Q1. Why is this use different for Christians?

(N.B. "this" is an anaphora)
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
Q2. How many names or labels have been used for Christian law?
1.
2.
3.
4.
i.e. "Love thy neighbours as yourself'.
Q3. What would be the consequence of this law in Cambodia? The writer, again enumerating by
the use of the words 'some' and 'other', says it can be one of two:
1) Pacifist - (Use a dictionary and copy out the meaning here)
2) "Just-War" thinking.
This is a concept regarding war and Christian law. If the Old Testament law states
"Thou shalt not kill"
Q (a) can a Christian ever be a soldier?
Q (b) can war ever be just? (fair?)
To answer these very important general ethical questions answer the following based or
your general knowledge.
(i) The Old Testament does record many wars and many killings. Name some battle'
in the Old Testament. Be precise. Use your Bibles.
•....................................................................................................................
•....................................................................................................................
•....................................................................................................................
177
(iii) If both sides prayed for God's help before going to war whom would God help?
What issues are involved here. Tick ( ) the appropriate box.

Punishment
Revenge
Anger
Hatred
Sense of Justice
(iii) Does killing, therefore, have God's approval in a certain context?

Yes No
(iv) How can the 'Law of Love' be applied to a war? Choose the appropriate answer and
put a ( ) mark
o By following the i.e. not to attack

United Nations (Geneva civilian areas nor
Convention) Rules of war' indulge in biological warfare
o By non-violence? i.e. to fight, but

to use other method
such as M.K. Gandhi proposed.
o By pacifism not fight at all; disarmament.
Task (3(b))
Exercise for Homework.
Go back to part (2) of Q.3 in Task 3(a) and answer questions (a) and (b) by writing a short
paragraph of 100-150 words on either topic using the following structure:
Topic Sentence - with subject specified and an opinion.

Specific supports
Specific supports
Specific supports
Reworded topic sentence
(cf: Unit ll(c))
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Task (4)
Q 1. Skim through paragraph 5 and find one example of enumeration. Because our text is
only an extract some part of the author's commitment or plan to write has been omitted.
What has been omitted?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Q2. Why does Gustafson say 'idealism' is more at home (more natural) to Greek ethics?
What does it reflect of the Greek character?
CN.B. In Unit V(b) the Corinthians Greeks) are called emotional)
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Q3. The next line begins, 'lf, however,......'.The word 'however' always brings up a contra of
thought. What is the contrast here? Explain it.
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
Q4. The author next mentions 'wolf-sheep', leopard-kid' 'calf-young lion'. Do these words
Convey
a) an animal-friendly world ?
b) an ideal world ?
c) a new society on earth which social Gospel ?
writers proclaim
Tick ( ) the appropriate answer.
179
Task (5)
General for discussion
• Can our Christian scriptures be referred to in the contemporary world? Are they relevant? Will
they be acceptable at all to others?
• If you have studied Hinduism comment on Krishna's advice to Arjuna on fighting. Is it

based on pacifism or aggression for a "just cause"?
• If you have studied Islam comment on Jihad - the Holy War.

(Your teacher will guide the discussion)
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Unity V
Text A JOSEPH IN EGYPT

WALTER HARRELSON in INTERPRETING THE OLD TESTAMENT
Joseph's extraordinary intellectual and administrative talents are quickly recognized by Potiphar,
the Egyptian official to whom he is sold. He succeeds in whatever he is given to do, so that more
and more responsibility is laid upon him. But the day comes when the master's wife can no longer
restrain her desire for Joseph, As he resists, she follows the natural path and accuses him of
faithlessness to his master, laying her own deed upon Joseph. Joseph finds himself condemned to
prison - not to death, because apparently his master could not afford to dispose of such a valuable
man. But in prison Joseph is equally successful: soon he is in virtual charge of the entire prison.
Such a man will not long be in prison. His interpretation of the dreams of the two high officials
condemned to prison prepares the way for him to be called before the Pharaoh to interpret the
king's dreams. The Pharaoh recognizes in Joseph just the sort of man to carry through preparations
for the coming famine and gives him the position of second-in-command to the Pharaoh. And all
this has occurred, it is clear, because God is watching over Joseph and is preparing him to deliver
His people from extinction as the famine grows more and more severe in the Promised Land.
The Joseph story frequently has been held to reflect a poor knowledge of Egyptian life, law, and
customs. We can no longer maintain such a view. The story fits quite well into the setting of new
kingdom Egypt from 1550 B.C., and especially well in the time of the late eighteenth and the early
nineteenth dynasties (approximately 1400-1200). Thus it is appropriate to see in this romantic
adventure story an authentic portrayal of events involving the ancestors of Israel located in the delta
region of Egypt.
It employs traditional motifs, the clearest example of which is the story of the "Two
Brothers", a widely circulated tale of religious significance with a mythological background. In this
Egyptian legend, the closest parallel to the Joseph story is in the younger man's temptation by his
older brother's wife, his refusal to lie with her, her denouncement of the brother to her husband and
the latter's effort to destroy his brother for the imputed crime. Moreover, the whole "success story"
motif is highly stylized and cannot be taken as the history of Joseph's adventures and rise to fame
and fortune in Egypt. On the other hand, there is no reason to doubt that a foreigner could have
assumed such a high position under the Pharaoh. The Egyptian documents which have been
recovered show that such a thing was not without precedent. Egyptian words, official terms,
geographical references and laws and customs current in Egypt are all adequate support for the
view that once again the Genesis material, often called mere legend, are by no means the invention
of later writers or traditionists. The Joseph cycle stems from someone who knew Egyptian life and
society very well indeed. The embellishments of the historical events are not surprising. A number
of them serve a recognizable theological purpose, the display of God's mysterious providence in
caring for the needs of His people.
The literary power of the materials is most clearly in evidence in the portrayal of the various
meetings between Joseph and his estranged brothers. The story is marked once more by the
presence of at least the J and E traditions; thus we find occasional discrepancies and some
181
unevenness of style. The stories, nonetheless, have been compiled with great skill, there are very
few outright contradictions (was all the money found at the lodging place or only the money of one
brother: 42:27 versus 43:21? Did Joseph's family identify them-selves as cattlemen or as shepherds,
46:34 versus 47:3). Joseph's love for his family overcomes his hatred of the brothers who have sold
him into slavery. The scene at the table in Joseph's house is particularly poignant and marvelously
well described (43:16-34). And Judah's readiness to lay down his life for his young brother
Benjamin and thus prevent further loss to his father is one of the most powerful narrative speeches
in the Old Testament (44:16-34).
In the eastern delta region - excellent land for grazing and farming - Jacob and his family settle
down. There is nothing at all improbable in the movement of Semitic peoples into the fringes of the
delta region during times of drought and famine. Egyptian monuments portray Semites trafficking
with the Egyptians from very early times. Yet behind the account of the movement of Jacob and his
sons and their families into Egypt, we must assume first of all a movement of Semites into the delta
region, rather than simply to accept the story as entirely historical. That is to say, once more we
have to do with Semitic tribes which the story personifies, the movement of peoples which here is
concrete and individualized. While we cannot insist that Jacob and his twelve sons never existed
and that an Israelite named Joseph never served as second-in-command to the Pharaoh of Egypt, we
can and must say that the most probable historical background to the Joseph cycle is the
movement of Hebrew peoples from Palestine into the delta region of Egypt, a movement which is
here individualized by reference to the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
What historical period best fits such a movement of peoples into the delta region? Some have
thought that the time when the Hyksos ruled most of Egypt (1720-1550 B.C.) provides the best
period within which to place the stories. Others have suggested that the eighteenth dynasty would
have provided an excellent time, perhaps especially the time of lkhnaton (Amenophis IV, Akh-en-
Aton, 1372-1352). It is better to assume, in our judgment, that many different movements of
Semites into the delta region provide the historical back-ground for the stories. Then we can
probably place the specific background of the Joseph cycle under lkhnaton: now the tribes in
Palestine are more nearly solidified and a number of Hebrew families move into Egypt during a
famine and enjoy the favor and protection of the Egyptian authorities because one of their number
has attained high rank in the service of the religious and social reformer, lkhnaton, and is given
special authority over the delta region. Our conclusion is, then, that the Joseph stories rest upon
historical events occurring in Egypt, events which have been telescoped to some degree but which
still reflect the experiences of a group of Hebrews in the delta of Egypt. The events have been
given special meaning as the narrator has brought them into the service of his theological
conviction that God was guiding the destinies of Jacob and his sons just as He had guided Abraham
and Isaac in earlier times. The narrator wished particularly to account for the fact that Israel had
settled in Egypt, had first prospered greatly, but then had been subjected to a severe test of faith by
Yahweh in order to make this people disciplined for the coming task: entrance into the Land of the
Promise, establishment as a faithful covenant people through whom all the families of the earth
would be blessed.
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Glossary
1. Restrain vh regulate, to hold back

2. Apparently adv supposedly, presumably
3. Dispose vb get rid of, deal with
4. Virtual adj existing in effect, not real
5. Authentic adj trustworthy, believable
6. Denouncement n inform against, accuse publicly
7. Imputed vb to regard something undesirable as
being done or caused by
8. Stylized adj conform to the rules of a style
9. Assumed adj fictitious, affected
10. Precedent n instance serving as an example
11. Embellishment n decoration, adornment
12. Estranged adj separated, disunited
13. Discrepancies n contradiction, variance
14. Outright adj complete, totally
15. Poignant adj touching, sentimental
16. Fringes n edge, border
17. Telescoped vb compress forcibly
18. Subjected vb suffer, experience
Pre-reading Activity
Task (1) Close-test
The teacher will distribute copies of this question and give you instructions to follow. You may
work in pairs or in groups.
Task (2)
You must repeat Task (1) as instructed, but this time you will be creating the test.
The exercise helps you to be aware of nouns and verbs in a sentence and later helps you to identify
"sentence topic" easily.
Task (3)
Underline all the nouns in paragraph two and say which are:
a) subject or object........... (structural aspect)

b) main topic or sub-topic .......... (semantic aspect)
183
N.B. This maybe a little difficult at first but your teacher will help you. This exercise gives you
practice in quickly recognizing the author's purpose/meaning.
IDENTIFYING THF TOPICS IN DISCOURSE
a) Author's Main Topic and Sub-Topic

b) Sentence Topic (Initial Sentence Element*), usually left of the verb.
Once the writer has an idea or argument or thesis to present, his next concern is to present it with
"clarity", so that the reader is convinced of what he says.
However, academic writing tends to be difficult to process (to understand or to decode) because
writers use a variety of styles and sentence structures while writing.
In the previous lessons we helped you to follow a writer's argument in several ways.
We helped you to:
1) Fill Flow-Charts, to trace the pattern of thought in a text.

2) Analyse the structure of Complex-Compound sentences.
3) Analyse discourse (texts) using Hoey's method.
4) Identify with the writer's craft by asking questions while reading.
5) Look at different kinds of writing - "genres" (literary forms) and structures i.e.
Questions, Paragraph structures.
6) Interpret Non-Verbal Texts.
7) Distinguish between Content and Style, and Content and Comment.
8) Make Notes using Buzan's style/method.
All these methods encouraged you, the reader, to read with maximum
benefit, not missing any meaning in the text.
Yet, when the text is highly academic and presents arguments the language of the writer
becomes:
i) a combination of many different sentence structures - usually complex-compound.

ii) Sub-topics appear along with Main topics.
iii) Synonymous phrases abound (cf: exercise done in Unit II b)
Here are three such sentence samples. Read them very carefully. (A detailed analysis follows.)
* This term was first used bv Liisa Lauttamatti. a Finnish linguist. I am indebted to her for these insights.
184
SI: While we cannot insist that Jacob and his twelve sons never existed and that an Israelite named
Joseph never served as second-in-command to the Pharaoh of Egypt, we can and must say that the
most probable historical background to the Joseph cycle is the movement of Hebrew peoples from
Palestine to the delta region of Egypt, a movement which is here individualized by reference to the
founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
S2: A number of them (the embellishments) serve a recognizable theological purpose, the display
of God's mysterious providence in caring for the needs of His people.
S3: ______ for the coming task: entrance into the land of the Promise, establishment as a
faithful covenant people through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.
OR
[From Unit IV(a)]
The Bible of Jesus and his earliest followers was the Hebrew Scriptures which today are
called the Old Testament.
ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE SENTENCES
SENTENCE (1) COMPLEX-COMPOUND SENTENCE
While = (Non-Topical) Initial Sentence Element
We = Subject of Main Clause (1)

[We cannot insist] = Author's Topic
that = relative pronoun introducing Subordinate Clause.

(Jacob and his twelve sons = Sentence topic (1) the subordinate clause
and = connecting word
that = relative pronoun
(an Israelite named Joseph never = Sentence topic (2) in the subordinate clause.
Served as second-in-command to Pharaoh of Egypt)
We = Subject of Main Clause (2)
[We can and must say] = Author's topic
that = relative pronoun (as before)
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(the most probable historical background lo the Joseph cycle is ihe movement of the Hebrew
peoples from Palestine to the delta region of Egypt, a movement { which is here individualized)
reference to the 12 tribes of Israel} ) = Subordinate clause (3) = Sentence Topic (3) and Embedded
clause (1) related to sentence topic (3)
SENTENCE (2) SIMPLE SENTENCE
A number of them = Subject with anaphoric reference to embellishments

Sentence topic= Sub-topic (1)
serve = verb
a recognizable theological purpose = Object of sentence
the display of God's mysterious = Author's Topic**
providence in caring for the needs of
His people.
* This is a Sentence Topic and a Sub-topic because the previous sentences refer to the Joseph cycle as Subject
or Topic.
** This is Author's Topic because 'The Joseph Story" has been debated by theologians / scholars regarding its
reflection of Egyptian life and relation to the ancestors of Israel.
SENTENCE (3) SYNONYMOUS PHRASES
entrance into the Land of Promise,

establishment as a faithful covenant people Author's Topics
through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed
i.e. Relevance of the ''Joseph Story" since the book is about interpreting the Old Testament.
The analysis reveals that the Subject or Topic of the SENTENCE may not
always be the Subject or Topic of the Author.
Let us examine the early paragraphs of the text in detail.
The text is an extract from the book ‘Interpreting the Old Testament' but this section is about
JOSEPH IN EGYPT. Therefore paragraph (1) starts with "Joseph". "Joseph" is the subject of
Sentence ( I ) and of this paragraph, but not the subject of the book which is "Interpreting the Old
Testament".
Paragraph (2) also begins with reference (anaphoric) to Joseph.
"Such a man ______".
186
Paragraph (3), however, takes as its subject, "The Joseph Story" not "Joseph" the man. And, the
sentence (2) in this same paragraph introduces a new subject "We". (Fig. 1)
Interpreting die Old Testament • Author's Main Topic

Joseph in Egypt • Sentence and Paragraph Topic
Joseph I • Sentence and Paragraph Topic

Joseph I the man
The Joseph story • Sub-Topic

We (i.e. the interpreters) • Author's Main Topic
Fig. 1. Shifting Topics
Further, in paragraph (1) itself sentence (3) has as its subject in the Main clause:
"But the day comes"

and "the master's wife" as subject of the subordinate clause.
But = connecting word expressing a contrast

the day = subject of sentence in Main Clause
when = relative pronoun introducing Subordinate Clause
the master's wife = subject of sentence in Subordinate Clause
Fig. 2. Sub-Topics
Therefore, in reading a difficult or highly academic text it is practical to keep track of Author's
Topic or Subject even if other sentence subjects or topics keep appearing from time to time.
They too are important but they must not be mistaken for the Main Topic.
Sometimes the Author's subject is pushed back or down to the position of clause or as object
(Task 3). A shift in grammatical position, however, does not negate its importance as a Central
Topic.*
Grammarians may refer to sentence subject as grammatical subjects because in traditions

grammar the subject is usually in the initial position (s + v+ o) i.e. left of the verb.
But for theological prose simple grammar definitions have proved inadequate time and again.
* In Task (3) "Joseph etc." was Object not a clause as there was no verb in it.
187
WE FIND LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF TEXTS AND NEW WAYS OF
LABELLING SENTENCES IN DISCOURSE MORE APPROPRIATE
E.g. "In the Eastern delta region - excellent land for grazing and farming - Jacob and his family
settle down."
Before the verb "settle" or in left-of-verb position we have:
"Family/Jacob/excellent land for grazing and farming / in the Eastern delta region”.
WHICH ONE IS THE SUBJECT:
Grammatically speaking, it is "Jacob and his family".
But then what are we to do with the rest of the opening part of the sentence?
Thus it is better to study these carefully.
They are not always Nouns or Noun-Concepts.
They have been labeled I S E (Initial Sentence Elements as mentioned earlier
INITIAL SENTENCE ELEMENTS are of three kinds'.
1) A transitional word or device: Moreover. While. BUT, Such, Firatly, Secondly, On the
contrary etc.
2) Opinion and attitude conveying phrases: Certainly, Obviously, I doubt that, From the
biblical point of view etc.
3) Guiding comments: In the previous chapter, let me over-simplify, Thus far we have
been chiefly describing etc.
These initial sentence elements are Non-topical, i.e. they are not directly related to Author’s topic
nor even to sentence topic. They are just starting devices performing a small role and not to be
confused with the true topic.
Once again let us remind ourselves that reading and writing are two sides of the same coin: what
we read must influence what we write ourselves. So the next time you sit down to writ some thing
academic keep in mind what your main topic is and what could be termed as a sub-topic. Your
writing will have unity if you are conscious of your topics and of how you treat them i.e. you must
be clear regarding what you would like to emphasize and make your main topic and what you
would like to keep subordinate and put into a clause or perhaps in a smaller unit such as the
phrase.
188
Being aware of the parts of a sentence structurally and their significance semantically (their value
for meaning) gives you power in the use of the language. You will never feel hesitant to read or
write in English in future.
The next chart is an analysis of the whole text and a summary of the main points. Read the text
along with this chart and ensure that you follow the sequence of Topics whether Author's topic or
Sentence Topic. This chart is a visual representation ofhow the author's mind actually worked while
composing the essay. Following this helps you to recreate his argument and trace the flow of his
thoughts. READING IS INTERACTION between the reader and the text. This chart helps you to
do this.
SHIFTING TOPICS: FOCUS BY THE AUTHOR
Paragraph (1) Paragraph (2) Paragraph (3)

Parallel Progression
“Given information cf: IV (d) 1. Joseph 1. The Joseph story reflects
2. Joseph a poor knowledge .................
1. Joseph is subject or Topic 3. The Pharaoh 2. We can no longer
focus 4. (All this..... it is clear) ...
maintain such a view..............
2. Topic God is watching over Author's Topic
3. (exception) - the day, the Joseph = Author's Topic 3. The story.............................
master’s wife. 4. Thus it is appropriate to see
4. Joseph in this romantic adventure
5. Joseph story an authentic portrayal
6. Joseph of events involving the
ancestors of Israel located on
the delta region of Egypt
= Author's Topic
Paragraph (4) Paragraph (5)
Sequential Progression Literary Criticism
1. It employs.................. two 5. The Egyptian documents... 1. The literary power
Brothers story 6. Egyptian words etc = 2. The presence of J & E
2. In this legend (this = Genesis material is no legend = traditions
anaphoric) Author's view 3. The stories are well told
3. Moreover, (he whole 7. The Joseph cycle is by one 4. But few contradictions
"success story" is stylized and who knew. 5. Joseph's love for his
cannot be taken as the history = contradicts 3:1 family
of Joseph's adventures Therefore = Author's Topic 6. The scene at the
..... etc. = Author's Topic as in 3:2 table..........
[Q: So what should we 8. The embellishments.......... 7. Judah's readiness........
believe?] 9. A number of them serve a powerful Old Testament
4. On the other hand, there is recognisable theological speech.
no reason to doubt.. (the purpose................ Author's
story) Topic as in 2:4
189
Paragraph (6) Paragraph (7) SUMMARY OF MAIN
Topical Starters "New" cf: IV(d) POINTS
1. In the eastern delta ........... 1. What historical period best
2. There is nothing fits such a movement of P1: Joseph (the man)
improbable peoples into the delta re- P2: Joseph (the man) God's
........... (Author's Topic) gion? i.e. The Question is purpose
3. Egyptian monuments the Author's Focus. P3: Joseph Story: Our
2. Some have thought .......... interpretation
4. Yet behind the movement ....... (not author's view) P4: The story: its
of Jacob and his sons ............ 3. Others have suggested characteristics serves God's
into Egypt, we must assume .............. (not author's view) Purpose.
first of all a movement of 4. It is better to assume, in our P5: The story: its literary
Semites into the delta region, judgement, power
than simply accept the story = clearly. Author's View P6: Assume a movement of
as entirely historical. 5. Then = probable inference tribes First.
= Author's Topic (under lkhnaton) P7: When did this happen?
5. i.e. Movement of tribes 6. Our conclusion is, then, that others' view and finally the
generally is our focus .................................. author's view
= Author's Topic experience of a group of
6. While - Israel = Author's Hebrews in the delta of Egypt.
Topic 7. The events have been given
special meaning by the narrator
(not the author)
8. The narrator wished to
account for the fact that..........
disciplined for the coming
task: and etc.
Post-Reading Exercise
Task (4)
Answer the following questions after re-reading the text:
i) In which paragraph does the debate regarding the Joseph story start?
ii) If paragraph (5) were shifted to the position of paragraph (3) would the argument be
changed?
iii) Why does the writer insist that we must first assume a movement of Semites into the delta
region rather than simply accept the story as entirely historical ?\Vhat is his attitude to the
Joseph story?
iv) What do Egyptian monuments, words and documents reveal regarding the Joseph cycle?
190
v) In the last paragraph we read: 'Some have thought', 'Other have suggested' and ‘It is better
to assume'. What kind of initial sentence elements arc these?
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
vi) "Our conclusion is, then, ......" and "(Israel)...... had First prospered greatly, but
then had Been subjected to a severe test of faith by Yahweh..............".
Explain the meaning of "then" in both cases:
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
191
Unit V
Text B THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

R.W. WOOTON in THE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP OF GOD
Its Jewish Origin
The Origin of Christian worship must be considered in relation to both sides of Jewish
worship, the Temple and the Synagogue. The Lord Jesus Himself worshipped in the
Temple, though there is no evidence that He ever offered sacrifice. From the Acts of he
Apostles it is clear that the early Christians continued for a considerable period to worship
in the Temple. The prayers to which the Christians devoted themselves as part of the life of
the newly founded church (Acts 2:42) were probably the Temple prayers which
accompanied the sacrifices and offerings. In Acts 3 we find Peter and John going up to the
Temple at the hour of prayer. Then some 25 years later at the request of the Church
authorities in Jerusalem Paul went into the Temple with other Christians and performed
rites involving sacrifices (Acts 21:17-26), and the statement in the same passage that many
of the Jerusalem Christians were observers of the Law implied that they still frequented the
Temple. This probably continued down to A.D. 61, when the martyrdom of James, the
Lord's brother, marked the decisive rejection of Christianity by the Jews of the Holy Land.
Even before this, however, the conception of sacrifice had been widened among Christians
far beyond the limits of the Mosaic system. Not only was Christ's redeeming work on the
Cross presented asa sacrifice, being associated with several of the ancient types of sacrifice
(cf. Eph. 5:2, 1 Cor. 5:7, Rom. 8:3, Heb. 9:11-15) but the same expression was also used to
cover various aspects of Christian worship and Christian life. The corporate worship itself is
described in the New Testament as a sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15), and the yielding of
ourselves to God in response to His mercy to us in Christ is both a living sacrifice and an
act of spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1). The term 'priest' is no longer restricted to professional
caste, but applies to all Christians (1 Pet. 2:5, Rev. 1:6), and their function as priests is to
offer 'spiritual sacrifices'. This term can be understood both for worship in general and for
the specific activities of a living and active faith in Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:17), of offering
one's possessions to God (Phil. 4:18, Heb. 13:16) and of presenting one's converts to God
(Rom. 15:16). It is noteworthy, however, that there is no suggestion that in Christian
worship any further sacrifice for sins was to be offered, but rather such an idea was strongly
repudiated (cf. Heb. 10:12, etc.). In the same way the term 'priest' is nowhere applied in the
New Testament to the Christian Ministry but eitherto Christ Himself in a unique sense (in
the Epistle to the Hebrews) or to all Christians without distinction of office.
Thus far the old religion of Temple and sacrifice contributed to Christian thinking about
worship. The more recent religion of the Synagogue, however, made agreater contribution
to the actual practice of Christian worship. Jesus Himself was accustomed to worship in the
Synagogue every Sabbath (Luke 4:16), and here too Christians continued to worship with
Jews for a considerable period, until their expulsion from the Synagogue, which we see
happening in several places during Paul's journeys as recorded in Acts (eg., 13:45-46,18:6-
7), became general. The early Christian meeting is referred to plainly as 'Synagogue' in the
Greek of James 2:2. Paul apparently observes Passover and Pentecost (Acts 20:6, 16), no
192
doubt giving them a new and Christian meaning. Circumcision continues in the Jewish
Church without question - controversy only arose when it was extended to the Gentiles
(Gal. 2:5, 6. 11-16), but from the beginning there were specifically Christian
services, and quite early on Christian worship comes to be specially associated with the first
day of the week, i.e., Sunday, rather than the Sabbath, equivalent to our Saturday, perhaps at
first by an extension of the Sabbath through Saturday night (cf. Acts 20:7, Rev.1:10).
Early Christian Song
Thus clear traces of worship which we find in the New Testament point very evidently to its
Jewish origin. The songs of Zacharias, Mary and Simeon in Luke land 2 are pre-Christian
Psalms containing many Old Testament themes. The songs and other utterances of praise
and adoration found in Revelation are in some ways like Old Testament Psalms; thus some
of them resemble the 'Enthronement Psalms', which celebrate God's Kingly Rule
(eg.,Psalms 47,93,96-98).
The sovereignty of the world has passed to our Lord and His Christ, and He shall
reign for ever and ever (Rev. 11:15).
Alleluia! The Lord our God, sovereign over all, has entered on His reign! Exult and
shout for joy and do Him homage, for the wedding-day of the Lamb has come! His
bride has made herself ready, and for her dress she has been given fine linen, clean
and shining (Rev. 19:6-8).
No doubt such exclamations of praise were used by Christians in their corporate worship.
The use of several Hebrew and Aramaic words links the New Testament Christian liturgy
with its Jewish origin: such are Amen, Alleluia, Abba (Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6, pointing back
to our Lord's own use, Mark 14:36), Maranatha, come, 0 Lord! (1 Cor. 16:23) and Hosanna
(used at any rate by the second century in Christian worship, as we see in the Didache).
Further as we have seen ascriptions of praise to God beginning with 'Blessed be God', such
as we find in Eph. 1:3,1 Pet. 1:3, follow the pattern of Hebrew Benedictions, and probably
represent the practice of Christian worship.
Clearly singing played an important part in early Christian worship as in Jewish worship.
The Lord and His disciples sang a hymn or psalm together after the Last Supper (Mark
14:26). Paul and Silas in the prison at Philippi sang hymns to God (Acts 16:25), and Paul
writes of Christians coming together for worship with 'a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a
tongue or an interpretation' (1 Cor. 14:26). Further in Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, he exhorts his
readers to sing 'with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.' We cannot be sure whether
these represent distinct kinds of Christian song or not. The heavenly worship of Revelation
(14:2) is accompanied by harps and this may represent Christian practice in worship.
Further at least two passages in the Epistle are generally agreed to be actual quotations from
Christian hymns of the first generation. These are
Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead and Christ shall give you light (Eph. 5:14).
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He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached
among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory (1 Tim. 3:16).
The latter appears to be an early Christian creed, while it has been suggested that the former
is part of a hymn based on the incident in Acts (12:6-7), where Peter is wakened and told to
arise by the angel and a light shines on him. In both of these we have moved further from
the Jewish models than in the two kinds of New Testament song previously considered.
Prayer, Reading and Teaching
Prayer was also a part of the public worship of God in the Apostolic Church. Instructions
are given in 1 Tim. 2:1-2 about prayers and thanksgivings to be made for all men and
especially for kings and others in authority and for peace. This would be followed by the
saying of 'Amen' by the whole congregation (1 Cor. 14:16). The one example of a corporate
prayer which we have (Acts 4:24-30) shows a typical Jewish form with a quotation from
Psalm 2 and a blending of praise and prayer.
The reading of the Old Testament Scriptures had its place in early Christian worship. This is
clear from the command of 1 Tim. 4:13, 'Attend to the public reading of Scripture, to
preaching, to teaching'. This was early supplemented by the occasional reading in the
Christian assembly of the letter sent to that particular church by an apostle (1 Thess. 5:27,
Col. 4:16). These were of course regarded at first as on a different footing from the ancient
Scriptures, but by the second century at any rate we find them classed on a basis of equality
with them (2 Pet. 3:16).
Teaching also had its place in the worship of the Apostolic Church. Its connection with
liturgy is clear from 1 Cor. 14:26, where as we have seen 'a teaching, a revelation' is linked
with 'a psalm' among the things which one could contribute to the common worship of the
local Church. Such teaching (Greek Didache) is to be distinguished from the preaching of
the Gospel (Kerygma) which was addressed to the non-Christian and would not, therefore,
have normally had a place in the church's own meeting.
It is evident then that the four elements of the Synagogue worship, singing of praise, prayer,
Scripture reading and exposition or teaching had a place in the Apostolic Church's worship.
Thus the Early Church is seen to have its roots in the past of Israel and in the tradition of
worship in which the Saviour Himself was brought up.
The Worship of the Corinthian Church
The picture which we have in 1 Cor. 14 of the worship of the Corinthian Church differs in a
marked way from the ordered worship of the Synagogue and from almost all that we know
from other sources about the Church's worship in this earliest period. Clearly use of the
special gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues and interpreting played an important part in
it. There is no indication that anyone presided or had control of the meeting. People seem
to have come with their own contributions - 'each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a
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tongue or an interpretation' (1 Cor. 14:26). Some have felt that this gives a picture of the
spontaneous and spirit-filled character of true New Testament worship and, therefore,
should be a guide to us today. In answer to this, however, it may be urged that: (1) the
Corinthians were far from being a model in worship, as the passage on the Lord's Supper (1
Cor. 11:7-34) clearly shows. They are nowhere commended for their mode of worship. (2)
Clearly from chapter 14 this type of worship was not without defects: there was danger of
confusion, as is implied by the command to do everything decently and in order and the
statement that God is not a God of confusion (verses 33 and 40), and an outsider coming in
might think the worshippers mad (verse 23). Hence Paul lays down clear regulations for the
use of tongues and prophecy. (3) It is hard to conceive that in Jerusalem and Rome, where
the Church had closer links with the Synagogue, this kind of worship prevailed. It would
seem to arise in part at least from the more emotional character of the Greek people and to
be outside the mainstream of the Christian tradition of worship. This is not to say that
something of this spontaneous and 'spirit-filled' character might not be with advantage
revived in the church's worship today.
Glossary
1. evidence n proof, affirmation

2. frequented vb attend, visit
3. martyrdom n suffering & death of a martyr, one
who is punished, by death, for faith
4. decisive adj final, firm
5. repudiated vb disown, reject
6. distinction n difference, feature
7. expulsion n dismissal, removal
8. controversy n argument, dispute
9. equivalent n identical, alternative
10. exult vb rejoice greatly
11. corporate adj regarding a corporation
12. ascriptions n words of praise to God at
the end of a sermon
13. exherts vb urge, encourage
14. manifested vb exhibit, display
15. vindicated vb justify, assert
16. blending (gerund) combination
17. supplemented vb increase, enlarge
18. footing n basis, foundation
19. spontaneous adj automatic, natural impulse
20. mainstream n prevailing trend of opinion
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21. revived vb to refresh, reactivate
---------------- o ------------------
This text is a fairly simple one. The author writes very clearly and makes sub-headings
which enable you to read without any doubt as to what he is saying.
Task (l(a))
Skim through the text and find out the sequence of ideas. Then fill in the following with the
names of the sections:
a) .................................................................................
b) .................................................................................
c) .................................................................................
d) .................................................................................
Task (l(b))
Scan the first and last lines of each section and cop you the TOPIC SENTENCES of each
section.
a) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
b) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
c) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
&etc.
d) .................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
&etc.
N.B. You may discuss this with your partner or group before you write anything down
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Q.1 Did you find any new way of writing Topic sentences?
Were they always in the beginning? Or at the end?
Do you think the author has tried something different in this text?
………………………………………………………………………….................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
Task (2(a))
Make a list of the “Initial Sentence Elements” in section (a).
e.g. The Origin of Christian worship………………………………………………………….
The Lord Jesus ………………………………………………………...................................
From the Acts of the Apostles………………………………………………………………
The prayers………………………………………………………………………………….
Do this till you come to the sentence regarding Circumcision and the question of Sabbath.
Task (2(b))
Now look at your list carefully and state whether the ISEs are Nouns, Guiding Comments,
Connecting words, Opinion conveyors, Author’s Topic or Sentence Topic?
Task (3)
Answer the Following:
1) Why does the writer use the word ‘probably’ twice?
…………………………………………………………………………................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
…………………………………………………………………………..................................
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2) How was the conception of sacrifice enlarged?
………………………………………………………………………….................................
……………………………………………………………………………............................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
3) What common meaning can you offer for the following words: rejection, repudiated,
expulsion?
………………………………………………………………………….................................
………………………………………………………………………….................................
4) How has the word ’priest’ changed meaning?
……………………………………………………………………….................................
……………………………………………………………………………………...............
………………………………………………………………………….................................
Task (4) - Homework
For self-study repeat Task (2) on Section (b)
Task (5)
For the next section, ( c ) create six question beginning with WH- words like What, Why, Where,
Who, When, Which, Whose, etc. and give them to your partner to answer in class. Be very careful
with the structure of questions.
CONCLUSIONS
A Word About Them
In this concluding part the writer speaks of the church at Corinth. You must be very familiar with
this topic. As we had said this text is fairly easy to understand.
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But why does the writer choose as a sample such a poor example? Or does he think it is a very
good church?
An analysis of the language used by the writer will help us better understand his true opinion.
In the sentence,
“Some have felt that this gives a picture of the spontaneous and spirit-filled character of true
New Testament worship and therefore, should be a guide to us today.”
We should observe the choice of two particular words by the author: - 'SOME'and 'HOWEVER:
in the next line.
The word 'some' creates distance. The author means to say that "others may think so but I do not."
(Try to translate this simple word into your Mother Tongue. You will surely grasp this notion of
distance: - "My opinion is different" - idea)
Similarly the word, 'however' suggests that a contradiction is to come. Wooton mentions three
reasons why the Corinthian church does not qualify as a model church.
He hints at the emotional character of the Greeks as being a possible explanation. This is suggested
by his use of the word, 'would' and the phrase, 'It is hard to conceive'.
Till this point it seems as though Wooton is condemning the church at Corinth, but is he really
doing so? Read the last lines carefully. It is often said that 'two negatives make a positive'.
Wooton is saying, 'I'm not saying that reviving this type of worship is bad. It maybe revived with
advantage today.'
So what is he actually saying? Wooton is trying to see some good in the Corinthian Church, as
he thinks the modern church could do with some emotion or improve spiritually.
CONCLUSIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN WRITING
• Sometimes they settle an argument clearly.

• At other times they only hint, suggest, imply something.
• Sometimes they change the very direction of the argument.
Task (6)
CONCLUSIONS
Q. If you were writing about the Corinthian Church today, what would you say regarding its
behaviour? Is St. Paul justified in scolding them? Or, do you t1link Wooton's suggestion is
worth supporting?
Write a 50-word paragraph giving your opinion of the Corinthian Church.
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Unit V
Text C THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES – TWO VIEWS
(i) AUTHOR OF JAMES- A.M. HUNTER
There is in the New Testament no pithier writer, no man in stronger earnest about the
practicalities of the Christian religion than St. James.
Who was James?
The answer of the Epistle is: ‘James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (1.1). No claim
is here made to apostolic authorship. Yet many have liked to think that the Epistlei is the work of
the James par excellence in the New Testament- James the Lord’s brother, who disbelieving in
Christ during the days of His flesh, was won for the Faith by an appearance to him of the risen Lord
(1 Cor. 15:7). He rose to pre-eminence in the mother-Church of Jerusalem, and died (according to
Josephus) a martyr’s death in A.D. 62.
Certainly the Jewish cast of the letter, and its half- dozen or so echoes of the Sermon on the Mount
(e.g. 2:5 and 5:12) lend colour to this view. On the other hand, the shyness of the Church to admit it
to the Canon, the excellence of the Greek, and the rarity of references to Jesus Himself (two only),
make us wonder whether ‘ James the Just’ (as he was called) could possibly be the author. It is
probably better to find the writer in some other James, a Jewish Christian occupying a position of
authority in the branch of the Church to which he Belonged.
(ii) AUTHORSHIP- ANDREW MCNAB
There are three men with this name mentioned in the New Testament- James, the son of Zebedee;
James, the son of Alphaeus; and James, the brother of Jesus. Although the Scriptures do not make
the matter certain, most scholars agree in identifying the author of This Epistle with James, the
brother of our Lord. James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was slain by Herod (Acts
12:2), Thereafter Peter was thrown into prison and, having Been miraculously released, asked that
news be sent to James and to the brethren (Acts 12:17). James the son Alphaeus, is mentioned only
in lists of apostles and is possibly Referred to in Mk. 15:40. it is scarcely to be expected that one
occupying so obscure a place In the Gospel narratives would be the author of this Epistle which so
evidently comes from the pen of a man of outstanding, robust personality, who clearly occupied a
position of authority in the Church.
There remains James, the brother of our Lord, and the references to him in the New estament show him as a
man of great influence and distinction, especially among the Jewish Christians. Our Lord appeared to James
after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7) and, although it is not so stated, it seems safe to assume that this refers to
James, the brother of our Lord. In the light of Mt. 13:55 and Jn. 7:5 we may gather that either the closing
events in the life of our Lord, or His death, or this post-resurrection appearance was the means of his
conversion. He is numbered among the company in Jerusalem waiting and praying for the 'promise of the
Father' (Acts 1: 14). Three years after his conversion Paul went up to Jerusalem with Peter and saw none of
the apostles 'save James the Lord's brother' (Gal. 1:19). In the conference held at Jerusalem on the
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question of the admission of Gentiles to the Church, James was the presiding elder. After Peter,
Paul and Barnabas had spoken he summed up the whole discussion.
His decision was adopted by the whole assembly and formulated in a letter which has some very
striking parallels in its phraseology to this Epistle (Acts 15:6-29). On the occasion of another visit
to Jerusalem Paul received the right hand of fellowship from James, Cephas and John (Gal. 2:9);
and when he came up to Jerusalem for the last time he reported his work to James and the elders
present with him (Acts 21, 18ff.).
James, therefore, stood in a position of great, if not supreme, authority in the mother church at
Jerusalem, presiding over the assemblies and speaking the final and authoritative word. The
authoritative tone of this Epistle comports well with the position of primacy ascribed to James.
II. Date and Purpose
Neither internal nor external evidence affords much help in determining the date of the Epistle with
accuracy. The contents certainly seem to indicate a primitive form of Christian organization in the
Church. Mayor and other authorities argue for a very early date (about A.D. 45) on the basis of
omission from the contents of any reference to the Jerusalem Council and of what was decided
there. On the other hand, Wordsworth, Farrar and Ewald argue for a later date (about A.D. 62) on
the ground that the Epistle was written by James shortly before his martyrdom to correct certain
misinterpretations of Paul's doctrine of justification by faith. The early date, on the whole, seems to
be preferable. The purpose of the Epistle is to demonstrate that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ must
be applied to all the experiences and relationships of Christian disciples. It is faith in action with
which James is concerned; hence his marked emphasis on the place of works in the Christian life. It
would seem from the teaching of the Epistle that the Christian Jews to whom he is writing were in
danger of regarding this practice, the outworking of faith, as unimportant. -
Glossary

I
1. pithy (pithier) adj compact, definitive
2. earnest adj serious, sincere
3. par excellence adv special excellence
4. pre-eminence n excelling others
5. martyr n person who dies for his faith
6. cast n type, quality
7. rarity (rare) n/adj novelty, antique
II
8. scarcely adv barely, hardly
9. obscure adj vague, unknown
10. robust adj hardy, strong
11. presiding adj leading
12. adopted vb embrace, take up·
13. formulated vb develop, make
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14. phraseology n mode of expression
15. comports vb conduct, behave
16. primacy n being first in rank
17. outworking vb (gerund) outer expression of faith

1. we may gather we may thus understand
2. affords help provides help
3. marked emphasis significant stress
------------------ o -----------------
This unit trains you in the way in which you studied the Book of Jonah. It is an exercise in
discrimination.
Your reading improves if you read constantly.
Just as we looked closely at two views on the Book of Jonah, now we repeat the exercise in
discrimination with two views on the Epistle of James.
Reading contrasting opinions or varied opinions on the same topic is not unusual. When we are
very interested in a topic, for example, political matters or an air-crash, we read more than one
newspaper or listen to both local and foreign radio or watch television broadcasts to make sure we
get every aspect of the news.
Often we notice significant differences in reporting facts and figures. In addition, the Editorial of a
Newspaper or magazine gives us further views with some new insights.
After reading all these materials we must judge for ourselves what we are to believe. Our
judgement is shaped by our own previous knowledge and experience. We are not passive readers
believing all that we read or hear. We must respond actively sifting, evaluating, selecting and
rejecting information. These texts help us to do just this.
Pre- Reading Activity
Task (1)
Group discussion on 2 topics (10 minutes only)
A: Who comprised the family of Jesus?
B: Which is important? Faith or Works?
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Questions for Group A
1. What do you know of the family of Jesus apart from his parents?
…………………………………………………………………………….......................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
2. Did Jesus have any sisters?
……………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
3. What would have been the effect if Jesus had had a sister who accompanied him
everywhere in his ministry?
……………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
4. Have you ever heard of Jesus’ brother? Who and what was he?
……..………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
5. Do all scholars agree that Jesus had a brother?
……………………….........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
Questions for Group B
1. What is your opinion of faith without works and works without faith?
……………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
2. Has the Gospel of Social Action today ignored the need for preaching the word?
……………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
3. Have those who preached the word with sincerity been deaf to the cries of the needy? Are
they justified in doing so?
…….………………........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
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4. Is the very high standard of Jesus as stated in Mathew Ch: 5 repeated by James in his
Epistle?
……………………....................................................................................................................…...
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
5. Does the practical side of the Sermon on the Mount find an echo in this Epistle? Give an
example
……………………..........................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
……………………………………………………………...............................................................
Task (2)
After the groups have discussed the two topics briefly now read the two texts and then answer the
specific questions on James' Epistle.
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I The following is a list of items concerning the authorship of the letter of James:
a. the authoritative tone of the epistle

b. the pre-eminence of James, the Lord's brother, in the Church at Jerusalem
c. the excellent Greek of the Letter
d. the Jewish cast of the letter
e. the letter contains only two references to Jesus
f. half-dozen references to Sermon on Mount materials
g. the Church's hesitation about admitting it to the canon
h. parallel phraseology in the Acts 15 decree and in the letter.
a. ………………………………………..
b. ………………………………………..
c. ………………………………………..
d. ………………………………………..
e. ………………………………………..
f. ………………………………………..
g. ………………………………………..
h. ………………………………………..
(i) Indicate against each letter which author mentions that item, using H for Hunter,
M for McNab, and H & M if the item is mentioned by both.
(ii) Indicate by a plus sign (+) or minus sign (-) if:
+ = item can be used to support authorship by James, the Lord's brother

-= item can be used against authorship by James, the Lord's brother
II Which writer has supplied more data from the letter itself?
III Which writer has said "most scholars agree" that James the Lord's brother is the author,
and which writer has said "many have liked to think" that James the Lord's brother is the
author?
IV How many people named James are mentioned in the New Testament?
V. What was the attitude of James the Lord's brother to Jesus during the time of Jesus'
ministry? Which author mentions it? Hunter or McNab?
205
UNIT V
Text D THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF PROPERTY
BIBLICAL FAITH AND SOCIAL ETHICS - CLINTON E. GARDNER
We have seen that Christian doctrine of creation declares that the material world is good, and we
have noted that man's proper response to the Creator is one of gratitude and thanksgiving for His
good gifts. On the one hand, however, it is possible to conceive of these goods as being intended
primarily for possession and control by isolated individuals; or, on other hand, they may be
conceived of as being intended primarily for possession and control by the community. In the
former case, Christian faith would be identified with an individualistic conception of property; in
the latter, with a collectivistic view. In face of the widely divergent consequences of these two
conceptions of property for the entire cultural life of society, it is important that we ask what light
Christian faith sheds upon the debate between these two views. More fundamentally, we need to
examine what it says about ownership itself. In what sense may either an individual or a
community be said to own anything?
From the standpoint of Biblical faith, all property belongs to God who is its Creator. He alone has
absolute ownership over anything. Man's life, the earth, and all that man has or is able to create out
of the raw materials with which he has been provided - all belong to God. "The earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein" (Ps. 24:1). "Whatever is under the
whole heaven is mine" (Job 41: 11; Cf. Ps. 50: 12; Ex. 19:5). God has freely given man the use of
land, air, water, and even of other living creatures (Gen. 1:26-29), but the ultimate ownership of all
belongs to the Creator alone. Man's relationship to them is one of stewardship, i.e., of using them in
accordance with the will of the One who is sovereign over all.
Within the context of absolute ownership by God alone Biblical faith assumes the necessity of
some measure of individual ownership although it is keenly aware of the moral and social dangers
of wealth and imposes severe limitations upon its acquisition and use in order to protect the welfare
of less fortunate persons as well as that of society as a whole. In the Old Testament, the very
existence of the commandment "You shall not steal" presupposes the right of individual ownership.
Similarly, the frequent protests made by the prophets against the infringement of the prohibition of
stealing implies that they assumed the right of individuals to own property. Also in the New
Testament some measure of private ownership is presupposed as normal. Even the communism of
love which was practised for a time at Jerusalem after Pentecost (Acts 2:44, 45; 5: 1-5) does not
provide an exception to this rule, for all were free either to place or not place their property at the
disposal of the community; moreover, there is no evidence that such a communal sharing of goods
was followed in theother primitive Christian communities. This practice at Jerusalem seems to have
been looked upon as a product of Christian fellowship rather than as a blueprint for the economic
order.
206
Although the existence of the right of private property was generally assumed in the Early Church,
many of the Church Fathers believed that it had its origin in human sinfulness (i. e. in the Fall)
rather than in Creation. In the medieval period, Aquinas insisted that private property was in
accordance with natural law. In actuality his view differed little from that of the Early Fathers who
believed that property had been originally held in common and that private ownership had been
instituted only after men had fallen into sin. He held that while this right is given in natural law,
there is no requirement that men should exercise it; and, indeed, that they should find it necessary
to allot property to particular individuals, on a permanent basis at all, results from man's fallen and
sinful state in which he is lazy, greedy, and belligerent. Thus, in an unfallen world there would
presumably be no necessity or reason for the exercise of the natural right of individual ownership.
It should be noted, moreover, that Aquinas was little closer than his predecessors to defending the
modern notion that the right of property is absolute and unlimited, for he defined it as a right of use,
i.e. of the individual ministering from what he has to the necessities of his fellows. Like Aquinas,
Luther and Calvin also accepted private property as a legitimate condition of life in the order of
creation as well as in that of the Fall. Although they believed that the right to such ownership rested
in God's munificence in creation, they did not believe that it implied a right to unconditional
possession. In Lehmann's words, "According to the Reformation the right to use determines the
right to possess.... Rightly understood, possession is in order to use: use is not in order to possess."
The Reformation concept of ownership implies a duty as well as a privilege, and the idea of
ownership itself cannot be properly understood apart from the corresponding conception of
stewardship.
While there were strong checks upon the right of individual ownership in the thought of Aquinas,
Luther and Calvin, there was a tendency in later Catholicism and to an even greater extent in later
Puritanism (with its secularized doctrine of vocation and its tendency to regard prosperity as a sign
that one was among the elect) to accept the highly individualistic notion, associated with laissez-
faire capitalism, of the right to property as absolute and unconditional and to conceive of the state
primarily as an instrument for the protection of this right. These developments have been
vigorously challenged, however, in both Catholic and Protestant circles during the past century. At
present there is a widespread consensus that the economic individualism which they reflect stands
in direct contradiction to the teaching of Christian faith both as regards the nature of man as
created-in-community and as regards the importance of social justice; moreover, there is growing
recognition of the fact that the individualistic conception of production implied in the notion that
the right of private property is absolute and unlimited ignores the role of society in the production
of wealth.
In view of the manifest injustices which have been associated with the institution of private
property and in view of the complete rejection of this right by Communism, what justification -
aside from the example furnished by Biblical and historical tradition - can be given for private
property in our day? Can any basis for it be found when the economic order is viewed in the light
of the present creative, ordering and redeeming will of God? In Justice and the Social Order, Emil
Brunner grounds the right to private property in the right to freedom. Man was created to be
responsible; responsibility presupposes freedom; and freedom presupposes the ability to make
significant choices concerning the use of things over which one has a large measure of control.
Hence, private property is a right established by creation. Brunner writes: "The man who has
nothing at his disposal cannot act freely. He is dependent on the permission of others for every step
207
he takes, and if they so wish, they can make it impossible for him to carry on any concrete activity.
Without property there is no power to act.... And the word 'property' must be taken literally as
ownership, or, as we say to-day, private property. Without private property there is no freedom."
Moreover, collective ownership - whether it be by a corporation or by a union or by the state - can
never replace the value of individual ownership in terms of freedom; for unless the individual has
the right of disposal he becomes a slave of the collective will. Indeed, it is the lack of personal
property, Brunner believes, which "is largely responsible for the reduction of the proletariat to an
impersonal mass." Brunner does not conclude from this requirement of human freedom, however,
either that private property is "a purely individual concern" or that it is the only just form of
ownership. Although he tends to be strongly individualistic in his basic conception of property he
also stresses the communitarian nature of economic goods and the contribution which the
community makes to the acquisition of wealth of all kinds. With respect to God, man is always a
steward with an account to render for the use of the property; and, from the standpoint of justice, all
property is "held subject to the reservation of fellowship."
Professor George Thomas arrives at a similar justification of private property. The individual can
realize meaning and value in his life only as he adopts and carries out purposes of his own.
Freedom is essential to this end, and material goods are necessary as instruments through which the
personality may express and realize itself. In this sense provision for some individual ownership
may be viewed as the intent of the Creator. Like Brunner, Thomas stresses the fact in a collective
society, in which all property is owned and controlled by the state, the governing authorities have
almost unlimited power to determine the lives of the citizens and to prevent them from fulfilling
any goals and needs which the rulers themselves do not approve.
Not only is private property essential for the fullest development of personality; it is also necessary,
in view of human indolence and self-centredness, for a second reason, viz. as an incentive to get
accomplished the work which needs to be done in the economic order. There are many reasons why
men work, but it is undeniable that many - perhaps, most are motivated to work most diligently and
regularly by the promise of material possessions over which they can exercise control. The
incentive of material reward is especially necessary in order that society may be able to recruit
adequate numbers of persons to perform many monotonous, difficult and dangerous jobs which
must be done if the needs of society as a whole are to be met.
Recognition of the right of all people to private property raises the question whether the goal in the
distribution of wealth should be absolute equality. It is obvious that there must be a greater amount
of equality than exists at present, if all are to have enough resources adequately to meet their needs
for physical nourishment, housing, clothing, medical care, education and recreation. But it is also
obvious that all people do not have the same needs for each of these goods and services. Hence, to
provide all with the same amounts of food, shelter, clothing, medicine and cultural and recreational
facilities would be to treat them unequally in any except the most abstract sense of that term.
Moreover, people differ vastly in the extent to which they have demands placed upon them by
others who are dependent upon them for their physical needs and also in the demands which are
placed upon them by the functions they perform in society. To permit the bachelor and the father of
five children exactly the same income tax deductions would obviously be inequitable, and to make
identical allowances for expenses connected with the performance of their official duties to the
President of the United States and to the mayor of a city would be manifestly unjust.
208
From the standpoint of Christian faith, equality, like justice, can be properly understood only when
it is viewed in relationship to specific individuals with specific needs. Abstract equalitarianism
neglects the individual differences between persons. It also ignores the social necessity of giving
unequal rewards to people who make unequal contributions to the community. But, while some
amount of inequality in the distribution of property is demanded by the inequality of men's needs
and in the interest of social utility, it is clear that the vast inequalities of our present economic
system are not justifiable on either of these grounds. In our country, but especially in the world
community, millions of people do not have even the barest necessities for physical existence while
many others have many times that which their needs require. Moreover, often there is little
relationship between either the social utility or the difficulty or the danger of the work which a
person performs and the monetary reward which he receives in return for it.
Christian ethics, then, is not egalitarian; neither does it justify the vast inequalities of our existing
economic system. The amount of equality which it demands in the distribution of wealth is
determined by the extent to which men's needs are the same; the amount of inequality which it
permits is determined by the extent to which their needs differ and the welfare of society as a whole
demands such inequality.
While it needs to be recognised that the Christian ethic does not demand absolute equality, the
greater danger lies in the tendency to rationalise the existing inequalities and to substitute fictitious
forms of inequality for a more realistic effort to provide a greater measure of actual equality. Thus,
the Christian ideal is often alleged to be that of equality of opportunity. This in turn is interpreted
in individualistic terms to mean that each person has the right to rise to whatever economic level he
is able to attain on his own. Such a view of equality overlooks the inequalities of circumstances
with which men are surrounded by accident of birth because of inequalities of social position,
wealth and environment. It also ignores those inequalities which are due to different physical
endowments and different, intellectual capacities. Provision for equality of opportunity, if this be
genuine, must include provision for equality of circumstance. Beyond this, Christian love
recognises the claim of all men, regardless of their abilities and circumstances, to those conditions
which will make possible the fulfillment of their personalities as children of God. Moreover, since
Christian faith perceives the purpose of God for man to be the creation of a community which is
united in love and fellowship, great disparities of wealth which create barriers between groups and
classes and prevent the participation of all in any genuine form of common life must be judged to
be inconsistent with Christian love.
The foregoing view of the Christian conception of equality is more adequately summarized in the
formula "equality of consideration" than it is in the phrase "equality of opportunity", since the
latter is so widely understood in individualistic terms. Equality of consideration means that each
person should be effectively taken into account in the distribution of social benefits and that each
should be helped by society to develop his capacities and fulfill his needs to the greatest extent
possible.
It is difficult to define the Christian idea of equality in more precise terms because men differ so
much in their capacities and needs. It is clear, however, that human need rather than an abstract
notion of equality is the focal point in the effort to achieve an equitable distribution of goods: In
209
practical terms, this would seem to lead inevitably to the idea of a floor, or minimum level, of
income below which no families should be allowed to fall. Even considerations of discipline for the
shiftlessness of an employable father ought not to be allowed to penalize the whole family~ The
members of such a family have capacities and needs which ought to be taken into consideration
equally with those of other members of 185 society who are economically more advantaged, and
these persons should receive equal treatment from society in terms of their capacities and needs
insofar as this is possible. -
Glosary

1. conceive vb imagine, think
2. individualistic adj favouring free action of individuals
3. collectivistic adj for the benefit of all
4. absolute adj complete, exact
5. keenly adv sharply, ardent
6. imposes vb inflict, burden
7. acquisition n act of acquiring, possessing
8. presupposes vb presume, expect
9. infringement n trespass, encroach
10. communal adj shared, common
11. blueprint n chart, plan
12. instituted vb establish, constitute
13. belligerent adj hostile, outspoken
14. presumably adv seemingly, apparent! y
15. predecessor n ancestor, ascendant
16. legitimate adj lawful, valid
17. munificence n generous, bountiful
18. unconditional adj absolute, firm
19. laissez- faire n non-interference from government in
individual's action in commerce
20. capitalism n system of private owners of wealth
21. vigorously adv active, energetic
22. consensus n majority opinion
23. proletariat n daily-wage earners
24. communitarian adj practising co-operation and communism
25. render vb represent, execute
26. indolence n idleness
27. incentive n motive, inducement
28. diligently adv carefully, thoroughly
29. recruit vb enroll, engage
30. obvious adj clearly evident
31. inequitable adj unfair, partial
32. equalitarianism n (see egalitarian below)
33. monetary adj financial, fiscal
34. egalitarian adj/n holding the principle of equal rights for all
210
people
35. fictitious adj fake, artificial
36. alleged vb claim, assert
37. environment n circumstance, situation
38. disparities n difference, dissimilarity
39. focal adj central point
40. inevitably adv unavoidably
41. shiftlessness n lazy, inefficient
42. penalize vb punish, convict
Pre- Reading Activity
Read the following story* and discuss the consequences
"Rev. Daniel was a very sincere man of God. He worked hard and served his congregation
faithfully. He was a simple soul.
One Easter, his friends from abroad sent him a huge parcel of gifts to be shared with his simple
congregation. When he opened the parcel his eyes widened with surprise. There were dozens and
dozens of chocolate Easter Eggs and Chocolate Easter Rabbits, wrapped in coloured paper – in very
pretty boxes. He called out to his wife and showed her the gracious gifts from abroad. She too was
amazed and delighted.
"How should we distribute them?" he asked his wife.
"That's no problem," she said, "Let's give each child in our congregation one full box. There are so
many boxes here".
“That’s what I’ll do” said Rev. Daniel.
So, on Easter morning, after the Sunday Service he gathered his simple congregation together in the
Parish Hall and explaining to them the source of this generous gift he began distributing the
chocolates with his wife assisting.
The excited children walked upto their pastor in orderly fashion. They received their box of
chocolate Easter eggs or rabbits, thanked Rev. Daniel and rushed back to their parents with
supreme joy. Chocolates for Easter! and that too absolutely free! The laughter and joy spread from
family to family as the children received their gifts.
Suddenly there was some commotion in one corner of the Parish Hall. A little boy was crying
though he had a box of chocolates in his hands but his mother was shouting at another child's
*
An abridged version of my short-story entitled “Among the Angels”.
211
mother and the two women were very angry indeed. Soon the husbands of the two women joined in
the shouting and soon more and more adults were quarreling with each other. The sight was
shocking.
Rev. Daniel and his wife stopped their distribution and hastened to see what the matter was. The
angry parents sprang on him accusing him of great injustice. Injustice? Rev. Daniel could not
understand at all. He was dumbfounded.
"What injustice have I done?" he asked innocently.
"Those of us with one child have got only one dozen chocolates, Pastor", they shouted, "but those
with six children have got six dozens of chocolates! You call that justice Pastor?" they screamed,
furious.
The pastor's wife quickly collected the remaining boxes of chocolates and disappeared into the
Parsonage. The frustrated congregation members stood around distraught. Poor Rev. Daniel, "Can
Christian justice ever be egalitarian?" he thought.
How could it be, dear reader! There is hierarchy (inequality) even among the angels”.
Task (1) Study-Reading
Number the paragraphs of the Text 1-14.
Read the first paragraph carefully and answer the following questions:
(i) The writer says” We have Seeen”. Where have we seen this?
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
(ii) What are the two alternatives mentioned in sentence 2?
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
(iii) What is the function of sentence (3)?
Tick ( ) the appropriate box.

a) adds new meaning to sentences2?
b) provides labels for the two views?
212
(iv) What in your opinion are the different consequences of each of these views on the total
cultural life of society? Answer briefly.
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
(v) What is the author’s main concern in sentence 4?
……………………………………………………………………………………...................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
How is it emphasized in the next sentence?
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
(vi) How would you classify the last sentence of the paragraph?
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
……………………………………………………………………………………....................
Task (2) - Skimming
Skim through the entire text reading only the first and last sentences of each paragraph. Write
below your understanding of the argument from this superficial reading.
(N.B.A few have been filled in for you)
Paragraph 2: God owns everything
Paragraph 3: ……………………………………..
Paragraph 4: Beliefs of Early Christina Fathers
Paragraph 5: …………………………………………….
Paragraph 6: …………………………………………….
213
Paragraph 7: ……………………………………………..
Paragraph 8: Private property is essential for two reasons
Paragraph 9: ……………………………………………..
Paragraph 10: …………………………………………….
Paragraph 11: …………………………………………….
Paragraph 12: Equality of opportunity
Paragraph 13: …………………………………………….
Paragraph 14: …………………………………………….
Do not worry if you cannot understand the text full y. It is a difficult text because of the complexity
of ideas and sentence structures. TI1e first sentence of paragraph (5) has over 90 words in it! I f you
have trouble decoding or understanding it the fault is the author's not yours. Do not distrust your
capacity to read academic texts in English. After reading these 20 authentic texts in English you
must have confidence in yourself.
Task 3: (Scanning)
After you have discussed Task (2) with the teacher and your classmates answer these general
questions regarding the structure of the text.
Write the number of the paragraphs against the ideas described in the left-hand column:
Ideas Paragraph Nos:

Freedom helps a man to find meaning in his life
All man's creations belong to God
The Christian idea of equality is vague
The law prohibiting stealing assumes private ownership
All people do not have the same needs

.
Christian ethics permits inequality
The state must protect the right to own property
Reward (material gain) is an incentive to work and indirectly

means private property is not to be condemned
214
Task (4)
Attempt a Flow-Chart to visually present the sequence of ideas in this text. Refer to Unit II(c) if
you wish.
Task (5)
Apply the categories Situation - Problem - Elaboration of the Problem - Solution - Evaluation of
Solution to this text. Draw a Grid as we did in IV (d) to show these five categories and indicate
which paragraphs fall into these categories.
Post Reading
Having studied this text well, now attempt to make "spider-notes" (Buzan's method) of it. Put the
topic in the centre of the page and then add the "spider leg" patterns.
OR
Make notes in linear fashion by dividing your page into two columns with MP, main-points, on
the left-hand side and SP, sub-points on the right-hand side. Number your points as you do so.
Use Roman numbers I, II, etc. for MPs and a), b), or (i), (ii) for SPs.
WHATEVER THE METHOD YOU ADOPT BE VERY CAREFUL IN

YOUR NUMBERING!
This text was chosen to lead onto Volume 2 where passages from Theology and Ethics dominate.
You have been guided through such text so far with appropriate skills to enable you to read with
confidence in future.
“ So run, that you may obtain” I Cor. 9:24
215
Appendix- 1
Some New Books of Grammar
1. A Communicative Grammar of English

by Geoffery Leech & Jan Svatvik
ELBS. Low-priced edition
Longman Group Ltd. U.K.
2. A University Grammar of English

by R. Quirk & Greenbaum - Longman
3. Collins Cobuild English Grammar

Collins Publishers & The University of Birmingham. UK.
Published in India by Harper Collins.
4 English Grammar Exercises

by Katy Shaw
Harper Collins - India.
5. Essential English Grammar

Raymond Murphy. Cambridge University Press.
6. Intermediate English Grammar

Raymond Murphy. Cambridge University Press.
216
Appendix-2
Sources Consulted
1. Brieger, Nick and Jackson, Andy. Advanced International English. London. Cassel. 1989.
2. Crystal, David. Linguistics, Language and Religion. A Faith and Fact Book. London. Burns
and Oates. 1965.
3. Desrochers, John and Joseph, George. India Today. Bangalore. Centre for Social Action.
1988.
4. Golub, Jeff. Actvities To Promote Critical Thinking - Classroom Practices in Teaching

English. Illinois. U.S.A. National Council of Teachers. 1986.
5. Harrman, L., Leech. P., and Murray, J. Reading Skills for the Social Sciences. Oxford
University Press. 1988.
6. Hoey, Michael P. Signalling in Discourse. Discourse Analysis Monograph NO.6. E.L.R.

Birmingham: University of Birmingham. (U.K.) 1979.
7. _______________On the Surface of Discourse. London: George Allen and Unwin. 1983.
8. Lautamatti, Liisa. "Observations on the Development of the Topic of Simplified Discourse"

in Writing Across Languages. Eds. U. Connor, Robert B. Kaplan. U.S.A. Addison-WeSley
Publishing Company. 1987.
9. Lawrence, Mary S. Writing as a Thinking Process. English Language Institute. Ann Arbor.
University of Michigan. 1972.
10. Latham, William. Ed. The Road to Effective Reading. Proceedings of the 10th Annual Study
Conference of the U.K. Reading Association. Ward Lock Educational. 1975.
11. Smith, Frank. Psycholinguistics and Reading. New York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1973.
12. Struever, Nancy S. "Historical Discourse" Chapter 10 in Handbook of Discourse Analysis.

Ed. by Teun A. Van Dijk. 1995.
13. Tadros, Angela. Prediction in' Text. Discourse Analysis No. 10. E.L.R. University of
Birmingham: Birmingham (U.K.) 1985.
14. Tremlett. R. Handout on Note-Making printed by the Library at the University of Aston.
Birmingham. U.K. 1987.
15. Webster, John C. An Introduction to the Study of History. Delhi. Macmillan. 1977.
217
16. Yorkey, R.c. Study Skills for Students of English as a Second Language. New York.
MacGraw - Hill. 1976.
218

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FOREWORD

Dr. Gnana Robinson

What This Book Offers

Suggestions for improvement which are feasible will be gratefully received.

Bangalore, South India

• Pre-Reading Questions for Skimming

• Understanding Form for Understanding Meaning

• Questions as a Linguistic Tool to predict Text

• Asking questions to decode meaning

D THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

• INTRODUCTION TO HISTORIC PROSE

C CHURCH AND SOCIETY

C THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

D THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

D THEOLOGY AND ETHICS

Some New Books of Grammar

K.S LATOURETTE in A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

1. Where did Christianity stem from?

2. What is lacking in our knowledge of Christianity?

3. Where did people come from to hear Jesus?

4. When did a strong Christian community exist in Rome?

5. What did Paul declare in his Letter to the Romans?

6. When did Paul make his fateful journey to Rome?

7. When did Vesuvius erupt?

8. Who is associated with Alexandria in Egypt?

9. What is referred to as the great Hellenistic metropolis?

10. Where do we find hints of the early presence of Christians in Galilee?

Now re-read the text with meaning

Words Parts of Meaning

Complete the following sentences by referring to the text:

1) What should ( 1 ) us is that so much information has come down to us.

5) There may have been Christians in ( 18 ) and in ( 19 ) not far from ( 20 ),

(i) surprise ......................................................... (1:3) ......................................

(ii) disappeared ................................................... (1:9) ......................................

(iii) survived ........................................................ (1:9) ......................................

(iv) hundreds and thousands................................ (1:19) ......................................

(v) metropolis ..................................................... (1:45) ......................................

(i) sufficient................................. (1:2)..........................

(ii) fragmentary............................ (1:3) ..........................

(iii) small....................................... (1:12) ........................

(iv) precisely ................................. (1:27) ........................

Q: Why does the writer call Rome the Eternal City?

Introduction to Vocabulary Study

Again, VERBS have six forms:

Basic form = LIVE

Present tense form = LIVES

Past tense form = LIVED

Present participle form = LIVING

Infinitive form = TO LIVE

e.g. "married man", "broken heart".

i. Denotation: the actual reference of a word to something.

ii. Connotation: the associated meaning of a word.

The Connotation of the word however, is = Fate, Experience.

"My cup runneth over" Ps: 23. vs: 5

Further, words change meaning over the years.

E.g.: AWFUL (spelt 'aweful')

COLLINS COBUILD; ESSENTIAL ENGLISH DICTIONARY, a dictionary created by a team

Adjectives and adverbs maybe factual as in: