Assignment:
Create a 1000 to 2000 words in length and follow MLA style.
You are required to write a thematic paper that traces one of the biblical themes discussed in the course. The paper should be 1000-2000 words in length and follow MLA style.
Trace one of the biblical themes from the list below noting developments of that theme in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Show how New Testament writers reinterpreted the theme. Show the continuity in the development of the theme as well as any changes in meaning. Note any areas of disputed understanding. Most of these themes have had changes in meaning or emphasis. There may be multiple, different uses of a particular theme both in the Old Testament and/or in the New Testament -- so you are NOT looking for just ONE OT view and ONE NT view. Recognize that the way various biblical books use this theme may be VERY different from the way you -- or your own religious tradition -- uses this theme. This paper must be accompanied by an outline.
THEME: Repentance
DO NOT USE modern "general" dictionaries for getting information on any of these themes/terms. These are inappropriate resources for ANY assignment in this course. The themes/vocabulary you are considering for this paper all originated and were used in another language (Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek) in the Bible, so modern English usage is of absolutely NO help in understanding how biblical authors used those Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms. Sometimes there are multiple Hebrew, Aramaic or Greeks words -- each with their own particular slant -- used in the Bible for dealing with a particular theme.
This is an ACADEMIC paper, not a piece of "devotional" writing. Therefore, the focus needs to be academic. At the end of the paper, and ONLY there, I invite those of you who wish to add a paragraph in which you talk about the value and significance (or lack thereof) that your chosen theme has for your own life and your view of Christianity. Elsewhere in the paper, though, your focus should be completely on what the biblical authors were doing with those themes in relation to their ORIGINAL audiences. IF you spend time and space in the main portion of the paper talking about what the author is telling "us," or how "we" should be applying this theme to "our" own lives, points will be deducted. That type of thing belongs ONLY in the last paragraph of the paper.
Be sure to use some of those biblical reference books in the bibliography for your paper, especially those by Bauer, Buttrick, Freedman, Kittel and Friedrich, Leon-Dufour, McKenzie, and Sackenfeld. Avoid using other sources found on the Internet unless cleared in advance with the instructor. Publically available digital sources may not always be of high quality. The paper needs to be well documented. Be certain to distinguish between paraphrase and quotation.