Dear Beth: I assume that students will have this attitude, and they usually
do. I teach Hebrew scriptures, and at the first class I explain who ancient
Jews were, how the Hebrew Bible came to be compiled, and how it is used today
on its own by Jews and as part of the Christian Bible by Christians. I then
give my little speech about how, for this class, we will be reading and
understanding these scriptures in the context of the societies in which they
were created (both rabbinic Judaism and modern Christianity have made
substantial changes in the way these scriptures are viewed). If they want to
make these connections to the New Testament, okay, but not as part of this
class. This needs to be patiently restated throughout the course. I think
this is easier to do when one separates Hebrew Bible and New Testament courses.
In my courses I generally have a few Jewish students, a few devout Christians,
and the majority who have no knowledge of either tradition. --Mary Suydam
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