Reconstructing then Literal Meaning
The word literal means - what is the most obvious meaning, the exact or primary meaning, eliminating exaggeration, metephor or embellishment. Looking at the cartoon on the left does the expression "let the cat out of the bag" literally mean to let a cat out of a bag? No! When someone says this they mean something else. Lets take this next phrase, "Suzie is a beautiful young flowering girl. Her cheeks are flush with the spring of life. She has the fragrance of youth about her." Is Suzie growing flowers? Does her cheeks have a life-spring in them? Does she smell like "youth" (which in my experience as a teacher means she STINKS)? But what about when Adolf Hitler says, "Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future." Did he mean this literally or was he using metaphor? When Jesus of Nazareth said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Did he mean this literally?
It is an important but very difficult task to construct the literal meaning of a historical passage. To remove what is interpretation, exageration, falsehood, and metaphor and get down to the obvious meaning. The obvious meaning is many times not so obvious and depends on several factors such as background, morals, setting in time, etc. So, what is needed is a good set of questions to aid the reader in finding the literal meaning. Click on the link below to find a great list of questions. |
ANALYZING A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT (YOUR ASSIGNMENT BEGINS HERE)
The life, death, resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and the spread of Christianity is one of the most significant turning points in human history. Christianity quickly "moves from the fringes of Roman society to the very heart of empires and the time of that transformation is very short. It is an incredible journey." (Geroge Wunderlich, Nationnal Musem of Civil War Medicine) The events of Jesus’ life and the lives of his Apostles occurred over a few short decades, yet, like stones splashing into still waters, they generated ripples that have driven the course of history for two thousand years. (history.com) The contents of the story of Jesus is found in the New Testament and primarily in the four gospels. Click on the following link to read a selection from thegospel of Luke. Use the Historical questions from the link above to help you analyze this historical document.
Assignment for Luke:
1. List key historical questions that you beleive should be asked about this event and document.
*find these on your historical questions sheet.
*choose atleast four
* ANSWER the questions you selected
2. Obatain historical data from a variety of sources.
*find at least two sources that discuss this document
*get one source that is religous and another that is secular
3. Support interpretations with historical evidence
*find evidence that supports interpretations of this document
Assignment for Luke:
1. List key historical questions that you beleive should be asked about this event and document.
*find these on your historical questions sheet.
*choose atleast four
* ANSWER the questions you selected
2. Obatain historical data from a variety of sources.
*find at least two sources that discuss this document
*get one source that is religous and another that is secular
3. Support interpretations with historical evidence
*find evidence that supports interpretations of this document