Use only the sources attached in the attachments. Please utilize all the ones titled “MUST USE”, also utilize the Secondary Source and draw on St. Ephraim’s Refutations on Marcion. -> https://archive.org/details/cu31924092341670/page/n41/mode/2up
OLD TESTAMENT Essay Instructions
Write an essay responding to the following imagined objection to Old Testament study:
The fact that the (Eastern Orthodox) Divine Liturgy does not include an Old Testament reading is significant. We are people of the New Covenant who follow the New Testament, the teachings of the Fathers, and the traditional wisdom of the Church. Though we have inherited some things from ancient Israel, they are part of our spiritual lives only to the extent that they have been fulfilled and transformed in the Church. To insist on reading and studying the Old Testament itself, then, is wrongheaded. The writings of the Old Testament are harsh and violent, even vindictive. They sometimes portray God in unworthy ways. They contain historical inaccuracies and, all too often, seem embarrassingly primitive and mythological. It’s fine to value the Old Testament in a certain way but unwise to expect too much from direct study of Old Testament writings themselves.
The essay should be between 1600 and 2000 words (roughly five to seven double-spaced pages). The lower limit (1600 words) is designed to encourage thoroughness in those who tend toward ellipsis and incompleteness. The upper limit (2000 words) is designed to encourage conciseness in those who tend toward wordiness, disorganization, or repetitiousness. PLEASE INCLUDE A WORD COUNT AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ESSAY.
You are free to respond to this objection in whatever way you think best. Your response must include a clear and concise statement of the value of Old Testament study (your MAIN IDEA), followed by an explanation of the reasons why one should accept your statement. These supporting reasons are your ARGUMENTS, and they are very important. A good argument is logical, coherent, based on evidence of some kind (scriptural, patristic, etc.), and RELEVANT to the MAIN IDEA you are trying to support. A poor argument is illogical or irrelevant to the main point; it is rooted in opinion or impression and has little or no evidence to support it.
Please use “Chicago” style of citations (footnotes with bibliographic information plus a “bibliography” section at the end of the essay). Use footnotes to cite sources for terms, quotations, ideas, or salient facts that you found in the works of other authors. If you are not familiar with Chicago style, please go to chicagomanualofstyle.org.
Please note that I have posted some readings on the class website (in the “Essay” module on Canvas). Please engage at least ONE patristic passage from the “Against Marcion” collection and ONE of the other articles by either Strawn, Torrance, Humphrey, or Bunta. Note: to “engage” is to respond substantively to the author’s main thesis and arguments—not merely to include a quotation or two in support of your own idea.
Use a heading on the first page, not a separate title page. The heading should include your name, course name, instructor name, and date—each on a separate line (left justified). The heading must include an interesting and descriptive title for your essay (do not title it “Old Testament Essay” or the like). Provide page numbers as well as a word count; be sure that the text is double-spaced with one-inch margins (12-point font); please staple the essay together.
The essay will be graded according to the following point system:
MAIN IDEA (10 pts)
Main idea is cogent and clearly stated (10/10)
Main idea is cogent but not clearly stated; the reader must infer it (9/10)
Main idea is clearly stated but not entirely cogent (8/10)
Main idea is not clearly stated and not entirely cogent … but there is one (6/10)
There is evidence of an attempt to present a main idea but nothing that qualifies as such (5/10)
There is no main idea and no evidence of an attempt to formulate one (0/10)
ARGUMENTS (15 pts)
Two or three solid arguments; fully developed and supported (15/15)
Two or three solid arguments; one not fully developed or supported (13/15)
Two or three solid arguments; more than one not fully developed or supported (11 or 12/15)
One solid argument plus miscellaneous material (10/15)
One argument not fully developed plus miscellaneous material (9/15)
No arguments (0/15)
WRITING (5 pts)
Clear prose, well-organized; no grammar or spelling mistakes; correct format for citations (5/5)
Clear prose, well-organized; some minor mistakes in grammar, spelling, format (4/5)
Clear prose; organization not entirely clear / some significant mistakes in g, s, f (3/5)
Unclear writing and organization / many significant mistakes in g, s, f (2/5)
WORD COUNT (5 pts)
1600 to 2000 words (5/5)
1500-1599 or 2001-2099 words (4/5)
1400-1499 or 2100-2199 words (3/5)
1300-1399 or 2200-2299 words (2/5)
less than 1300 or greater than 2299 words (0/5)
* Note: there will be a one-point deduction in this category if you forget to include a word count at the bottom of your essay.