Teaching Literature
A Seventh-day Adventist Approach
By Delmer Davis
The primary mission of the Seventh-day Adventist teacher of literature may be that of inspiring students to explore for themselves how the reading of literature can enrich personal faith in God. With this book, Delmer Davis encourages further conversation regarding the integration of faith and the teaching of literature. By introducing the writings and ideas of notable Seventh-day Adventists and other Christians who have grappled with the interrelationship between literature and Christian belief, Dr. Davis offers literature teachers and students of literature the opportunity to examine the implications such integration has for their teaching, scholarship, and spiritual lives.
About the Author
As teacher of English at four Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities for nearly four decades, Delmer Davis is well prepared to examine a Christian approach to literature and to discuss the integration of one's relationship with God to the reading of literature. Courses he has taught include Religion and Literature, Christian Faith and the Humanities, and Perspectives on Literature. Dr. Davis has chaired the English Departments at Loma Linda University and Andrews University and has also served as Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Vice President for Academic Administration at Andrews University where he was also Professor of English and Director of General Education.About the Faith and Learning Series
All teaching in Seventh-day Adventist institutions has an overriding goal of building faith not only in the Christian message but also in the Adventist understanding of Christianity and in its mission to the world. However, Adventist schools teach a broad range of subject matter, much of which is generally thought of as secular. The Adventist teacher must use a textbook that is written by scholars who are not necessarily believers and must deal with material that on the surface does not appear to have spiritual value. How then can Adventist teachers build faith in the essentials of Christianity and Adventism while at the same time covering the material essential for an understanding of the discipline? These volumes are intended to be supplements to which teachers and students can turn for insights about how to weave faith into their study. It holds that all truth is God’s truth if only with the eye of faith we can see beneath the surface of the apparently secular and discern that God is working there also.Preface
CHAPTER 1: Introduction--What Is Literature and Why Read It?
CHAPTER 2: Literary Theory and Issues of the Canon
CHAPTER 3: Christianity and Literature
CHAPTER 4: Seventh-day Adventists, Literature, and Ellen White
CHAPTER 5: Seventh-day Adventists and the Bible as Literature
CHAPTER 6: Seventh-day Adventists, Literary Theory, and Literary Criticism
CHAPTER 7: Conclusion
Works Cited
Recommended Reading
APPENDIX A: Guide to the Teaching of Literature in Seventh-day Adventist Schools
APPENDIX B: The Institute for Christian Teaching
APPENDIX C: The Center for College Faith
Index
Author: Delmer Davis
ISBN-13: 978-1-883925-36-9
Year: 2002
Pages: 128