I chose to take this class because, as I am studying abroad, I thought it was a great opportunity to focus on studying biblical history specifically in the UK. I’ve taken several other Bible courses focusing on things like the Old Testament, New Testament, History of the Church, etc, but none specifically focused on the UK’s history. As we spoke about in class, London is one of the most influential cities when it comes to the Bible, and it has effected so much of the world, let alone how it effects the culture even today in England.

I also am very interested in linguistics and etymology, so even setting aside my own faith and personal interest in biblical history, I enjoy learning about how the Bible has been shaped throughout history. The Bible has both been effected by culture, and in itself shaped culture. In our class today, it has already been intriguing learning about the different translations and how they have formed over time and evolved with the finding of older manuscripts.

Learning about the King James Version today was also very informing. In the past, I had made the assumption that because it less like our modern English, that it meant that it was closer to the older manuscripts and closer to what had originally been written. But learning that the were actually older manuscripts used to translate the ESV was very informative.

I look forward to seeing these documents in person next week!