Understanding the Hebrew Bible as Metanarrative

read that it did not then illuminate the deep of waters, and that by the potent
word of God it was then summoned into being. This is an act of creative
power, for it is a calling into existence what had previously no existence in
that place and was not owing to the mere development of nature. Hence, the
act of omnipotence here recorded is not at variance with the existence of light
among the elements of that universe of nature, the absolute creation of which
is affirmed in the first verse.
(A) TRUE or (B) FALSE?
16. According to the passage, God calls forth light on the first day.
(Reading for details)
17. The writer supposes that darkness was a state of imperfection or a state
of lack. (Reading comprehension)
18. According to this passage, darkness was the only original defective state
of the cosmos (universe). (Reading for details)
19. Based on the author’s statement: The interference of supernatural power
to cause the presence of light in this region, intimates that the powers of

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nature were inadequate to this effect, the powers of nature are different from
the extraordinary powers of God. (Making an inference)
20. “Face of the deep…” probably refers to “deep waters.” (See King James
Version, 1: 2) (reading comprehension)
21. Barnes attributes the beginning of light to a change of the earth’s polar
axis, (reading for details)
22. The expression “…by the potent word of God…” means that God’s
word had great power or effect. (Vocabulary development)
23. Based on this passage, light was authoritatively called into existence.
(Reading for details)
24. Barres proposes that light was a natural development of nature.
(Reading for details)
25. The statement:” …the act of omnipotence here recorded is not at
variance with the existence of light among the elements of that universe of
nature....” supports the writer’s main point that light was created by an all-
powerful act of God alone and does not contradict any acts of nature.
(Determining the author’s purpose)

Studying Biblical Narratives (An Example)

Creation Narrative 1-
“The First Creation Account” (Gen. Chapters 1-3)

The title of the Book of Genesis means “origins.” The first account of the
origin of creation begins with its famous declaration of God creating the heavens
and the earth. During the six days of creation, everything that is now a part of the
world is declared to have its existence from a sovereign God. In a series of
affirmations, Genesis declares the goodness of God’s creation. Perhaps with the
creation of humanity as the climax, the work of creation is ended. The theme of
goodness of creation is central to the Book. The high point of the first creation
narrative is God’s creation of humanity. Based on biblical text, it is at this point
that the only creature to bear the image of God is introduced. The Hebrew word
cited in this passage for “man” is humanity in general, rather than as a male human

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being. Genesis depicts humanity, male, and female, as created in the likeness of
God (1:26-27).

Both Christian Bibles and the Jewish Torah texts contain two stories of
Creation. The first (Genesis 1:1–2:3) is the more general story and shows God
creating the entire world in seven days. The second (Genesis 2:4–24) mainly
focuses on the creation of human beings and their life in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:4-25 The second account of the creation narratives is told in a different
narrative form. It opens with the creation of humanity. After God breathes the
breath of life into the dust- formed man, the man becomes a living being (2:7).
Man is then placed into the Garden of Eden, a paradise that God has created and
entrusted to humanity. The man’s responsibility is to become a good steward and to
exercise his delegated responsibilities as instructed. In this second account of
creation, male and female humans are created to complement each other. The
Hebrew word “suitable” implies a correspondence between male and female. Their
complementary relationship is an inbuilt aspect of creation. This point is brought
out later when Genesis speaks of the male being “united” to the female.

Directions: Write a one-paragraph (5-7 sentences) response to this statement
from the passage:

The theme of goodness of creation is central to the Book.

1. How is the theme of “goodness” revealed in the first three chapters of
Genesis? (explain)

2. How is God’s sovereignty seen in the narratives? (explain)
3. How does show special attention to humans? (explain)
4. According to the biblical text, where is the Garden of Eden?

(explore/research)
5. What are the modern names for the rivers mentioned in the Creation

narrative? (explore/research)
6. What is the Hebrew word for “man” (explore/research)
7. What is the meaning of Eve’s name? (explore/research)
8. Explain the reason that the female is called a “woman.)
9. What is significant about the manner that God forms the woman?

(examine text)

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10. Why does Adam use the phrase “bone of my bones” and flesh of

my flesh”? (explain)

Sample Literary Themes in the Narrative for Additional Discussions:

• Goodness of Creation
• Orderliness in the Universe
• Earth Prepared for Mankind
• Man Created in the Image of God
• Man’s God-Assigned Responsibilities
• Equality Between Male and Female
• The Frailties of Humanity (man is made of dust)
• Male-Female Relationships
• The Significance of a Marriage Covenant
• Humanity’s Dependence on God
• Innocence versus Experience

Sample Literary Techniques for Discussion (How the narrative is written):

• Repetition (“…and God said…”)
• Metonymy (“…and man became a living soul.)
• Symbolism (night and day, “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”)
• Idiom (“face of the deep”)
• Contrast (light and darkness)

The Metanarrative in the Hebrew Scriptures

While the overall literary genre of the Bible is the anthology (collection) of
individual books and passages, the Bible possesses a unity (metanarrative) far
beyond that of other literary anthologies. The technical term for a unifying
superstructure such as we found in the Bible is metanarrative (big or overarching
story/’picture). In the Bible, the metanarrative is the story of God in the history of
humanity. It is comprised of the events by which God worked out his plan to reveal
Himself to humans, to have a relationship with them, and to redeem humanity and
his whole world after the fall from original innocence.
#1The Unified Storyline

The unifying storyline of the Bible begins with God’s creation of a perfect
world and places man and woman inside a perfect garden to have a loving
relationship with Him. The big story continues with the smaller narratives
depicting the continuous fall of humanity into disobedience, rebellion, and sin.
Then, the metanarrative shifts to a fallen human history that slowly and painfully
makes its way toward redemption Finally, the metanarrative tells of the destruction
of evil and the eternal victory of good.

#2 An Awareness of a Leading Character

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All stories have a central idea and a leading character -the protagonist. In Hebrew
Scriptures, the broad theme of the story is God- the protagonist. He is the unifying
presence from the Books of Genesis to Revelation. All creatures on earth
interchange with this central and sovereign being-God of the world. All events are
connected and can be traced back to Him. The story of human history unfolds
within the greater story of what God sees, thinks, and does. The result is a sense of
finality that manifests as one reads the biblical text.

#3 A Focus on the Human Experience

The main purpose of literature is to explore and mirror human experience. A
distinctive feature of the Bible is its presentation of human experience from a
religious, social, and moral perspective. Events are recorded by the ancient biblical
writers within a social, moral, or spiritual framework with the presupposition that a
great conflict between good and evil is taking place. People are continually
confronted with the opportunity to choose between right and wrong, to obey or
disobey God’s laws, and remain in a covenant relationship with Him or reject His
offer to love mankind.

An Example of the Metanarrative in Hebrew Scriptures
(Part 1)- God in Creation (Genesis, Chapters 1 &2)

What do we learn about God based from:

• What He says.
• What He does.
• How He interacts with His Creation.
• How He is depicted through the writer.
• How Creation responds to Him.
• The Hebrew names attributed to Him
• Online Bible study tools (commentaries, Bible encyclopedias, etc.)
• Personal reflections

Sample Study Questions (Creation Narrative)

What is the order of God’s creation (day by day)? (state facts/detail/list)
On which day is man created? (state facts/detail/list)
What are the names of the first man and woman? (state facts/detail/list)
How does God form man? (state facts/detail/list)
Where does God place the first humans to live? (state facts/detail/list)

Sample Study Questions (Part 2) (Creation Metanarrative: The Big Picture)

1. Why does God create the world in the order that He does? (explain)
2. How does God demonstrate His kindness and wisdom toward mankind?

(explain)
3. What is revealed about God through His speech? (analyze/examine)
4. What is revealed about God through His creative acts? (analyze/examine)

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5. What kind of relationship does God have with Adam and Eve?
(explain/examine)

6. Why does God allow mankind to have “free-will”?
(explain/conclude/research)

7. What is your first impression of God in Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2? Tell
why you take this position. (examine/conclude/justify/explain)

Sample Vocabulary Development Assignment

Directions: Use an online dictionary and context clues to define the following
expressions. Explain how the words are used in biblical text.

1. void
2. form
3. “Face of the deep”
4. chaotic
5. firmament
6. soul
7. Eden
8. Spirit of the Lord
9. hovered
10.brooded

Sample 1st Amendment Questions: (From 1st Amendment Guidelines for Teaching
about the Hebrew Bible in Public Schools)

Directions: Check your cultural literacy skills and understanding of the course by

responding to the following questions before looking at the answers.

(A) YES (B) NO?

1. Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule against all religious activities in public
schools in 1963?

2. Are public school teachers legally allowed to require students enrolled in
public education to engage in devotional activities, such as daily Bible
readings and prayers that do not related to academics?

3. Is the Hebrew Bible connected to Western culture?
4. Do people in Western civilization recognize the Hebrew Bible as an

outstanding literary and historical work?
5. Do writers in Western cultures rely on the Hebrew Bible to answer many of

the questions that humans face in life?
6. Does “literacy” simply mean that one has acquired the ability to read and

write?
7. Should literate people be able to engage in cultural conversations in a manner

that will earn them respect?
8. Did any of America’s founding fathers hold the Hebrew Bible in high

esteem?
9. In the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Abington v. Schempp, did the Court

state that the Bible is worthy of studying for its literary and historic qualities?

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10. Are English teachers expected to know that biblical literature gives
more insight about other literary works, including their overall structures,
themes, and background history?

Answers:

1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Yes
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. Yes

Sample Biblical Figures of Speech (Old and New Testaments)

There are numerous figures of speech in Scripture! Here are a few examples
that are explored in course:

Similes: Psalm 17:8, Ephesians 5:22, Ephesians 5:25
Metaphors: Psalm 23, Matthew 26:26
Implied Resemblance: Matthew 7:6, Mark 1:17
Quotations: Matthew 1:22 and 23 quotes Isaiah 7:14
Double Meaning: Acts 13:22
Irony: (This is when an expression of thought is in a form that conveys its
opposite of what is spoken
(verbal irony), or when the least expected happens (irony of situation) Judges
10:14
Oxymoron: Isaiah 58:10, 1 Corinthians 1:25
Simple Idiom: “break bread,” “turn to ashes,” “hide from your eyes”
Personification: Presenting non-human things as human: 1 Corinthians 12:15
and 16, Leviticus 18:25 Repetition- Genesis, Chapter 1

Page 35

Page 52

Words Spoken by U.S. Presidents:

“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men
face.”
“In fact, the Devil is delighted when we spend our time and energy defending
the Bible, as long as we do not get around to actually reading the Bible.” R. C.

Sproul, Jr.
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good
from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

Abraham Lincoln
“No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.” Theodore
Roosevelt
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.” — Abraham
Lincoln

Additional Online Resources:

• One Bible, Many Versions

• Video: Using Biblestudytools.com for Biblical Studies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGA_Fw_9yY

• Slideshow: Remarkable Bible Facts by H, Mobile (2014)
https://www.slideshare.net/hmobile/134-amazing-facts-of-
king-james-bible-that-you-might-never-know-youwill-
never-guess-the-most-common-female-name-fact-
133?next_slideshow=1

• All 66 Books of the Bible
https://overviewbible.com/books-of-the-bible/

• Video: The Torah: A Quick Overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e-z1R62FtI

Page 54

• Blue Letter Bible
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.blueletter
bible.blb&hl=en_US&gl=US

YLT (Young’s Literal Translation, published in 1898)
Webster (Webster Bible, originally published in 1833)
ASV (American Standard Version) (1901)
NHEB (New Heart English Bible)
(https://publicdomainaudiobibles.com/NHEB.html#player1?catid=0&trackid=0)

• CPDV (Catholic Public Domain Version) (Published in 2009)

Online Bible Dictionaries:

KJV Bible Dictionary
(http://www.kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionaries )
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Naves Topical Index
Concordances: (https://www.biblestudytools.com/concordances/)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
Torrey’s New Topical Textbook
(http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/Torrey's%20New%20Topical%20
Textbook.pdf a Useful Online Study Tools)
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871
A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica by John
Lightfoot
Geneva Study Bible (1560)
John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) (1706)
Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise) (1706)
The Treasury of David (1885)
Scofield Reference Notes (1917Rdition)
Wesley's Explanatory Notes (published between
1754 and1765)

:

• The AMAZING STRUCTURE of Genesis 1-11 | The

BOOK of GENESIS Explained | Bible Study

Page 56

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkZdav0sre0 Bible
History Online Bible Maps https://www.bible-
history.com/maps/

Reading and Analyzing Creation Narratives:

• Accessible Easy English (AEE):
https://www.easyenglish.bible/aee/g
enesis-1/index.htm

• Video: God’s Characterization on
Day3

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-pty-pty_forms&ei=UTF-
8&hsimp=yhspty_forms&hspart=pty&param1=20210503&param2=9766caf4-
c28a-44ca-9b60-

4d4f19b54a71&param3=forms_%7EUS%7Eappfocus1%7E&param4=d-ccc4-
lp0-dsf_forms-cp_12887637018tst1--
bb9%7EChrome%7Ea+characterization+of+God+in+the+Book+of+Genesis+video

%7EB85D33B8065844214F83D8BF91 asec-

#id=2&vid=20181b3f217c1dfd3455e1750a60a26d&action=view

4

Useful Online Tools for Writing/Research Documentation:

• MLA or APA format in documenting resources:
https://www.bibliography.com/mla/apa-vs-mla-
citationpage/#:~:text=Colleges%20use%20both%20MLA%20and,are%

Page 58

• Documenting Analysis Worksheets (Forms for Documentation of
Assignments)

(https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons

/worksheets/////’

• MLA or APA format in documenting

resources:

https://www.bibliography.com/mla/apa-vs-mla-
citationpage/#:~:text=Colleges%20use%20both%20MLA%20and,are%20used%20
through%20college%20courses.

The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Useful Online Tools)

• Online Resources for Determining the Influences of Hebrew Scriptures on
Western Culture

Poetry: “The Creation” (A Poem by James Weldon Johnson)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2nOk-50kXE)
Poem: The Universal Prayer by Alexander Pope
(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50590/the-universal-prayer)

Song: “How Great Thou Art.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFUV9R9BEc4
An excerpt from John Milton’s Paradise Lost
http://socrates.acadiau.ca/courses/engl/rcunningham/Winter2020/engl2283w2
020/texts/Paradise_Lostexcerpts.pdf

Useful Resources for Extended Assignments:
Video: Genesis 1 (A look at how the literary design of Genesis 1 reveals
God’s ideal vision for the whole cosmos)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afVN-7vY0KA

Page 60

Author’s Closing Statements:
The Hebrew Bible contains a magnitude of literary forms and figures of speech,

but the literary scope of the metanarrative exceeds them all. The lessons in this
course remain focused on the “big picture” so that students will expand their
academic learning and individual appreciation for the literary masterpiece-The
Hebrew Bible.

About the Author:
Wilma J. Brown-Foreman, Education Specialist Honored as a Top Educator for
2021 by Strathmore's Who's Who Worldwide Publication

Chesterfield, VA, May 11, 2021 --(PR.com)-- Wilma J. Brown-Foreman,
Education Specialist of Chesterfield, Virginia has been honored as a Top Educator
for 2021 by Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide for her outstanding contributions
and achievements in the fields of education and ministry.

Dr. Wilma J. Brown-Foreman is a retired English teacher with almost 45 years of
experience in secondary education. Currently, she serves as a minister in her church
in Virginia and as an educational consultant at her business, Academic Initiatives

Page 62

for Biblical Literacy (AIBL) in Secondary Public Education. Dr. Brown-Foreman
is the founder and pastor of the Sanctuary of God Pentecostal Church in Prince
George, Virginia. She has served as a pastor there for more than 27 years.

Born January 12, 1954 in North Carolina, Wilma obtained a B.A. in English from
Winston-Salem State

University, a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and a M.Ed. in Administration
and Instruction from

Averett University, and an E.Ds.. from Liberty University in 2012. She became a
Licensed Ordained Minister from Aenon Bible College of the Pentecostal
Assemblies of the World in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1966.

Ms. Brown-Foreman fulfilled her lifelong dream when she began teaching
secondary English at the age of 23 in Virginia. She taught in Surry County Public
Schools for over 29 years, in Sussex County Public Schools for 6 years, in Henrico
County’s New Bridge Christian Academy for 2 years, and in the Brunswick County
Public Schools for over 6 years before she retired for the second time in 2019.

In 2002, Dr. Wilma Brown-Foreman compiled and published a 388-page biblical
literacy curriculum for high school English and history teachers.

Since then, she has spent the last 19 years advocating elective Hebrew Bible
literacy courses that follow the 1st Amendment guidelines for religious studies in
public education, as upheld in the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Abington v.
Schempp. In 2019, Wilma stood before the Virginia House of Delegates to propose
that Virginia’s public high schools will provide students the opportunity to study
Hebrew Bible literacy elective courses across the state (academically, not
devotionally) (HB1122). Currently, Dr. Brown-Foreman is working on an elective
Bible as/in literature course curriculum for secondary education with the goal of
receiving accreditation so that high school students will receive credit toward their
graduation requirements.

The mission of AIBL is to strengthen literacy in public secondary education
through the academic studies of the Hebrew Scriptures. AIBL specializes in
supporting secondary public-school English and history teachers with writing and
implementing constitutionally sound lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, and tests to
include academic studies of Hebrew Scriptures in connection to Western literature
and culture. She is currently planning AIBL online educational workshops and
training sessions that will empower teachers and students to exercise their 1st
Amendment rights on public school campuses. Additionally, AIBL will provide on-
line academic biblical literacy resources for off campus Bible study groups and
after-school religious high school clubs.

Wilma Brown-Foreman has presented both statewide and national professional
biblical literacy

workshops for secondary educators. She was named Teacher of the Year by Surry
County High School in 2003. Wilma was invited to the White House's first national
faith-based initiatives conference in June

2004. In 2020, Wilma was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by
Strathmore’s Who’s Who

Worldwide and as a Woman of the Month by P.O.W.E.R. - Professional
Organization of Women of

Excellence Recognized. She is affiliated with the Virginia Association of Teachers
of English, the

Virginia State Council Inc, and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. She is
also a member of the V.E.A., the N.E.A., and the C.E.A.I. Mrs. Brown-Foreman
has also written and published numerous educational articles to support literacy,
including biblical literacy.

Wilma Brown-Foreman’s educational philosophy is: “I believe that a quality
education for all students in Western society, including an understanding of the

Page 64

Hebrew Bible, is foundational to personal, cultural, and organizational success on
all levels of academia.” - Dr. Wilma J. Brown, Education Specialist (E.Ds..)

Mrs. Wilma J. Brown-Foreman is married to Lieutenant Colonel (Retired, Army)
Theodore M. Foreman, Sr. She has two children, Cory L. Brown, and Chana L.
Brown-Montgomery, and five grandchildren. Her hobbies include gardening,
listening to spiritual music, reading, shopping, and traveling.

“AIBL: Lighting Minds, Unfolding Understanding and Imparting Wisdom-
Closing the Biblical Literacy Gap in Public Education” - Dr. Wilma J. Brown,

Education Specialist (Ed. S.) For further information, contact www.aibl.info.





Video: Science Conrms the Bibhltetp(s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFYswU)vGoaP
Video: Six Amazing Facts of the Bible Proof (fhotrtpGso:/d/www.youtube.com/w?atch

v=EvOWr83qYk0)
View Video: Evidence that Noah's Flood Formed the Fossil Record - Dr. Kurt
Wise (The Paleontology of the Flood)
• Video: Origins: Noah’s Flood

Genetics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o

JNxM

Article: Astronomy: “Ancient Earth may have been a "water world" with no dry
land” by

Korey Haynes

(2020) https://astronomy.com/news/2020/03/ancient-earth-may-have-been-a-

water-world-without-any-dry-land

The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Author's Accomplishments)

Closing Statements/Personal & Professional Achievements
"Any American who does not possess the knowledge assumed in a piece he or she reads will in fact
be illiterate." -Hirsch, E. D. (1987, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Should Know)

Before I retired twice as a secondary English teacher after more than forty-three (43+) years
in secondary public education, I was successful in imparting much information that challenged my
students' abilities to think. Like most secondary English teachers in America, I was afforded many
opportunities to strengthen students’ literacy skills by connecting the literary and historical
elements in Western literature to Biblical history, allusions, symbols, names, and themes.
Oftentimes, however, I found myself with much dismay as I encountered rampant Biblical illiteracy
among the students. This lack of biblical knowledge left a void in their overall understanding in
many other literary works that “educated” citizens in our society are expected to know. For the last
twelve years, this void in students' reading comprehension has prompted me to work to urge school
administrators and educators to include Biblical literacy initiatives in secondary academic curricula.

TheHebrewBibleasaMetanarrativeJuly292021

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The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Author's Accomplishments)

Such lessons and classes may be taught legally on public school campuses if the studies of the
Bible are academic-not devotional.

I believe that a quality education for all students is foundational to personal and societal
progress. In the attempt to evaluate ideas and assumptions, high school students should seek,
discover, examine, and understand truth, especially the timeless truths found in the Hebrew Bible.
English Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once stated, "For more than a thousand years, the Bible,
collectively taken, has gone hand in hand with civilization, science, law--, in short, with the moral and
intellectual cultivation of the species, always supporting and often leading the way.” A well-structured
high school curriculum with a meaningful content that is designed to promote rational and
purposeful thought should include the academic study of the Hebrew Bible- whether students have
formed personal religious beliefs or not.

During my many years of teaching English literature, I have often wondered how educators and
stakeholders can place so much emphasis on “literacy,” but ignore the fact that we are still graduating
biblically illiterate students. Does literacy have a different meaning when it pertains to the Hebrew
Bible? In Western culture, literacy can be defined on several levels. It is that which recognizes names,
phrases, events, or other items that are familiar to the majority of fully educated Americans. Literacy
is obviously concerned with the ability to read and write, but a fuller meaning might be “the capacity to
recognize, reproduce, and manipulate the conventions of text shared by a given community.” Acquiring
knowledge is more than just memorizing facts, punctuating sentences, writing meanings, or dividing
syllables. Fully educated persons should be able to engage in meaningful cultural exchanges. In other
words, a literate person knows how to demonstrate his competencies in ways that earn respect and
recognition. Academic competencies among high school students in Western civilization, therefore,
should include knowledge of the Hebrew Bible.

TheHebrewBibleasaMetanarrativeJuly292021

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The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Author's Accomplishments)

Across America, the consensus is that more religious studies, including the Hebrew Bible, are
needed in public school curricula. To help erase the confusion about the constitutionality of teaching
about the Bible or religion in a public-school setting, educators need to take the time to revisit the
U.S. Supreme Court 1963 ruling in Abington v. Schempp. After explaining its decision for ruling
against devotional teacher-led prayers and daily Bible readings that are not a part of a secular
program of academic studies, the Court expressly stated:

“It might well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of

comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the
advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of

study for its literary and historic qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that

such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular

program of education, may not be affected consistently with the First

Amendment.”

The lack of Biblical literacy skills among high school students has prompted me to devote my
present and future years of retirement to providing academic initiatives and resources for Biblical
literacy that will help close this educational breach on many public-school campuses. I plan to
provide academic resources for teachers and students (grades seven through twelve) in the forms
of lesson plans, after-school Bible literacy activities, vocabulary worksheets, “life skills” writing
prompts from the Book of Proverbs, along with preliminary outlines, Bible Bowl tournaments study

TheHebrewBibleasaMetanarrativeJuly292021

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The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Author's Accomplishments)

guides, and professional development academic workshops/seminars. For more information,
please visit my website: Academic Initiatives for Biblical Literacy (AIBL) at: www.AIBL.info or e-mail:
[email protected].

Personal Information

Graduated from Winston Salem State University (Bachelor of Art-English Literature) (1977);
Graduated from Averett University (1 Masters in Curriculum and Instruction (2008); Graduated
from Virginia State University (master’s in administration and Supervision (2011); Graduated
from Liberty University (Doctorate-Teaching and Learning) (2012).
Secondary English Teacher (43+ years of experience) (Surry County, Virginia- more than 29
years.
Sussex County, Virginia-6 years; New Bridge Christian Academy, 2 years; Brunswick County,
2+years;
Huntington Learning Center, Chester, VA 2 years)
• Local, state, and national workshop/seminar presenter/facilitator:
(Presented workshops to educators across the country, including two workshops hosted at
Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA (2002); three annual VATE conferences (Virginia
Association for Teachers of English (VATE) 2000, 2001, 2008; 2013)
CEAI director's meeting (Christian Educators Association International) 2002 in Pasadena, CA,
2003 in Los Angeles, CA, 2004 in West Palm Beach, FL).
• Awarded the Virginia Association of Teachers of English Heritage Award for Advancing

Cultural
Awareness (October 2006)
• Awarded the Virginia Association of Teachers of English Heritage Award for Advancing

Cultural Awareness (October 2006)

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The Hebrew Bible as a Metanarrative
(Author's Accomplishments)

• Named “Top 100 Educators” by Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide Registry (2020 & 2021)
• Received Lifetime Achievement Award from Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide Registry
2020

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