Michael Fallon msc Home photo Canberra Times

Introduction to the Older Testament

In 2004 I offered a series of 7 lectures in Canberra introducing the Older Testament. As a consequence of a year's research in Rome in 2007, Lecture 1 has been improved, and Lectures 2 to 5 have been considerably revised. Lectures 6 to 8 are as given in 2004.

Free audio download

You can access these lectures by going to (http://homepage.mac.com/mbfallon click HERE). This takes you to a window called My iDisk. You will find a number of lecture series on the page, including Intro to OT. Click on Intro to OT and you will be taken to a list of folders/files of the lectures. If it is a folder click on it and the files will appear. To download and save a file, right-click the downward arrow in the download column next to that file. In the dropdown menu that appears, click on 'save target as …" where you can specify the location in which you wish to save the file. It may take up to 7 or 8 minutes to download (less time if you have a fast connection).

or you can go to http://web.me.com/mbfallon/Intro to Older Testament/Welcome.html (click HERE). Go to the top of the window and select the lecture that interests you. A new window will appear and at the bottom of the window you will see one or more files for that lecture. To listen to the audio file you have to download QuickTime (a free download). This happens only the first time and may take some minutes. A slider bar will eventually appear. It may take some minutes for the audio to commence.

Saving the file. When the window opened with the file or files (before you clicked on a particular file), you will have noticed Subscribe. If you wish to save the audio files, you will need to download iTunes (also free. Click HERE and follow promps). Then you will have to click on Subscribe and the audio will download into iTunes where it can be accessed.

There are eight lectures on this topic. Lectures 1-5 were offered in 2008. Lectures 6-8 were offered in 2004

You can purchase CDs.

15 ordinary Audio CDs of the series are obtainable from the author ($50.00) (email Michael: michaelfallonmsc@gmail.com).

The complete series is on 1MP3 CD ($10.00, includes postage).

Lecture 1. Relgious Experience

1. Religious Experience, Inspiration & Revelation

2. Experience of God is mediated. The necessary limitations of the Older Testament

Lecture 2. Inspired Story

1. History writing in the ancient world

2. The Torah and Story

3. Inspiration and Story

4. Fundamentalism

5. The Book of the Faith community

Lecture 3. Authorship of the Torah & Deuteronomy

1. The Tanak

2. Authorship of the Torah

3. Deuteronomy

Lecture 4. Period of the Tribes and the Kings

1. The Period of the Tribes

2. The Period of the Kings

Lecture 5. The Exile and the Deuteronomic and Priestly Schools

1. The Exile and the Deuteronomic 'History'

2. Joshua and Judges

3. The Priestly School

4. Conclusion

Lecture 6. Prophecy

1. Prophecy Part 1

2. Prophecy Part 2

3. Divine Punishment and Violence in the OT

4. Prophecy Part 4

Lecture 7. The Writings

1. Writings of the Persian Period Part 1

2. Writings of the Persian Period Part 2

3. Writings of the Greek Period Part 1

4. Writings of the Greek Period through to the NT

Lecture 8. Sceientific Study of the Bible

1. Hermeneutics Part 1

2. The Literal and the Spiritual Sense

3. Hermeneutics Part 3

4. Textual Criticism

5. Literary Criticism

6. Other Disciplines

7. Conclusion