JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE INSTRUCTIONS
Strauss, Lehman. Why God Became Man. 2004. [Online]. Available from http://bible.org/article/why-god-became-man.
For the journal article above, write a critique similar to the ones for the Book Analyses assignments. Each critique will be in two parts:
1) a 300-word minimum critique, and
2) a 250-word minimum personal conclusion statement.
Specific Information about Critiques of Articles
A critique is NOT a mere summary. Do not merely paraphrase or even worse, quote entire sentences from the author or verses from the Bible (you must assume that your audience has access to the book and to a Bible). In your critique, you are not analyzing the topic in general, but you are interacting with the author?s presentation of the topic. (Too many students are tempted to just discuss the topic in general and forget to interact with the specific approach and point of the author.)
A critique is about understanding the structure of the article/book.
Your critique should address the following:
? the theological background of the author as revealed by his/her article/book;
? his/her understanding of the topic ;
? how the arguments are constructed;
? how he/she deals with opposite views and arguments;
? how balanced is the treatment of the topic;
? how focused or broad is the topic of the article; and
? how convincing are his/her arguments and conclusions and why.
It would be beneficial for you to research the topic online or in a library to find the common counter arguments to the author?s views and whether or not they are properly addressed in the article.
Keywords and key concepts include the following:
? evaluation; strengths and weaknesses of the article; reasoned response to any conclusions expressed in the article; the use of Scripture as well as theological foundations taught in lectures; and support of your assertions and conclusions.
Personal Conclusion
Your personal conclusion should not be a restatement of the critique. It is the place where you state where you stand on the issue(s). It is the place to set forth your position and back it up logically, theologically and most of all biblically (meaning with ?relevant Bible verses? properly interpreted). The instructor is less interested in what you believe than he/she is interested in why you do so; how you arrived at your conclusion and how you defend it (this includes being aware of the objections against your view). Do not just repeat the arguments of the author if you agree with him/her. Even if you agree with the author, you need to develop your own arguments and make sure that you address the weaknesses of and objections against the view. In case you disagree with his/her conclusions, indicate and demonstrate why your view is the best while making sure that you counter the author?s main arguments. While this is not a position paper, you should be able to support your own conclusions from the Word of God.
Please observe the following requirements for this assignment:
? Use 12 point Times New Roman
? Double-space
? One-inch margins
? Use a works cited section if you refer to other sources (Turabian)
? Divide the paper into ?Critique? and ?Personal Conclusion?
? 300-word minimum for critique
? 250-word minimum for personal conclusion
? Include the total word count at the end of your assignment
