07 Design Patterns - Catechesis

Design Patterns

Class Notes

Design Patterns in Biblical Narrative

Intro

Stories in the Bible are like any other story: you have to pay attention to the characters, the setting, and the plot.
These are the basic tools an author uses to help readers see the meaning and significance of the events.

How to detect design patterns?

biblical authors use character, setting, and plot elements to create a series of repeated patterns that appear in each story and tie them all together.
When you notice these patterns, you’ll see how different stories across the whole Bible have been coordinated to emphasize key themes.
biblical authors do it subtly so the best way to detect patterns is to watch them embed key words and images that link stories together.

Examples

Creation Story

During Creation, at the end of each day, the Bible says that “God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1) He says this seven times!
Then God creates Adam and Eve and tells them that everything is good for them to eat except from the tree of “knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 2:14)
Tempted by the serpent, they start to doubt God and want to be wise on their own by eating from the forbidden tree. They do what is good in their eyes.

This idea of temptation and doing what is good in your own eyes becomes a pattern used further in the Bible. Let’s look at Abraham and Sarah.

Abraham and Sarah

God brings them into the promised land, promises them a child, but they don’t trust God. They get impatient and use their Egyptian slave to give birth to a baby for them
This way, they do “what is good” in their eyes. See the pattern? (Gen. 16)

Jesus flips the pattern

These stories are all designed to show the temptation pattern.
But Jesus reverses this pattern of doing what is pleasing in our eyes by resisting temptation and voluntarily going to die on the cross.
This way, He does what God desires. (Luke 22:42)

Conclusion

Design Patterns are the main way biblical authors have unified their stories together.
And every pattern develops a core theme throughout the whole biblical story that leads to Jesus.
40% of the Bible works this way.

Remember

About Design Patterns in the Biblical Narrative:

they create major themes through key words and imagery that lead to Christ.