Educational Functions of Biblical Narratives: Insights from an Empirical Research

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Overall, a very solid study with important results.
I have just a few observations that arise from a careful reading of the study.

The first of them concerns the number of participants who responded to the questionnaire. In the first part the author says that there were "more than 800", and then, several times, he says the exact number, 872. I propose to keep the exact figure of 872 everywhere.

Subtopic 3.1. has the same name as 2.2.

When quoting what respondents said, I think those passages should be put in quotation marks or at least highlighted somehow. That is, it is important to know whether the phrase/statement belongs to those who completed the questionnaire. (See lines: 422, 461, 505, 525 etc.).

Conclusions are conclusions. They are not preliminary conclusions.

In 6. Preliminary conclusions and future discussion it is stated that the hypothesis "that certain narratives might play a similar role" (lines 578-580). Honestly, I would put this limit in the introduction.

 

 

Author Response

See the attached file. 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study is theoretically well-constructed, offering a solid conceptual framework. The research problem and objectives are clearly defined, and adequate information is provided regarding the scope and purpose of the study. The research design is effectively executed, ensuring a rigorous approach to the investigation. The processes of data collection, analysis, and the reporting of findings are handled competently and systematically. Overall, the study contributes significantly to the existing literature in the field. I commend the authors for their work.

Author Response

See the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

(1) The presented article is interesting, it addresses a novel topic regarding the pedagogical possibilities of considering biblical texts within the category of great narratives, exploring their potential as an exemplifying and modelling use for young people who come into contact with it, which sounds, in principle, interesting given the widely given narrative use of the bible and its teaching.  
(2)General comments.
Article: The use of Ricoeur as a referential source to justify the narrative consideration of the bible from a modelling perspective is very interesting, however this novelty is lost by using almost exclusively a secondary author (Pickett) as a referent.   The hypothesis presented is adequately addressed, although no details are given as to how its scope is relative. There is a lack of diversity in the sample, particularly in the consideration that the majority come from Catholic backgrounds without reference to other formative opportunities or instances (Jewish or evangelical Christians, as mentioned, in the sample).
Review: The treatment of the subject matter is interesting, presenting an attractive conceptual framework and a coherent methodological proposal, but it does not provide much background on the availability of the questionnaire or its effective validation processes within the article, which does not allow us to compare the findings with those reported.  Also, while the proposed elements are clear and concise, there is a lack of graphical representations of the results that would allow links to be made to other areas.  The use of graphs or semantic maps would be very appropriate in this regard.  Although already mentioned, a more direct reading reference to Ricoeur is missing (in this respect, there is a double citation of unjustified editions of the author).
(3) Specific comments 
There are no tables or figures to comment on, so it is strongly recommended to incorporate them. It is also suggested to revise the conclusions to present more depth, especially with regard to the hypothesis presented and the pedagogical-educational potential of the biblical narratives. 

Author Response

See attached file

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf