RELIGIOUS STUDIES 250 – INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE



RELIGIOUS STUDIES 255: INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

The course is designed for university students who wish to begin a systematic study of the New Testament. In addition to important archaeological data and historical background, each book of the Bible studied will be placed in its historical and literary context. Information will be provided about the date, authorship, and theological content of each book studied. The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with the content and major themes of the New Testament books and to familiarize them with important contemporary scholarship.

Assignments:

1) one quiz in October and one examination in December;

2) one term paper, due in November; and

3) required class readings from both the Bible and the Textbook.

Evaluations:

- October quiz: 25% of Term grade;

- November Term Paper: 15% of Term grade;

- Class Attendance and Participation: 10% of Term grade;

- December Examination: 50% of Fall Term grade.

Textbooks:

- Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible. Seventh edition. Boston/Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 2007;

- Any recent, scholarly translation of the Bible, for example, New American Bible; Revised English Bible; New Jerusalem Bible; New Revised Standard Bible; Common Bible; The Complete Parallel Bible.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES 255 – INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

Tentative Outline

Introduction

1. Bible Writers, Manuscripts, and Translations;

1. The Canon of the New Testament;

2. Ways of Studying the Bible.

The New Testament: The Christian Greek Scriptures

2. Context for New Testament Studies:

• The Land of the Bible;

• The Diverse World of First Century Judaisms;

• Hellenistic Thought, Culture, and Religion;

• The Messiah: First-Century Expectations.

3. The Books of the New Testament: The Gospels:

• Literary Categories in the New Testament;

• The Synoptic Gospels;

• Four Distinctive Portraits of Jesus: The Gospel According to Mark, Matthew; Luke; and John;

• The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus.

4. A Christian History and the Pauline Letters:

• The Book of Acts;

• Paul and the Gentile Mission: 1 Thessalonians; 1 Corinthians; etc.;

• The Disputed Pauline Letters: 2 Thessalonians; Colossians; etc.;

• The Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus.

5. General Epistles and a Vision of End Time:

• Hebrews and the Catholic (“General”) Epistles;

• A Vision of End Time: Revelation.

6. Beyond the Canon: The Judeo-Christian Bible and Subsequent History:

• Non-canonical Christian Writings;

7. Interpreting the Judeo-Christian Bible in a Changed World.

Recommended Readings On:

Context for New Testament Studies:

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, The Gift of Scripture: A teaching document of the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, and of Scotland. London: The Catholic Truth Society, 2005.

J. H. Charlesworth, ed., Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Doubleday, 1995.

S. J. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987.

R. A. Horsley, Messianic Movements in Judaism. Pp. 791-97 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 4, ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

R. A. Horsley and J. S. Hanson, Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs: Popular Movements at the Time of Jesus. Minneapolis/Chicago/New York: Winston Press, 1985.

Flavius Josephus, The Works of Josephus. New Updated Edition. Tr. W. Whiston, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987.

J. D. Newsome, Greeks, Romans, Jews: Currents of Culture and Belief in the New Testament World. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992.

E. P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 B.C.E. to 66 C.E. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1992.

G. Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.

The Gospels:

R. Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition. Tr. J. Marsh. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.

C. E. Carlston, Jesus Christ. Pp. 510-23475-87 in The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. P. J. Achtemeier. Revised Edition. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.

B. Chilton and C. A. Evans, eds., Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research. Kinderhook, N.Y.: Brill, 1994.

J. D. Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Peasant. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.

P. Fredriksen, From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1988.

R. W. Funk, R. W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. The Five Gospels: the Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. New York: Macmillan, 1993.

H. Koester, Introduction to the New Testament. Vol. 2, History and Literature of Early Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1992.

J. P. Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. 4 vols. Anchor Bible Reference Library. New York: Doubleday, 2002-09.

J. Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. Tr. A. J. Walker. New York: Doubleday, 2007.

V. Taylor, The Formation of the Gospel Tradition. London: Macmillan, 1953.

C. M. Tuckett, Synoptic Problem. Pp. 263-70 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 6, ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Christian History and Pauline Letters:

J. M. Arlandson, Women, Class, and Society in Early Christianity: Models from Luke- Acts. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, 1997.

W. R. Baird, Paul. Pp. 814-22 in The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. P. J. Achtemeier. Revised Edition. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.

J. Fitzmyer, Paul. Pp. 1329-37 in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, eds. R. E. Brown, et al. Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990.

M. Hengel, Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980.

R. A. Markus, Christianity in the Roman World. New York: Scribner, 1974.

J. Murphy-O’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life. New York: Clarendon, 1996.

E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

E. Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroads Press, 1983.

M. L. Soards, The Apostle Paul: An Introduction to His Writings and Teachings. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1987.

G. Theissen, The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982.

General Epistles and a Vision of End Time:

H. W. Artridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

M. M. Bourke, The Epistle to the Hebrews. Pp. 920-41 in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. R. E. Brown, et al. Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1990.

R. E. Brown, The Community of the Beloved Disciple. New York: Paulist Press, 1979.

R. E. Brown, The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. New York: Paulist Press, 1984.

A. Y. Collins, Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984.

Beyond the Canon:

B. D. Ehrman, The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Eusebius, The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine. Tr. and intro. G. A. Williamson. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965.

E. Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1979.

J. M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library. Revised Edition. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988.

W. Schneemelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha. Revised Edition. Vol. 1, Gospels and Related Writings; Vol. 2, Writings Relating to the Apostles. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1990 and 1992.

Tentative Schedule of Events for Fall Term 2009

September 10 Fall Term Classes begin

October 12 Thanksgiving Day, no classes

October 22 Quiz

November 11 Remembrance Day, no classes

November 12 Fall Term Papers due

December 4 Last day of classes for Fall Term

December 8 Term examinations begin

December ? Final Examination in this course

December 17 Christmas recess begins after last examination

Guidelines for Term Project (September – December 2009)

Your term project is to consist of a critical study of a New Testament pericope (see Textbook p. 29 and p. 353 and p. G-36) according to the methods of modern biblical scholarship. Your presentation ought, thus, to consider questions of source, form, and redaction criticism (see Textbook, pp. 351-55).

The project is to be typed, double-spaced, and presented in an acceptable format, for example, APA or MLA. It ought to consist of a title page, an introduction, main study, and a summary and/or concluding segment. It is to be six-eight pages in length.

The paper is due on November 12, 2009 (there is a penalty of one point for every day the paper is late; thus, if your paper is one day late, the maximum you can make on the paper is the assigned grade minus one point);

Please see Academic Integrity Policy in St. Francis Xavier University Academic Calendar 2009-2010, 3.8, pp. 13-14.

Burton MacDonald, PhD

Senior Research Professor

Department of Religious Studies

Office: Room 268 in New Coady (former Aquinas House)

Office Hours: Monday (12:30-2:30 p.m.) and Thursday (11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)

September 2009

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download