It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.
 (Albert Einstein, 1921, in response to Thomas Edison’s opinion that a college education is useless)

 

In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase in sorrow.
 (Ecclesiastes 1.18)

 

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

(Anonymous)

 

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

(William Butler Yeats)

Schedule


Evaluation


Exegesis Guidelines


Resources


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 REL 107: New Testament

Spring Semester • 2007 

 

 Welcome!

Welcome back to campus and to Religion 107: New Testament (or Everything You Always Wanted To Know about the New Testament But Were Too Afraid Or Busy To Ask)! The course title indicates our main objective, which is to provide a general introduction to understanding the New Testament. More specifically, our aim will be

•

to clarify what the New Testament is and to consider its significance for the history of Western civilization, the world, and us;

•

to become familiar with the contents of the NT and to discern major themes and issues;

•

to read carefully and critically passages from a variety of NT & non-canonical books;

•

to explore the meaning of these passages in their historical contexts (e.g., cultural, geographical, literary, political contexts) as well as in relation to contemporary thought;

•

to become familiar with the methodological issues involved in biblical interpretation;

•

and to cultivate a reading of biblical texts that is both critical and creative by developing exegetical skills and using modern methods of interpretation, especially the historical-critical method.

Achieving these goals will not be easy; the course will require hard work on your part. At the same time, you can expect this course to be full of exciting, challenging, enlightening, frustrating, and rewarding experiences.

 Caveat

This course is designed so that anyone, religious or not, who does the required work can attain the goals mentioned above. This course is not designed to persuade you to a particular faith or religious point of view. Nor is it intended to build up or disparage existing faith. Students who consider themselves to be followers of any religion, or no religion at all, are all welcome on this semester journey to become better acquainted with the NT, to learn to appreciate it better, and to become informed and responsible interpreters of it.

 Requirements and evaluation for the course

Evaluation

For my criteria for evaluation of assignments go to Evaluation and read the information carefully.

 

NB: If you have any questions regarding any assignment, please 1) ask in class for the benefit of others or 2) make an appointment to see me.

Assigned
readings

The readings are essential and should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned—use your best judgment to divide the readings for each week evenly for each class. Keeping notes on the readings is highly recommended. Occasionally I may assign additional readings, but these will ordinarily be short. You must come to class with written questions or comments you have about the readings (see Participation). The primary focus throughout the course will be on cultivating the ability to ask informed questions about the New Testament based on the knowledge you gain along the way.

Annotated

map

You will draw an annotated map of the Roman Empire during the 1st century.

•

You must draw the map by hand (on a letter-size paper). How colorful or artistic the map is will not affect the grade.

•

The map must show important boundaries, territories, cities, etc. Show

 

1) the most significant places in Palestine, including the main areas of Jesus' ministry, and

2) other significant places around the Mediterranean Sea, including all the places where Paul sent his undisputed letters (see textbook), and the 7 cities mentioned in Revelation 2–3.

 

The map should include at least the following: Alexandria, Antioch, Athens, Jerusalem, Rome.

•

Write a 2–3 page paper about one place (area or city)—incorporate in your paper the significance of the place for the Roman Empire or for understanding the New Testament (i.e., not just where or how many times in the NT the place is mentioned).

•

Follow all the instructions given on my Evaluation page under Written assignments.

 

Use footnotes to document your sources following the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian). Learn the automatic footnote function of your word processor.

•

The Oxford Bible Atlas and the maps at the end of your study Bible are good places to start. You may find NOAB 505–25 ES also helpful. For a little extra help click here.

•

As soon as you submit your paper, make an appointment to review your graded paper with me.

Exegesis

paper

You will submit a 3–4 page exegesis paper on 1 Corinthians 13. For ideas, look at some critical commentaries in our library (i.e., scholarly books on 1 Corinthians with lots of [foot]notes).

•

You must submit (on the R-drive) and discuss with me the following two preliminary, ungraded assignments, the quality of which may affect your final paper grade. Make an appointment as early as you can (see schedule below) to bring a hard copy of these for discussion.

 

1) Proposal: Submit in one file
 

1.1) a paragraph stating your interest, including which portion of 1 Cor 13 you propose to analyze and
 

1.2) a preliminary bibliography that includes at least 10 secondary sources (besides course textbooks or reference books) you found to be promising for your paper, including 5 journal articles.

 

You may use Web sources for your research, but they will not count among the 10 sources required for this assignment. NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they also exist in print form.

 

Use the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian) for the bibliography.

Submit your proposal as early as possible in the semester, so that it can be approved for you to begin your work.

 

2) Draft: Submit in one file
 

2.1) a clear introductory paragraph that includes the thesis of your paper,
 

2.2) two sample paragraphs, and
 

2.3) your revised bibliography (or works cited).

•

The paper should represent original work (i.e., your own thoughts), not a mere digest of other people’s opinions. Your own reading and re-reading of the relevant texts, as well as review of other materials, are fundamental to the task. I want to know what you discover in your engagement with the text(s)—a "text" can be written works, art works, music, plays, movies, interview, research results, poll data etc.—whether or not you agree with the authors or the opinions presented in class, including mine.

 

Focus on honing your ability to argue for your opinions and conclusions by supporting them with evidence from texts (especially primary sources, in this case mostly 1 Corinthians and other Pauline texts) and other relevant sources.

•

Your final bibliography (or works cited) must contain at least 6 secondary sources, including 3 journal articles used in your paper.

 

Use only printed sources in your paper, even if you used Web sources during your research. NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they also exist in print form.

 

Use footnotes to document your sources following the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian). Learn the automatic footnote function of your word processor.

•

Follow all the instructions given on my Evaluation page under Written assignments.

Terms

Throughout the semester, you’ll be responsible for learning significant terms covered in our texts or in class (see the “terms” file on the R-drive). You will be responsible for the definitions and, when appropriate, significant biblical passages related to the terms. Use 1) the course texts (e.g., glossary and index), 2) the resources listed in Resources to consider below, or 3) any other appropriate sources of information. The terms may constitute a part of any quiz or exam.

Exams

&

Quizzes

There will be 2 short quizzes (10–15 minutes long) and 1 longer quiz at midterm (20–30 minutes long). They will cover the materials in the course, including the reading assignments and terms, we will have covered by the time of the quizzes. The final exam will cover the entire sweep of the course. See my Evaluation page under Quizzes and examinations. The instructor reserves the right to administer pop quizzes, the results of which may affect the evaluation of your participation.

 

In lieu of the final exam, you may take a 30-minute oral exam. You must inform me at least a month before the exam date to discuss this option.

Grades

Grades will be assigned as fairly as possible. See my Evaluation page under Grades for more information. The final grade for the course will consist of the following:

•

exegesis paper

25%

NB: participation is a significant part of this course.

See my Evaluation page under Participation

for more information and instructions.

•

final examination

20%

•

map assignment

15%

•

participation

10%

•

quiz #2

15%

•

quiz #3

10%

•

quiz #1

5%

 

NB: If you have any questions about how you're doing in the course, please make an appointment to see me.

Extra
credit

You may earn extra credit any time during the semester.

•

Submit a 2–3 page reflection paper relating something from popular culture (e.g., movie, play, TV show, book, any performance) to a particular NT text or theme (consult the instructor). It should be mostly critique and not merely a plot summary.

•

Do other extra credit assignments described in the file on the R-drive.

NB: The instructor reserves the right to make the final determination concerning any extra credit. You may submit more than one, but the maximum extra credit earned (in addition to the percentages earned through regular assignments) will be 5%.

 Required books

•

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (NRSV), 3rd ed. You may use another Bible, if you wish, but the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) will be the common text for class assignments and discussions. In all cases, you are encouraged to use other English translations (e.g., NIV) and Bibles in other languages in addition to the NRSV. The Tanakh is especially recommended for comparison of Old Testament passages.

•

Aland, Kurt, ed. Synopsis of the four Gospels. New York: United Bible Societies, 1982.

•

Brown, Michael J. What They Don't Tell You: A Survivor's Guide to Biblical Studies. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.

•

Ehrman, Bart D. A Brief Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

 Recommended books (* = highly recommended)

 

Tanakh. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985 (5748).

*

Achtemeier, Paul. Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.


Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993.

 

Brown, Raymond E. Biblical Exegesis and Church Doctrine. Wipf & Stock, 2002.

*

_____. An Introduction to New Testament Christology. New York: Paulist Press, 1994.

*

_____. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997.

*

_____. Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible. New York: Paulist Press, 1990.


Bultmann, Rudolf. Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.


Duling, Dennis C. and Norman Perrin. The New Testament: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History. 3rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1994.


Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.


_____. The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

*

Goodacre, Mark. The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze. London: T. & T. Clark, 2001.


Hengel, Martin. Judaism and Hellenism. London: SCM Press, 1974.

 

Miles, Jack. God: a biography. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
*

Meyer, Paul. The Word in This World. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.


Pelikan, Jaroslav. Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. New Haven: 
Yale University Press, 1985.


Robinson, James M. A New Quest of the Historical Jesus. London: SCM Press, 1959.

 

Sanders, E. P. and Margaret Davies. Studying the Synoptic Gospels. London: SCM Press, 1989.


Segal, Alan F. Rebecca's Children: Judaism and Christianity in the Roman World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.

*

Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979. (See my "Resources" page under "Miscellaneous" for the first edition of Strunk.)

 Resources to consider


See my Resources page for McGill, AV, & Web resources, esp. The NT Gateway.


R-drive: for helpful materials, check not only the course folder but also the "Religion" folder.


Bible concordances (McGill library)


Ferguson, Duncan S. Bible Basics. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995.

*

Turner, Nicholas. The Handbook for Biblical Studies. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982.

 Keeping in touch

During the semester check your e-mail regularly for the latest messages from me regarding course matters (e.g., changes in the syllabus). Also visit this page for updates to the syllabus, as well as my homepage for other information and resources related to the course. Please feel free to make an appointment any time about any course matters.

 Tips from former students

For some practical advice from former students, see the tips page.

 One last word …

Regardless of how tough all the stuff above sounds, I’m pretty much a nice guy. I promise to be as fair as possible. I recognize that you’ll be quite busy this semester, striving after all your passions. I understand. I have my passions too: my awesome, wonderful family, music, the Bible, the Reformed tradition, nature, mountain biking, fixing things, and food, among other things. But I’m also very passionate about education, both yours and mine—I don’t just mean the business of acquiring knowledge, but more importantly the total development of honorable human beings. I don't require you to share my excitement about all the things we'll cover, but I do expect you to complete all the requirements for the course. To help you do that as well as you can, I will make myself available outside the class time and the office hours. I'll be more than glad to help you out when you're stuck while doing an assignment. Or if you have any questions, concerns, complaints, and even compliments, I will do my best to take the time to listen and offer my opinion or advice. Keep in mind that I'm here to help you learn and to continue learning myself. So, again, welcome to Religion 107: New Testament!

C o u r s e   S c h e d u l e

MWF 12:50–13:50          PH 113


Date


Assigned readings

• = required

> = recommended

+ = read in the library (do not check out)


Project / texts

bold = primary focus text

red bold = important deadline

highlight = R-drive file (only on campus & Internet Explorer)
 


Class / topics

Week 1

 

Jan 17 W

Jan 19

Jan 22

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•Fisher: Effective Learning

•Ehrman: xvii, xxi, xxv–xxix; Ch. 1 (tip: "Questions for Study and Reflection" provide a helpful review for quizzes & exams)

•Brown: Prolegomena; Chs. 1–2 (RoT 1–10)

 

>NOAB: vii–xxvii; 453–525 ES (skim); 534–35 ES; 543–73; Index (NB: ES pages appear after the NT—skim carefully)

>+Brown, Responses: Q1–14

>The NT Gateway (excellent Web resources)

>Bible in 50 words

>Bible Contradiction & Responses

>Myth
 >Resurrection

>Johnson & Spong on Jesus' birth

>Resurrection theories

>More on Jesus' birth (check out "resources" page)

>Chronology (info & links)

>Manuscript marginalia (an interesting example)

>Do you know how to think? (a self-exam)

•Copy all relevant Web pages to your hard disk or diskette

•Reminder: bring your Qs & Cs to each class (see Participation)

•Easter Quiz (NB: take this "quiz" before reading the following)

•1Cor 15.3–10

•Mk 15.40–16.8

•Mt 27.55–28.20

•Lk 23.48–24.53

•Jn 19.25–21.25

•Acts 1.1–2.4

•Gos Pet (NB: Q10 on "Easter Quiz")

•Translation comparison

•Memorize the books of the Protestant canon in order (learn correct spelling).

 

>Ehrman study aids (helpful for review: chapter summaries, reading guides; quizzes; other resources)

>"Quiz"

>Calendar

>Perception quiz
>Riddles
>Study Guide 1 (2007: these may be helpful, but they don't always correspond with the other assignments; use the study questions in Ehrman)

>Study Guide 2

•Bible Hunt

•Optical conditioning

•General orientation

•Preliminary stuff: terms, concepts & approaches

•"What is the New Testament?"

 

•Greek NT: 1st page

Week 2

 

Jan 24 W

Jan 26

Jan 29

•Ehrman: Ch. 2
 •Brown: Ch. 2 (RoT 11–19); Ch. 3

•1 Macc (skim slowly)
•Brown: Chs. 4–5

•Ehrman: Ch. 3

 

>NOAB: 3–10 AP; 453–71 ES (skim); 507–33 ES (514–25 esp. helpful if you haven't had courses on the Bible or the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible])

>The Greeks (interactive site): read about Socrates, Plato, etc.

>Blogging the Bible (an interesting viewpoint that might resonate with your life)

•Translation comparison

•Manuscript

•1 Macc 1–2; 4.36–61 (Hanukkah)

 

>Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts (very helpful)

>Transmission errors

>Study Guide 3

>Study Guide 4

>Study Guide 5

•"The Greco-Roman World"

•"World of Ancient Judaism"

Week 3

 

Jan 31 W

Feb 2

Feb 5

•Ehrman: Ch. 3
•+Brown: Intro to NT Christology, 155–61 (“A Brief History of the Development of the Royal Messianic Hope in Israel”)

•Ehrman: Ch. 4
•+Sanders & Davies: Synoptic Gospels, 51–119 (skim)
•Apostles' Creed
•Nicene Creed
•Inf Gos Thom
 

>NOAB: 3–6 NT; 491–505, 538–39 ES

>Chalcedonian definition

>Chalcedonian definition (excerpts)
>Chronology (info & links)

>Synoptic Problem (summary of theories)

>Gos Thom
>From Jesus to Christ

>Redaction & hermeneutics (funny, interesting & instructive)

>The Diatessaron

•Know the various Jewish groups & significant characteristics

•Know the 4-source hypothesis well

>Basic Synoptic solutions

>Synoptic solutions (found on The NT Gateway)

•Feeding 5K folks (cf. 2 Sam 6.17–19?):
Mk 6.30–44 (cf. 8.1–10; 19–20)
Mt 14.13–21 (cf. 15.32–39; 16.9–10)
Lk 9.10–17
Jn 6.1–15
•Feeding of 5K

 

>Suggested colors to use to mark your synoptic texts
>Quiz

>Study Guide 6

>Study Guide 7

>Study Guide 8

•"World of Ancient Judaism"

•The Gospels
•The Synoptic Problem

Week 4

 

Feb 7 W

Feb 9

Feb 12

•Mk 1.1–16.8 (–16.20)
•Ehrman: Ch. 5

 

>"Immediately"

>From Jesus to Christ

>The Diatessaron

>Chalcedonian definition

>Chalcedonian definition (excerpts)

•Paper appointments: Barker–Himes

 

•Mk 1.1–15 (esp. vv. 9–11, 12–13, 14–15) & ||s
•Mk 4.1–20 (esp. vv. 11–13), 33–34 & ||s: purpose of parables?
•Mk 4.35–41 & ||s: power over nature (cf. Gen 1.1–3)
•Mk 6.1–6a & ||s: unable or unwilling to do mighty works?
•Mk 8.1–9.1 (esp. 8.27–33, 9.1) & ||s
•Mk 15.33–16.8 (–16.20) & ||s: What really happened?

 

>Study Guide 9

>Study Guide 10

>Study Guide 11

•Mark: a trend-setter?
•Suffering Messiah

 

•Quiz 1 (Feb 12)

Week 5

 

Feb 14 W

Feb 16

Feb 19

•Matthew
•Ehrman: Ch. 6

 

>O Little Town of Nazareth?

>From Jesus to Christ

>The Diatessaron

>Redaction & hermeneutics (funny, interesting & instructive)

>Chalcedonian definition

>Chalcedonian definition (excerpts)

•Paper appointments: Korneke–Webler

•Last date for proposal: Feb 19 (R-drive; file name = "last name proposal.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

 

•Mt 1.1–17 & ||: the begat list (cf. 1 Chr 1)
•Mt 1.18–2.23 & || (?): where did Joseph & Mary live?
•Xmas Quiz
•Mt 5.1–7.27 & ||s (?): Sermon on the Mount (walk this way; talk this way)
•Mt 5.3–12 & ||: Beatitudes
•Mt 5.17–20; 7.21–23: Torah (cf. Heb 3.1–6)
•Mt 6.5–15 (cf. Lk 11.1–4): Lord's Prayer
•Mt 7.12: Golden Rule
•Sermon on the Mount
•Phraseology: KoG & KoH
•Mt 10.1–11.1 & ||s
•Mt 10.34–39: anti-family?
•Mt 13.1–52 & ||s
•Mt 18.1–35 & ||s
•Mt 19.1–11 & ||s

•Mt 20.1–16: fair?
•Mt 21.1–11 & ||s: how many animals can Jesus ride?
•Mt 25.31–46: sheep & goats

 

>Study Guide 12

>Study Guide 13

>Study Guide 14

>Study Guide 15

•Matthew: the teacher par excellence

Week 6

 

Feb 21 W

Feb 23

Feb 26

•Luke

•Ehrman: Ch. 7

•+Brown: Responses, Q54–60
•Luke: pairs

 

>O Little Town of Nazareth

>From Jesus to Christ

>The Diatessaron