REL 208: The Gospel of John

 Welcome!

Welcome to Religion 208: The Gospel of John! This course is a general introduction to, and an exploration of, the Gospel According to John. More specifically, our aim will be

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 with the Gospel According to John.

 Requirements and evaluation for the course

Evaluation

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

Assigned
readings

Assigned readings are essential and should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned—use your best judgment to divide the readings evenly for each week. 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 readings from the Gospel According to John.

Discussion

starter

You will prepare a discussion starter covering

You should aim for 10–15 minutes. You're expected to have read the text(s) thoroughly and be able to share the penetrating questions or issues you dealt with in your reading, preparation, or even further research. NB: you don't necessarily have to understand everything before class, but you should demonstrate that you prepared and that you can discern, and are familiar with, the major issues in the text(s). Remember that questions are more valuable than answers. You should include or suggest challenges, discoveries, insights, questions, etc. for class discussion. See my “Evaluation” web page under Presentations for evaluation criteria (ignore "Communication Skills" section of the Presentation evaluation page). If you'd like to use "smart" equipment, let me know as soon as possible.

Exegesis

paper

You will submit a 3–4 page exegesis paper on either John 13.1–11 or 18.1–11. For ideas, look at some critical commentaries and academic journals (i.e., scholarly books and articles on John with lots of [foot]notes). This must be on time (in the R-drive). If not, you must write another paper. If you need some tips for doing exegesis, see the Exegesis Guidelines page. You may find the Tips for writing papers helpful.

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, 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 (ca. 15 minutes long) and 1 longer quiz at midterm (ca. 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.

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:

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.

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.

•

Brown, Raymond. The Gospel According to John 1–12. New York: Doubleday, 1966.

•

Brown, Raymond. The Gospel According to John 13–21. New York: Doubleday, 1970.

•

Brown, Raymond. An Introduction to the Gospel of John. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

 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.

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

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.

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

*

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 demanding all of this is, 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, e.g., my wonderful family, music, philosophy, nature, mountain biking, fixing things, food. 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 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 response. Keep in mind that I'm here to help you learn. So, again, welcome to Religion 208: Gospel of John!