Introduction to the
New Testament

Spring Semester 2000  -  107 Hyer Hall

Course Description

An examination of the New Testament writings, with special attention to their social context within the Mediterranean world of the first two centuries of this era. Class work will involve a study of current socio-historical and literary methodologies and an exploration of how these have been used to illuminate the probable meanings that the New Testament documents had in their original historical contexts, as well as the meanings that later generations of interpreters discovered within them.

Texts

Required:

Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. This volume contains the primary texts of the course, including the entire New Testament in the NRSV translation. The other writings in the reader—various early letters, non-canonical gospels, and miscellaneous materials—are documents that help illuminate our understanding of the controversies that emerged over the interpretation of early Christian beliefs and traditions in the second century CE. Referred to as Reader in the list of assignments below (often, names of NT books will be given instead).

Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. The companion volume to the NT reader, this book provides a wealth of information about various methods used by contemporary scholars of the New Testament, as well as some of the fruits of these scholars' research. Moreover, it supplies helpful background information about the Greco-Roman-Jewish milieu of the first two centuries of the present era. Referred to as Text in the list of assignments below. 

Recommended:

Frank, Harry Thomas, ed. Atlas of the Bible Lands. Maplewood, NJ: Hammond, 1990. This inexpensive volume provides many helpful maps of the regions we will be exploring in this course. In addition, it includes a helpful time-line of Biblical history and displays many illuminating photographs of archaeological discoveries.

Since we will be covering a voluminous amount of material in this course, regular attendance at class sessions is essential. While lectures will be the focus of these sessions, class time will also be devoted to an analysis and discussion of the materials associated with the day’s topic. Consequently, students are expected to "read, mark and inwardly digest" the required readings assigned for the dates specified below in preparation for class discussions. Occasional homework assignments will be given as tools for absorbing some of the key facts and terms.

Beginning with the second week of the course, each student will be required to make weekly contributions to a discussion board located on the instructor’s Web site. All posts to the discussion board will be anonymous to everyone except the instructor, and must be entered by 7 pm on Friday for that week’s set of entries. Submissions may be made for credit up to a week after the deadline with a 10 point penalty. Entries should address the material arising from that week’s readings and class sessions; they may also be made in response to a post made by another student (within the bounds of civility, of course). Some starter questions will be included in the class outline below, not to induce a rigid set of Q & A responses, but simply to stimulate thought. Entries will be judged on the depth of their reflections and not on whether the student agrees with the interpretations of the instructor. See the discussion board handout for additional technical information on posting your entries.

There will be two mid-term examinations held during class time, one on February 11 and the other on March 10. Each will last the entire class period and will consist of identification, definition, and essay questions on the topics covered in each unit of study. Prior to the examinations, the instructor will supply study sheets that the students may find helpful in exam preparation.

The final examination will be held Monday, May 8, 3-6:00 pm. It will be similar to the mid-term exams in format, but will cover more material.

© Donald D. Binder, 1997-2007
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