COS 511. New Testament II
July 8 – July 16, 2010
8:30–11:30 AM
Instructor: Chan-Hie Kim
E-mail address: chkim67@hotmail.com
PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT:
Write a book review on Hedrick’s
When Faith Meets Reason listed below and submit it by June 28.
2010. You may describe any insight you might have gained on
the issue of “faith and reason” in understanding the biblical texts
reflecting on your own spiritual journey. The paper should be
no more than 3 pages, 12 point, single-spaced.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
The New Interpreter’s Study Bible. Abingdon, 2003.
NIB. Vol. 8, General Articles on the New Testament; Matthew; Mark. Abingdon, 1995.
NIB. Vol. 9, Luke; John. Abingdon, 1995.
NIB. Vol. 12, Hebrews; James; 1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2, & 3 John; Jude; Revelation. Abingdon, 1998.
Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Fourth edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Hedrick, Charles
W., ed. When Faith Meets Reason. Polebridge Press,
2008.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
- Active participation in the class discussion.
- Preparation for each class by reading the required texts.
- A final written examination.
INCOMPLETES
- All incompletes must be requested in writing by the last day of the class (July 3, 2010). The form is available in the registration office.
- There must be a significant reason for an incomplete to be granted.
3. All incompletes must be removed
by September 1, 2010, otherwise the incomplete will be changed to a
failing grade.
Note:
Students are required to read all the reading assignments before
the class starts. Particularly those students who are not well
acquainted with NT introductory matters should read all the sections
of Ehrman’s The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the
Early Christian Writings and be ready for advanced readings.
CLASS SCHEDULE
July 8: Introduction and Overview
Issues We Have to Address When We Read the Bible
Read Ehrman, chapter 30.
Ref.
Hays and Holladay, Biblical Exegesis,
pp. 5-18.
Why do we face some problems when
we read the Bible? What kind of problems are they? What must be
done to solve these problems? Do we need to ignore these problems
as irrelevant in reading and understanding the Bible?
July 9: Two Different Approaches to the Study of New Testament
Read
Ehrman, The New Testament, chapter 1.
Let us share what we have read, i.e.,
our pre-class assignment. What are the differences between a confessional
approach and an historical approach to the study of the New Testament?
Try to understand differences between the historical and confessional
statements in the New Testament.
July 12: Canon as the Word of God and the Historical Jesus
Read Ehrman, The New Testament, chapters 14, 15, and 16.
NIDB, “Canon of the New Testament”
In what way is the Scripture the
word of God? What is the meaning of “canon”? Please
take note of the importance of the religious language as it is expressed
in our confessional statements. How much do we know about Jesus
of Nazareth? How relevant is Jesus of history to our faith in
Christ? Are we able to make distinctions between the words of
Jesus as it come out of his mouth and the words of Jesus early Christian
community put in his mouth?
July 13: The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
Read Matthew 5-7.
Ehrman, The New Testament, pp. 109-113.
Ref. NIB, vol. 8, pp. 89-222.
Hans Dieter Betz, “Sermon on
the Mount/Plain,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary 5: 1106-12.
How is this pericopy different from
the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49) in its structure and content?
How did Jesus understand the Jewish law? What is the literary
devise of this Sermon? How can we utilize the Sermon in our moral
and ethical decision-making process? These are some of the questions
students should keep in mind while reading the secondary sources.
July 14: The Gospel of John
Read The Gospel of John
Ehrman, The New Testament, chapter 11.
NIDB, “John, Gospel of”
Ref. NIB, vol.
9, John and vol. 12, pp. 365-469.
What is the general nature of the
Johannine literature? What are the sources of the Gospel?
What is the "Gospel of Signs"? How is this Gospel different
from the synoptic Gospel traditions? What are the characteristic
theological tenets in the Johannine literature? In what way the
Christology reflected in John different from other early Christian traditions?
Please try to answer these questions as you read relevant materials.
July 15: The Johannine Letters and the Letter of James
Read 1, 2, and 3 John and The Letter of James
Ehrman, The New Testament, chapter 12 and 22.
NIDB, “John, Letters of” and “James, Letter of”
Ref. J. M. Lieu, The Theology of Johannine Epistles.
Karen King, What is Gnosticism?
Sophie Laws, “James, Epistle of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary 3:621-28.
Luke T. Johnson, “James,” Harp’s Bible Commentary, 1272-78.
______, The Letter of James, Anchor Bible, 37A [This book is
recommended for hose who are interested in in-depth study
of the letter.]
How would you describe the genre
of the Jonhannine letters? What is Gnosticism? What is the Nag
Hammadi library? How important is it in understanding the formative
period of early Christianity? Try to understand the basic theology
of the Gnostic Christians by identifying and reading their literature.
Please examine the general structure and form of this letter in light
of the Pauline as well as common Hellenistic letter tradition.
In what way does this letter share some common epistolary elements with
other ancient letters? What are peculiar theological themes in
this letter? How are they different from those of Paul?
July 16: The Book of Revelation and Final Examination
Read The Book of Revelation
Ehrman, The New Testament, chapter 29.
Ref. NIB, vol. 12, Revelation.
Adela Yarbro Collins, “Revelation, Book of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary 5:694-708.
David E. Aune, “Revelations,”
Harper's Bible Commentary, 1300-19.
What is the general nature of the apocalyptic literature in the late antiquity? What are the literary characteristics of apocalypses? What was the political environment that produced such a literature? Identify other apocalyptic literatures in ancient antiquity.