CRISWELL COLLEGE
Fall 2015
Dr. R. Alan Streett
Senior Research Professor
NTS 501 L00.A NEW TESTAMENT INTRODUCTION I
(The Gospel and Acts)
SYLLABUS
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
An advanced study of the books of Matthew through Acts, emphasizing the problem of interpretation and the contributions of these books to biblical theology and godly living (catalog).
II. COURSE OBJECTIVES
The student who successfully completes this course will:
A. Grasp the structure, argument, and themes of the Gospels and the Book of Acts,
B. Understand the major options for interpreting the teaching, aims, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth,
C. Comprehend the significant issues facing the audiences the NT writers address,
D. Appreciate the broader Greco-Roman and Jewish historical and socio-political context of the NT,
E. Be able to articulate the various theories regarding source materials used to write the Gospels and Acts.
F. Be able to discuss the issues, criteria, problems, and processes involved in the formation of the NT canon
G. Recognize the major sects, texts, and events of the Second Temple period.
III. COURSE TEXTBOOK
Powell, Mark. Introducing the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION PROCEDURE
a. Textbook Reading. All students will read the assigned pages for the week in Powell. Each week a different student will be responsible to lead a 20 minute discussion on the reading (counts 30% of the semester grade).
b. Book report and critical evaluation. Each student will select a book from the bibliography and write out an 8-10 page review to be presented in class, followed by Q and A. See sign-up sheet. (counts 30% of the semester grade).
c. A final exam will be given covering the content of the course lectures and class discussions. (counts 40% of semester grade)
V. LATE PAPERS AND PROJECTS
All papers and projects are expected to be turned in on time. No late assignments will be accepted and a grade of zero will be given. Should a person become ill on due date and unable to attend class, they must submit the paper/project via email attachment on due date, showing that the assignment was completed in a timely fashion, although attendance was not possible. The paper/project will be presented in class at a later date.
VI. ATTENDANCE
Students should attend every block class session (the equivalent of 3- 50 minute classes). In accordance with official school policy, any student who misses more than four block class sessions (equivalent to ¼ of the semester) automatically fails the course. Students who miss 3 block class sessions will be penalized two letter grades for the semester. There are no excused absences except of hospitalization of the student or death in the student’s immediate family.
VII. GRADES
A. Semester Grades - The following scale will be used to determine the semester grades:
A 97-100 4.0 grade points per semester hour
A- 93-96 3.7 grade points per semester hour
B+ 91-92 3.3 grade points per semester hour
B 88-90 3.0 grade points per semester hour
B- 86-87 2.7 grade points per semester hour
C+ 83-85 2.3 grade points per semester hour
C 80-82 2.0 grade points per semester hour
C- 78-79 1.7 grade points per semester hour
D+ 75-77 1.3 grade points per semester hour
D 72-74 1.0 grade point per semester hour
D- 70-71 0.7 grade points per semester hour
F 0-69 0.0 grade points per semester hour
B. An incomplete ("I") may be given only upon the approval of the professor if the following four criteria are met:
The student presently has a passing grade for the course,
1. The student has not been able to complete course work because of serious illness or injury, death of family member, military reassignment.
2. Discusses with the professor the situation and gets his approval prior to dropping out of the course,
4. Files an academic request form with Enrollment services.
The student must remove the deficiency within sixty (60) days following the end of the semester, or the "I" turns to an automatic "F."
VIII. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Absolute truth is an essential belief and basis of behavior for those who believe in a God who cannot lie and forbids falsehood. Academic honesty is the application of the principle of truth in the classroom setting. Academic honesty includes the basic premise that all work which students submit must be their own and any ideas received from somewhere else must be carefully documented. By virtue of enrolling in this course, each student agrees to submit work solely based on this principle. Cheating and plagiarism will result in a semester grade of “F” with a note of the infraction placed in the student’s permanent file.
IX. LEARNING DISABILITIES
If the student has any learning or other disabilities, s/he should inform the professor at the beginning of the semester. This will enable the professor to be aware of any special arrangements that must be made to enhance the learning process.
X. COURSE CONTENT AND SCHEDULE
The first half of each session will follow the chapter structure of the textbook. The second half of the session will involve a critical examination of the four Gospels and Acts with particular attention given to literary structure, grammar, socio-political context, and the historical situation of the original readers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
*Alexander, T. Desmond. From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2009.
Aland, K. and B. The Text of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Barnett, Paul W. Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament
Times. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1999.
*Beilby, James K. and Paul E. Eddy. The Historical Jesus: Five Views. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2009.
Black, David Alan. New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide. Grand Rpids: Baker, 1994.
Black, David Alan, and David S. Dockery, eds. Interpreting the New Testament: Essays
on Methods and Issues. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2001.
Bock, Darrell L. Studying the Historical Jesus: A Guide to Sources and Methods.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002.
*Borg, Marcus. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. New York: HarperOne, 2007.
*______. Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most. New York: HarperOne, 2014.
*Borg, Marcus and John Dominic Crossan. The Last Week: What the Gospel Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006.
*______. The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2007.
Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday, 1997.
Bruce, F. F. New Testament History. New York: Doubleday, 1969.
Carson, D. A. and Douglas Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2005.
Carter, Warren. The Roman Empire and the New Testament: an Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon, 2006.
*Crossan, John Dominic. Long Way from Tipperary. New York: Harper Collins, 2009.
*D'Elia John A. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
deSilva, D. A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Context, Methods and Ministry Formation. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2004.
Douglas, J. D., and Merrill C. Tenney, eds. The New International Bible Dictionary.
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*Dunn, James D. G. Jesus Remembered. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
Elwell, Walter A., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker,
1988.
Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A
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Elwell, Walter, and Robert Yarbrough, ed. Readings from the First-Century World.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd Edition. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2003.
Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ: Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
______. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity. New York: Vintage, 2000.
Gamble, Harry. The New Testament Canon. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1985.
Green, J. B., S. McKnight and I. H. Marshall, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1992.
Gundry, Robert A. A Survey of the New Testament. Fourth Edition. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2003.
Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction. 4th edition. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 1990.
Hanson, K. C. and Douglas Oakman. Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Conflict. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
Hawthorne, Gerald F., and Ralph P. Martin, eds. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.
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Horsley, Richard A. Jesus in Context. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
*______, ed. On the Shadow of Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance. Louisville: WJK, 2008.
*Hurtado, L. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Grand Rapids.: Eerdmans, 2003.
Jervell, Jacob. The Theology of the Acts of the Apostles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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Grove: InterVarsity, 1993.
______. The Spirit in the Gospels and Acts. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997.
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1994.
*______. Gospel of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Erdmans, 1990.
*Levine, Amy-Jill, et al. The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006.
Marshall, I. Howard. New Testament Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004.
Martin, Ralph, and Peter H. Davids, eds. Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its
Developments. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997.
*McLaren, Brian D. The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that could Change Everything. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006.
Meier, J. P. A Marginal Jew, 4 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1991-2002.
Oakman, Douglas, and Marla Schrader. Palestine in the Time of Jesus. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
Powell, Mark. Introducing the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.
Richardson, Peter. Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997.
Sanders, E. P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. New York: Penguin, 1996.
Stein, R. H. Studying the Synoptic Gospels. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
Streett, R. Alan. Subversive Meals. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2013.
______. Heaven on Earth. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2013.
Thielman, Frank. Theology of the New Testament: a Canonical and Synthetic
Approach. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
*Vermes, Geza. The Religion of Jesus the Jew. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993.
______. Who’s Who in the Age of Jesus. London: Penguin, 2005.
*______. Providential Accidents: An Autobiography. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.
Wenham, D. and S. Walton. Exploring the New Testament, vol. 1: A Guide to the Gospels & Acts. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001.
White. L. Michael. Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite. New York: Harper One, 2010.
Witherington, Ben. The New Testament Story. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.
Wright, N. T. The New Testament and the People of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
______. Jesus and the Victory of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
______. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
*______. How God Became King. New York: HarperOne, 2012.