NT502DE Acts-Paul Thorsten Moritz

NT502DE Acts-Paul Thorsten Moritz

InMinistry (DE) Bethel Seminary

01/11 – 03/22/2010 E-mail:

TA: Julie Dahlof,

Course Description

This course covers aspects of a range of theological disciplines and approaches such as pneumatology, ecclesiology, eschatology, history, literary studies, sociology and above all biblical theology. It is NOT a survey course as such. Instead it is a selective literary, social and especially theological study of the backgrounds and texts of Acts and the Letters of Paul. The course has to be selective not only because of the amount of textual material contained in these writings, but also because it aims to employ a range of hermeneutical tools.

We begin with a brief look at Luke’s Gospel, without which Acts cannot be understood properly. The two are volumes of the same book. Approx. the first third of the course is taken up by a study of Acts, especially such aspects as the relationship of Christ and Spirit, the expanding Gentile mission, and the role of Paul. The second third concentrates on the Pauline corpus and on Paul’s unique or central contribution to the theology and life of early Christianity. Is it his discussion of Christ and the Law? Or is it his understanding of the re-defined people of God? The entire course argues - sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly - that both Acts and Paul are especially interested in this last point: What does the Christ event mean for God’s people and the world? Finally, we will look at Ephesians and Romans in more depth.

The course consists mainly of video lectures, Blackboard interaction (discussion), reading and assessment points. Students are particularly encouraged to raise interdisciplinary issues as part of the Blackboard discussion. The two main disciplines for such interaction are leadership and psychology/spirituality.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course the student should have acquired the following:

• In-depth awareness of christological, pneumatological and ecclesiological issues in the primary texts and related scholarly approaches in the secondary literature
• An exegetically defensible understanding of selected passages against a biblical-theological canvas
• An appreciation of the close relationship between Luke and Acts and of Luke’s particular theological agenda in both volumes, especially the second (Acts)
• The ability to interpret Paul contextually against his first century background as well as co-textually, both without making him either the founder or the villain of early Christianity
• Hermeneutical sensitivity to facilitate sound appropriations of the selected Biblical texts for today’s Christian communities and ministerial contexts
• Increased inter-disciplinary capabilities

Required Texts/Materials

1.  Tannehill, R. - The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts - Vol. 2 (Fortress 1994) - ISBN 0800625587

2.  Banks, R. - Paul's Idea of Community (Hendrickson 1994) - ISBN 1565630505

3.  There are weekly video lectures which you can download on Blackboard. Please view in preparation for each week's online discussions.

Multi-cultural bibliography

General indicative cross-cultural bibliography. This is no wholesale endorsement of the books listed, but it is meant to show that – thankfully - scholarship is more global and diverse than we are often aware.

Bach, Alice, ed. The Pleasure of Her Text: Feminist Readings of Biblical and Historical Texts. Philadelphia: Trinity, 1990.

De la Torre, Miguel A. Reading the Bible from the Margins. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2002.

De Wit, Hans, Louis Jonker, Marleen Kool, Daniel Schipani, ed. Through the Eyes of Another: Intercultural Reading of the Bible. Amsterdam: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2004.

Dube, Musa W, ed. Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible. Atlanta: SBL, 2001.

Fee, Gordon D. The Act of Bible Reading: a Multidisciplinary Approach to Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996. BS476 .A315 1996

Felder, Cain Hope, ed. Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1991.

Getui, Mary N., Tinyiko Maluleke and Justin Ukpong, ed. Interpreting the New Testament in Africa. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2001.

Khiok-khng. Yeo. What has Jerusalem to do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective. Harrisburg, PA.: Trinity, 1998.

Manus, Ukachukwu Chris. Intercultural Hermeneutics in Africa: Methods and Approaches. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003.

Mbiti, John S. New Testament Eschatology in and African Background: A Study of the Encounter between New Testament Theology and African Traditional Concepts. London: Oxford U. Press, 1971.

Räisänen, Heikki, and others. Reading the Bible in the Global Village: Helsinki. SBL Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship. Atlanta: SBL, 2000.

Segovia, Fernando F. Decolonizing Biblical Studies: A View from the Margins. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2000.

Sugirtharajah, R.S. The Bible and the Third World: Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters. Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 2001.

---. Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism: Contesting the Interpretations. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1998.

Ukpong, Justin S., and others. Reading the Bible in the Global Village: Cape Town. SBL Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, Number 3. Atlanta: SBL, 2002.

Vaage, Leif E, ed and trans. Subversive Scriptures: Revolutionary Readings of the Christian Bible in Latin America. Valley Forge, PA.: Trinity, 1997.

Course Requirements:

There are three equally weighted assessment points, a quiz, a paper and Blackboard discussion participation. See the 'Class Schedule' below for the submission dates and times. Generally, no extensions will be given and no late submissions will be accepted. Please give yourself an ‘extension’ by aiming for an early completion of both, the quiz and the paper. The reason for the no-extension and no-late-submission policy is that requests for extensions have become so pervasive and random that they have become very difficult to administer fairly. If you have done significant work on your assignments but have not completed them by the deadline, submit what you have. It is better to submit on time – even if incomplete – than not to submit. See below (Advice for the paper) for the title and other details.

There will be a sample quiz on Blackboard (Course Documents), well before the actual quiz will be uploaded. Make sure to look at it before attempting the real quiz. The quiz will focus on your reading, our online discussions and the video content made available to you via Blackboard (each of the above up to the end of the week prior to your taking the quiz).

The paper needs to be between 1600 and 1800 words long. This includes the footnotes, but not the bibliography. It needs to be fully referenced (footnotes and bibliography – more advice near the end of this syllabus). Make sure to use an intelligent selection of approx. 10 to 15 other academic(!) works in support of your paper. This means that those works will be referred to in the text, referenced in the footnotes and listed in the bibliography.

Online Discussions:

Each week there will be digital video content for you to watch (see ‘Multimedia’ button on Blackboard). Please ensure you watch these video lectures by Tuesday lunch time each week. The goal is to discuss the lecture content on the discussion board from Tuesday to Friday incl. each week. The discussions will be graded and are an opportunity for everyone to learn, to bond and to serve each other by pooling our insights. Generally, it is expected that students make meaningful and substantive contributions about four times a week, averaging in the ballpark of four lines or so.

Typically, I log in most week days, though sometimes I may not be available for a couple of days due to work-related travel. I will read everything you post, but will only respond to a selection of posts. A plea/word of advice: Let’s not use the discussion board to impress fellow students. Please don’t use ‘questions’ as a way of offering correctives to fellow students. This does not, in fact, happen very often. But when it does, it tends to have a noticeably negative impact on fellow students. It is best for everyone to adopt the posture of a genuine learner. The positive flip side of that is that you are very welcome to float ideas for comments, without fear of being shot down. One more piece of common sense advice: The dynamics of electronic conversations are more complex than face-to-face encounters – so we need to be especially mindful of the effects we have on our fellow learners. Let’s make sure to be aware of the perceived force of our contributions, not just the bare words. Emoticons can play a very helpful role in clarifying the intent behind a given statement. Thanks!

Grading:

All projects to be weighted equally. You will be given a letter grade for each of the three assessment points. At the end of the course we will calculate the final letter grade. As mentioned, each individual grade contributes equally to the final grade. However, the exception to this occurs when a student receives an F grade for an assessed piece. For instance, in the final calculation, an F based on late or non-submission of the paper or the quiz will weigh more heavily than an F for very low quality. Generally, you can expect an average grade (i.e. for a good quality contribution) to be a B or a B-. Grades such as B+ and higher are strictly reserved for work that is above average.

Submission:

The paper and the quiz are due by Sunday evening (11:59pm in your time zone) at the end of the week(s) indicated in the course schedule below. Excuse the repetition, but short of cataclysmic events happening, NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED. For a sample quiz see 'Course Documents'. The paper and the quiz will be returned electronically with comments/grade.

General assessment criteria and course policy:

Grades will be assigned using the full range of letter grades (A-F), representing the following levels of performance (see below). In addition to the general criteria below, any specific advice given verbally in class/on Blackboard (as applicable) will also count as assessment criteria.

The grade ‘Incomplete’ is temporary and will be granted only in unusual circumstances (such as serious illness or critical emergencies) and will not be considered for a student who is simply behind in the assignments. It can ONLY be granted via the Registrar’s Office!

A First rate work submitted; outstanding evidence of ability to synthesize and utilize course knowledge; initiative expressed in preparing and completing assignments; creativity and originality manifested in assignment process and outcomes; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. Consistently high level of analysis.

B Really good work submitted; substantial evidence of ability to analyze and utilize course knowledge; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. Mix of analytical and descriptive thinking.

C Satisfactory performance and thoroughness of work submitted and moderate evidence of ability to utilize knowledge of the subject. Largely descriptive.

D Poor performance in comprehension of work submitted; and meets minimal credit standard for the course.

F Inadequacy of work submitted. Also applies to LATE SUBMISSIONS (unless there are truly ‘catastrophic’ reasons for late submission).

I Incomplete.

Please have a good look at the description above. Occasionally I find that someone thinks that work best described as "Satisfactory performance and thoroughness of work submitted and moderate evidence of ability to utilize knowledge of the subject. Largely descriptive" warrants a B. But in light of the criteria set out here it does not.

(Academic Course Policy, pp88-9): “Written material submitted must be the original work of the student. Academic dishonesty constitutes a serous violation of scholarship standards at Bethel and can result in denial of credit and possible dismissal from the school. Any act that involves misrepresentation regarding the student’s academic work is forbidden. Academic dishonesty includes cheating on assignments or exams, plagiarism, fabrication of research, multiple submissions of work in different courses, misrepresentation of academic records, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and depriving others of necessary academic resources.” Syndication (unauthorized collaboration in an assignment) is equally unacceptable.

(Academic Course Policy, p93): “Bethel Seminary is committed to providing a Christ-centered community where students, faculty, and staff can work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation, including racial and sexual harassment. All members of the Bethel community are expected to educate themselves about sexual and racial harassment.”

Accessibility: Please contact the instructor as soon as possible if disability-related accommodations are needed. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities are set up through the office of Disability Services. Contact Kathy McGillivray, director of Disability Services, at (651) 635-8759 for details.

Class Schedule:

Please make sure you have completed the necessary reading and have watched the appropriate video material by Tuesday for which the topic is specified. Please note that the video file numbers may not always correlate 1:1 with the week numbers listed below. This has mainly to do with file size. But the sequence of files corresponds to that of the weekly topics. As far as reading, it is your responsibility (1) to read the text books in their entirety and (2) to re-read relevant portions in ways that tie in with the content schedule that follows below. It will help to create your own list/overview of the two books when you first read them (basically a table of issues and relevant page numbers). This will facilitate your re-reading which needs to tie in approximately with the weekly class topics. It will also facilitate your preparation of the paper. More details below.

Approximate weekly Blackboard discussion topics/lectures and assessments:

NB: The topics below correspond to the video titles in the multimedia section in Blackboard. Please view the videos by Tuesday morning each week (so that Blackboard discussions can start later on Tuesdays).

·  week 1 (Jan 11-17) Introducing Luke and Acts

·  week 2 (Jan 18-24) Pentecost and the Spirit in Acts

·  week 3 (Jan 25-31) Christology in Acts

·  week 4 (Feb 1-7) The Gentile mission in Acts

·  week 5 (Feb 8-14) Paul's contribution to Christianity

·  week 6 (Feb 15-21) Church according to Paul

QUIZ DUE AT THE END OF WEEK 6

·  week 7 (Feb 22-28) Paul, the Jewish Law and living in Christ

·  week 8 (Mar 1-7) Romans (part 1)

·  week 9 (Mar 8-14) Romans (part 2)

PAPER DUE AT THE END OF WEEK 9