Introduction to the New Testament
Module Code: 413TINT Credits: 10 Contact Hours: 30 Level: 4 Lecturer: Jude Winkler OFM Conv
Syllabus
This module seeks to introduce students to the documents which make up the New Testament. Factors which impelled the emergence of such texts, the nature of the compositions which form the New Testament, and the ‘process’ of canonicity will be concerns. The structure of ancient letters, the Pauline and non-Pauline letters, and the disparate exegencies which gave them birth, and issues of pseudonymity, will be addressed. The genre gospel and factors which gave rise to the production of Gospels (canonical and non-canonical), insofar as these may tentatively be determined, will form a major part of this module.
Attention will be paid to the sociological(widely understood) complexes which may have generated New Testament writings. Students will be encouraged to acquaint themselves with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history without which New Testament study is impossible.
The module will deliver the following units:
- introduction: the NT, its geography and the significance of the ordering and descriptions of its contents.
- the Sitz im Leben of epistolary documents; their form and content.
- the meaning of the word gospel in Greek and Jewish discourse. Its NT uses. The perennial debates on genre.
- post Enlightenment Critical Approaches to the Gospels and biblical criticism.
- the emergence of New Testament Christologies.
Aims
This module seeks to familiarise students with the New Testament from the perspectives of its origins and broad content, and the diversity of its materials. In tandem with such study, students will be introduced to some of the methods by which scholars approach New Testament literature (as conveniently discussed in L’Interpretation de la Bible dans l’eglise and more recent criticism of the historical-critical method). Engagement with the texts and the contexts from which they emerged will equip students for the close encounter and engagement with texts which will be required at Level 5 and Level 6.
Assessment
This module will be assessed by an essay of 2,000 words
Knowledge and Understanding
Promoting familiarity with the New Testament as a collection of disparate works is the primary desired outcome of this module. Students will know how to find their way around the NT, that is, know the geography of the canonical texts as a collection. The factors which define each genre will be impressed on students in order that they may appreciate the critical insights which both determine and describe genre identification.
An understanding of the NT corpus, both as a corpus and of its components, will be fostered. An exploration, at Level 4, of critical approaches to NT texts and an introduction to shifting theological paradigms will held to sharpen critical faculties.
Students should develop and hone those skills which will empower them to engage in academic (literary) pursuits in a wide range of scholarly endeavours. Those skills necessary to pursue literary inquiry is an anticipated outcome.
The many questions besetting the understanding of texts and their employment in historical research will be posed and an awareness of the issues (insofar as current debates have clarified any of these issues) will lead to the development of appropriate agnosticism.
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