RT3205: New Testament Epistles
| School | Religion |
| Department Code | SHARE |
| Module Code | RT3205 |
| External Subject Code | 100801 |
| Number of Credits | 20 |
| Level | L5 |
| Language of Delivery | English |
| Module Leader | null null null |
| Semester | Double Semester |
| Academic Year | 2014/5 |
Outline Description of Module
- To enable students to reach a critical appreciation of the New Testament Epistles; and to equip them to make appropriate exegetical judgments about these works informed by the scholarship of the past hundred years.
- To enable students to understand more fully how theology is done in specific faith community contexts, and the part that both religious traditions and contexts play in that process.
On completion of the module a student should be able to
- At the end of the double module students should be able minimally to understand the genres, characteristics and some key themes of the work studied and be aware of the varieties of critical approach, which have been applied to the study of them. Optimally students should be able to relate these writings to each other and to other New Testament traditions and participate with confidence in scholarly discussion about the issues raised. In particular students should be able to:
- Describe the contents of the non-Gospel material in the New Testament
- Identify key themes in the corpus as a whole and its constituent parts
- Summarise the distinctive traits of particular traditions within the corpus
- Evaluate critical contributions to the field
- Judge what are the achievements and limits of scholarship in this field to date
How the module will be delivered
Sessions will normally be lecture based, although two sessions will be given over to explain how students are expected to write short commentaries and exegete two Bible gobbets that will form part of one question in the examination. Each lecture will have an accompanying handout
Skills that will be practised and developed
Intellectual Skills:
The ability to:
Reason evidence,
- Critically evaluate evidence
- Sustain a logical argument
- Think flexibly
- Make connections between different areas of knowledge
Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:
The ability to:
Think critically in studying aspects of text and translation
- Enter the cultural and philosophical worlds of people unlike ourselves
- Develop the skill of ‘close reading’
- Differentiate between and to assess critically different approaches (historical, narrative critical etc) in a single scholarly discipline (NT Studies)
- Exegete the NT
Transferable Skills:
The ability to:
Work with others
- Work independently
- Present written and oral evidence
- Understand how people think and act in situations other than our own
- Use and read texts critically
Demonstrate sensitivity to the problems of religious language and experience
How the module will be assessed
In course assessment
An essay of no more than 2,000 words, which will contribute 25% of the final mark for the course.
Written examination
A written examination of two hours duration which will contribute 75% of the final mark for the course. Students will answer three questions, two of which will be essay style questions. One essay will be in a Pauline area, the other in a non- Pauline area. The third question will be a text question. Students will be asked to comment upon and exegete two unseen texts (one Pauline and one non-Pauline) from amongst a number of texts.
Assessment Breakdown
| Type | % | Title | Duration(hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Assessment | 50 | Essay - 2,000 Words | N/A |
| Exam - Spring Semester | 50 | New Testament Epistles | 1.5 |
Syllabus content
- Studying Epistles
- 1 Peter
- The Johannine Letters
- Introduction to the Pauline corpus
- Romans
- The Corinthian Correspondence
- The Pastoral Epistles
- Galatians
- Hebrews
- Ephesians
- James
- Philippians
- 2 Peter and Jude
- Colossians and Philemon
- Revelation
- Thessalonians
- Exegeting the Bible
Some of these subjects will cover more than one session (see handbook).
Essential Reading and Resource List
Paul
1. TL Donaldson Paul and the Gentiles Fortress Press, 1997
2. JDG Dunn The Theology of Paul the Apostle Eerdmans,1998
3. J Murphy O’Connor Paul; A Critical Life Clarendon,1996
4. AF Segal Paul the Convert Yale, 1990
‘Pauline’ Epistles
JA Fitzmeyer Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Doubleday, 1993
MD Nanos The Mystery of Romans Fortress, 1996
VP Furnish The First Letter to the Corinthians CUP, 1999
W Meeks The First Urban Christians (All about 1 Corinthians), Yale, 1983
L Kreitzer 2 Corinthians Sheffield, 1996
J Murphy O’Connor The Theology of the Second Letter to the Corinthians Cambridge, 1991
JDG Dunn The Theology of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians Cambridge, 1993
MD Nanos The Irony of Galatians Fortress, 2002
R Jewett The Thessalonian Correspondence Fortress, 1996
AJ Malherbe Paul and the Thessalonians Siegler Edition, 2000
M Bockmuel The Epistle to the Philippians Black, 1997
C Osiek Phillipians and Philemon Abingdon Press, 2000
E Best Ephesians Sheffield, 1993
RE DeMaris The Colossian Controversy Sheffield, 1994
AT Lincoln and AJM Wedderburn The Theology of the later Pauline Letters (Colossians and Ephesians) CUP, 1993
Non-Pauline Epistles
A Chester and RP Martin The Theology of the letter of James Cambridge, 1994
F Young The Theology of the Pastoral Epistles Cambridge, 1994
RB Edwards The Johannine Epistles Sheffield, 1996
LD Hurst The Epistle to the Hebrews Cambridge, 1990
PJ Achtmeier 1 Peter: A Commentary on 1 Peter Fortress, 1996
DF Watson Invention, Arrangement, and Style: Rhetorical Criticism of Jude and 2 Peter Scholars Press, 1988
R Bauckham The Theology of the Book of Revelation Cambridge, 1993
Exegesis
1. Goldingay, J Models for the Interpretation of Scripture Carlisle, 1995
2. Gorman, MJ Elements of Biblical Exegesis, 2001
Background Reading and Resource List
Please see Essential Reading List.