Class 2: Pauline Theology: Notes
Class 3: The Theology of Mark's Gospel: Notes
Class 4: The Theology of Matthew's Gospel: Notes
Class 5: The Theology of Luke-Acts: Notes
Class 6: The Theology of John's Gospel: Notes
New Testament Theology:
Course Outline
I.
Introduction: What is New Testament Theology?
A.
Historical overview
1)
J. P. Gabler: Biblical theology as a separate domain from
systematic theology
2)
Liberal approaches: New Testament History, Religion and Theology
3)
Bultmann: the problem of 'translating' the message for a
different worldview
4)
Evangelicals and New Testament Theology: Ladd, Guthrie, Morris,
Dunn
5)
Hays’ four-fold task: descriptive, synthetic, hermeneutical,
pragmatic
B.
Major issues
1)
The theology of New Testament authors or of their writings?
2)
Historical and literary approaches: theology in narrative form;
theology in context; historical research and faith
3)
The person of Jesus in New Testament theology
4)
Unity and Diversity; canon within canon [or, do we give equal
weight to Paul and Jude?]
5)
Two horizons in dialogue - the first century and the twenty-first
II.
New Testament Christology: An Overview
1)
Unity & Diversity in NT Christology
2)
Reaffirming New Testament Christology today
III. New
Testament Ethics: Living the New Testament Today
1)
Paul, the Law and the Spirit
2)
The love commandment – a sufficient foundation for Christian
ethics?
3)
The sermon on the mount
1)
Women in ministry
2)
Divorce and remarriage
3)
Other examples
IV. Conclusion
– Biblical Christianity: from the first century to the
twenty-first
(1)
To make students aware of the history of the discipline and the
different approaches that have been and are represented among
scholars. This is crucial
(a)
so as to be able to understand the reasons why different authors
take the approaches that they do, and
(b)
to be able to understand that (and how) one's historical,
theological and philosophical presuppositions will inevitably
affect the outcome of one's reflection on and understanding of
the New Testament.
(2)
To help students grasp the distinctive characteristics of the New
Testament writings, so that each author's individual perspective
is understood and appreciated, prior to attempting to synthesize
the teaching of these various authors into a unified whole.
(3)
To enable students to recognize and correctly understand both the
unity and the diversity within the New Testament, as this relates
to theology, preaching, and praxis.
(4)
To help students to begin to understand the hermeneutical issues
that relate to New Testament theology, and that while it is in
many respects a largely historical discipline, it is also part of
the process of allowing the Gospel message and its
divinely-intended impact to be heard, felt and understood in our
time.
Students will be
assessed and graded on the basis of the following criteria:
1)
In view of the intense character of the Saturday fast track,
attendance is given great importance, and thus attendance and
participation in classroom exercises and activities will count
towards 10% of the final grade. Absence from or lateness to more
than one class should be explained in writing to the professor.
2)
A journal is to be kept in which each week students will briefly
summarize/restate in their own words what they have understood
from their reading of the textbook (and other relevant reading
related to NT theology) and reflect on it. This will be handed in
at the end of the semester, primarily as a way of verifying
students’ independent reading. This will count for 25% of
the final grade
3)
A term paper of not more than 8-10 pages giving a comparative
exegetical and theological analysis of two New Testament
passages, chosen from the list below:
a)
John 1:1-18, and either Philippians 2:6-11 or
Colossians 1:15-20.
b)
Matthew 5:17-20 and Romans 7:1-6.
c)
Matthew 5:31-32 and its parallels in the other Synoptic Gospels.
d)
Mark 8:27-9:1 and its parallels in the other Synoptic Gospels.
e)
Mark 13 and Luke 21:5-36.
This will count for 35% of the final grade. Alternative comparisons of themes or passages between two NT authors can be chosen in consultation with the professor.
4) A final take-home exam testing students’ knowledge acquired through independent reading and topics covered in the classroom. This exam will count for 30% of the final grade.
Hays,
Richard B., The Moral Vision of the New Testament, New
York: Harper Collins, 1996.
Ashton,
John, Understanding the Fourth Gospel, Oxford University
Press, 1991.
Barton,
Stephen C., The Spirituality of the Gospels, London: SPCK,
1992.
Bockmuehl,
Markus, This Jesus, Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994.
Boers,
Hendrikus, What is New Testament Theology?, Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1979.
Brown,
Raymond E., An Introduction to New Testament Christology,
Paulist, 1994.
Bultmann,
Rudolf, Theology of the New Testament, 2 volumes. New
York: Scribners, 1951, 1955.
Dodd,
C. H., According to the Scriptures: The Sub-Structure of New
Testament Theology, London: Nisbet & Co., 1952.
Dunn,
James D. G., Unity and Diversity in the New Testament, 2nd
edition. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1990.
Dunn,
James D. G., The Theology of Paul the Apostle, Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
Dunn,
James D. G., The Theology of Paul’s Letter to the
Galatians, Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Dunn,
James D. G., Jesus, Paul, and the Law, London: SPCK, 1990.
Dunn,
James D. G., The Evidence for Jesus, London: SCM, 1985..
Dunn,
James D. G., and James P. Mackey, New Testament Theology in
Dialogue, London: SPCK, 1987.
Fee,
Gordon D., God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in
the Letters of Paul, Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994.
Fitzmyer,
Joseph A., Luke the Theologian, Paulist, 1989.
Fortna,
Robert T. and Tom Thatcher (editors), Jesus in Johannine
Tradition, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.
Green,
Joel B., The Theology of the Gospel of Luke, Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
Guthrie,
Donald, New Testament Theology, Downers Grove: IVP, 1989.
Hawthorne,
Gerald F., Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid (editors), Dictionary
of Paul and His Letters, Downers Grove: IVP, 1993.
Hengel,
Martin, The Cross of the Son of God, London: SCM, 1986.
[Originally published separately as The Son of God, Crucifixion,
and The Atonement]
Hooker,
Morna, Not Ashamed of the Gospel: New Testament
Interpretations of the Death of Christ, Carlisle:
Paternoster, 1994.
Jervell,
Jacob, The Theology of the Acts of the Apostles, Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
Kruse,
Colin G., Paul, the Law and Justification, IVP, 1996.
Kümmel,
Werner G., The Theology of the New Testament, Nashville:
Abingdon, 1973.
Ladd,
George Eldon, A Theology of the New Testament, Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
Loader,
William, The Christology of the Fourth Gospel: Structure and
Issues, Peter Lang, 1992.
Lovering,
Eugene H. and Jerry L. Sumney (editors), Theology and Ethics
in Paul and His Interpreters, Abingdon: Nashville, 1996.
Luz,
Ulrich, The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew, Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
Marshall,
I. Howard and David Peterson, Witness to the Gospel: The
Theology of Acts, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
McGrath,
James F., John’s Apologetic Christology: Legitimation and
Development in Johannine Christology (SNTSMS, 111), Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
Meeks,
Wayne A., The Moral World of the First Christians,
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.
Meeks,
Wayne A., The Origins of Christian Morality, New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1993.
Meier,
John P., A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus.
Vol.1, New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Beginning
the Good News, Homebush: St. Paul Publications, 1992.
Morris,
Leon, New Testament Theology, Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1986.
Neill,
Stephen and Tom Wright, The Interpretation of the New
Testament 1861-1986,New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Painter,
John, John: Witness and Theologian, London: SPCK, 1975.
Powell,
Mark Allan and David R. Bauer (editors), Who Do You Say That I
Am? Essays On Christology, Louisville: Westminster John Knox,
1999.
Räisänen,
Heikki, Beyond New Testament Theology, Philadelphia:
Trinity Press International, 1990.
Richardson,
Alan, An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament,
London: SCM, 1958.
Robinson,
John A. T., The Body: A Study in Pauline Theology, London:
SCM, 1952.
Rosner,
Brian S. (editor), Understanding Paul’s Ethics:
Twentieth-Century Approaches, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Sanders,
E. P., Jesus and Judaism, London: SCM, 1985.
Schnackenburg,
Rudolf, Jesus in the Gospels: A Biblical Christology,
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995.
Smith,
D. Moody, The Theology of the Gospel of John, Cambridge
University Press, 1995.
Stendahl,
Krister, Paul among Jews and Gentiles and other essays,
Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976.
Swartley,
Willard M. (editor), The Love of Enemy and Nonretaliation in
the New Testament, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1992.
Thielman,
Frank, Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach, Downers
Grove: IVP, 1994.
Thompson,
Marianne Meye, The God of the Gospel of John, Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
Travis,
Stephen H., I Believe in the Second Coming of Jesus,
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1982.
Witherington,
Ben, The Christology of Jesus, Philadelphia: Fortress,
1990.
Witherington,
Ben, The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth,
Downers Grove: IVP, 1995.
Wright,
N. T., The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in
Pauline Theology, Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991.
Wright,
N. T., The New Testament and the People of God,
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Wright,
N. T., Jesus and the Victory of God, Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1996.
Ziesler,
John, Pauline Christianity (revised edition), New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990.
Additional
information and updated bibliography will be provided throughout
the course at: http://www.oocities.org/jamesfrankmcgrath/alliance_nt_theology/
http://www.religion-online.org
Includes complete text of entire books and articles by important scholars such as Childs, Bultmann, Jeremias, and many others.
Resources for New Testament Studies
Articles on New Testament topics
Internet Theology Resources: Scripture
Internet Resources for the Study and Teaching of Theology
Daniel Wallace’s Home Page
Books by Loisy and other NT scholars
Resources relating to the historical Jesus, New Testament background, and similar subjects
http://www.bakeru.edu/html/faculty/gwiley/nonviolence%20hays.htm
The professor may be contacted
at any time with further questions about the class, the web site,
bibliography, term paper, or any other related matters at: