NEW TESTAMENT

BNEW 112

HARDING UNIVERSITY

Summer II 2009

 

8:00-10:15        M-F     MCIN 350

 

Instructor: Dr. K. Stanglin

Office phone: 279-4620

Email: kstanglin@harding.edu

Websites: www.harding.edu/kstanglin and www.facebook.com

Office hours: by appointment, MCIN 209

Office phone and email should suffice for class business. 

 

Course Description (from catalog):

The beginnings of Christianity from the birth of the Christ to the close of the first century. Selected passages from the gospels, Acts, and the epistles are studied to present Christ, His mission, His message, and His church.

 

Course Objectives:

In light of the university’s mission and objectives, the student who successfully completes this course will be able to:

 

1. List the NT books in correct canonical order.

2. Give an intelligible, accurate, and chronological account of the major events of the NT.

3. Grasp and articulate the occasional nature of the NT.

4. State the major theological themes of the NT (God, Creation, Fall, Redemption in Christ through community, Eschaton as new creation), and be able to locate passages that illustrate these important themes.

5. Describe the overall themes and purpose of each book.

6. Responsibly interpret and apply passages of the NT, using it as a reliable guide in faith and morals.

7. Study the NT in more depth beyond this course.

 

 

Required Course Textbook:

Bible.  I prefer that you use either the NIV, TNIV, NASB, or NRSV.  Study Bibles are best.  Bring your Bible to each class meeting.

 

Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend classes regularly.  In the event of illness, family emergency, a school-sponsored activity, or an extenuating circumstance, it is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor as soon as possible of the reason for the absence.  A doctor’s note is required for excusing personal illness.  Print a hard copy for my records.  N.B.: Three tardies are equivalent to one unexcused absence.

 

Since this is a semester-long, lecture-based class that is being condensed into a summer session, regular attendance is crucial to your success.  After one unexcused absence, each additional unexcused absence will deduct five points from one’s final average.  A student with four unexcused absences will be dropped from the course with a “WF” on the transcript (= Withdrawn, Failing).

 

Students with Disabilities:

It is the policy for Harding University to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law.  Therefore, any student with a documented disability condition (e.g. physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations, must contact the instructor and TRIO Student Support Services at the beginning of each semester.  (If the diagnosis of the disability occurs during the academic year, the student must self-identify with the Disabilities Director as soon as possible in order to get academic accommodations in place for the remainder of the semester.)  The TRIO Student Support Services office is located in Room 109 of the Lee Academic Center, telephone, (501) 279-4028.

 

Academic Honesty:

Harding University places a high priority on honesty and a biblical commitment to truth.  Incidents of cheating, plagiarism, or any other activities deemed dishonest will result in penalties.  These penalties may range from receiving a zero (0%) on the assignment to failing the course or dismissal from the school.  (According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, to “plagiarize” is to steal and use as one’s own the ideas, words, etc., of another.)

 

For more information on plagiarism, as well as helpful tips on library research, please go to http://quest.harding.edu/trek/choices.htm

 

Classroom Expectations and Decorum:

I expect all students to behave in a Christian manner in and out of the classroom.  Make sure all cell phones are turned off.  Do not even bring them on test or quiz days.  Do not eat food in the classroom. Only drinks in spill-proof containers are allowed in class.  If you make a mess, it is your responsibility to clean it up or pay for it to be cleaned.

 

Class will be dismissed when I finish, not necessarily when the bell rings.

 

Course Requirements (N.B.: The course requirements and course schedule are subject to change):

 

1. Every student should carefully (re-)read the select New Testament chapters by or before the time indicated in the course schedule, as well as the required outside readings.  On the final exam, you will be asked to sign a statement indicating how much you actually read.

 

Each day you should be prepared to participate in and contribute to the class discussion of these texts.  I will call students by name to summarize portions of the readings due each day.  This will be considered a daily participation grade.  20 pts.

 

2. The student should keep a notebook containing all lecture notes and handouts.  Your notes supplement the study guides for tests.  Study guides will appear on my website the day before each test.

 

3. Quiz 1 will cover principles of NT interpretation and Witherington, The New Testament Story, “The Tools and the Text,” and “The Selection, Collection, and Rejection of Texts” (on reserve).  40 pts.  (Bring your own #2 pencils for use on quizzes and tests.)

 

4. Quiz 2 will cover the background and world of the NT and “Brief Historical Background to the NT,” at http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/History1.htm.  60 pts.

 

5. You will be quizzed on your ability to list—in correct order and with correct spelling—the 27 books of the NT.  The quiz will be worth 50 points.  If you have more than two books out of order OR more than five spelling errors total, you must re-take the quiz, but this time for 45 points maximum.  A third and final attempt would be worth only 35 points maximum.  If this final attempt is unsuccessful, you will receive a zero.

 

6. Four tests will cover the noted sections of NT readings and lecture material.  Memory work relevant to each section will be included on the tests as well.  400 pts. (Test 1 = 75 pts.  Tests 2 and 3 = 100 pts. each.  Test 4/Final = 125 pts.)

 

7. Based on your reading of Paul’s letters, write a paper on Paul’s ethical teachings.  What is the basis of his ethics?  How does he convince his audience?  What is the purpose of ethical living?  How does it compare with Jesus’ teachings, and with the teachings in churches today?  Give concrete examples throughout.  Due on 7/16.  50 pts.

 

8. After choosing a passage from a NT book, prepare a detailed, word-processed devotional outline that emphasizes a particular theme from that book.  This is an individual assignment that should be at least one page in length.  It should be focused on explaining a select passage of Scripture and applying it to life.  It is due on 7/23 or may be turned in any time before its due date, preferably after the class has studied the book you use.  Evaluation criteria: Creativity, faithfulness to the message of the text, English style.  50 pts.

 

Make-up Policy:

A test may be made up if the absence is excused (see “Attendance Policy” above).  Contact or see me as soon as possible to arrange it.  All make-up tests will be entirely essay format.  There will be no make-ups for unexcused absences.

 

Total points: 670

 

Grading Scale:      90-100% = A              70-79% = C                0-59% = F

                        80-89% = B                60-69% = D

 

Course Schedule:

Wk. 1

M, 6/29                       Introduction.  Syllabus.

 

T, 6/30                                    Interpreting NT.  Read Witherington, The New Testament Story, pp. 3-27, and 96-104 (on reserve in library).

                                               

W, 7/1                         Quiz 1                         World of the NT.  Read “Brief Historical Background to the NT,” at http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/History1.htm

                                   

R, 7/2                          Quiz 2            I. Gospels. 

                                   

F, 7/3                          Mt. 5-6, 17, 22-23, 27-28                   

                                   

Wk. 2

M, 7/6                         Books Quiz    Mk. 1-16

 

T, 7/7                          Lk. 1-2, 4, 12, 15-16, 18, 24

 

W, 7/8                         Test 1                                     

                                   

R, 7/9                          Jn. 1, 6, 10, 14-17, 20 

 

F, 7/10                        II. Acts.  Ac. 1-2, 5, 9, 15-17, 22, 26-28

 

Wk. 3

M, 7/13                       Test 2

 

T, 7/14                        III. Pauline Epistles.  Rom. 1-3, 6, 12

 

W, 7/15                       1 Cor. 6, 13, 15; 2 Cor. 4-5, 12; Gal. 3

 

R, 7/16                        Ethics Paper due.  Eph. 2-4; Phil. 2; Col. 1; Philemon

 

F, 7/17                        Test 3            

 

Wk. 4

M, 7/20                       1 Thess. 3-4; 2 Thess. 2; 1 Tim. 1, 4

 

T, 7/21                                    2 Tim. 2; Tit. 2

 

W, 7/22                       IV. General Epistles. Heb. 2, 11-12; Js. 1, 4

 

R, 7/23                        1 Pet. 1; 2 Pet. 1, 3; 1 Jn. 3; 2-3 Jn.; Jude

 

F, 7/24                                    V. Revelation.  Rev. 1, 5-6, 22

Test 4 (Final Exam)              

 

Memory Verses (from NIV): Mt. 22:37-40; 28:18-20; Mk. 8:36-37; 10:45; Lk. 2:52; 4:16-19; Jn. 1:1-5; 20:30-31; Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:11-16; Phil. 2:3-11; Col. 1:15-20; 1 Tim. 4:12; Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 2:14-15; Js. 4:17; 1 Pet. 1:22-25; 2 Pet. 3:8-10; 1 Jn. 1:6-9; 2 Jn. 9; Jude 3; Rev. 6:9-11.

Bibliography

 

Blomberg, Craig L. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1987.  Apologetic piece defending the historicity of the gospels against modern skeptics.

 

            . Jesus and the Gospels. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1997.  Introductory survey.

 

Burge, Gary M., et al. The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament within Its Cultural Contexts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.

 

Carson, Donald A., Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.  Critical introductory issues from evangelical perspective.

 

Chilton, Bruce. Beginning New Testament Study. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.  Introductory.

 

Cruden, Alexander. Cruden’s Complete Concordance to the Old and New Testaments. Philadelphia: Universal Book and Bible House, 1930.  Any good concordance will do the job.

 

Elwell, Walter A. and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.

 

Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis. Rev. ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993.  Instruction on basic and technical points of interpreting the NT text.

 

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

 

Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. Garden City: Doubleday. 1992.

 

            . Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

 

Jeffers, James S. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999.

 

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

 

Ladd, George Eldon. A Theology of the New Testament. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.  Primary theological issues of the NT from an evangelical perspective.

 

Moule, C. F. D. The Birth of the New Testament. New York: Harper and Row, 1962. 

 

Robertson, A. T. A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1922.  Parallel texts of the gospels in English.

 

Tenney, Merrill C. New Testament Survey. Rev. Walter M. Dunnett. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985.  Classic survey of the NT from a conservative, evangelical perspective.

 

Witherington, Ben, III. The New Testament Story. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.