SYLLABUS
NT102 (SemPM): Acts and Paul Thorsten Moritz
Winter 2006 Bethel Seminary
Jan 9 – March 20 Phone: 651 635 8638
Mod R1: Mondays 5:30-7:30 pm E-mail:
Office location: A202
TA: Holly Feia ()
Office hours after classes or by individual negotiation
Acts and the Pauline Letters
Course Description:
A selective literary, social and especially theological study of the backgrounds and texts of Acts and the Letters of Paul. It has to be selective not only because of the amount of textual material contained in these writings, but also because the course aims to employ a range of methodological tools. It begins with a brief look at Luke’s Gospel, without which Acts cannot be understood properly. The two are volumes of the same book. Weeks one to four of this course are 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. This leads to six weeks about Paul’s unique or central contribution to the theology and life of early Christianity. Is it his discussion of Christ and the Law? Or his understanding of the re-defined people of God? The whole course is held together by arguing that both Acts and Paul are especially interested in this last point: What does Jesus mean for God’s people and the world?
Learning 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 exegetical understanding of selected passages against the wider 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 towards sound appropriations of the selected Biblical texts for today’s Christian communities
Attendance:
Attendance is required at all sessions. Where someone misses more than one session, assessed compensatory work will normally be required. Such additional grades can only confirm the course grade or pull it down, not up.
Text Books (See also under 'Class Schedule'):
Powell, M. What are they saying about Acts? (Paulist 1992)
Witherington, B. The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Eerdmans 1997)
There is no separate text book for Paul, largely because Acts is the canvas against which the portrait and letters of Paul in the NT need to be interpreted. Witherington’s text book especially serves as background for both Acts and Paul.
Selective suggestions (though no endorsements by TM) for further reading:
(For a list of commentaries on Paul's letters see Schreiner's Interpreting the Pauline Epistles, pp165-167. For a list of recommended literature on Luke-Acts see Green & McKeever)
Ascough, Richard What Are They Saying About The Formation of Pauline Churches (Paulist Press 1998)
Banks, R. Paul's Idea of Community (Hendrickson 1994)
Bruce, F. F. The Book of Acts (Eerdmans 1988)
Cassidy, R. Society and Politics in the Acts of the Apostles (Orbis 1987)
Donaldson, T. L. Paul and the Gentiles (Fortress 1997)
Dunn, J. D. G. Baptism in the Holy Spirit (SCM 1975)
------Jesus and the Spirit (SCM 1975)
------The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Eerdmans 1998)
Furnish, V. Jesus According to Paul (Cambridge 1993)
Green, J. & McKeever, M.C. Luke-Acts & the New Testament Historiography (Baker 1994)
Hengel, M. Earliest Christianity (SCM 1979)
------The Pre-Christian Paul (SCM 1991)
-----& Schwemer, A. M. Paul Between Damascus and Antioch (SCM 1979)
Jervell, J. Luke and the People of God (Augsburg 1972)
Johnson, E.E. & Hay, D.M. Pauline Theology—Volume IV—Looking Back, Pressing On (Scholars 1997)
Liefeld, W. Interpreting The Book of Acts (Baker 1996)
Maddox, R. The Purpose of Luke-Acts (T&T Clark 1982)
Marshall, I. Howard Tyndale New Testament Commentary – Acts. (Eerdmans 1980)
Marshall, I.H. & Peterson, D. Witness to the Gospel—The Theology of Acts (Eerdmans 1998)
Menzies, R. The Development of Early Christian Pneumatology with Special Reference to Luke-Acts (Sheffield 1991)
Parson, M.C. The Departure of Jesus in Luke-Acts (Sheffield 1987)
Sanders, E.P. Paul and Palestinian Judaism (Fortress 1977)
Schreiner, T. Interpreting the Pauline Epistles. (Baker 1990)
Witherington, B. The Paul Quest (Intervarsity Press 1998)
Segal, A.F. Paul the Convert (Yale 1990)
Squires, J.T. The Plan of God in Luke-Acts (Cambridge 1993)
Thielmann, F. A Contextual Approach—Paul and the Law (IVP 1994)
Tyson, J.B. (ed.) Luke-Acts and the Jewish People (Augsburg 1988)
Wenham, D. Paul—Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? (Eerdmans 1995)
Witherington, B. History, Literature and Society in the Book of Acts (Cambridge 1996)
Wright, N.T. What Saint Paul Really Said (Lion 1997)
Additional bibliographies:
Annotated lists are conveniently found in the following:
· Marshall, I. H., The Acts of the Apostles (Sheffield Academic Press 1992) pp9-11
· Powell, M. A., What are they saying about Acts? (Paulist 1991) pp138-147
· Schreiner, T. R., Interpreting the Pauline Epistles (Baker 1990) pp165-167
Course Requirements:
There will be two quizzes and one written research paper. For submission dates see below (Class Schedule).
The quizzes are about understanding, not factual so-called ‘objective’ knowledge. What is required is not extensive memorization of data, but a critical up-to-date awareness of the questions, problems, possibilities, concepts, solutions etc. raised during the course and in the reading. The quizzes seems small, but they test a lot – hence the equal weighting with the research paper.
The written research paper must be fully referenced (footnotes and bibliography). It must be analytical ('Why does the content/data present itself in this way to me?'), not purely descriptive ('This is the content/data'). The footnotes are included in the word count, the bibliography is not. The word count must not be exceeded by more than 10% (For the sake of equity I will stop reading at that point). Please specify the computerized total word count at the end. The amount and length of your footnotes must be broadly in line with one of the accepted academic conventions. Check some journals such as New Testament Studies or Journal of Biblical Literature if you are unsure. Talk to the librarians – they’ve got lots of helpful and necessary resources. Make sure to interact with a range of scholars and scholarly opinions, especially the required reading. Where appropriate, support your arguments with references to the Biblical text. Chapter and verse suffices, usually no quotations are needed! The same applies to use of scholarly texts – summary of argument and page number usually suffices. Only include items in the bibliography, which are actually used and referred to in the text.
· Quiz 1 (30 min.): Covers your reading of Luke and Acts and the teaching in class up to this point.
· Research paper: Read all of Paul’s Letters and Acts and a selection (perhaps 5-7 items or so incl. the relevant text book) of pertinent scholarly literature and write a 2000 word research paper exploring whichever topic from the following list will be assigned to you in class:
1. Does Paul’s theology have a center? (How can we know? What are the challenges inherent in determining if he has a center and what it might be?)
2. What is Luke's view in Acts of the benefits of the Holy Spirit for God's People? (Analyze in relation to Israel's expectations – do not just describe what the Spirit does in Acts!)
3. How should we understand the relationship between 1 & 2 Corinthians? (Explain the story which led to the writing of these two letters and their theological content. Also why this matters for interpreting the two letters.)
4. Should the life and experience of the early church as expounded in Acts be determinative for contemporary christianity? (Explain some key features of the life of the early church and use them to illustrate your conlusion re. the title question.
5. Does Paul’s chronology need to be reconstructed to aid in the interpretation of his letters? (Explain whether our understanding of Paul’s theology will [and should] be affected by our understanding of how his Christian life unfolded year after year. Give specific examples why it does or does not matter.)
· Quiz 2 (30 min.): Covers your reading of the text books and the teaching in class up to this point.
Grading and submission:
All assignments to be weighted equally. Students will get a letter grade on each assignment. Please submit a hard copies (this applies to both the quizzes and the paper) to me at the beginning(!!) of the class in which it is due. Where a quiz or paper is late 'F' is normally awarded. No extensions given. Try to have your material ready well before the submission date so that the notion of an extension becomes irrelevant.
Assessment criteria:
In addition to students having to meet due dates and use correct English, the table below offers general criteria for grade levels. It is important in the presentation not just to demonstrate good understanding, but also the ability to communicate it to others. Here are the main criteria for grading all assessed work:
A / Excellent 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; positive contributions verbalized in class; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. High level of analytical thinking. Optimal communicative success in assignmentsB / Good work submitted; substantial evidence of ability to analyze and utilize course knowledge; positive contributions verbalized in class; and consistency and thoroughness of work submitted. Mix of analytical and descriptive thinking. Communicates very well (orally and in writing)
C / Satisfactory performance and thoroughness of work submitted; moderate evidence of ability to utilize knowledge of the subject. Mediocre class contribution. Largely descriptive.
D / Poor performance in comprehension of work submitted; and meets minimal credit standard of the professor.
F / Inadequacy of work submitted or performance and attendance in class.
The grade of F may be superseded by a second grade when the student retakes the course. The first F remains on the transcript but is removed from computation of the grade point average.
I / Incomplete (granted in emergency situations only).
Class Schedule
Luke and Acts need to be read in time for the first quiz. The text books need to be read in time for the second quiz. It is each student's responsibility to select weekly portions of reading in a way that ties in most meaningfully with the topics laid out below (though there is no easy 1:1 correlation).
Session / Topic / Assignments/due dates for the weekWeek 1 / · Introduction to Luke-Acts / · Read: Luke's Gospel
· Read Powell
Week 2 / · Pentecost and the Spirit (Acts 2) / · Read: Acts
· Read Powell
Week 3 / · The Christology of Luke-Acts / · Re-read: Acts 1 – 15
· Read Powell
Week 4 / · The Gentile Mission and the Apostolic Council (Acts 10 - 11) / · Read: Galatians
· Read Witherington
Week 5 / · The Gentile Mission and the Apostolic Council (Acts 15) /
· Quiz 1 (take-home – due at the beginning of class next week)
· Read: 1 & 2 Corinthians· Read Witherington
Week 6 / · The theological sociology of the Pauline Churches / · Read: Philippians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians
· Read Witherington
Week 7 / · Paul, the Law and faith in Christ / · Read: Read Romans
· Read Witherington
Week 8 / · Intro to Romans / · Read 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon
· Read Witherington
Week 9 / · Exegesis of Romans 9 - 11 / · Written paper due by the beginning of this week’s class session
· Quiz 2 (take-home – due at the beginning of class next week)
· Read: Read Ephesians & Colossians
Week 10 / · Understanding Ephesians /
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