NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY BIB 1023 SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Darryl J. Schafer Spring 2012 SJC, Room C; dschafer@sbuniv.

.edu I. COURSE GOALS New Testament History is offered for the purpose of surveying the New Testament. It is designed to introduce the student to the historical background of the New Testament, beginning with the precursors to Second Temple Judaism. Special attention will be given to the religious and social worlds of the Mediterranean people of the first century. Critical issues concerning the New Testament writings, as well as the literary development of the New Testament, will warrant careful consideration. An emphasis on the proper principles of interpreting scripture will help the student appreciate the message of Gods Word. II. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1) Identify significant political, social, and religious events that led to the development of Second Temple Judaism. 2) Describe the Greco-Roman world of the first century. 3) Identify the social convictions of the Mediterranean world. 4) Describe the development of the New Testament canon and text. 5) Identify the major critical methods of New Testament studies. 6) Summarize the content of the Gospels and Acts. 7) Identify the major issues addressed in the Pauline and Catholic Letters. 8) Describe the distinctive features of apocalyptic literature and summarize the content of Johns Revelation. III. REQUIRED TEXTS Elwell, Walter A. and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005. The New Testament (preferably the New American Standard Version). IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Attendance A student may not miss more than 20% of the class days (three absences) and receive a passing grade. Any student missing more than three classes meetings will automatically fail the course. For guidelines concerning

student absences, please refer to pp. 5758 of your SBU Student Handbook. Exams Four exams will be given over the course of the term. There will be three unit exams and the final exam. Each exam will cover material taken from class lectures and class discussion only. The final exam will not be comprehensive. Consult the class schedule for exam dates. Exams and quizzes will be taken in class and must be taken on the day they are scheduled, barring extraordinary circumstances (with proper documentation upon request). Weekly quizzes Pop quizzes over the assigned reading may be given every class meeting. Disability Students with learning disabilities must inform me of their special circumstances during the first week of class. It is the desire of SBU to provide all students with the optimum learning environment. Therefore, special assistance will be available to all students needing help. V. COURSE EVALUATION Each examination will be worth 20% of the final grade. The daily quizzes will comprise 20% of the final grade. The grading scale will be: A B C D F VI. CLASS SCHEDULE 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/1 Introduction ENT: 6976, 8796, 107116 Gospel of Mark, Gospel of John ENT: 169179, 7786, 97106 Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Luke EXAMINATION 1 ENT: 193250 Acts ENT: 253296 Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians 90 100 80 89 70 79 60 69 below 60

3/8 3/15 3/22 3/29 4/5 4/12 4/19 4/26 5/3 5/10 5/17 VII. COURSE OUTLINE

ENT: 296316 Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians EXAMINATION 2 No class! Spring Break! ENT: 316334 Colossians, Philemon, 1 and 2 Thessalonians ENT: 334344 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus ENT: 347360 Hebrews, James EXAMINATION 3 ENT: 361366, 370372 1 and 2 Peter, Jude ENT: 366370, 373374 1 John, 2 John, 3 John ENT: 375393 Revelation FINAL EXAMINATION

1) Introduction: Five ways to study the Bible 2) Exilic Period and Second Temple Judaism (586-4 B.C.): Political, Social, Religious world (the birth of Judaism) a) b) c) d) e) Babylonian Exile (586-539 B.C.) Persian Restoration (539-333 B.C.) Greek Hellenization (333-164 B.C.) Hasmonean Dynasty (164-63 B.C.) Roman Rule (63-4 B.C.)

3) New Testament Era (4 B.C. A.D. 100): Political, Social, Religious world a) Imperial Rule: Octavians reign b) The Herodian Dynasty (37 B.C. A.D. 70)

c) 1st and 2nd Jewish Wars d) Social convictions of the Mediterranean world (Honor/Shame, Kinship, Purity, Patronage) e) Religious Options: Imperial Cult, Greco-Roman Pantheon, Mystery Religions, Magic, Philosophies (Stocism, Epicureanism, Cynicism) 4) Critical Study of the N.T. a) The development of the Greek N.T., critical editions, English translations b) The history of the N.T. canon c) Bible study methods: source, form, redaction, and literary criticism 5) The N.T. Literature (application of critical methods and hermeneutics) a) The gospels b) Acts of the Apostles (Jerusalem/Jewish Christianity and Antioch/Gentile Christianity) c) The Pauline corpus d) The Catholic letters e) The Revelation of John VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bruce, F.F. The Book of the Acts (Revised). The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988. Capes, David B., Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to his World, Letters and Theology. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2007. Cohen, Shaye J.D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Vol. 7 of The Library of Early Christianity. Edited by Wayne A. Meeks. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1987. Metzger, Bruce M. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. Talbert, Charles H. The Apocalypse: A Reading of the Revelation of John. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. Wilder, Terry L., J. Daryl Charles, and Kendell Easley. Faithful to the End: An Introduction to Hebrews through Revelation. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2007.