NT501 New Testament Survey Spring, 2019 Gerry Wheaton gwheaton@gordonconwell.edu Course Dates Spring term: Jan 22 May 13, 2019 Module 2 weekend sessions (meeting on campus or Zoom on Saturdays only from 9 am- 3:15 pm): Feb 2, Mar 2, Mar 30 Course Description The purpose of New Testament Survey is to deepen students knowledge of the context, content, and theology of the New Testament and so to prepare them for subsequent coursework in which they will delve into more focused study of individual New Testament books and learn skills for robust interpretation of God s Word and appropriation of Scriptural teaching in ministry. Students will be introduced to select aspects of the cultural backgrounds of the New Testament, the history of the earliest Church, and the essential teaching of the New Testament and its Biblical Theological framework. Substantial emphasis will also be given to learning how to do basic research on a New Testament book or topic. This will be done using electronic resources. Learning outcome The primary goal of this course is to ground students more deeply in the New Testament for future study and ministry of the Word of God in whatever capacity they are called. Students will acquire essential knowledge of the content, context, and theology of the New Testament. Course components
Several different methods of instructions will be employed throughout the semester to introduce students to the content of the course in ways that serve and engage different learning styles. Saturday meetings We will meet on three Saturdays either on campus or virtually via Zoom. These meetings will be used for discussion of some of the most formative aspects of New Testament teaching as well as for instruction on how to do research for course projects. Mini-lectures Brief videos will be posted and made available to students during the semester as a supplement to other components of the course. These will introduce the various aspects of New Testament history and teaching. You will not be tested on this material. It is simply to aid your study. Full-length lectures (Podcasts) Longer-form content (audio recordings) will serve to ground students more deeply in matters of history, culture, and theology in order to facilitate their study of the New Testament for course projects. Students are responsible to listen to these presentations and study their essential content ahead of weekly quizzes which will draw on the big ideas from each presentation. Course reading The primary focus of reading in this course is the New Testament itself! Students will study a NT book each week ahead of a quiz that will focus on the essential content of this book. Students should read and re-read each book slowly and carefully, as though for the first time, observing the kinds of things described, discussed, reported, declared, etc. Supplementary to the study of each NT book will be the reading of one or more articles or book chapters on that NT book. This is specified in the schedule under Accompanying reading. For example, during week two, students will read and study the Gospel of Matthew. Under Accompanying reading, they will choose the article or chapter on Matthew s Gospel in one of the reference works listed (DJG, or Carson & Moo, or Hagner). This reading is meant to enhance your study of the Biblical book and/or the lecture topic for that week. Quiz questions will not be drawn directly from this reading, but students will be better prepared for the quizzes if they have invested the time to do this additional reading and reflection.
Weekly quizzes Weekly quizzes will evaluate students accumulated knowledge of each New Testament book. Multiple choice questions will NOT focus on interpretation ( What does Paul teach about justification? ) but, more basically, on the content of each NT book. The following questions are representative of what will appear on quizzes: - In which chapter of Matthew does Peter declare Jesus to be the Christ? (a) ch 4, (b) ch 16, (c) 20 - Jesus quotes Isa 29:13 ( This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me ) in which context? (a) the failure of the disciples to trust Jesus during the storm at sea, (b) the request of James and John to sit at Jesus side in his kingdom, (c) the conflict with the Pharisees over washing of hands, (d) the conflict with the Sadducees in the Temple - When in 1 Corinthians does Paul address the failures of the Corinthians regarding the Lord s supper? (a) in ch 10 following his discussion of meat offered to idols, (b) in ch 11 following his discussion of head coverings, (c) in ch 6 in connection with the presence of immoral believers in the congregation - Where in 1 Corinthians does Paul say, All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor? (a) ch 1, (b) ch 5, (c) ch 9, (d) ch 10 In addition to questions on the content of NT books (which will comprise the bulk of each week s quiz), a few multiple-choice questions will also be drawn from the lectures associated with each week. These questions will be of a general nature and will not assume detailed command of the subjects treated. The purpose is simply to ensure that students have listened to the lecture and made some effort to familiarize themselves with the basic contours of the material. Quizzes will be auto-graded, and students will be informed of their score immediately upon finishing the quiz. **Students will have the option to re-take their quiz if they believe their score does not accurately represent the preparation for the quiz or if they wish to do additional preparation for a higher score. Quizzes should be taken by 11:59 pm Saturday, each week. Those wishing to re-take a quiz have until 11:59 pm the following Monday to do so. It is strongly suggested that students not make a habit of taking quizzes on Monday since this will interfere with preparation for the next week s quiz. It is best to aim to take each quiz on Saturday and make a fresh start the following Monday on the new material for that week.
Team projects Students will be formed into teams of 5-6 people that will represent the primary learning vehicle for the course. Teams will execute several projects during the course aimed at appropriating and integrating the knowledge and study skills acquired in the course for real-world ministry challenges. The major projects to be executed by each team are: 1. Research papers for three New Testament books. These are meant to serve the needs of a discipleship program or Christian education program at a church. Instructions and due dates for these papers can be found on canvas. 2. Discipleship project: Due by the last day of the semester, each team will prepare a discipleship plan for a new church plant in an urban neighborhood. Details of the project will be supplied later in the semester. Teams may not begin work on this project prior to one month before the end of the semester. **A critical component of grades for team projects will be peer evaluations. After each project, each team member will evaluate the quality of work by each fellow team member according to a specific system. These scores will contribute to the grade given to individuals for the project in question. This means that one a single team, one team member may receive and A and another may receive a D, depending on the scores received from other team members. I will explain more about this when the time comes. Evaluations 30% Research papers 45% Weekly multiple-choice quizzes on the New Testament and recorded lectures 25% Discipleship project Canvas resources This course will be built around Canvas, an excellent learning management system that will contain all relevant information and tools for the various components of the course. Students will benefit by having the ios/android app on their phone (available in the App Store).
Headphones required! The success of our Saturday meetings will depend upon robust interaction between team members during breakout sessions. Since many students in the course will attend virtually, all students attending in-person will be required to bring a laptop computer and headphones with a microphone so that they can communicate with students attending virtually. This is a requirement for full participation in this course and your final grade depends, in part, upon the quality of your engagement with your fellow students during these break-out sessions. Reading material Required CJH Wright, The Mission of God's People: A Biblical Theology of the Church s Mission (Zondervan, 2010) ISBN-10: 0310291127 Anthony Thiselton, The Living Paul: An Introduction to the Apostle's Life and Thought, (IVP 2010) ISBN-10: 0830838813 Recommended N.T. Wright, After You Believe (HarperOne, 2012) ISBN-10: 0061730548 ISBN-13: 978-0061730542 Carl G. Rasmussen, Zondervan Essential Atlas of the Bible (Zondervan, 2013) ISBN-10: 0310318572 ISBN-13: 978-0310318576, OR, Carl G. Rasmussen, Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (rev. ed.; Zondervan, 2010) ISBN-10: 0310270502; ISBN-13: 978-0310270508 I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel (IVP, 2014) Joel Green and Lee Martin McDonald eds., The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts (Baker, 2013) ISBN-10: 0801039622 ISBN-13: 978-0801039621 Barnett, Paul. Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1999. Bruce Longenecker, The Lost Letters of Pergamum (2 nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016). ISBN-10: 0801097967
Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Penguin Books, 2016) ISBN-10: 0143108719
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professor. Formal petition to the Registration Office is not required in these cases. This includes arrangements for the rescheduling of final exams. However, course work (reading and written) to be submitted after the publicized end date for the semester or term must be approved by the Registration Office. An extension form, available online, must be submitted to the Registration Office prior to the stated date. Requests received after this date will either be denied or incur additional penalty. For a full discussion of this policy, please consult the Student Handbook. Grades Faculty are expected to turn in final grades by January 15 for fall-semester courses, by June 15 for spring-semester courses, and by September 15 for summer-term courses. Grades are posted on-line within twenty-four hours of receipt from the professor. Students are expected to check their CAMS student portal in order to access posted grades (unless instructed otherwise). Those individuals who need an official grade report issued to a third party should put their request in writing to the Registration Office.