Introduction to the New Testament (2015 Boccaccini), course

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Portrait of James, the brother of Jesus
Portrait of Peter (Reni, 1600)
Portrait of Paul of Tarsus (Ravenna, ca.500)
Portrait of Mark the Evangelist (Reni, 1621)
Portrait of Matthew the Evangelist (Rembrandt, 1661)
Portrait of Luke the Evangelist (Pontormo, 1526)
Portrait of Thomas the Evangelist
Portrait of John the Evangelist (Nesterov, 1909)
Portrait of Stephen
Philip the Evangelist
The Ethiopian Eunuch
Cornelius the Centurion
Portrait of Barnabas
Portrait of Lydia
Portrait of Priscilla & Aquila
Portrait of Onesimus
Portrait of John of Patmos
Portrait of Ignatius of Antioch
Portrait of Polycarp of Smyrna
Portrait of Thecla
Portrait of Titus
Portrait of Timothy


<The updated 2016 version is available at Introduction to the New Testament (2016 Boccaccini), course>

Introduction to the New Testament is a course offered by Gabriele Boccaccini at the University of Michigan in the Winter 2015.

Description

The course offers an Introduction to the Early Christian Literature and the development of the Early Christian movement from the death of Jesus of Nazareth until the mid-2nd Century.

The approach is historical and chronological and no distinction is made between "canonical" and non-canonical" literature. The New Testament documents are studied alongside with the writings of the Apostolic Fathers and the New Testament Apocrypha, The development of the early Church is illustrated in the diversity of its components.

Christianity is presented originally as a Jewish messianic movement which grew up out of the diverse world of Second Temple Judaism to gradually parting, after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70, from the other major Jewish movements of the time--Hellenistic Judaism and the nascent Rabbinic movement.

Syllabus

  • Meeting Place: Aud C (Angell Hall)
  • Readings: The New Testament" (New Revised Standard Version of the Bible), and the "Apostolic Fathers" (texts are available online). If you like to purchase a printed copy: The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader by Bart D. Ehrman (2003), or The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha by Bruce M. Metzger (1991) (available at www.amazon.com)
  • Text-Book: The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, by Bart D. Ehrman, 4th (2007) or 5th (2011) editions (available at www.amazon.com)
  • GSIs: Vahe Sahakyan and Michail Kitsos

General Introduction

(1) Wed Jan 7, 2015 – General Introduction. What is the New Testament? (I)

(2) Fri Jan 9, 2015 – What is the New Testament? (II) Do We Have the Original New Testament?

Part 1 – From Jewish Messianism to Early Christology

(3) Mon Jan 12, 2015 – The Founder of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth

  • Documentary: “From Jesus to Christ” (I) [Frontline, PBS 1998]
  • Text-Book: “The Historical Jesus: Sources, Problems, and Methods”
  • Website: Jesus of Nazareth

(4) Wed Jan 14, 2015 - The Beginnings of the Church at Jerusalem. The Earliest Christian Message: Jesus is the Messiah and the Forgiver of sins. The First Leaders: The family and the Disciples; James, Peter, and John.

(5) Fri Jan 16, 2015 - The relations with the other Jewish groups (Pharisees and Sadducees) and the diversity of early Church (Hebrews and Hellenists) Christianity as a Jewish Messianic Movement.

[ Mon Jan 19, 2015 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no class) ]

(6) Wed Jan 21, 2015 - The first Baptism of Gentiles. Peter and Cornelius

Part 2 – The Jesus Movement as a Jewish Messianic Sect; or, From the Death of Jesus to the Destruction of the Jerusalem (30-70 CE)

(7) Fri Jan 23, 2015 – After the Death of Jesus. The Traditions of Jesus in Their Greco-Roman Context.

  • Documentary: “From Jesus to Christ” (II) [Frontline, PBS 1998]
  • Text-Book: “The World of Early Christian Traditions”; and “The Traditions of Jesus in Their Greco-Roman Context”.

(8) Mon Jan 26, 2015 – Paul: His "conversion" and First Missionary Journey with Barnabas The Challenges of the Hellenistic Environment From Jerusalem to Asia Minor and Greece (Acts of Apostles 13-19)

(9) Wed Jan 28, 2015 - Who are and What Happened to other Church Leaders?

(10) Fri Jan 30, 2015 - Paul's Second Missionary Journey

(11) Mon Feb 2, 2015 – First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. Christ’s Second Coming.

(12) Wed Feb 4, 2015 – First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. A Crisis in the Church. Moral Teachings.

  • Website: 1 Corinthians
  • Reading: 1 Corinthians -- Text-Book: “1 Corinthians”

(13) Fri Feb 6, 2015 – Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

  • Website: 2 Corinthians
  • Reading: 2 Corinthians -- Text-Book: “2 Corinthians”

< First Mid-Term (Fri Feb 13, 2015) during discussion sessions >

Part 3 -- Three Different Christian Trajectories: Paul, James, Peter

(14) Mon Feb 9, 2015 – the Council of Jerusalem Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Christ and the Jewish Law.

(15) Wed Feb 11, 2015 – Paul’s Letter to the Romans (I): Salvation by Faith.

  • Reading: Romans
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to Paul”

(16) Fri Feb 13, 2015 – Paul’s Letter to the Romans (II): The Role of Jews and Judaism.

  • Reading: Romans
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to Paul”

(17) Mon Feb 16, 2015 – The Letter of James. Salvation by Works, not by Faith only.

  • Website: see James
  • Reading: Letter of James.
  • Text-Book: “The Epistle of James”; and “Paul and James”.

(18) Wed Feb 18, 2015 – The First Letter of Peter. The Role of Mediation of the Head of the Twelve.

  • Website: see Peter
  • Reading: 1 Peter
  • Text-Book: “The Letter of 1 Peter”

(19) Fri Feb 20, 2015 – Paul' Last Visit to Jerusalem: His arrest

(20) Mon Feb 23, 2015 – Paul’s in Caesarea and His Last Journey to Rome.

(21) Wed Feb 25, 2015 – Paul’s Christology: Letter to Philippians. Jesus, the Obedient Adam.

(22) Fri Feb 27, 2015: Paul’s Social Message: Letter to Philemon The Problem of slavery and social injustice.

  • Website: see Onesimus, and Slavery
  • Reading: Philemon
  • Text-Book: “Philemon”

[ Mar 2-6, 2015 – Winter Recess, No classes ]

(23) Mon Mar 9, 2015 – After the Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple

  • Documentary: “From Jesus to Christ” (III) [Frontline, PBS 1998]

(24) Wed Mar 11, 2015 – The Gospel of Mark Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man. The Apocalyptic Messiah and the Eschatological Judge.

  • Reading: The Gospel of Mark
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to Mark” & “Jesus, the Apocalyptic Prophet”

(25) Fri Mar 13, 2015 – The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke The Jewish Messiah: Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of David, the new Moses.

  • Reading & Website: Gospel of Matthew
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to Matthew”
  • Reading & Website: Gospel of Luke
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to Luke”

Part 4 – Solving the Christological Problem; or, From the Destruction of the Temple to the End of the First Century (70-100 CE)

(26) Mon Mar 16, 2015 – The Letter to the Hebrews. The Son of Man is Far Above the Angels.

[ (27) Wed Mar 18, 2015 – 2nd Midterm (in lecture class)]

(28) Fri Mar 20, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of Paul. 2 Thessalonians – Colossians – Ephesians. The Delay of the End and the Divinity of the Son. The Deutero-Pauline Epistles (2 Thessalonians; Colossians; Ephesians).

(29) Mon Mar 23, 2015 – The Letter of Barnabas. An Anti-Jewish Christianity? The Theology of Supersession. The Rise of Christian Anti-Seminitism.

(30) Wed Mar 25, 2015 – The Gospel of Thomas. A non-Jewish Christianity? The Challenge of Gnosticism.

  • Reading & Website: Gospel of Thomas
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel of Thomas” (ch 12 pp 201-207)

(31) Fri Mar 27, 2015 – The Gospel of John (I): The Divinity of the Christ-Logos

  • Reading & Website: Gospel of John
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to John”

(32) Mon Mar 30, 2015 – The Gospel of John (II): The role of the Holy Spirit in a Charismatic community

  • Reading & Website: Gospel of John
  • Text-Book: “The Gospel According to John”

Part 5 – Structuring the Church; or, The Early Second Century (100-150 CE)

(33) Wed Apr 1, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of John (I): 1, 2 &3 John, and the Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation.

[ Fri Apr 3, 2015 – Passover / Good Friday (no class) ]

(34) Mon Apr 6, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of John (II): The Apocalyptic message of the Book of Revelation./

  • Reading: Revelation (chs 4-22)
  • Text-Book: “The Revelation of John”

(35) Wed Apr 8, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of James (I): The Letter of Jude – The Didache.

  • Reading: Jude, and the Didache
  • Text-Book: “Jude,” and “The Didache”

(36) Fri Apr 10, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of James (II) The Jewish-Christian Gospels (Gospel of the Nazarenes; Gospel of the Ebionites; Gospel of the Hebrews) - The Shepherd of Hermas

(37) Mon Apr 13, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of Peter The Second Letter of Peter – The Gospel of Peter – The Apocalypse of Peter

(38) Wed Apr 15, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of Paul (I): The Persecution of the Early Christians - The Authority of the Bishop in the Church. The Seven Letters of Ignatius (Ephesians; Magnesians; Trallians; Romans; Philadelphias; Smyrneans; Polycarp) – The Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians – The Martyrdom of Polycarp; The Epistle of Clement.

(39) Fri Apr 17, 2015 – Continuing the Tradition of Paul (II): Strengthening the Authority of the Bishop - Downplaying the Role of Women. The Pastoral Epistles of Paul: 1 Timothy & 2 Timothy (NT), Letter of Paul to Titus (NT).

(40) Mon Apr 20, 2015 – After the New Testament. Summary and Conclusion.

Final Exam - TBA

Grading System and Requirements

[Read this section of the syllabus very carefully. The syllabus is like a contract between the student and the instructors, which we are all bound to respect.]

ATTENDANCE: The course is based on lectures, weekly discussion session, three written exams, and one paper. Regular attendance is mandatory. If you happen to miss a session, it is your responsibility to ask the Professor or the GSI or a class-mate for information about what was discussed in class. Students whose attendance is poor (that is, have missed 6-10 total classes, either lectures or discussion sessions, without justification) will see their final grade reduced by six percentage points. Students who do not attend the class regularly (that is, have missed more than 10 classes, either lectures or discussion sessions, without justification), or do not fulfill each and all the requirements of the course, will not be graded and will receive a NR report.

GRADING SYSTEM: The final grade is based on five elements (of which the last one is optional): (a) Participation: 10% -- (b) First Midterm: 10% -- (c) Second Midterm: 20% -- (d) Paper 20% – (e) Final exam: 40% -- (f) Re-taking of the first & second Exam (optional): possible increase

(a) Quality of participation in class and discussion sessions makes 10% of the final grade. The evaluation will be made conjunctly by the Professor and the GSIs on the basis of the student’s attention, comments, questions, commitment for an enjoyable environment, etc., as follows: Outstanding (100%) / Excellent (95%) / Very good (90%) / Good (85%) / Average (80%) / Poor (75%) / Very poor (70%) / Insufficient (65% or less)

(b-c) The two mid-term exams are a series of multiple-choice questions from the lectures and the textbooks. The results of the test will be discussed in class and in the discussion sessions. The grade is determined proportionally to the amount of questions correctly answered (unanswered questions are counted as incorrect), as follows:

  • A+ (100%-99%) / A (98%-93%) / A- (92%-90%)
  • B+ (89%-87%) / B (86%-82%) / B- (81%-80%)
  • C+ (79%-78%) / C (77%-75%) / C- (74%)
  • D+ (73%) / D (72%-71%) / D- (70%)
  • F (69% or less)

The first midterm exams (10% of the final grade) is a series of 50 questions about the contents of the first 10 lectures of the course . It is aimed to be a sort of preparation to the more important second mid-term and final exams. If your grade is F, you must submit a written petition (by e-mail) to the Professor and receive written permission (by e-mail) to continue the class, provided that your attendance is good. If you need or want to improve your grade, you may retake your exam, following the instructions below (f).

The second midterm exam (20% of the final grade) is a series of 100 questions (80 new questions about the contents of the second part of the course (i.e. lectures 11-25), plus 20 questions from the first midterm). No re-taking will be allowed, and no curve will be granted, under any circumstance. If your grade is F, you must submit a written petition (by e-mail) to your GSI and receive written permission (by e-mail) to continue the class, provided that your attendance is good. If you need or want to improve your grade, just followed the instructions below (f).

(d) As a written assignment (20% of your final grade), you have to pick up a scholarly book or a novel or play focusing on Paul of Tarsus or any of Apostles in the period after the death of Jesus (your choice must be pre-approved by your GSI) and write (by Apr 5, 2015) a (400-500 word) synopsis of its content, and a 1 or 2 page commentary on the use that book or novel or play made of NT sources and on the interpretation given to the events as compared to the presentation offered in the course,

  • A+ = 99% / A = 95% / A- = 91%
  • B+ = 87% / B = 84% / B- = 81%
  • C+ = 78% / C = 76% / C- = 74%
  • D+ = 73% / D = 72% / D- = 70%

Deserving students (with a B+ average or more) may write their paper with a special assignment under the direct supervision of the instructor.

The best summaries will be posted online in “4 Enoch: The Online Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism” <www.4enoch.org> under your name.

(e) The final exam (40% of the final grade) is a series of 150 multiple-choice questions aimed at a general review of the entire course: 100 new questions about the contents of all three parts of the course (but with special emphasis on the third and last part), plus 50 questions from the first two exams (15+35, respectively). The grading system will follow the same criteria as the midterm exams.

(f) [Optional] The Instructor’s goal is to help the deserving students, who may have some initial difficulties, to improve their grade. You may choose to retake your first and/or second exam. The questions will be the same, except for 5 new questions (in the first exam) or 10 new questions (in the second exam). Depending on your new grade, you will have an increase up to 8 points (if you get an A+), 6 points (A), 4 points (A-) or 2 points (B+) points (0 if you get B or less) on the grade of your exam. In no case your percentage can overcame 87%. No retake is allowed for the final exam.

NOTE: The use of personal electronic devices (lap-top, iPad, iPhone, etc.) is allowed in the classroom, ONLY for the special needs of students with disabilities. Individual students may be directed to turn off personal electronic devices if the devices are not being used for class purposes (and will receive an unexcused absence for the day). If the student does not comply, the student may be asked to leave the classroom (and a sanction of -30 points will be applied to their participation grade).

The College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts at the University of Michigan is a community in which personal responsibility, honesty, fairness, respect, and mutual trust are maintained. Students must behave honorably and take responsibility for their own actions. In addition, students are expected to take constructive action if they witness or are aware of behavior that violates the standards of academic integrity. Any student determined to have engaged in any form of academic dishonesty—including but not limited to plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized collaboration, and attendance forgery—will receive a zero on the assignment, and in particularly serious cases, a failing grade in the entire course. In accordance with University policy, all cases of misconduct will be reported to the Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education.

VERY IMPORTANT !! If you have any questions or something goes wrong, or you realize that your attendance is going to be poor or insufficient, please do not wait until the very last moment to express yourself. I will be always available to talk to you immediately after class or during my office hours or, if necessary, scheduling a meeting at a different time. We can find together a solution to (almost) every problem. But, please, don’t ask the impossible when there is no more time.


IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, NEVER BLAME OTHERS. BLAME NO ONE BUT YOURSELF.

IF YOU ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY, YOU ARE IN THE POSITION TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

WHATEVER OTHER PEOPLE’S FAILINGS MIGHT BE, YOU ARE THE ONE TO SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY.

THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.

REMAIN FOCUSED: YOUR GOAL IS TO LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN: ALL THE REST IS REALLY NOT IMPORTANT

!! BE SMART AND RESPONSIBLE: ENJOY THE CLASS !!

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