PHIL 206 (STOLZE)

Introductory Notes on the New Testament

A Key Distinction

• Bible Studies = devotional or ritual use of the Bible from the standpoint of committed faith

• Biblical Studies = study of the socio-historical background to, and the oral/literary formation of, the Bible from the standpoint of critical rational inquiry

Another Important Distinction

At the start we need to distinguish between historical questions (Who was Jesus of Nazareth? What did he teach? Why was he killed by the Romans?) and faith questions (Was Jesus the Son of God? Was Jesus the Messiah/Christ? Was Jesus raised by God from the dead, and did he appear to his followers?) in practice, however, the line between faith and history is blurry and always subject to disagreement.

Marcus Borg on Christianity as a Spiritual Path

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPmPsTAMZKM

Bruce Chilton and Deirdre Gooddiscuss their book Studying the New Testament

http://youtu.be/ndR0zm4ebEU

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The Long Trajectory of the New Testament

The Jesus Movement(s)

Oral Traditions in Aramaic

Oral Performances in Greek and Other Ancient Languages

Written Texts in Greek and Other Ancient Languages

Complete Gospels, Letters, etc.

Collections of Writings (e.g., the Gospels, Pauline Letters, and Catholic Epistles)

Formation of the New Testament

History of Translations into Latin and Modern Languages

Contemporary Reception

Books of the New Testament

27 Books:

Four Narratives of the Live of Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)One Narrative of the Earliest Christian Communities (The Book of Acts)Seven Letters likely written by Paul of Tarsus to specific communities or individuals (1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, Philemon,1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans)Seven Letters likely written by followers of Paul (2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians,1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews)Two Letters attributed to Peter (1 and 2 Peter)Two Wisdom Letters: James and JudeThree Letters attributed to John (1, 2, and 3 John)One Apocalyptic Work: The Book of Revelation

Six Anachronistic Assumptions about the New Testament

•Lack of attention to whole story/narrative.

•Separation of religion and politics.

•Religion is reduced to individual faith/belief.

•God is associated with religion but not politics and economics.

•Christianity is supposedly more universal than Judaism.

•Reality is reduced to what is natural and comprehensible by reason.

Canonical vs. Chronological New Testament

• Canonical = “the official ordering of the books in Church bibles”• Chronological = “the actual historical order in which these

books were written”• “Documents” vs. “Books”• What is the value of each approach? What are possible

problems with each approach?

The Threefold Historical Context of the New Testament

• The Context of Jesus and Early Christianity• The Context of Judaism• The Context of the Roman Empire

Earliest Memories of Yeshua/Jesus by His Followers

• Born c. 4 BCE during the reign of Herod the Great, and grew up in Nazareth• Baptized by John• Taught about the Kingdom of God• The Kingdom of God concerned the transformation of this world, both personally and

politically• Spoke primarily to a rural audience: peasants and manual laborers• Taught in parables• Healed and exorcized• Broke social boundaries• Thought by followers to be anointed by the Spirit of God• Went to Jerusalem c. 30 CE to celebrate Passover, created a disturbance at the Temple,

and was arrested and executed through the collaboration of Judean religious and Roman imperial authorities

• Experienced by his followers after his death and designated by such titles as “Lord”

The World Behind the Text

Who wrote what, to whom, when, where, why, and how?• Authorial criticism (who)• Textual criticism (what)• Audience criticism (to whom)• History of religion and social-scientific criticism (when and

where)• Functional analysis (why)• Source, redaction, and tradition criticism (how)

The World of the Text Itself

• Reader-response criticism• Rhetorical criticism• Narrative criticism• Genre studies• Intertextual readings• Canonical criticism

The World in Front of the Text

• Ideological criticism• Feminist criticism• Imperial-critical and postcolonial approaches• Reception history

Five Social Worlds of Jesus

• Rural Jewish Galilee• The Movement of John the Baptist (Baptizer)• The Towns Jesus Encountered as a Rabbi• The Rule of Herod Antipas• Deep Controversy concerning the Temple in

Jerusalem

Paul and His Letters• Sources for the life of Paul • Paul’s call (inaccurately called his “conversion”) to be an apostle• Where did Paul go and what did he do? (The urban context of his mission)• Paul’s five letters before his arrest

– 1 Thessalonians

– Galatians

– 1 and 2 Corinthians

– Romans

• Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem and his arrest• Paul’s two letters after his arrest

– Philemon

– Philippians

• Paul and same-sex relations (exercise 2 on pp. 86-88)

NT Sources for the Life of Paul – The seven “undisputed” letters– The Book of the Acts of the Apostles– 2 Peter 3:14-17: “Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for

these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability.”