Instructions for Completing

University Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999 (Faculty Senate Resolution #04–18, April 2004) (editorially revised 02-21-07)

Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.

1. Course Prefix and Number: PHIL 1696

February 1, 2008 2. Date:

3. Requested Action (check only one box): New Course x Revision of Active Course Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course

Renumbering of Existing Course #PHIL #RELI x to from: 1696 2696

4. Justification for new course or course revision or renumbering: As we work to rationalize our Religious Studies offerings, we have decided Introduction to Religion (RELI 1000) and and Introduction to World Religions (RELI 1690) should be the entry level foundation courses of our program, rather than this and related courses. Courses devoted to particular religions, like this one, will be at the 2000-level and above. The reason this course number is being changed from PHIL to RELI is that all religious studies courses taught under the PHIL prefix are being renumbered under the RELI prefix in order to promote program visibility and prepare for departmental status. This course is in response to the need to provide an understanding of religion in general and in response to student assessment showing that they need and want courses on religious studies. It will serve the mission of the university and the Harriot College of helping students discover and evaluate knowledge and of enabling students to become generally educated. It will also respond to student wishes of becoming more knowledgeable about Christianity.

5. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:

RELI 2696. Introduction to the New Testament (3) (S) (FC:HU) Formerly PHIL 1696 History, literature, and religion of early Christianity.

6. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:

The testing and research paper requirements for this course will be upgraded to a more difficult level, appropriate for a 2000-level course.

7. Page Number from current undergraduate catalog: 117 and 503

8. The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee must approve Writing Intensive (WI) Credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If WI credit is requested, has this course been approved for Writing Intensive (WI) credit (yes/no)? If Yes, will all sections be Writing Intensive (yes/no)? no

9. The Academic Standards Committee must approve Foundations Curriculum Credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If FC credit has been approved by the ASC, then check the appropriate box (check at most one): English (EN) Science (SC) x Humanities (HU) Social Science (SO) Fine Arts (FA) Mathematics (MA)

10. Course Credit: Health (HL) Exercise (EX) o Lecture Hours 3 Weekly Per Term Credit Hours 3 s.h. r o Lab Weekly Per Term Credit Hours s.h. r o Studio Weekly Per Term Credit Hours s.h. r o Practicum Weekly Per Term Credit Hours s.h. r o Internship Weekly Per Term Credit Hours s.h. r Other (e.g., independent study): Total Credit Hours 3 s.h.

11. Anticipated yearly student enrollment: 100

12. Affected Degrees or Academic Programs: Degree(s)/Course(s) Catalog Page Change in Degree Hours MULT: Religious 117 n/a Studies

13. Overlapping or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs: x Not Applicable Applicable (Notification and/or Response from Units Attached)

14. Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting teacher education programs): x Not Applicable Applicable (CTE has given their approval)

15. Instructional Format: please identify the appropriate instructional format(s): x Lecture Internship Lab Studio Student Teaching Clinical Correspondence Honors Seminar Colloquia Practica Other

16. Statements of Support: x Current staff is adequate Additional Staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):

x Current facilities are adequate Additional Facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below): x Initial library resources are adequate Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and estimate for cost of acquisition of required resources):

x Unit computer resources are adequate Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):

x ITCS Resources are not needed Following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need): Mainframe computer system Statistical services Network connections Computer lab for students Describe any computer or networking requirements of this program that are not currently fully supported for existing programs (Includes use of classroom, laboratory, or other facilities that are not currently used in the capacity being requested). Approval from the Director of ITCS attached

17. Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. Do not submit course syllabus as a separate file. You must include (a) the name of the textbook chosen for the course, (b) the course objectives, (c) the course content outline, and (d) the course assignments and grading plan. COURSE GOALS Goal 1. Students will learn about the New Testament from within the discipline of Religious Studies. We will explore the complex cultural, religious, and historical milieu out of which the New Testament arose. We will examine the various critical methods that are used in the scholarly investigation of this literature, including textual, source, form, and redaction criticism. We will discuss the basic data concerning questions of date, authorship, place of writing, destination, and occasion of the various books in the New Testament canon. Stu- dents will become acquainted with the distinctive content of each New Testament book. Goal 2. Students will learn about research methods used in Religious Studies. Students will become familiar with various research methods employed in the academic study of religion by: 1-Engaging critical theories of Religious Studies and related disciplines, such as textual, source, form, and redaction criticism. 2-Cultivating critical thinking skills and reading comprehension skills. 3-Formulating, researching, and defending a thesis in a major research paper. 4-Learning to communicate more effectively, verbally and in writing.

Goal 3. Students will learn about the contribution made by Religious Studies to general knowledge by: 1-Learning some of the connections between Religious Studies and other related disciplines, such as history, archaeology, psychology, art, and sociology. 2-Positioning Religious Studies in the humanities in general. 3-Promoting the construction of a unified comprehensive worldview. 4-Relating this knowledge to other realms of discourse in a way that helps the student to reflect in a mature manner on their own and others’ cultures.

READINGS A modern English translation of the NT, preferably the New Revised Standard Version, for example: Harper Collins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books, Wayne Meeks, general editor. The required textbook is Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3/e (New York: 2004) Additional required readings will be on Blackboard or distributed in class. Periodically, suggestions will be made for further readings.

EVALUATION Grading Scale: A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=below 60

First quiz 25% Second quiz 25% Research paper 25% Final examination 25%

OUTLINE Historical-critical method Geography of the Fertile Crescent and Palestine Textual criticism Translation The canon The historical Jesus and the gospel material The Pauline literature Apocalyptic literature Other writings

AGENDA AND STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Discuss two basic ways to study the Bible. (15-16) 2. How should one study the Bible in an American public educational institution? Why? 3. Go to the ECU Religious Studies website (www. ecu.edu/religionprogram) and find the “Re- sources for the Academic Study of Religion” page. Review this page and be prepared to provide a description of such resources. 4. As an example of a contemporary hermeneutic, explain the approach of those who do liberation readings of the Old Testament. (Introduction, in Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, by Robert McAfee Brown [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984] 11-18) 5. Discuss the materials and methods used in producing the Bible, including the issue of scribal variations, and explain the strategies and general results of the science of textual criticism. Note: I will consider failing you if you do not properly distinguish between “translation” and “transmission.” (479--88) 6. Discuss some of the issues around translating the Bible. (Contemporary Language and New Translations of the Bible: The Impact of Feminism,” Religion & Public Education 17/1 [Winter 1990] 89-98.) 7. What is a “canon” as this term is used in religious studies? Discuss the development of the canon in the first few centuries of the church. (“Some Key Episodes in the Development of the Canon”) (Box 1.1; pp. 8-13, exclude Box 1.4) 8. List in the categories provided in class the books of the Christian canon. Discuss the categories. (Box 1.4) 9. Draw and discuss the map of the Fertile Crescent. There are 46 places on the map. If your discussion is complete, you get two points for each place you identify, up to 50 points. (22- 23) 10. Draw and discuss the map of Palestine. There are 40 places on the map. If your discussion is complete, you get two points for each place you identify, up to 50 points. (73) 11. Survey the history and theology of the Jewish people from their origins up to 63 BCE, paying particular attention to important theological moments in that history. (231-35; Box 2.2; Box 2.3) 12. Discuss the matrix of thought and institutions that informed Jewish theology in the first century of the common era. Include in your essay a treatment of monotheism, covenant, law, temple, synagogue, and apocalyptic eschatology and literature. (35-41; 244-49) 13. Summarize the history, beliefs, and practices of the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. In your discussion of the Essenes, pay particular attention to what light our knowledge of the community at Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls sheds on first-century Judaism and early Christianity. (41-44; 235-44) 14. What does Ehrman mean by “other Jewish miracle-working Sons of God”? Use Honi the “cir- cle-drawer” and Honina ba Dosa as examples. (44-45; NT Handout: “Divine Men in the Grae- co-Roman World”) 15. Summarize the image, role, and status of women in ancient Judaism. (Box 2.7) 16. Draw a map of the northern Mediterranean world at the time of Christ and discuss the various features of this geography. Use only places north of the Mediterranean and west of Nyssa. In this area, there are 64 places on the map. If your discussion is complete, you get two points for each place you identify, up to 50 points. (xxxiv-xxxv) 17. Discuss various aspects of religion and philosophy in the Greco-Roman world. (21-35; 185- 92) 18. Define “exegesis.” Discuss the steps through which one might proceed in critically exegeting a biblical text. (NT Handouts: See the section entitled “An Elementary Guide to Exegeting the Bible”) FIRST QUIZ 19. Read pages 18-20 and provide your reaction. (18-20) 20. Discuss the etymology and meaning of the word “gospel.” What are the characteristics of the literary genre “gospel” and why were such texts written? (61-65) 21. What is the scholarly consensus regarding the literary relationship between the synoptic gospels? Be sure to provide the evidence for this solution to the synoptic problem. What is the significance of these source-critical conclusions for interpreting the gospels? (83-86; Box 6.1; 89-90; class exercise on “The Sick Healed at Evening” and “Jesus’ Rejection at Nazareth”) 22. Read the story of “Jesus Walking on Water” (Matthew 14:22-33 and Mark 6:45-52). Under- line words and sentences that are identical in the two stories. Write a short essay in which you ponder such questions as: Are Matthew and Mark telling the same story? In what ways are Matthew are Mattthew’s portrait of Jesus similar to or different from Mark’s? Are the disci- ples portrayed differently in each Gospel? How might one explain the differences between the accounts in Matthew and Mark? 23. Discuss the “Q” source, paying particular attention to its supposed nature, content, and origin. (86-89, exclude Box 6.1) 24. What is meant by the term “oral gospel”? What are the principle aims, procedures, and results of the form critic? (48-55; 210-11; 215-23; Box 11.3) 25. What do biblical scholars mean by the “problem of the historical Jesus?” In your essay be sure to define precisely “Christ of faith” and “Jesus of history.” 26. What are the principle aims, procedures, and results of the redaction critic? (55-58, 83-84, NT Handouts: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 27. What are the principle aims, procedures, and results of the sociological critic. (NT Handouts: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 28. Discuss the date and authorship of Mark. (58-59, “Mark Origin”) 29. Reproduce, in as much detail as possible, the content of Mark. Provide as many stories as you can, with each one in as much detail as possible. (An outline only is not sufficient.) k me about teamwork… 30. Discuss the structure and themes of Mark uncovered by redaction critics. (67-80, NT Hand- out: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels,” NT Handout: “Partial Exegesis of Mark 13:30”) 31. Given the structure and themes of Mark uncovered by redaction criticism, what can we say about the possible social setting of Mark (sociological criticism)? (80-81, NT Handout: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 32. Discuss how listening to a dramatic reading of Mark is a different experience from reading Mark. Give specific examples from the video to illustrate your point. (David Rhoads’ “Dra- matic Reading of Mark,” Audio Vis, BS; 2683; D72x; 1984—located in the Joyner Library Media Center on 2-hour reserve, you have to listen to only 50 minutes of the video) 33. Discuss the date and authorship of Matthew. (92-93; Box 7.5) 34. Reproduce, in as much detail as possible, the content of Matthew. Provide as many stories as you can, with each one in as much detail as possible. (An outline only is not sufficient.) 35. Discuss the structure and themes of Matthew uncovered by redaction critics. (93-108, exclude Box 7.5; NT Handout: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 36. Given the structure and themes of Matthew uncovered by redaction criticism, what can we say about the possible social setting of Matthew (sociological criticism)? (108-110; NT Hand- out: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 37. Discuss the authorship, origin, and date of Luke. (149-52) 38. Reproduce, in as much detail as possible, the content of Luke. Provide as many stories as you can, with each one in as much detail as possible. (An outline only is not sufficient.) 39. Discuss the structure and themes of Luke uncovered by redaction critics. (114-30, NT Hand- out: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 40. Given the structure and themes of Luke uncovered by redaction criticism, what can we say about the possible social setting of Luke (sociological criticism)? (NT Handout: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 41. Read Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) and write a brief summary of Jesus’ teaching in this parable. After you have done this, read pp. 26-31 in Christopher Rowland and Mark Corner, Liberating Exegesis: The Challenge of Liberation Theology to Biblical Studies (London: SPCK, 1990), and compare it to your interpretation of the parable. 42. Give a liberationist interpretation of Luke 1:46-55. (“Mary’s Song: Whom Do We Hear?” in Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, by Robert McAfee Brown [Phil- adelphia: Westminster, 1984] 74-88) 43. Give a liberationist interpretation of Luke 4:16-30. (“Jesus at Nazareth: ‘Good News to the Poor,’” in Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, by Robert McAfee Brown [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984] 89-104) 44. What is a parable and, in light of the findings of modern scholarship, how should it be inter- preted? 45. Analyze the parables and proverbs discussed in class. 46. Set the notion of miracles in the Jesus tradition in the context of the first-century Hellenistic world, and discuss issues around historical study of miracle stories. (225-29) 47. Summarize what we can know about the historical Jesus from non-Christian sources. (210- 15) 48. What do we know about Jesus’ relation to and view of women? (397-400) 49. Discuss the nature and content of Jesus’ teaching. (264-69; NT Handout: “A Listing of All References to Kingdom in the Synoptic Gospels”) 50. Discuss history and theology in the death and resurrection of Jesus. (275-83) 51. In light of the criteria for authenticity, what can we say about the life and deeds of Jesus. (250- 64; 270-73) 52. Trace the phases of earliest Christianity. 53. Summarize the scholarly discussion of authorship, place of writing, and date of the Fourth Gospel. (164-67; 174) 54. What is the relationship between John and the synoptic gospels? (158-63, exclude Box 10.4) 55. Reproduce, in as much detail as possible, the content of the Fourth Gospel. Provide as many stories as you can, with each one in as much detail as possible. (An outline only is not sufficient.) 56. Discuss the structure and themes of the Fourth Gospel. (154-58; Box 10.4; NT Handouts: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels” pp. 8-9; “Johannine Eschatological Pas- sages”) 57. Given the structure and themes of the Fourth Gospel uncovered by redaction criticism, what can we say about the possible social setting of this gospel (sociological criticism)? (168-73; 192-93; NT Handouts: “Redaction and Social Criticism of the Gospels”) 58. Name and discuss the significance of the non-canonical gospels. Summarize the content of them, especially the ones read in class. (195-208; 215) 59. Discuss the following second century “heresies:” Jewish Christian adoptionists, Marcionite Christians, Gnostic Christians, and “Proto-orthodox Christians.” (1-8) SECOND QUIZ 60. Discuss the purposes and sources of Acts. 61. What is the nature of the speeches in Acts and how do they serve Luke purposes? 62. What are the possible answers, and the evidence on which they are based, to the question of whether Luke knew Paul? 63. Discuss the structure and themes of Acts. 64. Discuss the problems associated with studying Paul. Be sure to pay attention to the issue of the difference in our two sources for Paul. (285-91) 65. Discuss the major contours of the life and teaching of Paul. (291-301, NT Handout: “Paul and the Law”) 66. Discuss how the literary form of Paul’s letters compares with the Hellenistic letters of his time, why he wrote letters, and the order and authenticity of the letters. (179-81; 372-76; Box 11.1) 67. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letter of Paul—1 Thessalonians; and the following disputed letter of Paul—2 Thessalonians. (302-15; 376-78) 68. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letters of Paul—1, 2 Corinthians. (316-31) 69. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letter of Paul—Galatians. (408-11; 331-40) 70. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letter of Paul—Romans. (348-61) 71. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letter of Paul—Philippians. (349-44) 72. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following undisputed letter of Paul—Philemon. (344-47) 73. Discuss Paul in relation to Jesus, James, Thecla, and Theudas. (362-71) 74. Discuss Paul’s association with and view of women. (395-97) 75. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following disputed letter of Paul—Colossians. (378-81) 76. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of the following disputed letter of Paul—Ephesians. (381-85) 77. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of 1, 2 Timothy and Titus. (385-93) 78. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of Hebrews. 79. Discuss the persecution of early Christians, paying attention to what we can learn from 1 Pe- ter, Ignatius, the Martyrdom of Polycarp, and other such literature. (426-443) 80. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of James. (445-47) 81. Discuss the date, authorship, audience, purpose, message or themes, structure, and content of Revelation. Pay particular attention to Revelation as an example of early Christian apocalyptic. How are the Shepherd of Hermas and the Apocalypse of Peter examples of apocalyptic? (461-77) EXCURSUS: SELECTED BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICAL/THEOLOGICAL ISSUES IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 82. After considering several texts from third world and feminist approaches, what have your learned and what is your perspective on a liberationist approach to reading the Bible. Do you agree or disagree with Brown and why? (“Epilogue,” in Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, by Robert McAfee Brown [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984] 157-61) 83. Discuss various ways Christians have formulated the doctrine of revelation. 84. Discuss various ways Christians have formulated the doctrine of inspiration. 85. Discuss the origin, basic ideas, and development of the fundamentalist movement. How have fundamentalists approached biblical criticism; be sure to provide Professor Ladd’s specific view. (George E. Ladd, The New Testament and Criticism, 7-14, 215-18)

FINAL EXAMINATION