Topics for the MA Comprehensive Exam Biblical Studies
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Topics for the MA Comprehensive Exam Revised, January 2016 Biblical Studies Topic: Psalms and Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament The Psalms and Wisdom books of the Old Testament present a collection of distinctive voices in the scriptural canon, to be distinguished from the narrative and prophetic writings. These voices had their historical beginnings in the context of ancient Israel and Second Temple period Judaism. As sacred Scripture, they have continued to speak to Jews and Christians over following centuries, up to today. For this question you should be able to discuss the following: 1.) The basic compositional and literary features of the Psalms and Wisdom Literature; 2.) the major themes or motifs of each book. Bibliography: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Sirach (i.e. Ben Sirah), Wisdom of Solomon H.-J. Kraus, Theology of the Psalms. Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg, 1986. B. Strawn, “The Psalms: Types, Functions, and Poetics for Proclamation,” in Psalms for Preaching and Worship: A Lectionary Commentary. Ed. by R. E. Van Harn and B. A. Strawn; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009: pp. 3-40. R. E. Murphy, The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature, 3rd ed.. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002. Article: R. VanLeeuwen, “Wisdom Literature,” in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. Ed. by Kevin J. VanHoozer; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005: pp. 847-50. Topic: Election in Old Testament Theology An important and prominent theme of Old Testament Theology concerns the election of Israel as God’s people. This topic will explore the meaning and significance of election in the Old Testament and how that understanding is shaped through experiences of exile and suffering. Bibliography: Genesis, Job Gutiérrez, Gustavo. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. Translated by Matthew J. O’Connell. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1987. Kaminsky, Joel. Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007. 1 Levenson, Jon. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993. (chapters 7-16) Lohr, Joel. Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish- Christian Interpretation. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2009. Article Gary Anderson, “Joseph and the Passion of Our Lord" in Ellen Davis and Richard Hays (eds), The Art of Reading Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), pp. 198-215. Topic: New Testament: Jesus in the Gospels The operative image of Jesus Christ used by many Christian communities today is a combination of the different images of Jesus from the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. Each gospel writer highlights different aspects of the person of Jesus Christ. For example, Jesus appears as the mysterious and powerful miracle worker in Mark’s Gospel and in Matthew’s text, the reader comes to know Jesus as a teacher of wisdom. In order to better understand and know Jesus and what it looks like to follow him, it is important to consider how the different authors of the gospel texts characterized Jesus for their readers and their communities. In this question, explore how the authors of the gospel texts image Jesus and correspondingly discuss their understanding of what it means to be his disciple. The authors’ primary views of Jesus and discipleship, though different, are not uncomplementary. Thus, be sure to discuss how these views inform one another. Who was Jesus for the gospel writers? What does it mean to be his disciple? Bibliography Books The HarperCollins Study Bible with the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books. NRSV. (ed. Harold W. Attridge): Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Holladay, Carl. A Critical Introduction to the New Testament. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005. Graham Stanton, The Gospels and Jesus (2nd ed.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Articles/Article-length Items: Achtemeier, Paul J. “The Ministry of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels.” Interpretation 35 no. 2: 157-169. Donaldson, Terrence L. “Guiding Readers—Making Disciples: Discipleship in Matthew’s Narrative Strategy.” In Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, 30-49. Edited by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdsman, 1996. 2 Hillmer, Melvyn R. “They Believed in Him—Discipleship in the Johannine Tradition.” In Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, 77-97. Edited by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdsman, 1996. Hurtado, Larry W. “Following Jesus in the Gospel of Mark—and Beyond.” In Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, 9-29. Edited by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdsman, 1996. Longenecker, Richard N. “Taking Up the Cross Daily: Discipleship in Luke-Acts.” In Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament, 50-76.Edited by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdsman, 1996. McDermott, Brian. “The Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth” In Word Become Flesh: Dimensions of Christology, 36-74. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1993. Meeks, Wayne A. “The Man from Heaven in Johannine Sectarianism.” Journal of Biblical Literature 91 (1972): 44-72. Topic: New Testament: Pauline Writing The Pauline letters were foundational in the growth of the early church and influenced the development of orthodox Christian belief and practice. The theological ideas central to Paul’s thought include: being in Christ, justification by faith apart from the law, a partially realized eschatology, and in his letters, Paul espouses an indicative/imperative ethical method. In your answer, discuss these ideas as they appear in the authentic Pauline Letters. Then, discuss how these ideas reappear, shift, and change in the deutro-Pauline texts and in the Pastoral Epistles. Discuss how socio-political situations caused the later interpreters of Paul to shift his ideas and what thoughts/practices they were likely combatting when writing their letters. In you response, it will not be necessary to include all the Pauline Letters and Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament, but make sure that your answer is thorough and includes examples from different texts. What did Paul teach? How were these teachings interpreted in the second century? Bibliography The HarperCollins Study Bible with the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books. Edited by Harold W. Attridge. New Revised Standard Version. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006. Dunn, J. D. G. (editor), The Cambridge Companion to St Paul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Murphy-O'Connor, J. Paul: A Critical Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. Sanders, E.P., Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People. Minneapolis: Fortress 1983. Tatum, Gregory, New Chapters in a Life of Paul: The Relative Chronology of his Career (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2006; CBQMS 41). 3 Articles Alstrup Dahl, Nils. “The Doctrine of Justification: Its Social Function and Implications.” In Studies in Paul: Theology for the Early Christian Mission (Minneapolis: Augusburg Publication House, 1977): 94-120. Horrell, David. “The Label Christianos: 1 Pet 4.16 and the Formation of Christian Identity.” Journal of Biblical Literature 126 no. 2 (2007): 361-381. Stowers, Stanley. “The Apostle Paul.” History of Western Philosophy 1 (2009): 145-157. Topic: Biblical Interpretation The field of biblical exegesis is populated by various and often competing methods of interpretation. From a consideration of the following sources, be prepared to discuss [1] the basic features of various exegetical methods (Barton; Pontifical Biblical Commission); [2] their development with the Christian tradition (Farkasfalvy [2010]; Reventlow); and [3] the benefits and limitations of current approaches for the life of the Church (Dei Verbum; Farkasfalvy [1986 & 2010]; de la Potterie; Ratzinger). Bibliography: Barton, John. Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study (revised and enlarged) (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997). Dei Verbum. (The dogmatic constitution on divine revelation of the Second Vatican Council, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, November 18, 1965.) Farkasfalvy, O.Cist., Denis. Inspiration and Interpretation: A Theological Introduction to Sacred Scripture (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2010). Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. Subsidia Biblica 18 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1995). Articles: Farkasfalvy, O.Cist., Denis. “In search of a “post-critical” method of biblical interpretation for Catholic theology.” Communio 13.4 (1986): 288-307. de la Potterie, Ignace. “Reading Holy Scripture ‘In the Spirit’: Is the Patristic Way of Reading the Bible Still Possible Today?” Communio 13.4 (1986): 308-25. Ratzinger, Joseph. “Biblical Interpretation in Conflict: On the Foundations and Itinerary of Exegesis Today.” In Opening up the Scriptures: Joseph Ratzinger and the Foundations of Biblical Interpretation, edited by José Granados, Carlos Granados, and Luis Sanchéz- Navarro (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008): 1-29. 4 Reventlow, Henning Graf. “History of Theology (Biblical).” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 6, edited by D. N. Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992): 483-505. Catechetical Studies Topic: The Apologetics of Love Deus caritas est; God is Love. This phrase from St. John summarizes all of God's self-revelation and, so, all Catholic Doctrine. As the Catechism states, "The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends" (CCC #25).