Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology Course Syllabus for SS506 Johannine Literature Instructor: Dr. Brant Pitre Semester: Spring 2014 Email: [email protected] Time: MW 8:00-9:15 Office Hours: MW 1:30-3:30 or by appt. Classroom #3 I. Course Description The course includes a careful reading of the Gospel and the three letters of John as well as the book of Revelation. Particular attention is given to recent developments in the questions of authorship, the literary genre of the fourth Gospel, its historical reliability, and Johannine theology. All five books of the Johannine corpus are subjected to detailed study with the aid of advanced commentaries by ancient and modern scholars. II. Course Goals/Intended Outcomes Envisioned Outcomes: Students will demonstrate familiarity with the historical and theological character of the Fourth Gospel, as well as the historical contexts and theological concepts of the Johannine corpus as a whole. Students will demonstrate competence in exegesis of the figure of Jesus in John’s Gospel by means of a research paper. Students will also be able to identify key characteristics of apocalyptic literature and to explain various approaches to the interpretation of the book of Revelation. III. Course Rationale No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom (Greek kolpos) of the Father; he has made him known. (John 1:18) When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the bosom (Greek kolpos) of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." (John 13:21-27) IV. Instructional Methods 1. Lecture 2. Discussion 3. Question and Answer 1 V. Texts: Required 1. Craig Blomberg. The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel: Issues and a Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2001. 2. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008. 3. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Jesus of Nazareth: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2011. 4. Joel C. Elowsky. John 1-10. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2007. 5. Joel C. Elowsky. John 11-21. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2007. 6. Brant Pitre. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. New York: Image, 2011. 7. Michael Barber. Coming Soon: Unlocking the Book of Revelation. Steubenville: Emmaus Road, 2005. VI. Lecture, Presentation, and Reading Schedule Jan 13, 15 Introduction Elowsky: John, 1.xix-xxxvii (Introduction) Lüdemann: “Gospel of John” (Handout) Ratzinger: Jesus of Nazareth, 1:218-238 Jan 20, 22 No Class/MLK and March for Life Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 15-68 Jan 27, 29 Introduction/John 1 Scripture: John 1 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 69-85 Elowsky: John, (section on John 1) Reading Log #1 Due Feb 3, 5 John 2-4 Scripture: John 2-4 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 85-108 Hahn: “Temple, Sign, and Sacrament” 107-43 (Handout) Elowsky: John, (section on John 2:1-11) Reading Log #2 Due Feb 10, 12 John 5-7 Scripture: John 5-7 Pitre: Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, 1-47, 77-115 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 108-140 Reading Log #3 Due 2 Feb 17, 19 John 8-10 Scripture: John 8-10 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 140-164 Ratzinger: Jesus of Nazareth, 1.238-286 Reading Log #4 Due Feb 24, 26 John 11-13 Scripture: John 11-13 Ratzinger: Jesus of Nazareth, 2.53-75 (Footwashing) Jesus of Nazareth, 2.103-115 (Date of Last Supper) Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 164-195 Reading Log #5 Due Mar 3, 5 Mardi Gras Holiday/Ash Wednesday Mar 10, 12 John 14-17 Scripture: John 14-17 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 195-227 Ratzinger: Jesus of Nazareth, 2.76-102 (High-Priestly Prayer) Reading Log #6 Due Mar 17, 19 John 18-19 / (No Class, Formation Workshop Wed) Scripture: John 18-19 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 227-258 Elowsky: John 11-21 (section on John 19:23-42) Reading Log #7 Due Mar 24, 26 John 20-21 Scripture: John 20-21 Blomberg: Historical Reliability of John, 258-294 Elowsky: John 11-21 (section on John 20:1-31) Reading Log #8 Due Mar 31, Apr 2 1-3 John and Revelation 1-3 Scripture: 1-3 John Robinson: “Purpose of Johannine Epistles” (Handout) Scripture: Revelation 1-3 Barber: Coming Soon, 1-80 Sat Apr 5 Gospel of John Exegesis Paper DUE Apr 7, 9 Revelation 4-12 Scripture: Revelation 4-12 Barber: Coming Soon, 81-167 Feuillet: “The Messiah and His Mother,” 257-92 (Handout) Reading Log #10 Due 3 Apr 14, 16 No Classes (Holy Week) Apr 21, 23 No Class (Easter Monday) / Revelation 13-19 Scripture: Revelation 13-19 Barber: Coming Soon, 169-242 Apr 28, 30 Revelation 20-22 Scripture: Revelation 20-22 Barber: Coming Soon, 243-287 Weinrich: “The Millennium” (Handout) Reading Log #11 Due (for both weeks) May 6-8 Final Examination VII. Course Requirements 1. Read all assigned readings. 2. Participate in class and maintain good attendance record. 3. Study the notes from class lectures and key texts from assigned readings. VIII. Important Dates 1. Weekly Reading Logs 2. Research Paper Due Sat Apr 5 3. Final Exam: May 6-8 IX. Evaluation Criteria The student’s final grade is obtained by averaging the total points earned on 10 Reading Logs, a Research Paper, and a Final Exam. Reading Logs: 100 points (composed of 10 point individual logs) Research Paper: 100 points Final Exam: 100 points Final Grade = 100 + 100 + 100 +100 divided by 3 1. Reading Logs: There will be ten assigned Reading Logs, which must be handed in every week. These logs will consist of three parts: (a) a paragraph verifying that the student has read the material and stating how much of the assigned reading was read; (b) a question asked by the student that arose during the course of reading; (c) a brief paragraph answering a question posed by the professor about the assigned readings (these will be given at the end of the previous class.) (NOTE: Any reading log turned in without the questions will receive no higher than 5 points). Each weekly log will be worth 10 points. At the end of the semester, I will drop the lowest reading-log grade to obtain the total grade. The Reading Logs will be graded as follows: 10 points: All readings read 4 points: More than ¼ readings read 8 points More than 3/4 of readings read 0 poitns: No readings read 6 points: More than 1/2 readings read 4 2. Gospel of John Exegesis Paper: In order to become familiar with the tools of biblical interpretation with specific reference to the Gospel of John, students will select a passage from the Gospel of John for an exegesis paper. This paper will ask interpretive questions of the text and use the tools of biblical studies (commentaries, articles, etc.) to find answers to these questions. The format will be as follows: Topic: Students are encouraged to select from one of the passages in the Gospel of John used in Lectionary of the Missal of Paul VI (see James Socias, Daily Roman Missal, 3rd edition, xxxix). Format: 10-12 Pages, double-spaced; 12 point font, Times New Roman (main text); 10 point font, Times New Roman (footnotes). Documentation: use footnotes to document secondary sources used and parenthetical references to document primary sources (Scripture). Contents: Each exegesis paper will ask 3 exegetical questions of the selected passage of Scripture. It will then spend 5-6 pages answering these questions using modern biblical scholarship, and 4-5 pages examining how the text has been interpreted in the living Tradition of the Church. Exegesis Section: In part I (5-6 pages), the exegesis paper will draw on secondary literature, in the form of 1-2 Short Commentaries on the Bible (such as the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture or Jerome Biblical Commentary), 3-4 full-length commentaries (such as the Anchor Bible, Sacra Pagina, International Critical Commentary, Hermeneia, etc.) and 1-2 articles (from monographs, scholarly journals, or other forms of scholarship) on the topic (Biblica, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, New Testament Studies, etc.) Living Tradition Section: In part II, (4-5 pages), after an exegetical analysis using modern biblical scholarship, students will then provide a brief overview of how the 3 interpretive questions have been answered and/or how the text has been interpreted in the patristic and medieval periods by witnesses to the living Tradition, as well as by the Magisterium. This section should have recourse to how the passage is interpreted by Church Fathers (see the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Fathers of the Church Series, etc.), Medieval Doctors (commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas), and, if appropriate, the Magisterium (e.g., the Catechism of the Catholic Church, papal encyclicals, Denzinger- Schoenmetzer).