KRBcB17 Historical and Critical Introduction to the Early Christian Literature I: The New Testament

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Juraj Franek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Irena Radová, Ph.D.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 10:50–12:25 A21
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Working knowledge of the English language. Knowledge of Classical Greek is welcome, but by no means required.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives (in Czech)
The course is intended to provide a historical and critical introduction to the New Testament, arguably the single most influential collection of written texts in European history.
No previous knowledge of the New Testament or earliest Christianity is presupposed. The lectures are open to students from different fields of study that will benefit from the deeper knowledge of the New Testament literature (esp. Religious Studies, History, Fine Arts, National Literatures etc.). The lectures are likewise well suited for incoming Erasmus students.
Upon the completion of the course, students will have obtained a good command of the New Testament literature embedded in its historical and cultural context.
The structure of the lectures is loosely based on Bart D. Ehrman's The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2012) and Dale B. Martin's New Testament History and Literature (New Haven - London: Yale University Press 2012).
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • 1. What is the New Testament and how can it be studied?
  • 2. Earliest Christianity in context: Jews and Pagans in the First Century CE.
  • 3. The Gospel according to Mark: Suffering Son of God.
  • 4. The Gospel according to Matthew: Jewish Messiah.
  • 5. The Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles: Saviour of the World and his followers.
  • 6. The Gospel according to John and Johannine Epistles: A Man sent from Heaven.
  • 7. The Quest for Historical Jesus: From Renan to Modern times.
  • 8. Paul as a missionary and pastor: 1 Thessalonians, Philemon and 1 & 2 Corinthians.
  • 9. Paul as a Jewish theologian: Galatians and Romans.
  • 10. The Deutero-Pauline and Pastoral Epistles.
  • 11. The Revelation of John: Christianity and Apocalypticism.
  • 12. Concluding Remarks and Discussion.
Literature
    required literature
  • Coogan, Michael D. (ed.) (2010). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Ehrman, Bart D. (2012). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Martin, B. Dale (2012). New Testament History and Literature. New Haven - London: Yale University Press.
    recommended literature
  • Harvey, Anthony E. (2004). A Companion to the New Testament: Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Harvey, Susan A. - Hunter, David G. (eds.) (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Teaching methods (in Czech)
Lectures and class discussion.
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Multiple choice test consisting of 20 questions with pass mark set to 70%.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2016/KRBcB17