DESCRIPTION:

This course engages the student in a study of that branch of New Testament Theology concerned with Christian life and ethics. More specifically, the course attempts to help the student develop a theological framework for Christian ethics that employs a critical and responsible use of the New Testament documents in conjunction with other sources of theological authority. How those sources combine to produce a coherent Christian worldview on any number of critical issues facing Christians today will be the ultimate aim of the course.

This course helps Christians develop the necessary exegetical and hermeneutical skills for interpreting New Testament texts that bear heavily on certain "cutting edge" issues facing today's church (e.g., homosexuality, anti-Judaism, abortion, divorce, war and peace). Unfortunately, many of these issues are settled more often by cultural assumptions and biblical proof-texting than by a carefully conceived theological method that takes seriously both the unity and diversity of the New Testament writings. Learning to use these texts responsibly in the process of moral and ethical discernment will be one of the chief values of the course.

This course relies heavily on the student's grasp of the assigned readings to inform and guide classroom discussion and interaction. Lectures will augment the assigned readings, offering both clarification and critique. Student participation is critical in a course that seeks to model the kind of ethical decision-making process so badly needed in the church today. The course will meet weekly for three and one-half hour sessions.

Furnish, Victor Paul. The Moral Teaching of Paul: Selected Issues. 2nd ed., revised. Nashville: Abingdon, 1985.

Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996.

Johnson, Luke Timothy. Scripture and Discernment: Decision Making in the Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.

Stone, Howard W. and James O. Duke. How to Think Theologically. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.

1. A written mid-term examination covering the first half of the course (25%).

2. A 12-15 page exegetical paper on a New Testament text whose meaning (or range of meanings) weighs heavily in ethical construction (35%).

3. A small group project highlighting the role of Christian community in the process of theological and ethical discernment (10%).

4. A final examination measuring the student's overall grasp of the course (30%).

NS500, NS501.

Meets M.Div. core requirement in New Testament Theology (NTT).

Yes.