DESCRIPTION:

This course provides an introduction to the study of the parables of Jesus, with an emphasis on understanding them in their historical context and interpreting them for teaching and preaching. We will also explore such issues as the role or function of parables in Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God, the history of interpreting the parables, and how parables, imagery and metaphor work.

Parables are characteristic of Jesus' public teaching as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. Because parables form such a large part of Jesus' teaching, and because they have been subject to every kind of interpretation and application, they merit careful study.

The course will meet once a week for three hours for lectures and discussion based on study in the New Testament and secondary sources. We will also pay some attention to the interpretation of parables in art, film, and literature.

Hultgren, Arland. The Parables of Jesus. Eerdmans, 2001.

Jones, Peter Rhea. Studying the Parables of Jesus. Smith & Helwys, 1999.

Gowler. David B. What Are They Saying About the Parables? Paulist Press, 2000.

Kierkegaard, Soren. The Parables of Kierkegaard. Ed. Thomas C. Oden. Princeton University Press, 1989.

Longenecker, Richard, ed. The Challenge of the Parables. Eerdmans, 2000.

Stern, David. Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature. Harvard University Press, 1991; paperback ed., 1994.

1. Regular attendance and preparation for class.

2. Regular short written assignments; 60% of the grade.

3. Final examination. Or students may elect a final paper or project; 40% of the grade.

NS500.

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

Yes. (See #3 under assignments).