Winter 2021/Fuller Online

NT500

Romano

NT500: NEW TESTAMENT INTRODUCTION (4 Units: 160 hours). James D. Romano.

DESCRIPTION: New Testament Introduction orients students to the literature of the New Testament in its various literary, historical, and theological contexts and to New Testament interpretation in service of Christian practice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed this course students will have demonstrated that they (1) have an introductory knowledge of the literature, history, and theology of the New Testament; (2) can identify a range of questions (e.g., historical, literary, canonical) that might be addressed to particular New Testament texts and can explore those questions in the process of interpreting particular New Testament texts; (3) are able to take into account the varied contexts of both the biblical materials and their contemporary interpreters; and (4) can read the New Testament in ways that foster faithful Christian practice.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will introduce students to the content and interpretation of the NT in its historical and contemporary context, which is consistent with the SOT PLO: “Students will have demonstrated competence in the practice of biblical interpretation for faithful use of Scripture in their own lives and ministries” (MDiv, MAT, MATM).

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1071total pages of books and articles required, plus reading the entire NT.

Achtemeier, Paul J., Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson. Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. ISBN: 9780802837172, Pub. Price $48.00 [608 pp. assigned].

Green, Joel B. Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010. ISBN: 9780802864208, Pub. Price $30.00 [147 pp. assigned].

Hays, Richard B. Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016. ISBN: 9781481302333, Pub. Price $29.95 [109 pp. assigned].

Course reader freely available on the Canvas course page, including the chapter “Women Leaders of Households and Christian Assemblies.” In A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity, eds. Carolyn Osiek, Margaret Y. MacDonald, and Janet H. Tulloch, 144-163. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2006. ISBN: 9780800637774 [19 pp. assigned].

Choose one of EITHER from the following books (both are not required):

Adewuya, J. Ayodeji. Holiness in the Letters of Paul: The Necessary Response to the Gospel. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016. ISBN: 9781498294546, Pub. Price $20.00 [163 pp. assigned]. This book is available from the Fuller Library as an e-book; OR

Gorman, Michael J. Reading Paul. Cascade Companions, Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2008. ISBN: 9781556351952, Pub. Price $22.00 [188 pp. assigned].This book is available from the Fuller Library as an e-book.

Note: If students have already read one of the required texts in a previous course, an alternate text will be assigned to them by the professor.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Wright, N. T. The New Testament and the People of God. Christian Origins and the Question of God 1. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1992. ISBN: 9781451414981, Pub. Price $45.00. This book is available from the Fuller Library as an eBook.


ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Weekly course lectures and instructional materials. These are logged activities (10%). Video lectures are posted for each week in Canvas, along with other supporting materials including worksheets completed on Canvas. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1–4] [20 hours].
  2. Directed Learning Activities: Canvas discussion/forum postings in response to specified prompts. 250-word weekly posts (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1–4] [10 hours].
  3. 250-word weekly replies to discussion forum postings (10%). These are two 125-word replies to the initial posts of other students. Please note the forum posting and responses under Assignments and Assessment items 2 and 3 are quite important; it is not possible to pass the course without active participation in the online forum discussions. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1–4] [10 hours].
  4. 1071 total number of pages of books and articles required, plus reading the entire NT. This is logged reading (5%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1–4]. [90 hours, including 25 hours of reading the entire NT].
  5. Completion of one Interpretive, 5-page, double-spaced, properly formatted, 1200-word (excluding footnotes and bibliography) paper on an assigned Gospel passage (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1–4] [7 hours preparing and writing].
  6. Completion of one Critical Review in which students will choose to analyze either the Hays OR Gorman ORAdewuya book above. Two of the three are required reading, but just one will be reviewed. This is a 4-page, double spaced, properly formatted, 1000-word paper (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1–3] [6 hours preparing and writing].
  7. Interpretive Assignment, one 8-page, double-spaced, properly formatted, 2000-word (excluding footnotes and bibliography) research paper on an assigned biblical passage (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1–4] [17 hours preparing and writing].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets a core requirement in the 120 MDiv, 80 MAT, 80 MATM, and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015) and the MATM, MAICS, and MACL Programs (Winter 2010).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.