Summer 2004/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: June 21 - July 2
NS531
Wan
NS531: PAULINE THEOLOGY. Sze-kar Wan.
DESCRIPTION:
- This course considers different understandings of "Pauline
theology" by taking seriously (a) the lived experience of the historical Paul;
and (b) our current problems. While the course is based squarely on an
exegetical foundation of the Pauline letters, it also seeks to construct a
theological and pastoral framework through which we can pursue a living
dialogue with Paul.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- If pastoral ministry includes a hermeneutical element, it behooves
all to maintain a dialogical immediacy with all biblical writers--not the least
of whom is Paul, whose mission work and theological battles have exemplified
for us a model of engaged pastoral ministry. From his writings, not only do we
reap the fruits of his theological reflections, but we are continually urged to
carry out our ministry as faithful servants in thought, word, and deed.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The class meets daily for two weeks for four-hour sessions of
lecture and class discussion.
REQUIRED READING:
- Donaldson, T. Paul and the Gentiles. Minneapolis: Fortress,
1997.
- Murphy-O'Connor, J. Paul: A Critical Life. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1996.
- Wan, Sze-kar. Power in Weakness. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press
International, 2000.
- Wright, N. T. What Saint Paul Really Said. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1997.
- Course Reader, which includes the following:
- Achtemeier, P. "Unsearchable Judgment and Inscrutable
Ways," in E. Johnson & D. Hay, Pauline Theology 4 (Atlanta, 1997),
3-21.
- Dunn, J. D. G. "The Formal and Theological Coherence of Romans," in K.
Donfried, The Romans Debate (Peabody, 1991), 245-50.
- Dunn, J. D. G. "In Quest of Paul's Theology," in Pauline Theology 4,
95-115.
- Dunn, J. D. G. "The New Perspective on Paul," in The Romans Debate,
299-308.
- Dunn, J. D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. (Grand Rapids,
1998), 1-26.
- Wan, Sze-kar. "Collection for the Saints as Anticolonial Act," in R.
Horsley, Paul and Politics (Harrisburg, 2000), 191-215.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Dunn, J. D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.
- Ridderbos, H. Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1975.
- Sanders, E. P. Paul, the Law and the Jewish People. Philadelphia,
1984.
- Westerholm, S. Israel's Law and the Church's Faith: Paul and His Recent
Interpreters. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Daily assigned readings and detailed studies of Pauline passages (20 %)
- A paper (6-8 pp.) on the method of Pauline theology (30%) Due date:
Friday, 16 July 2004.
- A paper (10-12 pp.) on a theological topic involving 2-3 major texts
(50%)
Due date: Friday, 30 July 2004.
- Schedule of daily reading assignments and guidelines for papers can
be found in the longer syllabus. Reading assignments for 6/21:
Dunn, "In Quest"; Donaldson, 29-78; Murphy-O'Connor, 1-31, 102-29.
PREREQUISITES: NS501 or NS502.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets M. Div. core requirement in New Testament Theology (NTT).
FINAL EXAMINATION: No.