Winter 2011/Pasadena
NT824/NS524
M. M. Thompson
NT824/NS524: CRITICAL ISSUES IN JOHN. Marianne Meye Thompson.
DESCRIPTION: This CATS seminar introduces students to perennially challenging
and important issues in the study of the Gospel of John, including its
relationship to the other Gospels; the contexts in which the Johannine
tradition grew; the presentation of Jesus in its historical and theological
dimensions; and the Gospel of John and its historical and contemporary
relationship to Judaism.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: NT824/NS524 prepares students primarily
for the ministry of teaching and research, focusing on critical issues for
advanced study in the Gospel of John.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will have demonstrated (1)
a fundamental knowledge of the Gospel of John; (2) an acquaintance with a range
of cultural and historical matters that may inform our understanding of the
text; (3) further practice in and development of skills in interpreting the
text; and (4) acquaintance and critical interaction with contemporary
scholarship.
COURSE FORMAT: The class meets weekly for three-hour sessions.
REQUIRED READING FROM THIS LIST:
- Anderson, Paul; Just, Felix, S.J.; Thatcher, Tom, eds. John,
Jesus and History, Volume 1: Critical Appraisals of Critical Views.
Symposium Series 44. Atlanta: SBL, 2007. ISBN: 978-1589832930. $37.95.
- Anderson, Paul; Just, Felix, S.J.; Thatcher, Tom, eds. John, Jesus and
History, Volume 2: Aspects of Historicity in the Fourth Gospel. Atlanta:
SBL, 2009. ISBN: 978-1589833920. $49.95.
- Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other
Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. ISBN: 978-0802845597. $34.00.
- Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the Gospel of John. Anchor Yale
Bible Reference Library. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN:
978-0300140156. $37.00.
- Carter, Warren. John and Empire: Initial Explorations. T. & T.
Clark International, 2008. ISBN: 978-0567028402. $42.95.
- Hurtado, Larry. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest
Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN: 978-0802831675. $36.00.
- Martyn, J. L. History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel. Rev. and
expanded ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003. ISBN: 978-0664225346.
$29.95.
- Reinhartz, Adele. Befriending the Beloved Disciple. Continuum, 2002.
ISBN: 978-0826414465. $21.95.
- Smith, D. Moody. John among the Gospels. 2d. ed. Columbia:
University of South Carolina, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570034466. $19.95.
- Thatcher, Tom. Greater than Caesar: Christology and Empire in the Fourth
Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009. ISBN: 978-0800663391. $29.00.
- Thompson, Marianne Meye. The God of the Gospel of John. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001. ISBN: 978-0802847348. $24.00.
- Other reading from articles in journals and on reserve and primary sources.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
- Regular attendance, preparation for, and participation in class
discussions, with assigned short presentations on passages to be discussed for
the week; 10% of the grade.
- Greek facilitation; 10%.
- Seminar presentation on required readings; 20%.
- Four brief critical response papers to weekly reading; counting 20%
together.
- A final research paper, of 7000-8000 words inclusive of footnotes on a
passage from or topic related to the Gospel of John; due March 11; 40%
.
PREREQUISITES: Open to a limited number of master's level students with the
following prerequisites: LG512, NE502, NS500, NS501 and written permission of
instructor.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets the requirement for one course in an area of
NT literature for PhD students with a major concentration in NT.
FINAL EXAMINATION: No.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (October 2010)