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:
  1. 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.

  2. Greek facilitation; 10%.

  3. Seminar presentation on required readings; 20%.

  4. Four brief critical response papers to weekly reading; counting 20% together.

  5. 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)