Spring 2013/Pasadena

NS542

Thompson

NS542: GOD OF THE GOSPELS. Marianne Meye Thompson.

DESCRIPTION: This course focuses on the witness of the Gospels to the identity and character of God. While the course concentrates on the Gospels, it sets their study in the larger context of biblical theology, paying special attention to the witness of Scripture; continuity; and distinctive or new emphases that are found with the proclamation of Jesus.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Students who faithfully complete the course should deepen their understanding of the character of God and of human relationship to God as expressed in the Gospels.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Having successfully completed the requirements for this course, students will have demonstrated the ability: (1) to work with the Gospels in a synthetic way that takes seriously their particularity and the potential of a coordinated witness to the identity and character of God; (2) to articulate the importance and role of both the Old Testament witness and of the socio-cultural contexts of Judaism in the first century Roman empire for explicating the witness of the Gospels to the character and identity of God; (3) to show the relationship between exegesis and theological interpretation of Gospel texts that explicitly or implicitly bear witness to God.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet once a week for discussion of biblical texts and assigned reading, and lectures.

REQUIRED READING:

Bible (selections). For work with NT texts, students with Greek may use either UBS4 or NA28. For an English translation of the Bible, students may use either the NRSV, TNIV, or CEB.

Hurtado, Larry. God in New Testament Theology. Abingdon, 2010. ISBN: 978-0687465453, Pub.price $21.99 [176 pp.].

Selections from The Forgotten God: Perspectives in Biblical Theology. Ed. A. Andrew Das and Frank J. Matera. Westminster John Knox, 2002. ISBN: 978-0664222765, Pub.price $30.00.

Selections from Reinhard Feldmeier and Hermann Spieckermann. God of the Living: A Biblical Theology. Baylor, 2011. ISBN: 978-1602583948. Pub.price $59.95.

Selections from Marianne Meye Thompson. The Promise of the Father. Westminster John Knox, 2000. ISBN: 978-0664221973, Pub.price $30.00.

Articles on e-reserve.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Four written assignments that reflect on interpretation of texts from the Gospels (40%);

  2. Four one-page responses to assigned readings (20%).

  3. A review of a book related to the course (acceptable options distributed in class; 25%).

  4. Weekly reflections on reading the Psalms (15%).

PREREQUISITES: NS500 or NT500.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets M. Div. core requirement in New Testament Theology (NTT).

FINAL EXAMINATION: No.


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.