CODE | SHG1071 | ||||||
TITLE | Theology of the New Testament | ||||||
UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
DEPARTMENT | Sacred Scripture, Hebrew and Greek | ||||||
DESCRIPTION | As a discipline, New Testament theology is a segment of the larger enterprise of Biblical theology that seeks to trace the origins and growth of Biblical teaching and to set forth the various types of theological perspectives apparent in the different writers. Students will be shown how to bring forth theological aspects of the diverse writings within the New Testament. Texts from the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Paul will be analysed so as to show their peculiar theologies and inter-testamentary influence. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to enable students to select fundamental texts within the diverse writings of the New Testament in order to formulate a basic theology for each writing and for the whole New Testament. It further aims to enable students read the faith needs of the communities behind the diverse writings of the New Testament and the theologies that the authors meant to convey in their writings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the faith needs of the communities being addressed by the diverse writings of the New Testament so as to define their particular theologies; - distinguish the basic theologies of the different writings of the New Testament and their constituent parts; - recognise peculiar theologies within the New Testament writings as illustrated in the New Testament pericopes themselves; - outline any parallelism with Old Testament theologies or theological allusions in the writings of the New Testament. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - reconstruct the vital situation (technically called the Sitz im Leben) of each community behind each writing of the New Testament; - compare and contrast the different theologies that come forth from the different literary forms of New Testament writings; - relate New Testament theologies to any Old Testament theologies, especially where addressees come from the Jewish world. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - CARSON, Donald A., “Current Issues in Biblical Theology: A New Testament Perspective,” Bulletin of Biblical Research 5 (1995): 17–41. - CORLEY, Bruce, “Biblical Theology of the New Testament,” in Foundations for Biblical Interpretation, edited by D. Dockery, K. A. Mathews and R. B. Sloan (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1994), 545–64; - HASEL, Gerhard F., “The Nature of Biblical Theology: Recent Trends and Issues,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 32 (1994): 203–215. - Childs, Brevard S., Biblical Theology. A Proposal (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2002). - Marshall, Ian Howard, New Testament Theology. Many Witnesses, One Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004). - Via, Dan O., What Is New Testament Theology? Guides to Biblical Scholarship (New Testament Series; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2002). Supplementary Readings: - BULTMANN, Rudolf, “The Problem of a Theological Exegesis of the New Testament” in The Beginnings of Dialectical Theology, ed. J. M. Robinson (Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1968), 47–72. - CARSON, Donald A., The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995). - MORGAN, Robert, “The Historical Jesus and the Theology of the New Testament” in The Glory of Christ in the New Testament, edited by L. D. Hurst and N. T. Wright (Oxford: Clarendon, 1987), 187–206. - SCHUSSLER FIORENZA, Elisabeth, In Memory of Her (London: SCM, 1983) [BR129 .F56 1994]. - SCOBIE, Charles H. H. , “The Challenge of Biblical Theology,” Tyndale Bulletin 42 (1991): 3–30. - VOS, Geerhardus, “The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline” in Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos, ed. R. E. Gaffin (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1980) 3–24. |
||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||
LECTURER/S | Paul Sciberras |
||||||
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |