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FIU Department of Religious Studies REL 3250: Jesus and the Early Christians
Professor Erik Larson Spring 2008 DM 309A TR 11:00-12:15 Office Hours: TR 2:00-3:00 and by appointment (305) 348-3518 Email: larsone@fiu.edu
Introduction and Aims: This semester we will examine the life and teachings of Jesus and the growth and development of early Christianity. This study will be conducted mainly through the writings of the New Testament, but where appropriate we will also examine other sources such as new archaeological discoveries, various writings from the Greco-Roman world, and Christian apocrypha. In addition we will look at the methods that scholars have developed for studying the New Testament and discuss their uses and limitations. Larson, Erik - The Messianic Ideal Larson, Erik -The Outlook and Procedures of Ancient Historians Larson, Erik - The Life of Paul - A Chronology Syllabus
1. [January 8] Introduction. Issues in the Study of the New Testament. Read: INTILT, pp. 1-13.
2 [January 10] The Roman Empire and First Century Palestine. Read: INTILT, pp. 15-51.
3 [January 15] Slides of the Greco-Roman World. Read: INTILT, pp. 53-87.
4 [January 17] Source Criticism. Read: INTILT, pp. 89-121. NT: The Gospel of Matthew.
5 [January 22] Form Criticism. Read: INTILT, pp. 123-147. NT: The Gospel of Mark
6 [January 24] Redaction Criticism. Read: INTILT, pp. 149-174 NT: The Gospel of Luke.
7 [January 29] The Gospel of John. Read: INTILT, pp. 175-205. NT: The Gospel of John.
8 [January 31] Video on the Life of Jesus.
9 [February 5] Putting Together the Life of Jesus: Some Recent Proposals. Read: INTILT, pp. 207-244.
10 [February 7] The Teaching of Jesus. Handout.
11 [February 12] The Miracles of Jesus Handout.
12 [February 14] Jesus as Son of Man and Son of God. Handout.
13 [February 19] Accounts of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
14 [February 21] Midterm Examination.
15 [February 26] The Acts of the Apostles. Read: INTILT, pp. 245-269.
16 [February 28] The Life of Paul. Read: INTILT, pp. 271-281.
17 [March 4] The Life of Paul—cont’d. Read: INTILT, pp. 283-297.
18 [March 6] The Letters to the Thessalonians. Read: INTILT, pp. 427-446. NT: 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
19 [March 11] The Letters to the Corinthians. Read: INTILT, pp. 327-354. NT: 1 Corinthians.
20 [March 13] The Letters to the Corinthians—cont’d. NT: 2 Corinthians.
21 [March 25] The Letter to the Galatians. Read: INTILT, pp. 355-375. NT: Galatians.
22 [March 27] The Letter to the Romans. Read: INTILT, pp. 299-326. NT: Romans.
23 [April 1] Paul’s Doctrine of Justification. Read: Handout.
24 [April 3] Philippians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Colossians. Read: INTILT, pp. 377-426. NT: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon.
25 [April 8] The Pastoral Epistles. Read: INTILT, pp. 447-464. NT: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus.
26 [April 10] Hebrews and James. Read: INTILT, pp. 465-512. NT: Hebrews and James.
27 [April 15] The Petrine Epistles, Jude, and the Johannine Epistles. Read: INTILT, pp. NT: 1 & 2 Peter, Jude, 1-3 John. Paper due.
28 [April 17] Revelation. Read: INTILT, pp. 555-587. NT: Revelation.
Textbooks: INTILT = Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology by Paul Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001). NT = The New Testament. You may find one of the following versions helpful: The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV; this is the one I will read from this semester), New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Version (NASV), Jerusalem Bible (JB), King James Version (KJV). Try to stay away from paraphrases of the New Testament.
Grading: Midterm 30% Final 30% Term Paper (9-12 pages) 30% Attendance and Participation 10%
Term Paper: Each student will write a term paper on some topic relating to the course that particularly interests him or her. The topic must receive the approval of the instructor before it is handed in. The paper itself should be 9-12 pages in length, excluding bibliography. Each paper is to be printed or typed, not handwritten, with lines double-spaced. Margins for the pages should be 1 inch on all sides and the style should conform to either that of MLA or the Chicago Manual of Style. In the body of the paper you may use either footnotes or endnotes.
Academic Honesty: Each student is expected to do his or her own work. It is absolutely unacceptable to submit someone else’s work as your own. This is plagiarism and will result in a failing grade (F) for the assignment and possible disciplinary action. Thus, when in the course of writing your paper you quote or paraphrase an idea found in one of your sources you must give credit to the original author (usually by means of a footnote).
Examinations: Both midterm and final examinations will be a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and essay questions. The final examination is not cumulative–it covers only material from the second half of the semester.
Attendance: An absolutely essential part of the course! 10% of your final grade depends on regular attendance and participation. Also, some material will inevitably be covered in class that is not to be found in the textbook so that each absence negatively affects you ability to do well on the tests.
Syllabus Note on Internet Use in Research: You may cite from the internet in your term papers, but you must be discerning. Anyone can post “information” on the internet, and thus some of what is there is inaccurate, incomplete, and sometimes even blatantly untrue. As in print collections in libraries, only scholarly articles on the internet are acceptable as sources for research papers. Internet articles should ideally have authors. Some will list individual authors; others will list institutions as sources. The credibility of the information depends on the credibility of the source. Acceptable sources include individual scholars with academic credentials, educational institutions (e.g., Institute of Reformation History, Princeton University), publicly supported national or international institutions (e.g. the World Health Organization or the National Institutes of Health) or other well known institutions with credible reputations (e.g. the World Council of Churches, the Children’s Defense Fund). Most educational institutions have addresses which end with the letters “edu.” You must use your judgment since many reputable institutions may not be well known by most students. Also, sometimes websites may list a university as the place from which the material emanates, but which does not sponsor or in any way support the information on that site. (You could set up a website that lists FIU as its origin, and purports that the Pope died last month and was replaced by a ringer!). There will be some internet sources the reliability of which will be difficult to assess. Sometimes you must judge by the tone and range of an article. If it reads like a magazine or newspaper article and cites none of the sources it used, it is not scholarly. You should ask whether the article demonstrates balance: Does it attempt to tell all sides of the story? Does it ask critical questions of the material it covers? How well does its treatment accord with other treatments of the same material you have found? If you would really like to cite an internet article but have doubts about its acceptability, look up the institution or the author on the internet or in the library. Has the author or institution published other works? Have those been reviewed or cited by other scholars? When you cite from the internet, you must list the entire address on the web where you found the information and the date you accessed it. When applicable you must also note any search terms needed within the website to find this particular article when these do not appear within the address. The following are some bibliographic entries:
Musa, Edward, “The Art of the Maya.” GOTOBUTTON BM_2_ http://www.unescape.org/pop/journal/v1onaal.htm. 4/27/05.
Zarabozo, Jamaal, “Is Family Planning Allowed in Islam?” http://www.albany.edu/~ha4934/famplan.html. 4/21/05.
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