Example:
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Reference: Mt 5:17 |
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Quote: Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets |
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Comment: The expression refers to Old Testament scriptures. |
Read Matthew 1-7 carefully.
Look for passages in Mt 1-7, which convey canonical awareness. "Canonical awareness" is a technical term describing a text, which assumes that the readers are familiar with one or more other books from the Christian Bible than the one they are reading. This may be a citation or just a piece of information the readers are supposed to know but which is not provided in the context of the book. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested.
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Example:
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Answer questions about last session. They will be posted here.
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i am mary. i am pregnant and am in some trouble. my lover can not marry me and i wanted very much to stay in this village. but i know a widower named joseph, and i have noticed him looking at me and have spoken with him a few times at market. i thought, maybe, he would marry me, and soon enough, so that it would be before anyone knows there is this child inside me. and so i prayed to god and asked that something would happen that would allow me to have my baby and stay in my village. joseph did marry me and so after the day of feasting and celebration i had to tell him, because i was worried what would happen to the baby if we had each other with the baby inside me. he was very quiet. i was afraid even to look at him. inside my own head i tried to figure out what might happen. if he divorced me then he would also shame himself publicly. if he kept me, no one would know our secret, and maybe everything would be all right. i know that we will both love the baby once it is here. i think it is a boy, i have had a dream about a boy and so has the midwife. she told me so. joseph is a good man. he will love the baby like it is his own son. do i dare look up? yes, look, his face is softening even now. i may indeed have found a home for myself and for this baby. glory be to god! A Midrash on Matthew 1 (class submission) |
Most original excuse for not being in class, received this week as a text message transmitted from a cell phone:
"We are out of gas. No big deal. Except we're in the boat. We're awaiting the Coast Guard and hope they come soon and are handsome. Class attendance doubtful."
Read Matthew 8-14 carefully.
Compare Matthew 9:1-7 with Mark 2:1-12. Assume for the purpose of this exercise that Matthew had a copy of Mark's text and edited it. What did Matthew delete, add, rearrange? Why?
Pick at least one other passage from Matthew 1-14 and compare it to its parallel in Mark (parallels are given in the margin of the Greek text in the Nestle-Aland edition). Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested, and comment on it.
Book assignments are now on the web. Check out your book. [You will need Acrobat Reader and our class password to open the file].
Answer questions about last session. They are posted here.
Read Matthew 15-21 carefully.
Sometimes Matthew tells two stories, which sound very much alike, or presents two sayings of Jesus, which are very close to each other. Example: Feeding of the Four Thousand (15:32-39) and Feeding of the Five Thousand (14:15-21). Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested (ONLY ONE this time, if you add more than one I will delete the second one), and comment on it.
Book
assignments are now on the web. [You will need
Acrobat
Reader and our class password to open the file]. Check out your book. If you can get
it done this week submit the book review on the web or send it to me in the body of an email (no
attachments). 
Read
book reviews submitted by class participants
Answer questions about last session. They are posted here.
Read Matthew 12-28 (end of Mt) carefully.
Note a passage, where you feel very confident that it was written by the author of the Gospel (using the voice of Matthew) and that the author did not take it from a source (like material which is word by word identical in Mark or Luke) and which was not added by later editors (like the title: Gospel According to Matthew). Example: Mt 5:1-2 "When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying..." Comment: Matthew organizes sayings of Jesus in one long speech, so he creates a setting for this speech. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested and comment on it.
Check out your assigned book. If you can get
it done this week submit the book review on the web or send it to me in the body of an email (no
attachments). Read
book reviews submitted by class participants. Book reviews are due
11/9.
Answer questions about last session. They are posted here.
Next week will be our first quiz. Please review the
Questions
and Answers (Relevant for Quiz 1).Answer questions about last session.
They are posted
here.
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Dear Students,
We're very happy to see evidence of a
festive community.
On a more serious note, the coffee machine was left on last night. Please be sure that it, and other electricity, is turned off before you leave.
Ideally, it would be wonderful if
Becky or I could be here to Take care, Erica |
Read Mark 9-16 carefully.
Assuming the Two-Source-Theory is correct, look for passages in Mark, which are not used in Luke and find an explanation, why Luke may not have wanted to use it. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested. One passage per student, please.
If you have not done it yet: Check out your assigned book. If you can get it done this week submit the book review on the web or send it to me in the body of an email (no attachments). Read book reviews submitted by class participants. Book reviews are due 11/9.
Answer questions about last session. Posted here.
Make a decision and pick a passage, which is recorded in more than one gospel (including extra-canonical gospels) and which you would like write about. The outer margin of the Greek NT may help you find those passages. Begin your work by describing: what do they have in common? what is different? Don't read any books or articles now, spend time with the text, open your ears and listen to these early Christians.
Next week book reviews are due. Submit the book review on the web or send it to me in the body of an email (no attachments). Read book reviews submitted by class participants.
Read Luke 1-8 carefully (watch out, the chapters tend to be long!)
What is the narrative perspective of Luke compared to Matthew (omniscient, eye of God) and Mark (eye-witness)? Give your opinion and back it up with a passage. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested. One passage per student, please.
Start to write your paper. See: How to write an exegetical paper. Before reading secondary literature, work with the text. I will show you how to access articles through the web next week. Remember the PowerPoint slides from a few sessions ago about redaction criticism? They may help (or just confuse) you.
Who is Mark? You were wondering, so find out yourself: check
the following passages and tell the story of Mark according to the NT:
Because we are running into difficulties accessing books this semester I encourage you to identify and critique articles available through the WWW and relevant to your topic. Limit yourself to those available as "full text". To open the instructions you will need our class password.
Read Luke 9-16 carefully.
Dear Luke,
We are very pleased to inform you that our editorial committee voted unanimously to publish the manuscript you submitted.
The committee felt that the manuscript would benefit greatly, if some additional editorial changes were incorporated before it is published. The following notes reflect feedback from our editors. Please consider them at your discretion.
Respectfully yours,
Religious Editor in Chief
Project: New Testament
Please pick a passage in Luke, which presents a difficulty (style, argument, storyline etc.) and propose a change. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested. One passage per student, please. Keep it short and to the point. If you cannot find a new passage you may defend or oppose something someone else proposed.
Identify three articles in the ATLAReligion database, which are relevant to your topic. Limit yourself to those available as "full text". To open the instructions you will need our class password.
Work on your exegetical paper.
Questions about last session are posted here.
Read "Infancy Gospel of James" in the Complete Gospels and bring the book to class next session.
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Read Luke 17-24. Interpreters often point out that Luke tries to relieve the Roman government of any wrong-doings (don't indict Pilate!) in his version of the passion story. Try to find passages in Luke (compare them to Mark and Matthew and John if you like), which support or not support this theory. Check out the bulletin board and add a passage no one else has suggested. One passage per student, please. Keep it short and to the point. If you cannot find a new passage you may defend or oppose something someone else proposed.
Write your exegetical paper. (Deadline extended to 12/7 if necessary, get it off your back!)
Questions about last session are posted here.
Please bring
the "Complete Gospels" text book to class.
Read John 1-7 carefully. One way of looking at this gospel is to try to understand it as an integral part of the Four-Gospel-Book. Following the three Synoptic Gospels it often can be read as a commentary on what has already been written, sometimes adding information, sometimes correcting information, but always giving it a "Johannine" twist. Please pick a passage from John which may refer to a Synoptic passage and post it on the bulletin board.
Prepare
for the quiz next week. Questions
and Answers are posted here.
Revisit the book reviews of this course. Pick three books, which you would like to read and submit the name of the authors on this form. Next week I will tell you, who won the popularity contest.
Submit your exegetical paper: Either as a Microsoft-Word file (email attachment) or on paper.
Questions about last session are posted here.
Fill out the quiz and submit it.
Read John 8-14 carefully. One way of looking at this gospel is to try to understand it as an integral part of the Four-Gospel-Book. Following the three Synoptic Gospels it often can be read as a commentary on what has already been written, sometimes adding information, sometimes correcting information, but always giving it a "Johannine" twist. Please pick a passage from John which may refer to a Synoptic passage and post it on the bulletin board.
Finish and submit your exegetical paper.
The most popular book will be posted here.
Questions about last session are posted here.
Read John 15-21 carefully. One way of looking at this gospel is to try to understand it as an integral part of the Four-Gospel-Book. Following the three Synoptic Gospels it often can be read as a commentary on what has already been written, sometimes adding information, sometimes correcting information, but always giving it a "Johannine" twist. Please pick a passage from John which may refer to a Synoptic passage and post it on the bulletin board.
Finish and submit your exegetical paper.
Questions about last session are posted here.
Read the Gospel of Mary in the text book and make a list of characteristics this gospel has in common with the Gospel According to John.
Please fill out a brief
feedback: what should I keep doing, what should I change when I teach
this course again. (Read -- and
react if you choose -- to feedback of
class mates).
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