NT302 - The Early New Testament Church

  • 0 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 4
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 5
    AQF level
  • new testamentUnit Discipline

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

  1. The history, themes, theology and narrative of the Book of Acts
  2. The contents, context, themes and theology of major New Testament Epistles

B. Be able to

  1. Discuss: a) the history, themes, theology and narrative presented in the Book of Acts; and b) the contents, themes and theology of selected New Testament Epistles
  2. Analyse key developments and emerging patterns in the beginnings and expansion of the early church
  3. Explain the issues confronted by and teaching of selected New Testament Epistles

C. Be in a position to

  1. Integrate perspectives from ‘The Early New Testament Church’ with their other theological studies
  2. Apply perspectives from ‘The Early New Testament Church’  to current issues in Christian life and thought

Content

Section A:

The beginnings and expansion of the church as reflected in the New Testament documents, with special attention to the Acts of the Apostles.  Topics to be covered include:

  1. The Jerusalem church
  2. Early Christian preaching
  3. Stephen and the Hellenists
  4. The Pauline mission and churches
  5. The Council of Jerusalem
  6. Schism, heresy and external threat in the early church.

Section B:

The main issues confronted in and the teaching of at least seven major New Testament epistles.

 

Note: Both Section A and Section B should be weighted at not less than 25% of the content and assessment.

Set Readings

Receommended

Fitzmyer, J. A., The Acts of the Apostles (New York: Anchor, Doubleday, 1997).

Goulder, M., St Peter Verses St Paul: A Tale of Two Missions (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995).

Harding, M. and A. Nobbs (eds), The Content and Setting of the Gospel Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010).

Hengel, M., Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity (repr; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2003).

Marshall, I. H. and D. Peterson (eds), Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).

Spencer, F. S., The Portrait of Philip in Acts: A Study of Roles and Relations (Sheffield: JSOT, 1992).

Winter, B. W. (Gen. Ed.), Book of Acts in its First Century Setting (6 Vols; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993-1996).

Woods, E. J., The ‘Finger of God’; and Pneumatology in Luke–Acts (Sheffiled: SAP, 2001).

 

Classic

Cassidy, R. J., Society and Politics in the Acts of the Apostles (New York: Orbis, 1987).