Part One:
Why is Jesus
a Historical Problem?
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Aug 21 |
Introduction to the Course
This course uses Blackboard
for announcements,
assignments, grades, etc.
Abbreviations:
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Aug 23 |
Did Jesus
Exist?
Reading: Powell, 251-4; Bart Ehrman & Robert Price Debate – Did Jesus Exist?
Read the brief intro, watch the first link, i.e., the "Preview," and then the first hour and five minutes of the debate, i.e., Ehrman and Price's opening statements. You are welcome to watch the rest, but that's not required.
Supplemental readings are not required. They are resources to go further into any subject that
interests you.
Supplemental
Reading: Search for the Historical Jesus
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Aug 25
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History and
Faith: An
Indelicate
Balance
Reading: Powell, ix-xii, 1-9; 255-60; The Interpretive Spectrum Handout (available in Course Content)
Supplemental Reading: The 2003 Hayward Lectures (Lecture 1): "The First Faith"
These lectures contain many of the leading ideas in Dunn, Jesus Remembered.
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Aug 28
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Scientific
and
Historical
Complications
I:
Enlightenment
and
Modernity
Reading: Powell, 10-19
Supplemental Reading:
Origen on the Differences Between the Gospels
David L. Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers
Holmes is praised for presenting a "balanced and scholarly portrait of a very diverse spiritual landscape" (Philip Jenkins). He makes a strong case that various founders were either Deists, Christian Deists, or Orthodox Christians.
The Jefferson Bible
More on Albert Schweitzer: Albert Schweitzer; The Most Famous Schweitzer Quote; More Schweitzer Quotes
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Aug 30
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Scientific
and
Historical
Complications
II: Jesus
and the
Supernatural
Reading: Powell, 237-44
Supplemental Reading:
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Sep 1 |
Class
Cancelled |
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Sep 4 |
Labor Day Holiday
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Sep
6
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The Ongoing
Quests for a
Lost Jesus
Reading: Powell, 19-33
Supplemental Reading: Harris, "The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus" (On Blackboard)
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Sep
8
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Sources
Overview I:
Archaeology,
Roman and
Jewish
Literature,
and NT
Epistles
Reading: Powell, 34-43
Supplemental Reading:
The House of Peter: The Home of Jesus in Capernaum?
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Sep 11
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Sources
Overview
II: John
and Noncanonical
Sources
Reading: Powell, 52-59
Supplemental Reading:
The
Gnostic Archive;
Heracleon:
Fragments from his commentary on the Gospel of John;
The
Gospel of Thomas. For more, click
here.
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Sep 13
Paper 1 |
Sources
Overview III:
The Synoptic
Gospels
Reading: Powell, 43-52
Discussion Paper Assignment: Re-marking Mark and the Consequences of Dispensing with Q
Supplemental Reading:
Three
Gospel Synopsis
This link takes you to an online synopsis of the gospels. For example, find "The Temptation" in chapter 1 of
Mark and click on the little color-coded Bibles at the beginning of the
account.
More Supplemental Reading: "A Table of Parallel Passages in the Gospels" (HSB, 1653-63); "Introduction to the Gospels" (NOAB, 1743-45); The Two
Source Hypothesis;
The
Synoptic Problem; More Supplemental Synoptic Problem Reading; Supplemental Synoptic Problem Exercises; Harris, "The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus" (See Course Content, Supplemental Reading);
Licona, "Why are there differences in the Gospels? Ancient biography, Plutarch & the Gospels"; McKnight, The Jesus We'll Never Know; Search for the Historical Jesus
The first two links take you
to lots of info
supplementing the basics you
get in the textbook and
presenting alternative
theories.
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Part
Two: The
Gospels
and Their Contexts
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Sep 15 |
Authors and Genre
Reading: Carter, xi-xii, 1-23
Supplemental Reading:
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Sep 18
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Setting and Form
Reading:
Carter, 25-40
Supplemental Reading:
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Sep 20 |
Orality and Performance
Reading: Carter, 40-48
Supplemental
Reading:
The 2003 Hayward Lectures (Lecture 2): "Behind the Gospels" (These lectures contain many of the leading ideas in Dunn, Jesus Remembered.)
Papias;
Q Resources Online;
Q according to Luke's Wording
The Papias link takes you to the earliest surviving traditions concerning Papias (ca. 135 C.E.), including his comments about the writing activities of Mark and Matthew. Since what he ascribes to Matthew here does not sound like the book of Matthew we know but rather a collection of Aramaic "sayings" later "translated" (or "interpreted"), some scholars think that the disciple Matthew could have been the author of the earliest edition of Q.
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Sep
22
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The Tale Mark Tells I
Reading: Carter, 49-63
Supplemental Reading:
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Sep 25
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The Tale Mark Tells II
Reading:
Carter, 63-74
Supplemental Reading: Atonement of Christ; Atonement in Christianity; How Are We Saved: 4 Theories of At-One-ment Slideshow;
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Sep 27 |
Mark and Rome I
Reading:
Carter, 75-86
Supplemental Reading:
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Sep 29 |
Mark and Rome II
Reading: Carter, 86-98
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Oct
2
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The Tale Matthew Tells I
Reading: Carter, 99-110
Supplemental Reading:
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Oct 4 |
The Tale Matthew Tells II
Reading: Carter, 110-22
Supplemental Reading:
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Oct 6 |
Matthew's Makeover of Jesus and the Disciples
Reading: Carter, 123-35
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Oct
9 |
Matthew and the Synagogue
Reading: Carter, 135-49
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Oct 11 |
Mid-term
Exam
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Oct 13 |
Fall
Holiday |
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Oct 16 |
The Tale Luke Tells I
Reading: Carter, 151-64
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Oct 18 |
The Tale Luke Tells II
Reading: Carter, 164-77
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Oct 20 |
Luke
and Kingdom
I
Reading: Carter, 179-93
Supplemental Reading:
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Oct 23 |
Luke and Kingdom II
Reading: Carter, 193-212
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Oct 25 |
The Tale
John Tells I
Reading: Carter, 213-226
Supplemental Reading:
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Oct 27 |
The
Tale John
Tells II
Reading: Carter, 226-38
Supplemental
Reading:
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Oct 30 |
John and
Wisdom I
Reading: Carter, 239-48
Supplemental Reading:
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Nov 1 |
John and
Wisdom
II
Reading: Carter, 248-60
Supplemental Reading:
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Nov
3 |
Gospels and
the Canon
Reading: Carter, 261-72
Supplemental Reading:
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Part
Three:
Finding
Jesus/Jesus
Findings
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Nov
6 |
Criteria
Reading: Carter, 272-81; Powell, 59-71
Supplemental Reading:
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Nov
8 |
Snapshots
of Jesus I
Reading: Powell, 72-87
Supplemental Reading:
Kirby, Historical
Jesus Theories
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Nov 10 |
Snapshots of
Jesus II
Reading: Powell, 87-97
Supplemental Reading:
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Nov 13
Paper Two |
The Roots of the Radical Jesus
Reading: Q (See Course Content)
A strong majority of NT scholars believe that the writers of the Gospels we call Matthew and Luke used a lost written source made up mostly of sayings of Jesus. This source is referred to as "Q," an abbreviation for the German word "quelle" which means source. Plausible dates for composition of this source range from the 40s to the 60s C.E., making these materials common to Matthew and Luke among the earliest surviving traditions about Jesus. Though written in Greek when incorporated into Matthew and Luke, it may have been composed originally in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and his disciples. Even if the Q source theory were ever proven wrong, the inclusion of these materials in two Gospels would seem to confirm their importance for understanding the message of Jesus.
Discussion Paper Two: Who Was Jesus? An Investigative Report
Supplemental Reading:
Papias;
Q Resources Online;
Q according to Luke's Wording
The Papias link takes you to the earliest surviving traditions concerning Papias (ca. 135 C.E.), including his comments about the writing activities of Mark and Matthew. Since what he ascribes to Matthew here does not sound like the book of Matthew we know but rather a collection of Aramaic "sayings" later "translated" (or "interpreted"), some scholars think that the disciple Matthew could have been the author of the earliest edition of Q.
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Nov 15 |
The Jesus
Seminar
Reading: Powell, 98-117
Supplemental Reading: Funk: Jesus for a New Millennium;
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Nov 17 |
Crossan
Reading: Powell, 118-39
Supplemental Reading: J.D. Crossan: 2000 UNI lecture on the historical Jesus
There are many videos of Dom Crossan on the web, but this is a good first watch.
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Nov 20 |
Class
Cancelled |
| Nov 22–26 |
Thanksgiving Break |
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Nov 27 |
Borg
Reading: Powell, 140-57
Supplemental Reading: Marcus Borg: "Why Jesus Matters"
There are many videos of Marcus Borg on the web, but this is a good first watch.
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Nov 29
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Sanders
Reading: Powell, 158-77
Supplemental Reading: Jesus and Judaism with Duke University Professor E.P. Sanders; Is Paul's Legacy Relevant Today?
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Dec 1 |
Meier
Reading: Powell, 178-99
Supplemental Reading:
John P. Meir: Jesus the Jew - But What Sort of Jew?
Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
Good transfer of the recent film restoration, but you do have to put up with ad interruptions. Also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
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Dec 4 |
Wright
Reading: Powell, 200-224
Supplemental Reading: Simply Wright: "The Jesus We Never Knew"
There are many videos of Tom Wright on the web, but this is a good first watch.
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Dec 6 |
The Continuing Quest: Issues and Concerns
Class Reading: Powell, 225-37, 244-49
Supplemental Reading:
The 2003 Hayward Lectures (Lecture 3): "The Characteristic Jesus"
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Dec 8 |
Study Day |
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Final Exam |
REL 320–1
Final Exam
(Wednesday,
December 13,
1:15 pm to
3:15 pm)
For final exam
preparation instructions, see Assignments.
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