The focus of this course is Christian scriptures: the New Testament. First-century Christians were rooted in Jewish tradition and their original sacred scriptures were found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). As followers of Jesus, throughout the early decades of their existence, Christian communities created their own collection of sacred literature, which were distinct from the Jewish scriptures that they inherited. These uniquely Christian texts comprise the New Testament. Students are given a general introduction to both the texts of Christian scriptures and the contexts related to them—the ancient contexts in which Jesus and the early Christians lived and the early church grew, the diverse contexts in which each book in the New Testament was created, along with corresponding modern contexts that shape readers in the present. Multiple texts (canonical, deuterocanonical, apocryphal, and pseudepigraphic) and several distinct contexts contribute to an understanding of the New Testament. The primary aim of this course is to prepare students to read, comprehend, and interpret the New Testament responsibly as it applies to their life situation. This aim can only be achieved through a thorough immersion in the scriptures, both the Old and the New Testament, an encounter with the contexts of the New Testament, and a hermeneutical approach grounded in a faith tradition. This course approaches the books of the New Testament in their canonical form to discover the fertile ground in which the Christian scriptures have taken root, and to walk in the shoes of the communities to which they are addressed. We learn the process of interpreting the Bible through inductive study and by applying the outcome of that study to our personal lives and vocational formation.
- Teacher: Mark Fretz