This course will introduce students to the writings of the New Testament. In order to understand those writings, it will also refer to the Hebrew Scriptures and give some idea of the cultural and historical context of the time, as well as the history of the Jewish people. In addition, it will look to contemporary interpretations of the texts and put those texts into dialogue with issues in contemporary life.

Professor: Dr. Anna Minore
Contact Info: miriam3141@hotmail.com
503 891-0918 (cell phone)

NOTE: E-mail is the best way to reach me. Weekends or evenings after 9 pm are the best time for me to discuss the course with you by telephone, although you can of course leave a message at any point in time. If you leave a message, let me know what would be good times to call you back, and please remind me of any time zone differences! I'm in Eastern Standard Time.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Readings

These readings are dense. I think that if most people read every single word, in a single sitting, with intense attentiveness, they would quickly feel overloaded with information. Instead, you might try reading several paragraphs at a time, over the course of a week. Or, you might skim several sections and choose several others to read in-depth. Of course, perhaps you will devour all the data and wish for more! I encourage you to find a reading style that will keep your interest alive while still thinking about the scriptures and their application to your life. Do not force yourself to read page after page of data that is not interesting to you; there is plenty of data that will be interesting to you, and you might as well focus more intensely on that, since you will probably have a better memory for what interests you, anyway.

12 written essays.

Each essay should be from 2-4 pages long. Two pages is sufficient for the A, but please write more if you would like to do so. For each essay, please include several of the following:

What surprised or interested you the most about this particular reading?

What part of the text, if any, did you find useful in your spiritual life and practice?

Do you think that the Church today teaches and adheres to the scriptures, as portrayed in this reading? In your opinion, is that adherence (or lack thereof) positive or hurtful or challenging or exemplary...? How about American society, as you have experienced it? Be specific about the bible verses and the particular aspects of American society/the Church.

Is there a part of this reading that gives you a different view of Jesus and/or what it might mean to be Christian today?

If you absolutely had to pursue more research on the subject matter of the chapter, which aspect would you choose to learn more about, and why?

What different resonances do particular scriptural passages from this section have for you? Do you remember when you first heard them, or how you were helped (or hurt) by them over the years?

If none of the above questions speak to you, maybe you would like to summarize the reading assignment or one section of it. The act of writing and summarizing will be valuable in learning and absorbing the material, and you might find that certain thoughts arise in the process of working with the material in this manner.

I'm assuming that you will add your own questions and insights as they arise

Finally, if you would like to experiment with different formats such as poetry, art (if you will risk sending it to me, I will risk returning it in the same packaging), or an imaginative journal or dialogue or play, for example, then please do so. My only criteria are that the grammar be correct and that your expression is explicitly related to the reading. That would mean that you include a lot of detailed imagery from the chapter (in the poem/art-work), or that you cite/footnote specific passages (during your imaginative journal or play), for example. Finally, please do not do art-work if you are not an artist! No crayon stick-figures of the last supper.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

**Readings are either from Raymond Brown's Introduction to the New Testament (NY: Doubleday, 1997) or from Elizabeth Johnson's Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology (NY: Crossroad, 1994).

Assignment One: Brown, Chapter's 4 and 5

Political, Social, Religious, Philosophical Background of the Times

Assignment Two: Brown, Chapter 6

Gospels in General

Assignment Three: Brown, Chapter 7

Mark. Please read this with your Bible in hand, so that you can go back and forth between the text and the Scriptures

Assignment Four: Johnson, Chapter 2

The Humanity of Jesus

Assignment Five: Brown, Chapter 11

John. Read with Bible, as stated above

Assignment Six:.Johnson, Chapter 3

Jesus' Self-Knowledge

Assignment Seven: Brown, Chapter 10

Book of Acts, read with Bible

Assignment Eight: Brown, Chapters 16 and 17

Paul: Life and Appreciation

Assignment Nine: Brown, Chapter 22

Paul's Letters: First Corinthians

Assignment Ten: Read Scriptures: Philippians and 1 Timothy

Paul's Letters: Philippians and 1 Timothy

Read whatever you find interesting about these books in Brown. In other words, don't feel like you need to read the entire chapter; just look up certain verses that you are interested in and learn about them.

Assignment Eleven: Johnson, Chapter 6

Liberation Christology: Theology, Community, and Action (This assignment deals with contemporary trends in theology. You could also do Inter-religious dialogue, or feminist theology, or environmental theology, if you would prefer to do so. Johnson has a chapter on each).

Assignment Twelve: Brown, Chapter 37

The End-Times: Book of Revelation

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