The New Testament and Early Christianity: Texts and Contexts

Module Description:

Distinguishing between Judaism and Christianity in the first century CE (Common Era) is difficult enough, and yet when one recognizes that there were multiple forms of both within this fluid period and later it is impossible to view Christianity and Judaism simply as competing with one another and then parting in separate directions. Indeed, the ‘parting of the ways’ is a crude and oversimplified perception of Judaism and Christianity in the first several decades of the Common Era. This module will introduce students to the literature of the New Testament and other developments in nascent Christianity that attest to everything from a Jewish reform movement (i.e. historical Jesus studies) through to competing expressions of Christianity in the second and third centuries that struggled to gain supremacy and each of which made different claims to orthodoxy (e.g. so-called ‘Gnosticism’).

Indicative Bibliography:

Dunn, J. D. G., Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: An Inquiry into the Character of Earliest Christianity, 2nd ed. (London: SCM Press, 1990).
Ehrman, B. D., The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).
Ferguson, E., Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003).
Metzger, B. M., The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987).

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Discuss the complexities of how categories such as “Jewish” and Hellenistic,” and “Christian” and “Jewish” relate to one another in the first century CE to the third century CE.
• Identify groupings of literature in earliest Christianity and suggest historical progressions between them.
• Provide a basic synopsis of the contents of the New Testament.
• Articulate basic methods and approaches to the study of the New Testament and its historical environments.

Methods of Assessment and Student Workload:

Annual examination and essay.