PHI253 Early Christian Sacred Texts

Christians wrote and wrestled over many texts in the first 300 years of the religion. We will explore these texts as well as the conversations around them, leading up their adoption into or exclusion from what is known today as the New Testament. Emphasis will be upon the social and theological problems in these early communities that occasioned the crafting of the texts.

Credits

3

MOTR Number

MOTR RELG101N

Outcomes

1. Recall the basic features and organization of the New Testament
2. Classify a given passage with respect to genre
3. Situate, using historical criticism, a given passage or text within a historical and cultural context
4. Differentiate various theo-political conversations and points of view which are in dialogue with one another within the textual tradition of the New Testament
5. Appraise the use and appropriation of the New Testament in various religious traditions and political and cultural discourse
6. Apply knowledge of the New Testament and critical scholarship to analyze Christian non-canonical works
7. Create an interpretive awareness guide for personal or institutional use appropriate for people with zero background knowledge of the New Testament