TMM1011: Introduction to New Testament 2021-22

Dr Peter Turnill

- 6 minutes read - 1179 words

Welcome to Introduction to the New Testament!

This module will give you a detailed introduction to the New Testament (NT), surveying some of its main features and major contributors.

The NT can seem at the same time sprawling and diverse but also repetitive and confusing. It is one of the key goals of this module that we ‘tune in’ to the different voices of the NT writers, whether Matthew, Paul or John, for example, and get to know them as individual writers with their own themes and emphases, and sometimes what we can surmise as their (or their audience’s) situation. Our learning will therefore be a mixture of history and theology, as we learn more about the worlds the NT came from and the worlds it creates for us.

We will read a good portion of the NT together as we go along: if you can come to each session having read through the relevant text beforehand, you will have it fresh in your mind and will hopefully have questions, especially as the course proceeds and you begin to think about the texts differently. It will also help with your reading of the relevant text book chapters, which will make more sense if the material is familiar.

About 2/3 of the NT is narrative, once you have compiled the four gospels and Acts, and we must therefore concentrate on this section. The rest of the NT, with the sort-of exception of Revelation, is comprised of letters, and here we must be more selective. Compared to the diversity of the OT, the NT is pretty plain. Yet the limited genres reflect the situation: what God had achieved through his son Jesus had to be related through narratives. The growth of the growing network of churches throughout Asia and into Europe had to be maintained with correspondence. The events of about 27-63AD seem to have dictated the literary form of the NT. It is in that sense quite a 'practical' section of the Bible. There is no Job or Esther or Lamentations here. God has acted (or spoken) in a final way, and the task now is to bring this message to the world. This is the how the NT gets its 'shape'.

We will begin, however, with an in-depth look into the background of Jesus’ world, getting to know its recent history and current situation.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Pre-reading:

Please read through the relevant NT text before the session, and also the other chapter drawn from the ‘Exploring the New Testament’ series. There should be plenty of copies of each in the library.

For the Gospels and Acts: Exploring the New Testament vol. 1: The Gospels and Acts by David Wenham and Steve Walton.

For the Letters and Revelation: Exploring the New Testament vol. 2: The Letters and Revelation by Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis, and Ian Paul.

Recommended reading:

I highly recommend Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers by Michael J. Gorman. There are plenty of copies in the library, and it is a very helpful guide to reading the Bible well and planning an exegesis. It also has guidance for which translations are best, and how to avoid some typical exegetical pitfalls. I have given a list of essential tips which will give you an idea of what Gorman can help you with.

Some tips for writing your exegesis:

  1. Read your text through several times and makes notes. Generate questions. Spot problems. Note key words or metaphors.

  2. Think about where your text is. What comes before it and what comes after? Does this text start something that develops, or is it the climax of something which began a while ago?

  3. Consider your genre. Are you reading a narrative or letter? If it’s a letter, does it have rhetoric? Is the audience being persuaded or criticised or praised or encouraged? If a narrative, what story-telling features are being used? Is this a key part of the plot? Is the prose economical here, being briefly descriptive, or is the story lengthy, detailed, focused?

  4. Read the commentaries. The commentaries are your anchor and guide. They will help you understand your text, where it is, and they will either answer your questions generated earlier, or they will show you that you were wrong to ask them, and better ones exist. They may even show you problems you had not noticed. They will definitely show you lots of things you had not noticed.

  5. Other reading material is valuable but secondary to commentaries. Dictionaries (the IVP 'black' series [e.g.], and the Yale Anchor series are the best places to start [find them in the lower library]), more focused studies and even monographs and articles are good, though try not to get bogged down. Have a solid basic grasp of your text and its 'problems' first. Solving such problems, believe it or not, is less important at this stage. Knowing that they are there and what they mean for your text is your primary goal.

  6. Beware the original languages! See how the commentaries handle this. And certainly read Gorman!

  7. Stick to your text, and go through it line by line or clause by clause. Don’t do a lot on the first two sentences and breeze by the rest. Cover it all. Some parts will necessarily require more ink than others, because there are key parts and tricky questions. But do make sure you get to all of it.

  8. Engage the scholars: review the options. This one thinks this, but that one argues against it and here’s why. Show you understand what is being discussed and what is at stake. Then give YOUR opinion and say why. You may not be sure what to make of the debate. But you may feel this scholar had more going for his or her opinion. Again, specify why.

The list could go on, but do read Gorman for much more info.

Week 1: Background to the NT

  • Pre-reading: Chapters 1-2 of Wenham and Walton.

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 1

  • Lecture Slides

Week 2: The gospel of Matthew

  • Pre-reading:

    • The Gospel of Matthew

    • Wenham and Walton ch.10

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 2

  • Lecture Slides

Week 3: The gospel of Mark

  • Pre-reading:

    • The Gospel of Mark

    • Wenham and Walton ch.9

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 3

  • Lecture Slides

Week 4: The gospel of Luke

  • Pre-reading:

    • The Gospel of Luke

    • Wenham and Walton ch.11

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 4

  • Lecture Slides

Week 5: The gospel of John

  • Pre-reading:

    • The Gospel of John

    • Wenham and Walton ch.12

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 5

  • Lecture Slides

Week 6: Acts

  • Pre-reading:

    • Acts

    • Wenham and Walton ch.13

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 6

  • Lecture Slides

Week 7: Romans

  • Pre-reading:

    • Romans

    • Marshall, Travis and Paul chs. 3 and 8

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 7

  • Lecture Slides

Week 8: 1 Corinthians

  • Pre-reading:

    • 1 Corinthians

    • Marshall, Travis and Paul ch. 16

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 8

  • Lecture Slides

Week 9: Hebrews

  • Pre-reading:

    • Hebrews

    • Marshall, Travis and Paul ch. 16

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 9

  • Lecture Slides

Week 10: Revelation

  • Pre-reading:

    • Revelation

    • Marshall, Travis and Paul ch. 21

  • Suggested: Gorman ch. 10

  • Lecture Slides