Westmont College
Fall Term, 2004

The New Testament World RS 114

Bruce N. Fisk	Associate Professor of New Testament Department of Religious Studies Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Location & Time	PH 4 / Tuesday & Thursday 1:15 - 3:05
Voicemail & E-mail	805-565-7369 / fisk@westmont.edu
Web Page	www.westmont.edu/~fisk/docs
Office Hours	Mon. & Wed., 12:45 - 1:30; 3:15 - 4:30 and by appointment

Description

Texts

Requirements

Grading Scale

Schedule

Books & Links

Description (top of page)

The Christian movement emerged under the watchful eye, and the oppressive hand, of the Roman empire. This course shall lead students into the social world of Jesus, Paul and the early church, and shall show how various aspects of Roman society illuminate our reading of the New Testament. At each point we shall return to several key questions:

• Why did Christianity succeed? What was it about Christianity that allowed it to take root and spread across the empire?
• What held Christianity back? What elements of Roman culture and society created the greatest obstacles to the Christian mission?

Course texts, film-clips and class discussion shall introduce a range of topics of interest for students of the New Testament, including the emperor cult, Greco-Roman religions, life in the city, sexuality and gender, patriarchy and family, social status and honor, work and slavery, wealth and taxes, violence and entertainment, and Roman law and punishment. Of particular importance is the figure, and legacy, of Flavius Josephus, whose writings and significance we shall consider in some detail.

Texts (top of page)

Four texts and a Bible are required. The recommended texts listed at the end are some of the many resources available for class presentations, written work and, especially, to indulge sheer curiosity.

Requirements (top of page)

I. Readings and Response Papers (40%)

This course will be reading-intensive, and will succeed to the extent that each of us takes responsibility to keep up, to come prepared to discuss what we've read, and to share what we take to be particularly illuminating of the New Testament world. Among the readings, we devote considerable attention to the figure and writings of Josephus, a Jewish-general-turned-Roman-historian whose remarkable literary legacy cannot be ignored by any who truly hope to understand the world of Jesus, Paul and the New Testament. Each week I shall assign a reflection question that attempts to integrate our various readings with the New Testament. Your brief, written responses (no more than 1 page, single-spaced) will be shared in small groups and/or with the entire class and then handed in. No late assignments will be accepted.

II. Presentations on the New Testament (40%)

Working individually or in groups of two, select a passage from the New Testament that intersects with one of the following themes:

• gender relations and / or patriarchy
• shame, honor and social status
• Jewish piety and ritual
• Greco-Roman religious practice
• magic, medicine and / or miracles
• Jewish or Roman beliefs about the afterlife
• community ties and values
• meals and table manners
• judges, courts and legal issues
• soldiers, armies and military issues
• rulers, governors and the emperor
• farming, day laborers and landowners
• marriage, divorce and remarriage
• crime, punishment and crucifixion
• story-telling and historiography
• other [make your suggestions]

Prepare a paper for submission and an accompanying oral presentation designed to show how this aspect of the Greco-Roman world illuminates your passage. Aim to engage the class and explain the topic in a way that is both interesting and informative. Help us enter the world of the text. Help us imagine what this aspect of Roman society was like and how it provides a helpful context for the study of the New Testament.

Specific Guidelines

• choosing a text / topic: be sure to consult with me on your text and topic. Then, submit a clearly written paragraph (100-150 words) noting the NT text and the particular aspect of Roman society you intend to explore, and what you hope to discover along the way.
• due dates: four dates have been set aside for presentations (11-9, 11-16, 11-30, 12-7). Before you can select a due date, your descriptive paragraph must be approved.
• presentation format: do not simply read your notes to the class. Use your notes, certainly, but know your topic well enough that you can work off of an outline. Incorporate creative element where possible (e.g., drama, readings, music, images, handouts, debate, interviews, discussion, comedy, simple costumes, props, souvenirs, stories, etc.). Conclude the presentation by posing at least three discussion questions to help us explore more thoughtfully the intersection (or collision) of Christianity with Greco-Roman culture and thought.
• presentation time limit: each presentation should fill no more than 30 minutes but may need to be less, depending upon the final number of presentations.
• submission: your paper is to be a fuller version, complete with bibliography (at least 7-10 sources), foot/endnotes, title page and outline.
• grading: oral presenation 15%, paper 25%.

III. Final Exam (20%)

Schedule (top of page) Important Note: assignment dates are provisional, subject to revision.

Date	Topic	Readings and Resources
8-31	Introductions
9-2	Historical Survey: Greeks and Romans Reflection Question #1	Jeffers: 14-18, 293-323 Second Temple Judaism: An Outline; History of the Roman Empire
9-7	Josephus: Use and Abuse	Mason: 1-33 Josephus: Preface, chp.1. Josephus: summary bio 1 Maccabees (NRSV): read chapters 1-5.
9-9	History continued. Life and Death in the First Century	Jeffers: 19-47 1 Maccabees (NRSV): skim chapters 6-16
9-14	Josephus: Career Reflection Question #2	Mason: 34-54 Josephus: chps. 2-3
9-16	The City in the Greco-Roman World The Social System of Roman Palestine	Jeffers: 48-70 Hanson: 3-17 and web resources
9-21	Josephus: Writings	Mason: 55-145 Josephus: chps. 4-5
9-23	Influences on Christian Organization	Jeffers: 71-88
9-28	Who's Who? Herod the Great, Roman Governors Reflection Question #3	Mason: 147-180 Josephus: chps. 6-7
9-30	Religion in the Greco-Roman World Political Religion in Roman Palestine	Jeffers: 89-109 Hanson: 131-159 and web resources
10-5	Who's Who? Jewish High Priests, Pharisees & Sadducees	Mason: 180-211 Josephus: chps. 8-9
10-7	Governing of the Provinces and Palestine Politics and Patronage Reflection Question #4	Jeffers: 110-141 Hanson: 63-97 and web resources Tacitus and Pliny on Christianity
10-12	Fall Holiday
10-14	Tools of Governance;Finances, Law; the Military Policital Economy	Jeffers: 142-179 Hanson: 99-129 and web resources
10-19	Early Christian Figures Mentioned by Josephus	Mason: 213-250 Josephus: chps. 10-11
10-21	Social Class;Status in the Empire	Jeffers: 180-196
10-26	Josephus and Luke-Acts: Generic Parallels	Mason: 251-273 Josephus: chps. 12-13
10-28	Citizenship Reflection Question #5	Jeffers: 197-210
11-2	Josephus and Luke-Acts: Events, Theme, Vocabulary	Mason: 273-305 Josephus: chps. 14-15
11-4	The Jews in the Cities	Jeffers: 211-219
11-9	Student Presentations
11-11	Slavery	Jeffers: 220-236 Josephus: chps. 16-17
11-16	Student Presentations
11-18	The Family, Women, Education Kinship in Agrarian Roman Palestine	Jeffers: 237-258 Hanson: 19-61 and web resources
11-23	Video: An Archaeological Search for Jesus
11-25	Thanksgiving Break
11-30	Student Presentations	Josephus: chps. 20-21
12-2	Provinces & Cities of the New Testament Era	Jeffers: 259-292
12-7	Student Presentations	Josephus: chps. 22-23
12-9	Social Science and NT Study	Hanson: 161-165
12-13	Final Exam ( 8:00 a.m. )

Grade Scale (top of page) 

.		B+	87-89	C+	77-79	D+	67-69	.
A	95-100	B	84-86	C	74-76	D	64-66	F	0-59
A-	90-94	B-	80-83	C-	70-73	D-	60-63	.

Recommended Texts (top of page)

Texts and Links for Further Study -- Work in Progress

David Aune, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World. Eerdmans, 1983.

Acts of Paul and Thecla. (Wesley Center Online.)

Appolonius of Tyana: three links: Excerpts from Philostratus' Life of Appolonius; Jona Lendering on Apollonius; Early Christian Writings

Richard Bauckham, The Book of Acts in its Palestinian Setting.

Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church.

F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free.

Shaye D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah.

John Dominic Crossan & Jonathan L. Reed, Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts. HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.

David A. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture. IVP, 2000.

Everett Ferguson, E. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Eerdmans, 1987.

Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians. Harper & Row, 1986.

David W. J. Gill, The Book of Acts in its Graeco-Roman Setting.

D. Hellholm, ed. Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East. J. C. B. Mohr, 1983.

Colin J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History.

M. Hengel, Jews, Greeks and Barbarians: aspects of the hellenization of Judaism in the pre-Christian period. trans., John Bowden. Fortress, 1980.

K. C. Hanson and Douglas E. Oakman, Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts. Fortress, 1998.

Richard A. Horsley, ed. Paul and Politics: Ekklesia, Israel, Imperium, Interpretation. Trinity, 2000.

Richard A. Horsley, ed. Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial Society. Trinity, 1997.

Brad D. Hume, Galen of Pergamum (University of Dayton) www.udayton.edu/~ehume/Galen/galen.htm

James S. Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era. IVP, 1999.

Flavius Josephus: On-line Resources

Howard C. Kee, The Origins of Christianity: Sources and Documents. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: 1973.

Hans-Josef Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity. B. McNeil, trans. T. & T. Clark, 2000.

Irina Levinskaya, The Book of Acts in its Diaspora Setting.

Ramsay MacMullen, Paganism in the Roman Empire. Yale, 1981.

John McRay, Archaeology and the New Testament. Baker, 1991.

Wayne Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. Yale, 1983.

Alan Millard, Reading and Writing in the Time of Jesus. Sheffield, 2000. Interview with Millard.

Frederick J. Murphy, The Religious World of Jesus: An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism. Abingdon, 1991.

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, Paul: A Critical Life.

Paleo-Judaica -- a nice scholar's blog, hosted by James Davila.

Paul Perry, Jesus in Egypt: Discovering the Secrets of Christ's Childhood Years. Ballantine, 2003.

Lee T. Percy, Galen: A Biographical Sketch. courses.ed.asu.edu/horan/ced522readings/galen/dreams/galenbio.htm

Petronius, The Satyricon (Intro. & Summary) www.westmont.edu/~fisk/Articles/PetroniusSatyricon.html

Brian Rapske, The Book of Acts in Roman Custody.

A. Y. Reed and S. Mason, Flavius Josephus research site -- josephus.york.ca.

E. P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief 63BCE-66 CE. Trinity, 1992.

J. Julius Scott, Jr. "Did Jerusalem Christians Flee to Pella?"

R. H. Smith, "Pella" in D. N. Freedman, ed., Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, pp. 219-221.

Dennis E. Smith, From Symposium to Eucharist. Fortress, 2003.

Gerd Theissen, The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth. Fortress, 1982.

Antonia Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age. Eerdmans, 2002.

James C. Vanderkam, The Dead Sea Scrolls Today.

ibid., Introduction to early Judaism.

Bruce Winter, Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities. Eerdmans, 2003.

Bruce W. Winter, The Book of Acts in its ancient Literary Setting.

Ben Witherington, The Paul Quest: the renewed search for the Jew of Tarsus.

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