Jewish Studies 204 - Intro to New Testament

This course investigates the social and historical context of first and early second-century Christianity, examines New Testament and select noncanonical documents, and introduces participants to the principal methods of New Testament studies. Students will read the 27 works that make up most modern collections of the New Testament, a number of early Christian documents that did not make the final cut, and several ancient non-Christian sources. Examples of recent New Testament scholarship will provide historical background for better understanding of Christian writings and will present different methods for approaching and interpreting ancient texts.