Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary CT/NT760 Mission in the Early Church Spring 2013 Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament Course Description The centrality of Jesus mission as Israel s Messiah and Savior of the world explains the centrality of missions for the early church: all the authors of the various New Testament books, perhaps with the exception of James and Jude, worked as missionaries at one point. The course thus explores not one among many issues relevant for understanding the New Testament, but a central reality of the church in the first century. We will study the impetus, the character, the scope, and the goals of the missionary work of the early church as it is presented in the New Testament. We will focus on historical presuppositions, geographical realities, cultural and religious contexts, communicative strategies and the content of the early Christian mission, integrating historical, social, rhetorical, exegetical, and theological approaches to the study of the New Testament texts, with occasional queries into the ecclesiological and missiological significance of the missionary work of the early church for the church in the 21st century. Course Objectives Students will be able to understand the realities of the early Christian mission in terms of the strategy and tactics of the first missionaries of the church. Students will be able to survey the history of the church in the first century in terms of key turning points and in terms of the church s geographical expansion. Students expand their knowledge of the world of Second Temple Judaism and of the Greco-Roman world as the context for an authentic understanding of the New Testament. Students will consolidate expertise in the study of the New Testament, as they encounter various approaches to New Testament exegesis. Students will be able to articulate the centrality of Jesus, the crucified Messiah and Savior of the world. Students will understand the relevance of cultural and social realities for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Students will be able to articulate the centrality of Jesus, the crucified Messiah and Savior of the world. Course Preparation Since this is a reading course, more reading material than usual will be assigned. The required reading will be over 2,000 pages, which does not include reading for the research paper. Students will engage the material they read on CAMS, in meeting sessions, and in their research paper. Students are required to interact with each other on CAMS. This can involve posting and interacting with questions from fellow students, commenting on difficult biblical texts, on [1]
provokative interpretations, or on challenging insights. Students should identify possible discussion topics for the meeting times. Students will meet for at least six hours to discuss the reading material with the professor (for times and dates see below). Students prepare for these meeting times by (1) reading the required material for that meeting, (2) taking notes on the reading, (3) interacting with fellow students on CAMS, (4) formulating discussion questions and contributions to the discussion. The course will begin with the Cooley lectures January 17 18, 2012, with the following topics: 1. Paul in Athens: Temples, Philosophers, Aeropagus Council Members, and Paul s Mission; 2. Paul in Caesarea: Governors, Trial Defense, and the Centrality of Jesus Resurrection. Students living reasonably close to Charlotte are expected to atttend these lectures. Students who are not able to attend will engage the lectures through DVDs that will be produced. Course Requirements Achievement of the course objectives will be measured through a variety of assignments. The successful completion of these assignments will require each student to spend at least 135 hours devoted to coursework, both in class and outside of class. These hours are distributed across the various course assignments as follows: Lecture 1: 2 hours; Lecture 2: 2 hours; reading and note taking: 70 hours; on-line collaboration: 30 hours; research paper: 36 hours. More specific descriptions of the assignments are given later in this syllabus. Course Outline and Reading The course has four sessions, related to four meeting times. Students need to have read the required reading indicted for each sessions, and taken notes, before we meet. The notes for each session must be emailed to the professor (use PDF format). First Session: Mission in the Old Testament, in Second Temple Judaism, and in Jesus Ministry Schnabel, E. J. Early Christian Mission. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004, 3 386 (ISBN 0-8303-2790-0) Köstenberger, A. J., and P. T. O Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001, 25 127 (ISBN 0-8308-2611-4) Second Session: The Missionary Work of the Twelve Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 389 913 Köstenberger / O Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, 127 59, 203 70 Third Session: The Missionary Work of Paul Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 923 1485 [2]
Köstenberger / O Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, 161 201 Plummer, R. L. Paul s Understanding of the Church s Mission. Bletchley: Paternoster, 2006 (ISBN 1-84227-333-7) Fourth Session: Perspectives on the Challenges and on the Message of the Early Church s Mission Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, 1489 1588 Bolt, P. G. / M. Thompson, eds. The Gospel to the Nations: Perspectives on Paul s Mission. FS P. O Brien. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2000 (ISBN 0-8308-1557-0) Research Paper Students will write a research paper of ca. 5,000 words (including footnotes and bibliography), demonstrating work in the required texts, primary sources (including the biblical text), commentaries, monographs, and journals. The SBL Handbook of Style should be followed for style, bibliographical citations, and abbreviations. Students should choose a topic from the following list: 1. Jesus as a missionary in Galilee 2. Jesus and Herod Antipas 3. Jesus and the sinners 4. The significance of Pentecost 5. Stephen as a missionary in Jerusalem 6. Philip as a missionary in Samaria 7. Peter and the church in Jerusalem 8. Peter as a missionary in Caesarea Maritima 9. Peter as a missionary after AD 42 10. The origins of the church in Rome 11. Paul s mission to Nabatea and Syria 12. Paul s mission to Southern Galatia 13. Paul s mission to Macedonia 14. Paul s mission to Achaia 15. Paul s mission to Spain 16. Paul and his coworkers 17. Peter and Paul: Conflict or cooperation? 18. Paul and James: Conflict or cooperation? 19. Paul and other religions 20. Was Paul a cross-cultural missionary? 21. Paul and ethnic identity 22. Paul and missionary contextualization 23. Paul and Graeco-Roman society 24. Paul s missionary communication and rhetoric 25. Paul and the Jewish people 26. Paul and conversion 27. Paul and politics 28. Thomas and an early Christian mission to India 29. The origins of the church in Egypt 30. Early Christian eschatology and missions Course Assessment Student Participation in lectures, meetings, on CAMS: 20% of grade; student notes of required texts: 20%; research paper: 60%. [3]
Select Bibliography Ådna, Jostein, and H. Kvalbein, ed. The Mission of the Early Church to Jews and Gentiles. WUNT 127. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2000 Ådna, Jostein, ed. The Formation of the Early Church. WUNT 183. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005 Bakirtzis, Charalambos, and Helmut Koester, ed. Philippi at the Time of Paul and after His Death. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1998 Barnett, Paul W. Paul: Missionary of Jesus. After Jesus Volume 2. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008 Barrett, Charles K. Jesus and the Word and Other Essays. PTMS 41. Allison Park: Pickwick, 1995 Bauckham, Richard J., ed. The Book of Acts in its Palestinian Setting. The Book of Acts in Its First-Century Setting Vol. 4. Exeter: Paternoster, 1995 Bell, Richard H. The Irrevocable Call of God: An Inquiry Into Paul s Theology of Israel. WUNT 184. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005 Bock, Darrell L. and M. Glaser, eds. To the Jew First: The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2008 Bormann, Lukas, K. Del Tredici, and A. Standhartinger, ed. Religious Propaganda and Missionary Competition in the New Testament World. FS Dieter Georgi. Leiden: Brill, 1994 Bosch, David. Transforming Mission. Paradigm Shifts in the Theology of Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1991 Bowers, Paul W. Studies in Paul's Understanding of His Mission. Ph.D. Dissertation. Cambridge, 1976 Chesnutt, Randall D. From Death to Life: A Descriptive and Comparative Study of Conversion in Joseph and Aseneth. JSPSup 16. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995 Chester, Stephen J. Conversion at Corinth: Perspectives on Conversion in Paul s Theology and the Corinthian Church. Studies of the New Testament and Its World. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2003 Crossan, John Dominic. The Birth of Christianity. Discovering what Happened in the Years Immediately after the Execution of Jesus. San Francisco: Harper, 1998 Dunn, James D. G. Beginning from Jerusalem. Christianity in the Making II. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009 Dunn, James D. G., ed. Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways A.D. 70 to 135. WUNT 66. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1992. Reprint Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999] Dunn, James D. G. The Partings of the Ways: Between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity. London and Philadelphia: SCM and Trinity Press, 1991 [1996] Feldman, Louis H. Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World. Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993 Flemming, Dean E. Contextualization in the New Testament: Patterns for Theology and Mission. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005 Gill, David W. J., and C. Gempf, ed. The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting. The Book of Acts in Its First-Century Setting. Vol. 2. Exeter: Paternoster, 1994 Goodman, Martin. Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994 Goulder, Michael D. Paul and the Competing Mission in Corinth. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2001. Hahn, Ferdinand. Mission in the New Testament. London: SCM, 1965 Harnack, Adolf von. The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries. Second edition. New York: Putnam, 1908 Hemer, Colin J. The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History. Edited by C.H.Gempf. WUNT 49. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1989 Hengel, Martin, and Anna Maria Schwemer. Paul Between Damascus and Antioch. The Unknown Years. London: SCM, 1996 Hengel, Martin. Saint Peter: The Underestimated Apostle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010 Keown, Mark J. Congregational Evangelism in Philippians: The Centrality of an Appeal for Gospel Proclamation to the Fabric of Philippians. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2008 Köstenberger, Andreas J., and Peter T. O Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. NSBT 11. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001 Lane, Thomas J. Luke and the Gentile Mission: Gospel Anticipates Acts. EUS 23/571. Frankfurt: Lang, 1996 Legrand, Lucien. Unity and Plurality. Mission in the Bible. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1990 [4]
Lietaert Peerbolte, Lambertus J. Paul the Missionary. Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 34. Leuven: Peeters, 2003 Magie, David. Roman Rule in Asia Minor to the End of the Third Century after Christ. Reprint. New York: Arno, 1975 [1950] Marshall, I. Howard. New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004 Matson, David Lertis. Household Conversion Narratives in Acts. Pattern and Interpretation. JSNTSup 123. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996 McKnight, Scot. A Light Among the Gentiles. Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991 Meyer, Ben F. The Early Christians: Their World Mission and Self-Discovery. GNS 16. Wilmington: Glazier, 1986 Mitchell, Stephen. Anatolia: Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor. Vol. 1. The Celts and the Impact of Roman Rule. Vol. 2. The Rise of the Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1995 [1993] Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. Paul: A Critical Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996 Nún*ez Regodón, J. El Evangelioi en Antioquía: Gál 2,15-21 entre el incidente antioqueno y la crisis gálata. Plenitudo Temporis 7; Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia, 2002. Okure, Teresa. The Johannine Approach to Mission: A Contextual Study of John 4:1-42. WUNT 2/31. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1988 Park, Eung Chung. The Mission Discourse in Matthew's Interpretation. WUNT 2/81. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1995 Penney, John M. The Missionary Emphasis of Lukan Pneumatology. JPTSup 12. Sheffield: Academic Press, 1996 Riesner, Rainer. Paul's Early Period: Chronololgy, Mission Strategy, Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998 Schnabel, Eckhard J. Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies, and Methods. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008 Scott, James, M. Paul and the Nations: The Old Testament and Early Jewish Background of Paul's Mission to the Nations with Special Reference to the Destination of Galatians. WUNT 84. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1995 Strelan, Richard E. Paul, Artemis and Jews in Ephesus. BZNW 80. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1996 Svartik, Jesper. Mark and Mission: Mk 7:1-23 in its Narrative and Historical Contexts. CB.NT 32. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 2000 Tuckett, Christopher M. Q and the History of Early Christianity: Studies on Q. Peabody, MA and Edinburgh: Hendrickson and T. & T. Clark, 1996 Uro, Risto. Sheep Among the Wolves: A Study on the Mission Instructions of Q. AASF.DHL 47. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1987 Weaver, Dorothy J. Matthew s Missionary Discourse: A Literary Critical Analysis. JSNTSup 38. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990 Wilckens, Ulrich. Die Missionsreden der Apostelgeschichte. Form- und traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen. WMANT 5. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1974 [1961] Wilk, Florian. Jesus und die Völker in der Sicht der Synoptiker. BZNW 109. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter, 2001 Wilson, Stephen G. The Gentiles and the Gentile Mission in Luke-Acts. SNTSMS 23. Cambridge: University Press, 1973 Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006 Atlases and Maps: Talbert, Richard J. A., ed. Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Map-by-Map Directory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000 Tsafrir, Yoram, L. Di Segni, and J. Green, Iudaea. Palaestina. Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods. Maps and Gazetteer. Tabula Imperii Romani. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994 [5]
Syllabus Addendum Academic Standards Cheating and plagiarism are considered serious breaches of personal and academic integrity. Cheating involves, but is not necessarily limited to, the use of unauthorized sources of information during an examination or the submission of the same (or substantially same) work for credit in two or more courses without the knowledge and consent of the instructors. Plagiarism involves the use of another person s distinctive ideas or words, whether published or unpublished, and representing them as one s own instead of giving proper credit to the source. Plagiarism can also involve over dependence on other source material for the scope and substance of one s writing. Such breaches in academic standards often result in a failing grade as well as other corrective measures. For more information, please consult the Student Handbook. ADA Policy The seminary complies with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A student with a qualifying and authenticated disability who is in need of accommodations, should petition the seminary in accordance with the stated guidelines in the Student Handbook. Cancellation of Class In the event the seminary has to cancel a class meeting (impending storm, professor illness, etc.), the Registration Office will send out an email (via the GCTS email account) notification to all students registered in the respective course. If the cancelation occurs the day of the scheduled meeting, the Registration Office will also attempt to con- tact students via their primary phone contact on record. The professor will contact the students (via GCTS account) regarding make-up. If a weekend class is cancelled, the class will be made up during the scheduled Make-Up weekend (see the academic calendar for the designated dates). For more info, consult your Student Handbook. Extension Policy Arrangements for submission of late work at a date on or before the last day to submit written work, as noted on the seminary s Academic Calendar, are made between the student and professor. Formal petition to the Registration Office is not required at this time. This includes arrangements for the rescheduling of final exams. However, course work (reading and written) to be submitted after the publicized calendar due date, must be approved by the Registration Office. An extension form, available online, must be submitted to the Registration Office prior to the last day to submit written work. Requests received after this date will either be denied or incur additional penalty. For a full discussion of this policy, please consult the Student Handbook. Grades Faculty have six weeks from the course work due date to submit a final grade. Grades are posted on-line within twenty-four hours of receipt from the professor. Students are expected to check their CAMS student portal in order to access posted grades (unless instructed otherwise). Those individuals who need an official grade report issued to a third party should put their request in writing to the Registration Office. Returned Work Submitted hard-copy course work will be returned to the students if they provide a self addressed and postage- paid envelope with their final work. Work submitted without the appropriate envelope will be destroyed after the grade has been assessed and issued. [6]