COURSE SYLLABUS
RELS 102 Independent Study: INTRODUCTION TO NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
Summer Session Online Course 2010
3 SEMESTER HOURS
KYUNG S. BAEK
KYUNG.BAEK@TWU.CA
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course serves as an introduction to the writings of the New Testament (NT) – its context, content
and interpretation – as well as to the academic discipline of NT Studies. It seeks to introduce the books
of the NT (historical, literary and theological aspects), with a view to providing a basis for further
reading, understanding, and living.
The course will be divided into four primary sections including:
(1) The essential features of first century (second temple) Judaism and the wider Greco-Roman
world as the immediate life setting of the NT;
(2) A survey of the four Gospels, Acts, Pauline and Catholic letters, and Revelation, with particular
reference to their respective historical settings, literary forms, and theological content;
(3) An overall appreciation of the NT in continuity/discontinuity with the Old Testament, and both
together comprising Holy Scripture; and
(4) Critical reflection upon the interpretation of the NT, especially in relation to its contemporary
relevance and application.
II. COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Cognitive Objectives (concerned with the process of thinking and knowing)
 to understand the specific context, content, and purpose of the NT writings,
 to understand the NT as an entire collection (canon) of both historical and theological
documents,
 to develop the ability to think critically within the realm of academic study and to become
acquainted with key critical issues that attend the study of the NT, and
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
to develop an introductory understanding of the critical tools used by NT scholars and their
importance within the exegetical task.
2. Affective Objectives (concerned with the process of emotion and volition)
 to create a stronger interest for further study of the NT,
 to develop an appreciation for the social and religious backgrounds of the NT,
 to produce a sensitivity to both the unity and diversity of the NT writings, and
 to value the NT as an inspired and living document with contemporary relevance.
3. Behavioral Objectives (concerned with the process of action and lifestyle)
 to encourage the thoughtful application and appropriation of key theological themes found
within the NT,
 to encourage a balanced outworking of the historical Christian concept of faith that is
intellectually thoughtful yet not marginalized by modernism and its claims to reason and
objectivity, and
 to encourage a sensitive and compassionate Christocentric perspective that is able in both
service and work to speak to contemporary society.
III. REQUIRED TEXTS
1. The Bible, preferably the NRSV, NASB, ESV, NIV or NLT.
2. Robert H. Gundry. A Survey of the New Testament: 4th ed. (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2003).
IV. COURSE OUTLINE
Students should keep this FIVE WEEK schedule to complete all the requirements for the course.
WEEK 1:
DAY 1: MONDAY
INTRODUCTION AND BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
Course Introduction: The World and Text of the New Testament
Biblical Interpretation: History, Literature and Theology
New Testament Theology: The Kingdom of God
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY
PART I – POLITICAL, CULTURAL, AND RELIGIOUS ANTECEDENTS
1. Intertestamental and New Testament Historical Background
2. The Secular Settings of the New Testament
3. The Religious and Philosophical Settings of the NT
DAY 5: FRIDAY
PART II – LITERARY AND HISTORICAL MATERIAL
4. The Canon and Text of the NT
5. The Study of Jesus’ Life
6. An Introductory Overview of Jesus’ Public Life and Ministry
WEEK 2:
DAY 1: MONDAY
PART III – THE FOUR CANONICAL GOSPEL AND ACTS
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Notes #1
Notes #2
Power Point #3
2-23
25-43
44-77
78-89
90-108
110-22
7. Gospel of Mark: Jesus as the Suffering Son of Man
8. Gospel of Matthew: Jesus the Teacher & Jewish Tradition
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY
9. Gospel of Luke: Jesus and the Marginalized
DAY 5: FRIDAY
ARTICLE REVIEW DUE 5:00 PM
Mark & 124-157
Matthew & 158-204
Luke & 206-252
WEEK 3:
DAY 1: MONDAY
10. Gospel of John: Jesus as the Word of God
John & 254-297
11. Acts of the Apostles: God, Gospel and the Church in the World
Acts & 298-344
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY
PART IV – THE LETTERS
12. Paul’s Early Letters
1-2 Thessalonians/Galatians & 346-371
13. Paul’s Major Letters
Romans/1-2 Corinthians & 372-411
DAY 5: FRIDAY
14. Paul’s Prison Letters
Philemon/Colossians/Ephesians/Philippians & 412-437
15. Paul’s Pastoral Letters
1-2 Timothy/Titus & 438-455
WEEK 4:
DAY 1: MONDAY
CONTEMPORARY INTERACTION PAPER DUE 5:00 PM
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY
16. Hebrews
Hebrews & 456-471
17. The Catholic, or General, Letters
James/1-2 Peter/Jude/1–3 John & 472-501
DAY 5: FRIDAY
PART VI – THE APOCALYPSE
18. Revelation: John’s Vision of God’s Victory in Jesus Christ
Revelation & 504-528
WEEK 5:
DAY 1: MONDAY
DIAGRAMMATIC SUMMARIES DUE 5:00 PM
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY
TEXTBOOK READING QUESTIONS DUE 5:00 PM
DAY 5: FRIDAY
FINAL EXAM DUE:
1:00–4:00 pm
NEW TESTAMENT AND TEXTBOOK READINGS DUE (READING CHECK LIST) 5:00 PM
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
ASSIGNMENTS
Article Review
Contemporary Interaction Paper
Diagrammatic Summaries
Textbook Reading Assignments
Due
Week 2 / Day 5 (Friday)
Week 4 / Day 1 (Monday)
Week 5 / Day 1 (Monday)
Week 5 / Day 3 (Wednesday)
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Percentage
20%
20%
10%
10%
Final Exam
New Testament and Textbook Readings
Total
Week 5 / Day 5 (Friday)
Week 5 / Day 5 (Friday)
30%
10%
100%
ARTICLE REVIEW (20%):
The student will write a 1000 word review of the “Life-of-Jesus Research and Eclipse of Mythology” by
Craig Evans. Your goal in reviewing this article is to provide a brief summary and careful evaluation of
the material being considered and to assess its usefulness to you and other students. Therefore, a good
review should include the following components:
1. Identify the subject of the article as well as the author’s purpose and intended audience,
2. Briefly explain some of the main points of the article. Explain how the article is developed in terms of
issues or problems addressed (section headings help with this), and the author’s perspective on these
issues (look for such things as section summaries),
3. Briefly evaluate the clarity and organization of the article. Why did you find it easy/hard to read? Give
examples from the article to illustrate your evaluation,
4. Evaluate whether this article has provided insight into the subject and achieved its stated purpose. Ask
questions such as: Does the author satisfy my curiosity about the subject with the questions he/she raises
and the answers he/she gives to them? Is the author’s research sound and has it drawn valid conclusions?
Does the author use primary sources or rely on the interpretation of others? Is the author consistent and
logical? Do biases (and be sure to realize that you, the reader also have biases) creep in and influence
conclusions? Be sure to illustrate your critical comments with specific examples from the book. Be sure
to critically evaluate the article, giving specific examples from the article and a detailed argument
substantiated from primary resources (the NT itself or other references). Also note how it helps and
hinders one’s understanding of the historical Jesus and the reading of the New Testament.
5. Do you recommend this article? Why or why not?
This critical article review is to be typed out and submitted (as a doc or pdf file) by email to
kyung.baek@twu.ca.
Due: Week 2, Day 5 (Friday, 5:00 pm)
CONTEMPORARY INTERACTION (20%):
Interact with a movie (e.g. Gladiator, Knotting Hill, Madagascar, Batman Begins…) based on the major
themes of the New Testament. Draw out themes and narratives from the New Testament (Kingdom of
God, Messiah, Salvation, People of God…), and compare and critique them against the themes and
narrative of your choice of a modern film. Write a 4 page paper (1 page encapsulating the purpose and
prominent themes of the NT [with references from specific passages], 1 page of the story and purpose of
your movie choice, and 2 pages of interaction and critique) and submit (as a doc or pdf file) by email to
kyung.baek@twu.ca.
Due: Week 4, Day 1 (Monday, 5:00 pm)
DIAGRAMMATIC SUMMARIES (10%):
Based on your reading and examination of the NT books make a diagrammatic summary for each book
(27 in total) articulating its literary structure and theological themes showing how the parts contribute to
the whole. This is not an essay, but some creative thought should be given to its style and presentation.
These diagrammatic summaries are to be written and eventually submitted as one complete document
(doc, pdf or ppt file) by email to kyung.baek@twu.ca.
You should have 27 diagrammatic summaries in total. See DIAGRAMMATIC SUMMARY OF MARK on
mycourses as an example.
Due: Week 5, Day 1 (Monday, 5:00 pm)
TEXTBOOK READING QUESTIONS (10%):
The student will answer after each chapter of the textbook two questions (of your choice) from the
section “How much did you learn?” and one question (of your choice) from the section “For Further
Discussion.” Each chapter (2 +1 questions) should be about a third a page single-spaced or 100 words
(150 words maximum; please indicate date completed and word count at the top of the page along with
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your name for every entry). These textbook reading questions are to be typed out and eventually
submitted as one complete document (doc or pdf file) tby email to kyung.baek@twu.ca.
Due: Week 5, Day 3 (Wednesday, 5:00 pm)
FINAL EXAM (30%):
There will be a written final exam that will be completed within three hours, from the student’s location
of choice (provided this location has an internet connection in order to submit the assignment). The
student will be given a set of short answer and essay questions and will be required to answer these in the
allotted time. The student will then email the final exam to the instructor (kyung.baek@twu.ca). The final
exam will cover all materials covered in the course: notes, textbook and New Testament.
Exam Date: Week 5, Day 5 (Friday, 1:00–4:00 pm)
NEW TESTAMENT, NOTES AND TEXTBOOK READINGS (10%):
In order to attain the course objectives it is vital that students spend ample time reading and reflecting
upon the New Testament itself as well as the textbook. The student is encouraged to read the entire New
Testament and textbook to receive full marks. The student must indicate their reading progress by
checking off completed readings (before or after the class day) on READING CHECK LIST on mycourses.
This must then be emailed to kyung.baek@twu.ca.
Due: Week 5, Day 5 (Friday, 5:00 pm)
V. ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION AND POLICIES
LATE: While extenuating circumstances may be taken into consideration by the instructor, assignment
extensions will not be granted and any graded course work that is handed in after the specified due date
will be docked 10% per day up to a maximum of 50%.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: As Christian scholars pursuing higher
education, academic integrity is a core value of the entire TWU community. Students are invited into this
scholarly culture and required to abide by the principles of sound academic scholarship. This includes,
but is not limited to, avoiding all forms of plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict
policy on plagiarism and learning what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it is the student’s
responsibility. An excellent resource describing plagiarism and how to avoid it has been prepared by the
TWU Librarian William Badke and is freely available for download (ppt file) or used as a flash (self
running) tutorials of varying lengths from:
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/plagiarism.ppt
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plariarism.swf (14 minute flash tutorial)
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/Plariarism Short.swf (8 minute flash tutorial)
Anyone found plagiarizing assignments will be disciplined according to university policy. This serious
offence may result not only in a mark of zero for the course, but possible suspension or expulsion from the
university.
GRADING SYSTEM:
Grade
A+
%
95-100
GPA
4.3
A
90-94
4.0
A-
85-89
3.7
B+
82-84
3.3
B
78-81
3.0
B-
75-77
2.7
C+
72-74
2.3
C
68-71
2.0
Grade Interpretation Guidelines
Outstanding, excellent work. Exceptional performance; strong evidence of original thinking;
clear capacity to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, elaborate; eloquence and insight in written
expression; demonstrated masterful grasp of the subject matter and its implications; evidence
of an extensive and detailed knowledge base. (A+ is reserved for very exceptional
accomplishment).
Good, competent work. Laudable performance with evidence of some original thinking,
careful organization; satisfactory critical and analytical capacity; reasonably error-free written
expression, supported with arguments and well documented; a good grasp of the subject matter,
both concepts and key issues; overall, shows a serious, responsible engagement with the course
content.
Reasonably satisfactory work. Fair performance but limited evidence of original thinking and
the capacity to analyze, synthesize or evaluate course material; undue reliance on rote memory;
fairly clear but uninspiring written expression, with problems in mechanics or syntax; weak in
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C-
65-67
1.7
D+
60-64
1.3
D
55-59
1.0
D-
50-54
0.7
F
1-49
0
documented support; satisfactory grasp of basics, but lacks detailed understanding of the course
content.
Minimally acceptable work. Relatively weak performance with little evidence of original
thinking or ability to analyze and synthesize course material; written expression frequently
lacks a coherent argument; ideas are undeveloped; an inadequate grasp of basic elements of the
course.
Inadequate work. Poor performance indicating a lack of understanding of essential subject
matter; written expression is poorly organized, often incoherent, with mechanical and diction
errors; shows little evidence of even basic competency in the course content.
V. ONLINE AND OFFICE INFORMATION
MYCOURSES: As an outline course, administration will be one primarily through mycourses.twu.ca. For
select assignments, I will grade and email back your assignment with comments and a grade by email. It
is therefore vital that student be able to access mycourses and be able to check their @mytwu.ca email
account regularly.
OFFICE HOURS: I will not be keeping regular office hours for this course, but the student may contact me by
email or telephone when required. My email address is kyung.baek@twu.ca and my office telephone
number is (604) 513-2121, extension 3233.
VI. RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes, W.E. A Companion to Biblical Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1916).
Barrett, C.K. The New Testament Background: Selected Documents (rev. ed.; San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1989).
Cartlidge, D.R, and D.L. Dungan. Documents for the Study of the Gospels (New York: Collins, 1980).
Childs, B.S. The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction (Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press
International, 1994).
Chilton, B. Beginning New Testament Study (London: SPCK, 1986).
Davies, W.D. Christian Origins and Judaism (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1962).
Elwell, W.A., and R W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological
Perspective (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998).
Fee, G.D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (3rd ed.; Louisville, Ky.:
Westminster John Knox, 2002).
Grant, F. An Introduction to New Testament Thought (New York: Abingdon, 1950).
Grant, R. A. Historical Introduction to the New Testament (London: Collins, 1963).
Green, J. B. (ed.). Hearing the New Testament: Strategies for Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1995).
Gromacki, R.G. New Testament Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974).
Gundry, R. H. A Survey of the New Testament: 4th ed. (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2003).
Guthrie, D. New Testament Introduction (4th ed.; Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1990).
Hengel, M. The ‘Hellenization’ of Judaea in the First Century after Christ (Philadelphia: Trinity Press
International, 1989).
Johnson, Luke T. The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (rev. ed.; London: SCM, 1999).
Kee, H.C. Understanding the New Testament (5th ed.; Englewoods Cliff, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1993).
Koester, H. Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development (Philadelphia: Trinity Press
International, 1990).
Klimmel, W.G. The New Testament: The History of the Investigation of Its Problems (NTL; London:
SCM, 1973).
_____. Introduction to the New Testament (NTL, rev. ed.; London: SCM, 1975).
Manson, T.W. and H.H. Rowley (eds.). A Companion to the Bible (2nd ed.; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark,
1963).
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Marxsen, W. Introduction to the New Testament: An Approach to Its Problems (Oxford: Basil
Blackwell, 1968).
McDonald, L.M., and S.E. Porter. New Testament Introduction (IBRB 12; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995).
_____. Early Christianity and Its Sacred Literature (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2000).
McNeile, A.H. An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament (2nd ed.; Oxford: Clarendon, 1953).
Perkins, P. Reading the New Testament: An Introduction (2nd ed.; New York: Paulist Press, 1988).
Perrin, N., and D. Duling. The New Testament: An Introduction (3rd ed.; New York: Harcourt Brace
College Publishers, 1994).
Puskas, E.B. An Introduction to the New Testament (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1989).
Robertson, A.T. A Harmony of the Gospels for Students of the Life of Christ (New York: Harper & Row,
1950).
Rowland, E. Christian Origins: An Account of the Setting and Character of the Most Important
Messianic Sect of Judaism (London: SPCK, 1985)
Selvidge, M.J. The New Testament: A Timeless Book for All Peoples (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice
Hall, 1999).
Spivey, R.A., and D.M. Smith. Anatomy of the New Testament (5th ed.; Upper Saddle River, N.J.:
Prentice Hall, 1995).
Stenger, W. Introduction to New Testament Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993).
Walker, B. Gnosticism: Its History and Influence (Wellingborough, England: Crucible, 1989).
Zahn, T. Introduction to the New Testament (3 vols.; Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1953).
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