Intro to the NT: Shape of the Course

I. Prologue
Robert Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought, 52-53.
Reading Luke's Gospel in 1983.
Why was the New Testament written? A florilegium:

John 20:31 ESV: These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

1 John 5:13: I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

Acts 1:3-4 ESV: It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

1 Peter 5:12: By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

Jude 3-4: Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed.

Romans 15:15-16: on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God.

Rev 21:3-5: I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with [people]. He will dwell with them, and they will be his [peoples], and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the [first] things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Prayer
Vision

II. Structure
Challenge packages allow you to choose your level of difficulty.
Our schedule arranges our tasks:

For the books' overall structure, recorded summaries from The Bible Project.
Center-stage, the biblical texts themselves! Of course!
For their cultural context, major themes, and debates, a New Testament survey.
For deeper dives into more specific topics, other readings.
For interpretive topics and my own observations, recorded lectures.
For actively processing this material, in-class discussions. Come prepared! [Cf. Will Hunting on college education.]
For experience teaching and learning, in-class homilies or presentations on readings.
For developing your thinking and understanding, written assignments.
To pursue your individual questions about the NT, the course, and life, office hour visits.
For accountability and to gauge your level of knowledge, midterms and a final.

Grading reflects (I hope) your overall performance and strengths,

rather than your ability to "hack bad tests."

Exercise: a close reading of Jude.