236. Introduction to the New Testament. Readings in the New Testament and related Greek and early Christian literature. Studies of the Gospels include investigation into the nature of the early Jesus movement and Jesus\rquote place in the Judaism of his day, the interpretation of Jesus\rquote teaching in the context of Roman-occupied Palestine, and the growth of the Jesus tradition in the early Church. Topics such as the diversity of ideas about salvation, influence of Greco-Roman religious thought, the place of women in the early Church, and the break between Christianity and Judaism and the formation of the early Church in its first century are covered in study of the New Testament epistles (emphasis on the apostle Paul\rquote s epistles) and the Book of Revelation. Open to first-year students.
238. Early Jewish History and Thought. Introduction to the later books of the Hebrew Bible and to the literature, religion, and history of Judaism from the Persian Period through the Second Temple Period and the beginnings of the Roman occupation of Palestine. Major topics of study include the formation of Judaism, concepts of nationhood and the diaspora, the origins of antisemitism, hellenized Judaism, Jewish apocalyptic. Readings include the later Biblical books, selected writings from wisdom and apocalyptic works from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish historian Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and selected early rabbinical writings. Open to first-year students.
241. History of Christian Thought I: Conflict, Self-Definition, and Dominance. A study of the development of Christian thought from the ideas of the earliest followers of Jesus to the theological systems of a dominant church. Emphasis is placed upon the interaction of Christian thought with its intellectual and social environment. Open to first-year students. 245. Ascetic and Monastic Christianity: The Christian Flight from the World to God. The history of Christian monasticism from the hermits of the Egyptian and Palestinian deserts to the monastic orders of the Western Middle Ages, to Eastern Orthodox Palamism, and to modern monastic revivals. Topics include monastic demonology; hermit sages and wonderworkers; ascetical mysticism; virgins, widows, and the escape from sexual suppression; pilgrimage and the cult of relics; the rise of monastic orders. A field trip is taken to a New England monastery. Enrollment is limited to 14. Open to first-year students. 303. Seminar in Biblical Criticism. Each year the seminar focuses upon a particular subject in biblical studies, employing the techniques of textual, historical, and form criticism and exegesis for the purpose of developing sound hermeneutical conclusions. Prerequisite: one course in biblical studies or permission of the instructor. May be taken more than once for credit on different topics. s25A. The Red-Letter Gospel. Jesus' words, in a red-letter Gospel book, stand out in red letters as the authoritative heart of the Christian scriptures. But were they really his words? How do we decide between contradictory quotations in the various Gospels? Or between the Gospel accounts and others outside the New Testament? Is red-lettered precision reconcilable with oral tradition? This unit studies the most controversial of the sayings attributed to Jesus on issues selected by the participants, in order to decide what Jesus is likely to have said, and to understand the interpretive issues involved in that task. s26. Reading in the Greek New Testament. Intensive introduction to New Testament Greek. Students begin reading immediately in the Gospel of John, while studying the Koine, or commonly spoken Greek language of late classical and early Christian times. No previous knowledge of Greek is assumed. Enrollment is limited to 8.