Jesus and the Origins of Christianity

Jesus and the Origins of Christianity

Jesus and the Origins of Christianity

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Founder of Christianity .. Freyne, on NT World .. Kung, on Jesus .. Murphy-O'Connor on Paul .. Harrington, on Matthew's Jesus .. Harrington, on Mark's Jesus .. Brown, on Luke .. Brown, on John .. Brown, on Acts .. Benedict XVI, on John .. Perkins on Beginnings of Christology .. Perkins, on Life of Jesus

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Session 1

Christianity: a historical religion; our documents (New Testament; early apocryphal writings; early Christian Fathers; Canon of Scripture); Yet: genuine problems in establishing who was the " Historical" Jesus.

Session 2

Earliest NT Writings: Pauline Letters: How Paul's thought about Jesus was developed & defended. How Paul's mission both spread and helped to form Christianity

Session 3

Some of the characteristic Pauline teachings - about Christian faith, morality and community. His Christology compared with the Gospels. Pauline " imitation of Christ, " and our understanding of Christianity.

Session 4

How the " catholic Epistles" (of Peter and James) portray Jesus.
Discussion of students' essays in progress.

Session 5

Our Four Gospels: What delayed the writing of the Gospels, and why were they finally written? How historical are they? How far do they interpret Jesus? How they compare with the "apocryphal" Gospels.

Session 6

Mark's portrait of Jesus: Earliest: earthy quality; stress on Jesus' power and his mysterious identity. Tradition associating it with St. Peter

Session 7

Matthew's Jesus: New and Greater Moses, with a higher Law; the Son of God, always with us; Future Judge of the Living and the Dead

Session 8

Luke's Jesus: The turning-point of history; the teacher of prayer, mercy and forgiveness; the source of Spirit for his followers.

Session 9

"Outward from Jerusalem" – how the Book of Acts portrays the spread of faith in Jesus, and the hope of salvation through him, into the Greco-Roman world.

Session 10

Deepening theological understanding: Jesus, in Hebrews and Apocalypse

Session 11 The Eternal Word made Flesh. Portrayal of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. How this became the dominant Christology in the post NT era

Session 12

Various interpretations of Jesus (Kung, Crossan, Dodd, Meier, Dunne etc)

We will examine what is said about Jesus in the New Testament and in a range of other documents (Roman and apocryphal) from the early Christian era, each of them proposing an interpretation of his significance for others. From such an overview it will emerge how vital was the fixing of the New Testament canon for the subsequent faith of Christians. In the process we will touch on modern assessments of Jesus by scholars such as John Dominic Crossan, C. H. Dodd, James Dunne, Sean Freyne, Wilfrid Harrington and John Meier.

Reading Material for the course:

Brown, R.E., An Introduction to the New Testament, NY: Doubleday, 1997 (n.b. his chapters on the origins of the New Testament, and on the nature of the Gospels, on Luke's Gospel; on the Spirit in Luke-Acts, and the particularities of the Fourth Gospel)

Dodd, C. H., The Founder of Christianity, London, 1970

Dunn, J.D.G. Jesus Remembered (Christianity in the Making vol. 1. ) Grand Rapids, 2003

Freyne, Sean, The World of the New Testament, Glazier, 1988 (see his segments on the Greek, Roman and Jewish influences)

Freyne, Sean, Jesus, A Jewish Galilean. New York, Continuum, 2003

Harrington, W.J. Commentaries on the Four Gospels, Dublin, Columba Press (see esp. his Jesus of Matthew, The Jesus of Mark; and on the meaning of the Infancy stories)

Kung, Hans, On Being a Christian (about Jesus' Identity and Mission)

Murphy-O'Connor, J., Paul, A Critical Life, New York: OUP, 1997. (see especially his chapters on "Paul's education in Tarsus" and on "Conversion and its Consequences")

Perkins, Pheme, Reading the New Testament New Jersey, Paulist, 1988. (see especially her chapters on the Life and Preaching of Jesus; on Mark's Gospel, and on the beginnings of Christology )

Ratzinger, J. (pope Benedict XVI), The Ministry of the Disciples of Jesus

Rogers, P., Inspirations (Library of Theology CD,) Dublin, 2008 (sections on Josephus, World of the NT, etc.)

Smith, Mahlon, Background material for the understanding of Jesus ("Into His Own")

Suggested Essay Topics:

Is Paul's redemptive understanding true of the real Jesus

The nature of our Gospels: interplay of history and doctrinal treatise

Matthew's Jesus: Majestic Son of God, greater than Moses

Mark's Jesus: A powerful yet suffering, mysterious Messiah

Luke's Jesus: Merciful healer and guide to life's pilgrimage

John's Jesus: Almighty Word made Flesh, that we may have life

Portrayals of Jesus, in the apocryphal Gospels

The message of Jesus, according to Kung's "On Being a Christian"

Session 1	Christianity: a historical religion; our documents (New Testament; early apocryphal writings; early Christian Fathers; Canon of Scripture); Yet: genuine problems in establishing who was the " Historical" Jesus.
Session 2	Earliest NT Writings: Pauline Letters: How Paul's thought about Jesus was developed & defended. How Paul's mission both spread and helped to form Christianity
Session 3	Some of the characteristic Pauline teachings - about Christian faith, morality and community. His Christology compared with the Gospels. Pauline " imitation of Christ, " and our understanding of Christianity.
Session 4	How the " catholic Epistles" (of Peter and James) portray Jesus. Discussion of students' essays in progress.
Session 5	Our Four Gospels: What delayed the writing of the Gospels, and why were they finally written? How historical are they? How far do they interpret Jesus? How they compare with the "apocryphal" Gospels.
Session 6	Mark's portrait of Jesus: Earliest: earthy quality; stress on Jesus' power and his mysterious identity. Tradition associating it with St. Peter
Session 7	Matthew's Jesus: New and Greater Moses, with a higher Law; the Son of God, always with us; Future Judge of the Living and the Dead
Session 8	Luke's Jesus: The turning-point of history; the teacher of prayer, mercy and forgiveness; the source of Spirit for his followers.
Session 9	"Outward from Jerusalem" – how the Book of Acts portrays the spread of faith in Jesus, and the hope of salvation through him, into the Greco-Roman world.
Session 10	Deepening theological understanding: Jesus, in Hebrews and Apocalypse
Session 11	The Eternal Word made Flesh. Portrayal of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. How this became the dominant Christology in the post NT era
Session 12	Various interpretations of Jesus (Kung, Crossan, Dodd, Meier, Dunne etc)

We will examine what is said about Jesus in the New Testament and in a range of other documents (Roman and apocryphal) from the early Christian era, each of them proposing an interpretation of his significance for others. From such an overview it will emerge how vital was the fixing of the New Testament canon for the subsequent faith of Christians. In the process we will touch on modern assessments of Jesus by scholars such as John Dominic Crossan, C. H. Dodd, James Dunne, Sean Freyne, Wilfrid Harrington and John Meier. Reading Material for the course: Brown, R.E., An Introduction to the New Testament, NY: Doubleday, 1997 (n.b. his chapters on the origins of the New Testament, and on the nature of the Gospels, on Luke's Gospel; on the Spirit in Luke-Acts, and the particularities of the Fourth Gospel) Dodd, C. H., The Founder of Christianity, London, 1970 Dunn, J.D.G. Jesus Remembered (Christianity in the Making vol. 1. ) Grand Rapids, 2003 Freyne, Sean, The World of the New Testament, Glazier, 1988 (see his segments on the Greek, Roman and Jewish influences) Freyne, Sean, Jesus, A Jewish Galilean. New York, Continuum, 2003 Harrington, W.J. Commentaries on the Four Gospels, Dublin, Columba Press (see esp. his Jesus of Matthew, The Jesus of Mark; and on the meaning of the Infancy stories) Kung, Hans, On Being a Christian (about Jesus' Identity and Mission) Murphy-O'Connor, J., Paul, A Critical Life, New York: OUP, 1997. (see especially his chapters on "Paul's education in Tarsus" and on "Conversion and its Consequences") Perkins, Pheme, Reading the New Testament New Jersey, Paulist, 1988. (see especially her chapters on the Life and Preaching of Jesus; on Mark's Gospel, and on the beginnings of Christology ) Ratzinger, J. (pope Benedict XVI), The Ministry of the Disciples of Jesus Rogers, P., Inspirations (Library of Theology CD,) Dublin, 2008 (sections on Josephus, World of the NT, etc.) Smith, Mahlon, Background material for the understanding of Jesus ("Into His Own") Suggested Essay Topics: Is Paul's redemptive understanding true of the real Jesus The nature of our Gospels: interplay of history and doctrinal treatise Matthew's Jesus: Majestic Son of God, greater than Moses Mark's Jesus: A powerful yet suffering, mysterious Messiah Luke's Jesus: Merciful healer and guide to life's pilgrimage John's Jesus: Almighty Word made Flesh, that we may have life Portrayals of Jesus, in the apocryphal Gospels The message of Jesus, according to Kung's "On Being a Christian"