Assessment

Reflection exercise (500 words) 25% + Essay 75%

Module Aims

This module will (1) introduce learners to the main characteristics of New Testament Christian communities, the models used to interpret them, and to their relationship to Ecclesiology and Pneumatology, (2) equip learners with basic tools to read in front of the text and to develop theological readings, (3) enable learners to apply these tools to a diverse selection of New Testament texts, (4) empower learners to develop personal theological readings, (5) articulate the contours of the ministries of Word, altar, and charity within the emerging Christian communities

Indicative Syllabus

1. Models of Community – household, associations, synagogues, schools, etc. (Acts 16)
2. Reading Methods – worlds of the text – esp. world in front of the text (John 9)
3. Reading Methods – canonical and theological / ecclesiological (OT figures)
4. Images of Community – Body, Temple, Family, Household (1 Cor 3; 12; 1 Tim 3)
5. Rituals/Practices of Community (Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving [Rom 6; 1 Cor 10-11] and their Ministers.
6. The early Life of the Jerusalem Community (Acts 2-5)
7. Gathering the Household (John 1:19-51)
8. Challenges to the life of the Community (Acts 6:1-7; 11:19-30; 15:1-35)
9. Dwelling in the Household of God (John 14:1-15:17)
10. Lumen Gentium – a contemporary view of the role of the Holy Spirit in Diaconal Ministry and in the Christian Community (Rom 8; 1 Cor 6; 12)

Learning Outcomes

• — L01 (Knowledge): Outline some of the main characteristics of Christian communities, the models that are used to understand them, and the roles of God, Christ, the Spirit, and community members.
• — L02 (Comprehension): Explain the significance of certain key passages in the New Testament and how these passages have been read in Christian tradition (Ecclesiology and Pneumatology).
• — L03 (Application): Build on a distinction between the world behind the text (author-centred), the world of the text (text-centred), and the world in front of the text (reader-centred), participants will consider early and recent readers of the text to illustrate how Christian communities may be shaped by the scriptural text.
• — L04 (Analysis): Apply through careful reading of selected New Testament passages some personal perspectives, especially in relation to pastoral situations.
• — L05 (Synthesis): Summarize a few major theological themes in the New Testament texts (e.g., God, Christology, Death & Resurrection, Pneumatology, Ethics, Ecclesiology), and in particular the diaconal ministries of Word, altar, and charity, and present the results clearly in writing.
• — L06 (Evaluation): Demonstrate some discernment regarding problematic issues of interpretation of the New Testament passages, especially in relation to Israel / Judaism and to diaconate ministry.

Bibliography

• — Longenecker, Richard N., editor. Community Formation in the Early Church and in the Church Today. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002. [to be ordered]
• — Powell, Mark Allan. Introducing the New Testament: A historical, literary, and theological survey. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2018. [eBook]
• — Alexander, Loveday. “Mapping Early Christianity: Acts and the Shape of Early Church History.” Interpretation 57/2 (2003): 163-173:
• — Ascough, Richard S. "What are they Now saying about Christ Groups and Associations?" Currents in biblical research 13/2 (2015): 207-244.
• — Avis, Paul D. L., editor. The Oxford Handbook of Ecclesiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. [262 AVI]
• — Barclay, J. M. G. Paul and the Gift. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015.
• — Barton, Stephen C. “Christian Community in the Light of the Gospel of John.” In Christology, Controversy and Community: New Testament Essays in Honour of David R. Catchpole. Edited by D. G. Horrell & C. M. Tuckett. Leiden: Brill, 2000. [eBook]
• — Capes, David B., Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2017. [eBook]
• — Castelo, Daniel & Kenneth M. Loyer, editors. T&T Clark Handbook of Pneumatology 2020. London, England: T&T Clark, 2020. [eBook]
• — Coloe, Mary L. Dwelling in the Household of God. Johannine Ecclesiology and Spirituality. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2006. [226.506 COL]
• — Longenecker, Bruce W., editor. Early Christianity in Pompeian Light. People, Texts, Situations. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016. [eBook]
• — Molony, Francis J. Love in the Gospel of John. An Exegetical, Theological, and Literary Study. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2013. [226.506 MOL]
• — Oakes, Peter. Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul's Letter at Ground Level. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. [227.1067 OAK]
• — Still, Todd D. and David G. Horrell, editors. After the First Urban Christians: The Social-Scientific Study of Pauline Christianity Twenty-Five Years Later. London: Continuum, 2009. [227.067 STI]
• — Thompson, James. The Church According to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ. Grand Rapid: Baker Academic, 2014. [262 THO]
• — Van der Watt, Jan G. Family of the King. Dynamics of Metaphor in the Gospel According to John. Leiden: Brill, 2000. [eBook]