Assessment

Continuous Assessment 50%; End of Semester Take-Home Exam 50%

Module Aims

This module focuses on St Paul as an exemplary missionary disciple. It explores early Christian theology, spirituality and ethics through the critical study of selected texts from the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul against their Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds and within an Imperial Roman context. The aim is to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills in order to effectively read the Pauline corpus as Scripture.

Learning Outcomes

• — Situate Paul and his proclamation within Jewish, Hellenistic and Imperial Roman contexts.
• — Imitate the genre of a Pauline letter
• — Discuss Paul’s fundamental theological and pastoral concerns.
• — Apply central aspects of Paul’s theological, ethical and spiritual contribution to students' own contexts.
• — Apply appropriate methods of textual interpretation to selected texts from the Pauline corpus.

Bibliography

• — Core Text: Michael J. Gorman, Reading Paul. Paternoster, 2008
• — Michael J. Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord. A Theological Introduction to Paul and his Letters, 2nd Ed, Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2016.
• — Mark Allen Powell, Introducing the New Testament, 2nd Ed, Ada MI: Baker Academic, 2018.
• — Brant Pitre, Michael P.Barber and John A. Kincaid, Paul a New Covenant Jew. rethinking pauline theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2019.