Tag: RLST 152

Read - Want to Read: Collected Ancient Greek Novels by Bryan P. Reardon (Editor) (University of California Press)
Prose fiction, although not always associated with classical antiquity, did in fact flourish in the early Roman Empire, not only in realistic Latin novels but also and indeed principally in the Greek ideal romance of love and adventure to which they are related. Popular in the Renaissance, these stories have been less familiar in later centuries. Translations of the Greek stories were not readily available in English before B.P. Reardon’s excellent volume. Nine complete stories are included here as well as ten others, encompassing the whole range of classical themes: ideal romance, travel adventure, historical fiction, and comic parody. A new foreword by J.R. Morgan examines the enormous impact this groundbreaking collection has had on our understanding of classical thought and our concept of the novel.
Referenced in lecture by Dale Martin in Lecture 20: The “Anti-household” Paul: Thecla of Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature (RLST 152)

Picked up pdf copy today.

Watched Lecture 19. The "Household" Paul: The Pastorals by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

Introduction to New Testament (RLST 152) In the undisputed Pauline epistles, marriage is seen as a way to extirpate sexual desire - neither as a means for procreation nor as the preferred social status. The Pastoral Epistles, written to instruct in the pastoring of churches and appointing of church offices, presents quite un-Pauline attitudes. In the Pastoral Epistles, the church, rather than an ecclesia, becomes a household, a specifically patriarchal structure in which men hold offices and women are not to have authority over them. They present a pro-family, anti-ascetic message in contrast to the Pauline epistles.

  • 00:00 - Chapter 1. Marriage, Family, Sex, and Women in Paul's Letters
  • 21:01 - Chapter 2. The Pro-Family and Anti-Ascetic Stance in the Pastoral Epistles
  • 26:50 - Chapter 3. The Pastoral Epistles and the Jewish Law
  • 29:53 - Chapter 4. The Church as Household
Been a while since I was on about this. Quick review to hopefully delve back in and finish out the series.
Watched Lecture 19. The "Household" Paul: The Pastorals by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

Introduction to New Testament (RLST 152) In the undisputed Pauline epistles, marriage is seen as a way to extirpate sexual desire - neither as a means for procreation nor as the preferred social status. The Pastoral Epistles, written to instruct in the pastoring of churches and appointing of church offices, presents quite un-Pauline attitudes. In the Pastoral Epistles, the church, rather than an ecclesia, becomes a household, a specifically patriarchal structure in which men hold offices and women are not to have authority over them. They present a pro-family, anti-ascetic message in contrast to the Pauline epistles.

  • 00:00 - Chapter 1. Marriage, Family, Sex, and Women in Paul's Letters
  • 21:01 - Chapter 2. The Pro-Family and Anti-Ascetic Stance in the Pastoral Epistles
  • 26:50 - Chapter 3. The Pastoral Epistles and the Jewish Law
  • 29:53 - Chapter 4. The Church as Household
Watched Lecture 18: Arguing with Paul? by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

Early Christianity presents us with a wide diversity in attitudes towards the law. There were also many different Christologies circulating in different communities. The book of James presents one unique perspective. It seems to be written in the tradition of Jewish wisdom literature in its presentation of sayings and its concern for the poor. James also presents a view of works and faith that seems to oppose Pauline teaching. However, the terms "faith" and "works" function differently in Paul's writings and in the book of James

  • 00:00 - Chapter 1. Diversity in Early Christianity: Attitudes towards the Jewish Law
  • 03:57 - Chapter 2. Diversity in Early Christianity: Christology
  • 21:03 - Chapter 3. James as Jewish Wisdom Literature
  • 27:47 - Chapter 4. Faith and Works in James in Comparison to Paul

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

Interesting to think about how much of our culture is built on the writings of the rich and privileged and the compounding effect it has had over the millennia. 

Acquired The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version 5th Edition

Acquired The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version 5th Edition by Michael Coogan (Editor), Marc Brettler (Editor), Carol Newsom (Editor), Pheme Perkins (Editor) (Oxford University Press)

For over 50 years students, professors, clergy, and general readers have relied on The New Oxford Annotated Bible as an unparalleled authority in Study Bibles. This fifth edition of the Annotated remains the best way to study and understand the Bible at home or in the classroom. This thoroughly revised and substantially updated edition contains the best scholarship informed by recent discoveries and anchored in the solid Study Bible tradition.

· Introductions and extensive annotations for each book by acknowledged experts in the field provide context and guidance. 
· Introductory essays on major groups of biblical writings - Pentateuch, Prophets, Gospels, and other sections - give readers an overview that guides more intensive study.
· General essays on history, translation matters, different canons in use today, and issues of daily life in biblical times inform the reader of important aspects of biblical study.
· Maps and diagrams within the text contextualize where events took place and how to understand them.
· Color maps give readers the geographical orientation they need for understanding historical accounts throughout the Bible.
· Timelines, parallel texts, weights and measures, calendars, and other helpful tables help navigate the biblical world.
· An extensive glossary of technical terms demystifies the language of biblical scholarship.
· An index to the study materials eases the way to the quick location of information.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible, with twenty new essays and introductions and others--as well as annotations--fully revised, offers the reader flexibility for any learning style. Beginning with a specific passage or a significant concept, finding information for meditation, sermon preparation, or academic study is straightforward and intuitive.

A volume that users will want to keep for continued reference, The New Oxford Annotated Bible continues the Oxford University Press tradition of providing excellence in scholarship for the general reader. Generations of users attest to its status as the best one-volume Bible reference tool for any home, library, or classroom.

Hardback book cover in red with white/red text
Ordered on Amazon on 6/13/19 for use as reference with Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature (Yale-RLST152) which I’ve been watching recently.
Watched Lecture 10: The Acts of the Apostles by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

The speech that Stephen gives before his accusers in Acts shows how the author of Luke-Acts used and edited his sources. So, also, does the description of the destruction of Jerusalem in Luke, as compared to that in Mark. The major themes of Luke-Acts are 1) the Gospel going first to the Jews and then to gentiles and 2) that of the prophet-martyr, with Jesus as the prophet-martyr par excellence.

  • Stephens Speech in the Acts of the Apostles [00:00:00]
  • The Destruction [00:19:18]
  • Luke's Gospel to the Jews First [00:24:18]
  • The Prophet-Martyr in Luke and Acts [00:38:19]

Apparently Christians have been bending their stories to suit their point of view since the very beginning. Interesting to hear some of these story-telling traditions and viewpoints and compare them with current political and religious traditions. Not much has changed in 2000 years. I can’t help but think: “Do as I say and not as I do.”

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 9: The Gospel of Luke | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 9: The Gospel of Luke by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

Luke and Acts, a two-volume work, are structured very carefully by the author to outline the ministry of Jesus and the spread of the Gospel to the gentiles. The Gospel of Luke emphasizes the themes of Jesus’ Jewish piety, his role as a rejected prophet, and the reversal of earthly status. The Gospel ends in Jerusalem, and the Acts of the Apostles begins there and then follows the spread of the Gospel, both conceptually and geographically, to Samaria and the gentiles. By closely analyzing the Gospel and Acts, we see that the author was not concerned with historicity or chronological order. Rather, he writes his “orderly account” to illustrate the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews and its consequent spread to the gentiles.

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

We have known of the existence of the Gospel of Thomas from ancient writers, but it was only after the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Codices that the actual text became available. The Gospel of Thomas is basically a collection of sayings, or logia, that sometimes seem similar, perhaps more primitive than sayings found in the canonical Gospels. Sometimes, however, the sayings seem better explained as reflecting a “Gnostic” understanding of the world. This involves a rejection of the material world and a desire for gnosis, a secret knowledge, in order to escape the world and return to the divine being.

The best part here is the background material on the gnostics and the general tenor of the movement which, once consumed, gives much more insight into the writings in the Gospel of Thomas. The idea of multiple types of Christianities is intriguing. Though we have a few today, they’re not as obviously different as earlier incarnations in the first several centuries in the common era.

I just heard a snippet of a radio show recently in which the interview guest would be talking about practicing multiple faiths simultaneously could be interesting and fruitful. Obviously this is not a new ideas…

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 7 – The Gospel of Matthew | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 7 - The Gospel of Matthew by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

The Gospel of Matthew contains some of the most famous passages that both Christians and non-Christians are familiar with. However, Matthew also presents itself paradoxically as preaching a Torah observant Christianity and a Christian mission that seeks to reach gentiles. The figure of Jesus in Matthew is that of a teacher, the founder of the Church, and the model for the apostles and Matthew’s own community. Matthew seems to be writing for a church community that needs encouragement to have faith in a time of trouble.

Lecture Chapters

  1. Matthew: The Most Famous Gospel [00:00:00]
  2. Jesus and the Torah in Matthew [00:12:29]
  3. The Foundations of the Church in Matthew [00:22:08]
  4. Jesus as a Model for the Disciples [00:27:51]
  5. The Stilling of the Storm in Matthew [00:35:44]

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 6 – The Gospel of Mark | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 6: The Gospel of Mark by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

The Gospels of the New Testament are not biographies, and, in this class, they are read through a historical critical lens. This means that the events they narrate are not taken at face value as historical. The Gospel of Mark illustrates how the gospel writer skillfully crafts a narrative in order to deliver a message. It is a message that emphasizes a suffering messiah, and the necessity of suffering before glory. The gospel’s apocalyptic passages predict troubles for the Jewish temple and incorporate this prediction with its understanding of the future coming of the Son of Man.

00:00 - Chapter 1. The Gospels Not As Biographies
13:44 - Chapter 2. A Historical Critical Reading of Mark
22:18 - Chapter 3. Mark's Messiah
30:26 - Chapter 4. The Apocalyptic in Mark

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature – RLST 152 – Lecture 5 – The New Testament as History | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 5 - The New Testament as History from Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

The accounts of Paul’s travels in The Acts of the Apostles and Galatians seem to contradict each other at many points. Their descriptions of a meeting in Jerusalem–a major council in Acts versus a small, informal gathering in Galatians–also differ quite a bit. How do we understand these differences? A historical critical reading of these accounts does not force these texts into a harmonious unity or accept them at face value. Instead, a historical critical reading carefully sifts through the details of the texts and asks which of these is more likely to be historically accurate.

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature – RLST 152 – Lecture 4 – Judaism in the First Century | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 4 - Judaism in the First Century from Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

Of the four kingdoms that arose after Alexander’s death, those of the Seleucids and the Ptolemies are most pertinent to an understanding of the New Testament. Especially important is the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who forced the issue of Hellenism in Jerusalem by profaning the temple. Jews were not alike in their reaction to Hellenization, but a revolt arose under the leadership of the Mattathias and his sons, who would rule in the Hasmonean Dynasty. After the spread of Roman rule, the Judea was under client kings and procurators until the Jewish War and the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. Revolt was only one Jewish response to foreign rule; another was apocalypticism, as we see in Daniel and also in the Jesus’ teaching and the early Christian movement.

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 3 – The Greco-Roman World | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 3 - The Greco-Roman World by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature
Knowledge of historical context is crucial to understanding the New Testament. Alexander the Great, in his conquests, spread Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean world. This would shape the structure of city-states, which would share characteristically Greek institutions, such as the gymnasium and the boule. This would also give rise to religious syncretism, that is, the mixing of different religions. The rise of the Romans would continue this trend of universalization of Greek ideals and religious tolerance, as well as implement the social structure of the Roman household. The Pax Romana, and the vast infrastructures of the Roman Empire, would facilitate the rapid spread of Christianity.

📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 2 – From Stories to Canon | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 2 From Stories to Canon by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

The Christian faith is based upon a canon of texts considered to be holy scripture. How did this canon come to be? Different factors, such as competing schools of doctrine, growing consensus, and the invention of the codex, helped shape the canon of the New Testament. Reasons for inclusion in or exclusion from the canon included apostolic authority, general acceptance, and theological appropriateness for “proto-orthodox” Christianity.