The Emergence of the New Testament Canon (Distance Learning - 20 credits)
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| THEO4050 | Philosophy | 4 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- THEO4050
- School
- Philosophy
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
This module will examine the factors in early Christianity which led to certain documents, such as the texts that go to make up the Hebrew Bible, being given special status within the community 's worship, memory, and theological perception. It will look at how this collection of documents expanded and evolved in theological significance until it became generally accepted to be a body of 'sacred scripture' - and how that concept was adopted from Judaism and modified within Christianity. The module will also explore the impact of the emergence of a Christian canon of theology, and its significance for Christianity as another 'lawful religion' within the Roman empire.
Target Students
Only available to postgraduate students in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
Classes
Printed study pack with primary and secondary sources and questions for consideration;Contact with the module tutor by email, webct, Skype, or letter on points of interest and questions requiring further clarification or explanation;Recorded interviews provided through webct;Online discussion with the module tutor and fellow students;Lectures at the annual Spring Seminar.
Assessment
- 100% Coursework 1: 3000-4000 word essay
Assessed by end of designated period
Educational Aims
This module has four aims. First, enable the students to appreciate how the ‘New Testament’ (as a book), as such, came into existence within a very specific church-setting. Second, enable students to acknowledge and understand the impact of the development of the ‘New Testament’ had on how its contexts were viewed as objects by Christians and read within theology. Third, enable students to appreciate how canonical status had long term implications for church law. Fourth, the provide students with the critical base for reviewed the notion of canonicity within theology and its implications for particular debates.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
- Demonstrate knowledge of how the notion and content of the New Testament canon developed;
- demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the implications of that development for reading the books included in that canon and their use in theological speculation.
Intellectual Skills:
- Ability to critically reflect upon aspects of Christian belief and culture that are usually beneath the horizon of critical evaluation, combining independence of judgment with appropriate recognition of existing scholarship;
- ability to think critically, independently and in depth about theological and wider cultural issues involved in the issue of canonicity of sacred texts;
- ability to engage in significant independent research; ability to present the results of research in written form, offering arguments and marshalling evidence.
Professional Practical Skills:
- Ability to make discriminating use of a range of library and information resources in order to identify appropriate source material, compile bibliographies and inform research;
- ability to show independence of thought, and critical self-awareness about one's own beliefs.