RLGN 1302 NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY

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RLGN 1302NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY

• WEEK 1

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INTRODUCTIONS

• THOMAS W. FISHER
• Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Southern
  Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
• Assistant Dean, Wayland Baptist University, San
  Antonio Campus
• Assistant Professor, Department of Religion and
  Philosophy

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Who Are You?

• Name
• What you do for a living?
• How many different schools you have attended?
• What year did you take your first college course?
• How far are you from graduation?
• What do you hope to take away from this course?

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WHY STUDY THE BIBLE?

• Waylands Mission
• The Bibles Influence on the World
• The Mid-East Situation
• The Crusades
• The Bibles Influence on Western Society
• Hospitals
• Universities
• Science
• The Bibles Influence on Literature
• The Golden Rule
• The Good Samaritan
• The Prodigal Son
• Armageddon

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Definitions

• Canon-That list of works determined by the early
  church to be authoritative for faith and
  practice.
• Considerations
• Consistency with acknowledged apostolic teaching
• Geographic distribution
• Influence

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Definitions

• Canon (Continued)
• In addition to the works that comprise the
  Christian New Testament, there were a number of
  others that were not canonized
• Shepherd of Hermas
• The Didache
• The Gospel of Peter
• The Acts of Peter and Paul
• The Epistle of Barnabas

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Inspiration

• Different views
• General A heightened sensitivity to or insight
  into things religious or spiritual
• May or may not be accurate
• Places the reader in judgment over the scriptures
• Robs the scriptures of authority
• Mechanical Dictation The belief that the authors
  of scripture functioned as little more than
  scribes who penned what the Holy Spirit told them
• Does not account for variations in style, form,
  and vocabulary among different books and authors
• Too much emphasis on the importance of words.
• Must appeal to non-existent evidence (autographs)

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Inspiration

• Plenary Verbal Allows for differences of style,
  vocabulary, and genre, but retains emphasis on
  words.
• Still depends on non-existent evidence, i.e.,
  autographs
• Still cannot explain differences between text
  traditions
• Dynamic Acknowledges Gods activity after the
  fact. Allows for variations in style,
  vocabulary, and genre. Emphasizes scripture as
  final product.

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Inspiration (Continued)

• Fishers Definition That process, however
  conceived, by which God caused the scriptures to
  be written, collected and arranged

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GOSPEL

• A particular variety of religious propaganda
  comprised of biographical vignettes of Jesus
  life and selected examples of Jesus teaching
  that further the theological agenda of the
  author.
• Not a biography
• Not a history
• Not primarily concerned with chronology

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Testament

• A covenant based on the Hittite suzerainty treaty
  form in which God is the sole determiner of the
  requirements for inclusion among His people.

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Important People Groups End Events in the
Background of the New Testament

• The Babylonians
• In 586 BCE they conquered Jerusalem and razed the
  Temple
• This was a major blow for the Hebrews because
  sacrifice was a central part of their worship and
  the Temple was the only place Sacrifice could be
  offered
• Their policy for defeated peoples included exile
  and resettlement

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The Babylonians (Continued)

• The Jews sought to maintain their identity as a
  people through the study of Torah
• They spread the Jews throughout Mesopotamia
• This resulted in the establishment of synagogues
  throughout the Babylonian empire wherever there
  were at least ten Hebrew men

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The Babylonians (Continued)

• Many persons frustrated with the polytheistic
  theology of Babylon were attracted to the ethical
  monotheism of Hebrew religion (now Judaism)
• While these folks did not convert because of the
  requirementscircumcision, dietary, and
  calendricalthey were very attracted to the
  teaching

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The Babylonians (Continued)

• This produced a ready audience of Gentile
  listeners for the gospel when it arrived nearly
  six centuries later
• It was from these folks that Paul won many of his
  converts on his missionary tours

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The Greeks

• In the fourth century BCE Alexander the Great set
  out from Greece on a mission of conquest
• His goal was to share the benefits (as he
  considered them) of Greek culture, called
  hellenism
• An important aspect of this process of
  hellinization was the spread of Greek language

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The Greeks (Continued)

• This enforced process established a common
  language throughout the whole region
• While different people groups retained their
  native language, they also learned to speak Greek

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The Greeks (Continued)

• A common language throughout the empire made it
  possible for Paul to do missionary work in
  western Asia and eastern Europe without having to
  learn many different dialects

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The Romans

• Although the Roman presence was considered
  objectionable to the Jews, the Romans actually
  brought many benefits to Palestine
• The pax romana (Roman peace) created
  stabilityeven if artificialthroughout the Roman
  Empire

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The Romans (Continued)

• The Roman system of highways, designed to
  facilitate rapid troop movement in all seasons,
  became a huge boon to merchants and other
  travelers.
• These highways connected the major metropolitan
  areas of the empire
• Paul took full advantage of them for purposes of
  evangelism

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Summary

• From a Jewish perspective, all of these events
  were disasters that came about at the expense of
  Jewish sovereignty
• From the broader point of view of Christianity,
  however, these people groups and events laid the
  foundation for the spread of the faith