Bible (New Testament): English Standard Version

Describe one way in which the New Testament represents a continuation of the Old Testament, and one way in which it represents a disjunction from the Old Testament.

Consider the historical validity of the gospels, and specifically regarding having multiple sources (four gospels in all). In what ways does having multiple accounts add historical credibility to the story of Jesus, and in what ways might the multiple accounts diminish that credibility?

Judaism in the first century CE was marked by the presence of many different sects and theological opinions. Traditional scholarship identifies at least four main Jewish groups, each with their own perspective on the Old Testament and God’s plan for Israel: the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. Research these groups and make a case for which perspective is closest to Jesus’s own perspective as expressed in the New Testament.

Compare the gospels’ accounts of Jesus’s miracles to the miracles in the ministry of the prophet Elisha, described in 2 Kings 2-8 in the Old Testament. How is Jesus’s ministry of miracles like Elisha’s, and how are they different?

Research the authorship attribution debate for Paul’s epistles. Do you find the arguments for pseudonymous authorship compelling? Why or why not?

A firm tradition of authorship attribution is affixed to each New Testament text except the Book of Hebrews. Make a case for who you think may have written Hebrews (using any named character from the New Testament), giving reasons you think that person might be a good fit.

Study the way that slavery is addressed in the New Testament and compare it to the ways that some later Christian societies, such as the 19th-century American South, addressed the issue of slavery. To what extent did later Christian practices adhere to or contradict the New Testament’s view of slavery?

Consider the various interpretive options for understanding the symbols in the Book of Revelation (as referring to the whole church age, to the future, or to the first century CE). Which interpretation do you find most compelling? Make an argument for it.