Advanced Intro to the NT Final

Structure of Revelation?

1-3 4-22 quite a few series of 7

Summarize the authorship of Peter article by Mark Allan Powell

1. 2 Peter is considered to be Pseudepigraphical by almost all NT scholars. 2. There are 10 points defending the Pseudipigraphical views. 3. The most convincing are 7 - Peter's mentioning of Pauline scripture / 9 - The letter not receiving recognition by the early church / 10 - There is evidence 2 Peter is a testament of Peter.

Five ways to bridge a gap between John and the synoptics?

1. Attempt to harmonize the chronology, geography, etc., in specific instances. 2. Emphasize the versatility of a great teacher. 3. Emphasize differing audiences for Jesus' teaching. (E.g., that John has more of Jesus' private teaching to the disciples.) 4. Defend the legitimacy of John paraphrasing Jesus' speech and other items in a looser way than the Synoptics. Some appeal to Clement of Alexandria's idea that John wrote a "spiritual" Gospel. 5. With respect to the high Christology point out that John also emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and Son's subjection to the Father.

Compare Similarities between Jude & 2 Peter

1. Both mention Sodom & Gomorrah being examples. 2. Both mentions punishing those despising authority and indulging the flesh. 3. Both mention the ignorant slandering what they do not understand.

Major themes of John?

1. Christology: Prexistence, deity, incarnation 2. Faith: The verb "believe is used 100x in the book. 3. Eternal life. 4. Holy Spirit

2 Timothy info?

1. Date/Place:Paul's second and last Roman imprisonment (c.64-68) 2. Purpose:To encourage Timothy to oppose false teachers at Ephesus, and to summon him to Paul's side in Rome.

Titus Info?

1. Date:Between Paul's two Roman imprisonments. 2. Titus:A Greek (Gal. 2:3); accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1); helped Paul make the collection at Corinth (2 Cor. 8; 12:18); worked (after Crete) in Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10) 3. Purpose: To help Titus oppose false teachers at Crete and to encourage behavior that is appealing to outsiders. 4. False Teachers; Similiar but not exactly same as those in 1-2 Timothy. More evidence of Jewishness than in 1-2 Timothy.

What are some distinctive elements of Ephesians?

1. It uses the devil instead of satan. 2. Marriage is highly esteemed 3. Salvation is a present reality.

Summarize Fitzmyer's Article on Philemon

1. Legally, Onesimus was not a runaway slave. 2. Slaves would go to their masters friend to seek their intervention. 3. Paul was writting a letter to interceed for Onesimus.

Summarize DeSilva's Chapter on 1 Peter

1. Like James, 1 Peter addresses the people of the Diaspora. 2. If 1 Peter was written by a coworker, a date of 70 & 96 CE would be most likely. 3. 1 Peter is written to encourge faithfulness in the midst of suffering.

History of the NT Canon?

1. Marcion c. 140 - made the first known closed collection of books. This consisted of 10 Pauline letters (no pastorals) plus Luke. 2. Muratorian Fragment - probably late 2nd century - Latin. Contains 22 of our 27 NT books. Omits Hebrews, 1-2 Peter, 3 John, James. This is the oldest known list of NT books. 3. Eusebius of Caserea- c. 303- catergorized list: Uncontested - 4 Gospels, 14 Pauline letters, Acts, 1 Peter, 1 John, and "if one will" Rev. Disputed but generally accepted- James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2-3 John (Uncontested + Disputed but recognized are equal to our canon today) Disputed and spurious - Acts of Paul, Apoc of Pet, Hermes Heretical - Gospel of peter, Thomas, Matthias 4. Athanasius - 39th Easter Festival Letter in 367 - Exact 27 books of our canon + cannot add or take away- First to use word "canon" to refer to a compiled collection of NT books; marked the beginning of the end of the canon debates. 5. There were 3 dominat criteria from the 2nd-4th centuries: Apostolicity - attributed to an apostle or a close associate. (Primary criterion) Ecclesistical Usage- recongized by the leading churches or the majority churches. Orthodoxy- congruent with orthodox doctrine (that which was taught by the major churches.)

Summarize DeSilva's Chapter on James

1. Martin Dibelius argues Mark has no structure or theology. 2. James is heavily influenced by the Jewish wisdom tradition. 3. James does not oppose Paul.

Summarize DeSilva's chapter on 2 Peter & Jude

1. The author of Jude shares hermeneutical principles with the Qumram community. 2. The purpose of Jude and 2 Peter is to confront false doctrine. 3. The early church does not ever appear to have regarded pseudonymity as an acceptable practice.

What level of historical accuracy are gospels aiming at?

1. The gospel of John seemed to care less about documenting a historical Jesus and more about showing the divine nature of Christ. 2. The synoptic are more concerning with giving a historical account of the life of Christ. We see this, especially in Luke's gospel.

What are some objections to Paul's authorship of the Pastorals?

1. The language and style is different from Paul's other books. 2. The presumed historical situations do not fit well into Acts or the other Pauline letters. 3. Church Tradition favoring Paul as the author is weaker than the rest of Pauline letters.

Summarize Carlson / Fosters article on the Authenticities of the Pauline Corpus

1. The undisputed letters are still undisputed and the disputed are still disputed. 2. Colossians & 2 Thessolains are close to being let into the undisputed, only 1/6th are convinced they are not by Paul. 3. The survey was taken by the British New Testament society with about 109/110 members participating. 4. Hebrews is obviously a no-go with 100% voting it was not by Paul.

Authorship of Revelation?

1. Traditionally, someone named John has been the accepted author. 2. This may not refer to the same author of John's gospel though. 3. There are many differences between John and Revelation.

Outline of Colossians?

1:1-14 Greetings and prayer 1:15-2:5 Superiority of Christ (1:15-20 is heart of letter 2:6-23 Superiority of Christ v.s false teachers 3:1-4:6 Superiorirty of Christ applied to everyday living 4:7-18 Concluding remarks

Structure of John?

1:1-18 Prologue 1:19-12 Public Ministry (book of signs) 13-20 Passion and Ressurection (Book of glory) 21 - Epilogue

Outline of Ephesians?

1:1-2 Greeting 1:3-3:21 The Blessings Received in Christ 4:1-6:20 Living Worthily of Those Blessings 6:21-24 Concluding Remarks

Date & Place, Purpose of 1 Timothy?

After 1st Imprisonment AD 61-68 from Macedonia. Help Timothy oppose false teachers at Ephesus

Summarize Wallace's Article on 2 Peter

Author: In their view, there is not. a strong case against Petrine authorship. An amanuensis was likely used for 1 Peter and Peter authored 2 Peter. Date & Place: 2 Peter was probably written in late 64 CE or sometime in 65 CE in Rome Occasion & Theme: Peter was likely a death bed testament refuting false teachers and boasting confidence in the apostolic witness. OUTLINE: I. Salutation (1:1-2) II. The Certainty of the Believers' Salvation (1:3-21) III. The Deception of the False Teacher's Message (2:1-3:16) IIII. Conclusion (3:17-18)

The Epistles of John Info?

Date: Possibly 90's if referring to gnocitcism Occasion / Purpose / Audience: 1 John - Addressing False Teachers / Sent to church 2 John - Against false teachers, to a church and it's members 3 John - Topical by paragrah / written to Gaius Structure: Like a spiral, very difficult

Date / Audience / Genre of Hebrews?

Date: pre 70 Date (Heb. 10:2) Audience: Traditionally Jewish Christians, recently argued for all Christians. Genre: Most likely an oral exhortation

Differences between John and the Synoptics ?

Differences between John and the Synoptics. John has a different Chronology than the gospels. John has 3 Passover, places the cleansing of the temple early in Jesus' ministry, and suggests the crucifixion took place on the day the Lambs were slaughtered. John omits significant events in Jesus' ministry. His gospel does not have Jesus' baptism, the temptations, and the inauguration of the Lord's supper.

Who is Ephesians written to?

Ephesians, a group unfamiliar with Paul or Laodiceans

Possible Hymn in Philippians?

First identified as poem in 1800's by Wesis. Fee and others say it is exalted prose and not a poem. 1. Paul wrote it. (NASB, ESV not a poem) 2. Paul borrowed it (The most popular view) 3. Added by others after the letter was written

What is David's James Outline?

I. Double Opening Statement (1:2-27) II. Body (2:1-5;6) III. Closing Statement (5:7-20)

Summarize Luke Timothy Johnson's Article

I. Structure of James: James was composed for an oral presentation. Chapter 1 acted as an outline for the preceding chapters. 2. James & Paul: The comparison between James & Paul is uncalled for and distorted. 3. Moral and Religious Perspective: James deals with morals, addresses intentional community, is egalitarian and communitarian. 4. Loosening the Pauline Connection: James should be read for all of it's 108 verses rather than focusing on the 12 verses related to Paul. 5.

Discuss how the evidence of pseudonymous authorship increases from Colossians to Ephesians to the Pastorals to 2 Peter. Cover the basics in each case.

I. There are six heavily disputed Pauline letters. II. 2 Peter is more disputed than any other NT letter. III. Reasons why they are disputed?

What are the degrees of Authorship?

Literal Authorship. A church leader writes a letter in his own hand. Dictation. A church leader dictates a letter, almost word for word, to an amanuensis. Delegated Authorship. A church leader describes the basic content of an intended letter to a disciple or to an amanuensis, who then writes the letter for the leader to approve and sign. Posthumous Authorship. A church leader dies, and his disciples finish a letter that he had intended to write, sending it posthumously in his name. Apprentice Authorship. A church leader dies, and disciples who had been authorized to speak for him while he was alive continue to do so by writing letters in his name years or decades after his death. Honorable Pseudepigraphy. A church leader dies, and admirers seek to honor him by writing letters in his name as a tribute to his influence and in a sincere belief that they are responsible bearers of his tradition. Forgery. A church leader obtains sufficient prominence that, either before or after his death, people seek to exploit his legacy by forging letters in his name, presenting him as a supporter of their own ideas.

How Authentic is Ephesians?

Objections for Pauline Authorship: Too general, different style, dependence on Colossians Arguments for Pauline Authorship: Early Tradition, Self claims or letters, Pauline style, theology, and structure.

Imprisonment Date?

Only 3 prison occurences in Acts: Philippi - not possible b/c it is too short Caesarea - 2 years Rome - 2 years Traditional view - Roman Imprisonment

View of this subject in the early centuries:

Origen, Jerome, and Chrysostom thought that mild deception is commendable if it serves a higher purpose. This idea was known as the "therapeutic lie" in antiquity. The bishop of Serapion forbad the reading of the Gospel of Peter, therefore rejecting pseudepigrapha. Though they used these works, there is no evidence Christians or Jews would have accepted pseudepigraphical works in their canons. Tacian rejected 1 and 2 Tim but accepted Titus. Basilides (a 2nd Century gnositc) thought the same.

Books Considered Pseudonymous?

Pastorals. Some left-wing scholars view these as honorable pseudepigraphy works. Colossians, Ephesians, 2 Peter, Pastorals

Place / Date / Occasion of Colossians?

Place & Date: While Paul was in prison Occasion: Addressing false teachers

Is pseudonymity consistent with full authority?

Pseudonymity is not consistent with full authority. If anything, one can consider it partial authority. Some view the notion of pseudepigraphy as an affront to the religion's faith.

Purpose / Date / Place / Style of John?

Purpose: 20:30-31 - So that the reader may believe based on what's recorded. Date: 60's-150, in Ephesus Style: Simple syntax and limited vocab. Grammar - very Semitic. Some say bilingual author (Aramaic & Greek)

Date of revelation?

Relates to Domitian or Nero or Galba

Apocalyptic nature of Revelation?

Revelation is in the tradition beginning in the OT with Daniel, Zechariah, and Ezekiel.

Differences between John & Mark.?

Some scholars would say John used Mark to compose his gospel. This claim leaves one curious about the differences between the two and the explanations for those differences. John limits his gospel to only 7 seven signs while Mark has over 10 recorded. Jesus sounds different in John. In Mark Jesus frequently speaks of the Kingdom of God while this phrase is never mentioned in John. It's clear that John used Mark as somewhat of a structural outline for his gospel but relied on other testimony extending and mending his gospel.

Potentially disturbing / encouraging information about the canon?

The canon is a list of authoritative books. The authority is in the books, not the list specifically. Though their are different lists, the books we have in the Christian list contains authortative inspired works. Evidence within the Nt of a collection of books: 2 Peter 3:15-16 1 Tim 5:18.

Psuedepigraphy and the NT?

The common assertion that pseudepigraphical writing was a widely accepted literary device in the early church and was not considered deceptive or immoral is an assertion in the face of evidence to the contrary. here is no evidence that ancient Christians or Jews would have accepted into their canons any book they believed to be pseudepigraphical.

Gaps & ambiguities of the NT canon?

The gaps and ambiguities in our earliest evidence allow for competing interpretations that depend heavily on presuppositions. There were quite a bit of disputed books in lists (Ireneus, Murat. Frag., Clem. Alex. Terullian, Hippolytus: 2&3 John, Jms, 2 pet & Jude. Revelation was also frequently attacked. For instance, Sionysius c. 250 was unconvinced John authored revelation.

What are the views of Paul's relationship to the pastorals?

There are six views: 1. Dictation: Paul is the author by dictation. 2. Delegated Authorship: Paul is the author, but he gave a major role to his amanuensis. 3. Fragment theory. Letters incorporate fragments of Pauline letters. Promoted by Harrison. 4. Posthumous/Apprentice Authorship: Written shortly after Paul's death to complete letters he was writing or later by disciples who were authorized to speak for him. 5. Honorable Pseudepigraphy. Written by a later follower of Paul who writes in tribute to him and believing he is advocating Paul's perspectives. Without an intention to deceive. 6. Forgery. Similar to 5, but with an intention to deceive and perhaps knowing they advocate positions Paul would not approve of.