Content

This unit engages deeply with the Gospel of Luke and the questions it raises for life and faith today. Exegeting Luke within its historical social, political and economic contexts is a key focus. Students will develop exegetical skills by deploying a range of tools and approaches to selected passages, and by exploring their histories of interpretation. Particular attention will be paid to Luke’s literary style; distinctive Christological, pneumatological and missiological perspectives; major theological themes (power, privilege and conflict; riches poverty and economic relations; food, hospitality and meal-based fellowship; women; the Holy Spirit; salvation, suffering and sacrifice). The unit will encourage students to consider implications for individual and corporate discipleship within their own and other contemporary contexts.

Unit code: BN9099S

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: New Testament

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Stirling College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Use appropriate exegetical tools and approaches to critically analyse and interpret selected passages from Luke’s Gospel.

2.

Communicate a broad and critically informed understanding of social, political and economic dynamics in early first century Palestine and the late first century Graeco-Roman world.

3.

Give a critically informed account of Luke’s literary style, distinctive perspectives and major themes, and of major debates concerning Lukan authorship, early audiences and sources, and the relationship between Luke and Acts.

4.

Engage critically with scholarly literature pertaining to Luke.

5.

Demonstrate hermeneutic sensitivity to the inter-relationships between the purpose and ideology of Luke’s Gospel and readers’ own contexts, commitments and conclusions.

6.

Discuss possible implications of Luke’s Gospel for individual and corporate discipleship in a range of contemporary contexts.

Unit sequence

BN1/8001 Interpreting the New Testament (or equivalent)

Pedagogy

lectures, seminars, class discussion, set readings, online forums

Indicative Bibliography

  • Byrne, Brendan. The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel. Strathfield: St Pauls, 2000.
  • Chen, Diane G. *Luke. Eugene: Cascade, 2017.
  • Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Gospel According to Luke I-IX. NY: Doubleday, 1979.
  • Green, Joel B. *The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
  • Green, Joel B, and Lee Martin McDonald, eds. The World of the New Testament: Cultural, Social and Historical Contexts. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
  • Levine, Amy-Jill, and Ben Witherington. The Gospel of Luke. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
  • Marshall, I Howard. The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978.
  • Neyrey, Jerome, and Eric Clark Stewart (eds). The Social World of the New Testament: Insights and Models Peabody: Hendrickson, 2008.
  • Schottroff, Luise. The Parables of Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006.
  • Snodgrass, Klyne R. Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Blog

Blog (weekly forum posts – best 6)

1000 20.0
Critical Review

Critical Review

1000 20.0
Exegetical Essay

Exegetical Essay

4000 40.0
Seminar or Tutorial

Seminar Paper

2000 20.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 29 Aug, 2019

Unit record last updated: 2019-09-05 08:09:17 +1000