The World of the NT: A Sweeping Overview
LIVE ONLINE 2022 TERM 3 COURSE
GOING LIVE ONLINE 02/14 2022
02/14, 02/21, 02/28, 03/07, 03/14, 03/21
The World of the NT: A Sweeping Overview is a LIVE ONLINE Term 3 course on Mondays from 8:30–9:45pm EST held virtually on Zoom starting on 02/14/2022. Once you register for this course, log into your MSI account, choose this course in 'My Courses', and you will find the Zoom link in the Course Contents along with all the course materials as they are shared.
Course Description:
The writers (and original readers) of the New Covenant Scriptures lived in a different world. Politics, culture(s), ethics, worldview, theology, and the needs of daily life were all radically different from what we know today. Scholars refer to this as the milieu of the text. That milieu shaped the thoughts and expectations of the writers of the New Covenant Scriptures, and those writers’ thoughts and expectations shaped their words.
As we seek to base our own lives on those words, we need to understand the environment that formed the thoughts and expectations behind the words. This course will introduce students to some of the key differences between their world and ours, and point out some of the errors in understanding that have resulted from, as N.T. Wright has put it, “asking for hermeneutical trouble” by substituting for the writers own “controlling narratives . . . those of other traditions and cultures.”
This MSI LIVE ONLINE course meets LIVE via Zoom on six Mondays 02/14, 02/21, 02/28, 03/07, 03/14, 03/21 but the LIVE ONLINE sessions for this course will be recorded and available to revisit whenever you desire. The videos will be uploaded as soon as possible after the LIVE ONLINE sessions in the Course Contents. We encourage you to follow the schedule closely and plan ahead to be with us for these LIVE courses so you can get the most out of lifelong learning with MSI. While not ideal, you may also register for this course if you cannot attend the live sessions and engage the videos at your own pace.
None
Required Textbook:
None
Recommended Textbooks:
Jodi Magness. Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011. ISBN 13: 978-0-8028-6558-8
Oskar Skarsaune. In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2002. ISBN 13: 978-0-8308-2844-9
Everett Ferguson. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. ISBN 13: 978-0-8028-2221-5
Craig S. Keener. The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993. ISBN 0-8308-1405-1
Course Dates:
02/14, 02/21, 02/28, 03/07, 03/14, 03/21
Your Instructor
Chris's primary area of research is Saul (Paul) of Tarsus and the Pauline writings, with an emphasis on how history, culture, politics, and literature influenced both the writer and his audience. Chris is a member of the Executive Committee of the Union of Messianic Believers, and serves as an Elder of Beth Messiah Congregation. He has also served the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations on the Worship and Communications Committees. He also teaches at area congregations on Messiah in the Passover and the Jewish Holiday Cycle.