The [NEW] Face of New Testament Studies…?

Last updated on: December 1, 2008 at 8:49 pm by Nijay Gupta

The [NEW] Face of New Testament Studies…? 2008-12-01T20:49:39-08:00 Nijay Gupta

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As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my ‘picks’ from SBL was a handy resource from Baker (2004) entitled The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research (eds. McKnight and Osborne). What these contributors set out to do was help scholars to cross-over (even if just occasionally) into other NT fields without unknowingly stepping on landmines. There is a strong move, in more recent years, towards cross-disciplinary capabilities. Some people that come to mind who have such abilities are Scot McKnight, Francis Watson, David deSilva, James Dunn, Simon Gathercole, Richard Hays (who has now fully transitioned out of Pauline research), and, of course, Mike Bird.

The only limit this book has is that it is just too short (even at almost 500 pages!). We need something three times the size (as a reference work, of course). The problem is, it will become quickly outdated. In some ways it already has, sadly! Of course, I still highly recommend having it and using it.

What if we try to design an online NEW ‘face of NT studies’? What are the subjects and issues within various fields of study that need to be known and taken into account when sojourning in these various (often perilous) areas of NT studies?

Below I list a group of subjects and I welcome ‘topic names’ that I can place in there. I will put in a few to get the ball rolling. Please add more in the comments and I will add them to the list. I am looking for additions to any category below and at any level (major topics, sub-topics, issues within a sub-topic; I hope for the question marks to be replaced with comments)

NT Hermeneutics

Theological Interpretation (vs. traditional historical criticism)
Intertextuality (Old in the New and NT interaction with Greco-Roman Lit)
Rhetorical Criticism vs. Epistolary Criticism
Discourse Analysis
Reception History of the NT (Patristic Exegesis of the NT; Ancient art and NT)
?

The Ancient Context of the New Testament

1. Persecution, Suffering, and Martyrdom in the NT (level of persecution; suffering and the gospel message; honor and shame)

2. The Social Dynamics of Kinship

3. Economics in Antiquity

Jesus

Gospels and Genre
Gospels and Transmission
Matthew [?]
Mark [?]
Luke [?]
John [?]

Early Christianity

Acts [?] – genre, interaction with Greco-Roman literature
Paul’s life and letters – Paul’s upbringing, Paul’s relationship to Judaism, Paul’s ‘Roman’-ness, Paul’s education, pseudonymity, Paul’s audiences (Jews or Gentiles? How much of either?); Paul and the Hellenistic Philosophical Tradition
Paul’s Theology – Paul and gender/equality, the ‘centre’, Paul’s use of Scripture, Paul’s consistency, Paul’s concern (or lack thereof) for the Roman emperor,
1 Peter – audience make-up (Jews/Gentiles?), stance towards society (assimilational/oppositional), use of Scripture
2 Peter/Jude – authorship
James [?] – genre, unity/coherence as a letter
Hebrews –
Johannine Epistles [?]
Revelation [?]

Once again, I welcome suggestions on any/all of these areas for what are the ‘hot’ topics right now and major cruxes for those who wander into any of areas lest they be under-prepared.

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