Unit information: Luke-Acts (Trinity & Baptist College) in 2013/14

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Unit name Luke-Acts (Trinity & Baptist College)
Unit code THRS30115
Credit points 10
Level of study H/6
Teaching block(s) Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director Reverend Dr. David Wenham
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

B11002 Getting into the New Testament and THRS11039 Reading the Bible in Its Context and Ours
Co-requisites

None
School/department Department of Religion and Theology
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit concentrates on a restricted range of texts and themes in the context of an overview of the whole two volume work. The focus is predominantly on Luke's theology and meaning, but with some attention being given to historical and source-critical questions. The treatment of texts seeks to introduce the student to the range of scholarly opinion that exists and to demonstrate the need for detailed textual analysis. The treatment of themes seeks to encourage a reading of the Gospel as a unified whole.

Intended Learning Outcomes

The unit aims to

  1. enable students to begin to understand and interpret Luke’s two volume work
  2. focus on key themes and selected texts
  3. introduce a range of critical ideas and approaches

On completion of the unit students should have:

  1. a grasp of the form and main features of both Luke and Acts;
  2. an informed understanding of some of the major critical, historical and hermeneutical issues raised by Luke and Acts;
  3. gained some skills in the close reading of texts, and an awareness of the available scholarly resources and how to gain access to them;
  4. engaged with competing views and approaches, so as to be able to form his or her own judgments on issues and points of interpretation;
  5. reflected on making use of the texts in today’s context and in particular in the context of church mission, preaching and teaching.

Teaching Information

The unit will consist primarily of lectures, with one or two seminars.

The unit will consist of 10 contact hours, equating to 2 contact hours per week for 5 weeks.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment will be through preparation for classes and participation in class discussions and seminars.

Summative assessment will be through an essay of 3,000 words. By special arrangement the assessment could be a critical book review or notes for a series of Bible studies.

Reading and References

  1. Bock, D. L., Luke, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996)
  2. Cassidy, R.J., Jesus Politics and Society (Maryville: Orbis, 1978)
  3. Green, J.B., The Theology of the Gospel of Luke, New Testament Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
  4. Marshall, I.H., The Acts of the Apostles (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992)
  5. Marshall, I.H., Luke : Historian and Theologian. "Enlarged edition" (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1989)
  6. Tuckett, C. M., Luke, New Testament Guides (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996)

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