RLG 324F - Paul of Tarsus

An examination of Paul's life and thought as seen in the early Christian literature written by him (the 7 undisputed NT letters), about him (the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of Paul), and in his name (the 6 disputed NT letters). Prerequisite: RLG 240Y / 241Y.

Class

MW 11 a.m -12 p.m. University College 248

Instructor

John W. Marshall, UC B201, 978·8122, john.marshall@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Mondays 2:00 pm - 3:00 or by appointment

Books

The books have been ordered at Crux Theological Books located in the basement of Wycliffe College.  The entrance is from the parking lot on the West side of Hart House.

Required

Meeks, Wayne A. 1983. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press.

MacDonald, Dennis R. 1983. The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon. Philadelphia: Westminster. (Will be available later and perhaps by reprint which will require subscription)

Packet for RLG 324F from Krishna Copy on Bloor St.

Recommended

Ehrman, Bart D. 1997/2000. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 1st or 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Course Outline

9, 11 September

Introduction: History, Geography, and Method

Review introduction to Paul in Ehrman, Bart D. 2000/1997. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chp 18. If you do not own this book, it is available at several libraries and is on short term reserve at the Laidlaw library.
Review Romans, Galatians and 1 Thessalonians

16, 18 September

Contexts for Paul

Meeks Introduction, chp 1-2, Packet: Book 1 of the The Golden Ass.

23, 25 September

Pauline Communities

Meeks chp 3-4, Read 1 Cor 1, Rom 16, Philemon

30 Sept., 2 Oct.

Jews and Gentiles

Romans, Packet: Gaston "Paul and the Torah"
2 Oct. First In-class Quiz [15%]

7, 9 October

Visions and Revelations

Meeks chp 6. Galatians

14, 16 October

Sex and Death

Meeks chp 5. 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians
WWW: Troy Martin, 2002, "Veiled Exhortations Regarding the Veil: Ethos as the Controlling Factor in Moral Persuasion (1 Cor 11:2-16)"

21, 23 October

Women and Men

2 Corinthians, Philippians, Packet: Castelli "Paul on Women and Gender"
WWW: Golden Ass Excerpt
23 Oct. Second In-class Quiz [15%]

28, 30 October

The New and Improved Paul: Colossians and Ephesians

Ephesians, Colossians (Get a start on next week's MacDonald reading)

4, 6 November

The Acting Paul

Acts, Acts of Paul, McDonald Introduction, Chp 1,2
Essay Proposals accepted [optional]

11, 13 November

The Pastoral Paul

1Tm, 2Tm, Titus, McDonald Chp 3,4

18, 20 November

Marcion's Paul

WWW: Selections of Anti-Marcionite Literature
Packet: Testament of Benjamin, WWW: Anti Pauline Excerpts
20 Nov. Research Essay Due [35%]

25, 27 November

The Gnostic Paul

Packet: The Treatise on the Resurrection, The Apocalypse of Paul, The Prayer of the Apostle Paul

2 December

Summary and Study

4 December

Term Test

In-class Test [25%] or Review assignment [25%]

Grading Scheme

Assignment

Date

Value

First Quiz 2 October 15%
Second Quiz 23 October 15%
Essay 20 November 35%
Term Test or Review Assignment 4 December 25%
Participation (see below) 10%

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the cornerstone of assignments and evaluation in the university. In order to ensure as far as possible that students are fully informed of wht academic honesty and integrity entails, I have assembled some of the univesities policies and information on plagiarism. Informing yourself on these policies and taking all necessary steps to avoid plagiarism is the student's responsibility and is a condition of successful participation in this course. To this end, the participation mark depends on fulfilling this responsibility. No marks can be earned in participation until I have been assured that the student has read and understood the university's plagiarism policies. Filling out, signing, and returning the course's academic honesty contract enables a student to earn partipation marks. Without this contract, the participation mark will be zero.

The Contract

The academic honesty contract certifies that you have read and undertood Dr. Margaret Proctor's advice on "How Not to Plagiarize".

It will also be useful to read the advice on the resources for writing page.

 Participation Contact 

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