Romans

Please read as much as you can of Paul's letter to the Romans. Focusing on Chapters 1-3 and 12-15 will work well.

From the chapters you read, pick out a verse or two that you think is a particularly important part of Paul's recipe for helping Jewish and gentile believers get along with one another. Cite also a verse you find particularly puzzling and explain why you find this verse hard to understand.

Alternatively, you might take a stab at explaining the verse another student found difficult/confusing or at answering one of the study questions.

Jude and II Peter (extra credit)

Please read *all* of Jude and II Peter (only four chapters total) and respond to one of the following prompts.  You can do *both* prompts for extra credit, but it's easier for me if you add separate comments for each prompt.

1.  Pick out one verse from Jude and one verse from II Peter that you find particularly interesting, important, or hard to understand, and comment below on what you find interesting, difficult, or important in those verses.

2. Both Jude and II Peter deal with division withing the church, division caused by two different forms of Gnosticism.  I'll be talking about Gnosticism in some detail later in the course.  For now, though, just note how Jude and Peter deal with doctrinal divisions withing the church. 

A return to Corinth (extra credit)

I Peter noted that Paul's letters included a lot of wisdom, but also things that were "hard to understand."  What do you see here that someone like Peter might have considered particular wise? What things might he be referring to when he says that there are things "hard to understand?"

I Corinthians

For Thursday, February 23, Please read as much as you can of I Corinthians. If you are short of time, read Chapters 1-3, Chapters 6-7, and Chapters 12-13. Choose any one verse in I Corinthians you think particularly interesting, important, or hard to understand, and explain why you think this verse interesting, important, or hard to understand.

Acts--Discussion II

Please review your notes on elements helpful to the spread of a religious movement and read this summary of former class discussions elements helpful to the survival and spread of a religious movement.  Then read Chapters 13-28 of Acts. Choose a verse or an incident from this section that seems to you particularly important in explaining one of those factors the class agreed might be helpful in the success of a religious movement.  Explain your choice.

This might be a good time to choose your FAC I, II, III, and IV potential ideas.  Remember that this is a "choose your own" ID exercise.  Identify your favorite acts characters, and be ready to explain how these figures help understanding the growth of the church.

Acts of the Apostles--Discussion I

In the introductory lecture, I noted that the main theme of this course is the investigation of one of the most important turning points in history, the transition from Pagan Rome to Christian Rome.  The years right after the time of Jesus are critical in understanding that period, and that's what we'll be concentrating on for the next 1/3 of the course. The Book of Acts is a good place to start, giving us a good overview of this period.  

Please skim the first 12 chapters of Acts, then go back and read more carefully one or two chapters.  Pick out three or four things in the section you read that seem to you worth discussing in class as we talk about the surprisingly rapid growth of the church.  What's going on that helps the church grow?   What obstacles to growth you see here?

Gospel of John--Discussion II

Please read Chapters 11-22 of John's gospel. As always, I prefer you read for quality rather than quantity, though, in this case, skimming through all 11 chapters and then gong back to read some chapters more carefully might work best.

Your 4th MT study question notes that, while the Gospel of John is in some ways very different from the synoptic gospels, it often complements and supplements the synoptics, sometimes in surprising ways. 

Choose a verse or passage from the assigned chapters and a "parallel" verse or passage from one of the synoptics on the same subject (e.g., money, leadership, faith, etc.). Compare and contrast the two verses or passages.

A gospel "synopsis" or a harmony of the gospels can help you find parallel passages. The  online synopsis I suggested you use for the earlier extra credit assignment might make this assignment a bit easier.