RELS 281-01, Synoptic Gospels, Spring 2006

Abstract

The purpose of this course is, first, to acquaint you with the scholarly study of the New Testament, specifically of the first three canonical gospels, also known as the "Synoptic" Gospels. Secondly, the course will introduce you to the means by which Jesus' sayings primarily and the events of his life secondarily became handed down in early Christian tradition to suit the needs of different Christian communities. In achieving this aim, you will also read two other gospels considered as part of the "synoptic" tradition about Jesus: the two sayings gospels known as "Q," a reconstructed source for Matthew's and Luke's gospels, and the Gospel of Thomas, re-discovered in the middle of the 20th century. Because no text ever arises without a context, you will become acquainted first with the concept of a “quest for the historical Jesus” and finally with the development of early Christianity and the formation of a biblical "canon".