Resources

A 2002 course by Richard Ascough at Queen's University "is designed to give an overview of the content and background of the twenty-seven documents that comprise the New Testament. Through these texts we will explore the historical development of early Christianity as it is expressed in the literature of the various faith communities."

A 2008 course by Anne McGuire at Haverford College focuses "on a critical reading of the Letters of Paul and his interpreters in cultural context."

A course by James McGrath at Butler University introduces "students to the scholarly study of Jesus as a historical figure, providing opportunity to become more familiar with the relevant primary sources and other data, and the tools for the critical historical evaluation and investigation thereof."

A 1998 course by Peter Haas at Vanderbilt University introduces the Bible, its study, and meanings.

A 2004 course by Annette Reed at McMaster University studies the first five books of the Bible by tracing "the processes by which these texts came to be formed and consider the multiple socio-historical contexts that informed them, while also analyzing their narrative structures and meaning in their present form."

A 2010 course by Erik Larson at Florida International University analyzes the Dead Sea Scrolls and the light they shed on then-contemporary Jewish, Christian, and Qumran groups.

A 2013 course by Lewis Brogdan at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary "is a survey course designed (a) to introduce students to the basic matters of New Testament studies and (b) to lay a foundation for all advanced work in the area. With regard to each book of the New Testament, we will, as possible, think about the literary shape, social context, and theological concerns of the writing."

A 2012 course by Joel Kaminsky at Smith College moves chronologically through the prophets of ancient Israel asking "What are the different types of prophets that are found within the Hebrew Bible? What role did the prophets play within their larger society? Did different prophets deliver different, or even conflicting prophecies? Can one tell a true prophet from a false prophet? What sort of person became a prophet? What psychological dispositions do prophets exhibit? If prophecy is not simply fortune telling, what is it? "

A course by Mark Given at Missouri State University traces "Paul and the Pauline trajectory in the early Church through primary and secondary sources. . . . [and] with many of the historical, literary, hermeneutical, and ideological issues currently under investigation in Pauline scholarship."

A 2010 course by Kenneth Atkinson at the University of Northern Iowa introduces "the history and ideas of the Old Testament and other contemporary texts, as well as the tools that biblical scholars use to understand them."