In this course, participants will explore the New Testament using historical critical methods and other tools of Biblical interpretation. Participants will learn the interpretive tool of sanctified imagination and apply Biblical insight to 21st century issues.

The Learning Objectives:

• Analyze New Testament texts using interpretive tools such as historical criticism, African American criticism, and womanist theology.
• Experiment with sanctified imagination to contrast the written text with what is not recorded but underlies the text.
• Relate New Testament stories and themes to 21st century Christian experience

Required Texts

• Johnson, Luke Timothy. The New Testament: A Very Short Introduction. NYC: Oxford University Press, 2010.
• Blount, Brian K., General Editor. True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
• “Midrash and Sanctified Imagination” file upload (excerpts from Womanist Midrash by Wilda C. Gafney)
• A study Bible, preferably in the New Revised Standard Version or the Common English Bible version (Oxford University Press prints the “gold standard” study Bible for the NRSV)