CONT4101 – New Testament Contextual Theology, Jesus and the Kingdom of God
Course content
The Kingdom of God was the central vision of the message and mission of Jesus, as it is presented by the Gospels. Earlier understood as a concept related primarily towards the future, more recently the Kingdom of God has been studied as Jesus’ vision for a ‘new society’ within the contemporary context of the Empire and Jewish society. Parallel to this, the Kingdom has also been central to modern visions of the impact of Jesus in the world to-day, particularly in the context of poverty and oppression. This course studies New Testament texts about Jesus and the Kingdom of God and their contemporary relevance, especially from contextual, feminist and post-colonial perspectives. Special emphasis is put upon contextual interpretations in Africa and Latin America.
Learning outcome
The course will give an overview of a central area of studies in Jesus and the Gospels. It aims to give the students tools to interpret the Gospels in a first century contextual setting, to study and assess contextual interpretations from various perspectives, and to provide practice in contextual interpretation
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Bachelor degree with area of emphasis in theology or Christian studies (80 units), or equivalent.
Recommended previous knowledge
Bachelor level courses in New Testament
Teaching
The course runs throughout the semester. Active participation with preparation is required, together with two written presentations ( ca. 1000 words) of material from the reading list.
Examination
A 3-day take home examination with an essay of ca. 3-4000 words.
Language of examination
English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Other
The module may also be used in the Master i kristendomsstudier and Master i religion og samfunn programmes. It cannot be used as an elected module when study of the New Testament in Greek is required.