Gospel of Matthew in Contexts

Catalog description

This is an on-line course on the Gospel of Matthew in its historical setting in the first century Mediterranean world. The class will introduce the current status of Matthean scholarship and discuss a major shift of perspectives among contemporary Matthean scholars regarding the author's relation with Judaism. Then important passages in Matthew will be interpreted through standard exegetical methods and major themes of Matthew's theology will also be discussed accordingly. Along with the historical critical method(s), which is the primary interpretive tool in this course, the class will explore some of the newer reading strategies that constitute part of the rubric of postmodern hermeneutics to see how the ancient text could come alive and shed light on contemporary issues. [Faculty permission required; 20 max enrollment]