For session 10 (Tuesday 2 December)...

In our last session we'll be looking one last time at how the second temple period fills in the gap between the Old and New Testaments. For this session you will need to have read:

• Wilson, "Where the Church went wrong," pg. 166-192 of Our Father Abraham (handout)

Here are some things to consider when doing your reading - we'll be discussing these questions in class:

• How does Wilson think a Hebraic mindset might help us recover a holistic and unified worldview, over against a dualistic one (167-168)? Why does he think this is an important distinction?
  
• How does this feed into the issue of enjoying the world we live in (169-171)?
• What about the issue of marriage (171-173)?
• In terms of spirituality, what does Wilson mean by the distiction between 'otherworldliness' and 'this-worldliness' (174-177)?
• How does this affect our understanding of the concept of salvation (178-181)?
• What does Wilson say about the view of faith as thinking or acting (182-185)?
• How might a Hebraic mindset inform our ideas on individualism vs. community (185-186)?
• How does this fit in with the NT idea of the church as body/community (187-190)?
  

For the final hour we'll be doing an exam tutorial, so make sure to bring any questions you might have.

For session 8 (18 November)...

Our next session will focus on the parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism, and will explore the rise of rabbinic Judaism. For this session you will need to have read the following handouts:

• Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 461-470;
• Barrett, New Testament Background: Selected Documents, pg. 139-153.

Here are some questions to consider when doing your reading:

• What do we mean when we talk about 'rabbinic literature' (Ferguson, 461-2)?
• What are halakah, haggadah, and midrash (Ferguson, 462)?
• What is the Mishnah, and what is it concerned with (Ferguson, 463-5) How does this relate to the Talmud (466)?
• What are the Targumim (Ferguson, 468-9)?

• From Barrett, focus on the following selections, and highlight what each has to say about rabbinic Judaism, its identity, faith and theology:

• Aboth 1:1f (p. 139)
• Aboth 3:14-17 (p. 142-3)
• Aboth 4:1ff (p. 144)
• Shabbath 153a (p. 149)
• Shabbath 7:1ff (p. 154)
• Numbers Rabbah 8:3ff (p. 165)
• Aboth 3:1 (p. 167)
  

For session 7 (11 November)...

In our next session we'll be looking at the leaders and rulers, groups, and worship within second Temple Judaism.

For this session you will need to have read VanderKam, ch. 3, pg. 175-218. Here are some things to think about during your reading:

• What role did the priests play in second Temple Judaism (p. 176-182)?
• What was the Sanhedrin, and what role did it have (184-185)?
• What were the three major groups in the later second Temple period, and what were some of their distinctives (187-192)?
• What elements of worship were connected with the Temple (203-211)?
• What were the synagogues, and what happened in them (211-213)?