Theology:
1. How did the Synoptic Gospels come to be composed? In terms of their literary sources, how are these gospels interrelated? (essentially, tell me who wrote first, who copied from whom, what other special sources Matthew and Luke used, etc.) Tell me some distinctive characteristics of each of the Synoptics (Matthew/Mark/Luke).
2. In any literary text, including the Bible, you have these three elements: CONTENT (what is said); FORM (how it is said); and CONTEXT (the details and motive surrounding the words, i.e. who/when/why/where). Words mean nothing without a context.
Pick any two examples out of the following three biblical literary forms: miracle stories, parables, wise sayings of Jesus. Pages 51-55 of CF will help you get started with this. You may look at biblical commentaries and information from online sources to get a feel for the different forms and how they are to be interpreted. You may select these two from any of the three synoptic gospels. In one to two paragraphs, tell me (a) what you think these passages meant in their original context, (b) how they fit their particular literary “form” and/or the agenda of that Gospel writer, (c) how they might be interpreted in a 21st century context. We have to know what the words meant when they were written in the first century in order to apply them in the 21st century. Some passages are easily applicable to any historical context, but they originally served a particular purpose for the writer of the specific gospel in which they appear. The Gospels are not biography or history – they are theology. Not ALL the stories known about Jesus, or ALL the things he said, were written in the final form of the synoptic gospels. Events and words were preserved by the early followers of Jesus because they served a specific theological purpose — they presented the historical Jesus and the preached, proclaimed Christ that the early Christians believed was the Son of God and the Messiah many Jews were awaiting. You may need to review some commentaries on the New Testament in order to clearly understand the passages you choose. Also – “google” NT Source Criticism for an overview of the types of “forms” in the biblical text. Just be sure to include any outside references you employ directly in your response to this question.