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Atkinson School of Arts and Letters, Fall 2007

 

Image: Frontispiece from the first published collection of New Testament Apocrypha made by J. A. Fabricius in 1703.

Instructor: Dr. Tony Chartrand-Burke
E-mail:tburke@yorku.ca
Phone: (416) 736-2100 ext. 22329
Time and Location: W 4-7pm, 303 Stong
Office Hours: W 2:30-4pm, Rm. 617 Atkinson Building

1. Course Description
The New Testament Apocrypha—or better: non-canonical early Christian literature—has had a great impact on western culture despite attempts by mainstream Christianity to suppress it. Stories and ideas from these texts appear in literature, art, church doctrine, and even modern fiction such as Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. This course is designed to introduce students to a wide range of non-canonical Christian texts—from gospels, to acts of individual apostles, letters, and apocalypses. The goals will be to understand each text’s place in the development of Christian thought and to observe their use in modern scholarship. Particular emphasis will be placed on the work of the so-called “new school” in New Testament Studies that claims some of these texts may predate, and therefore may have influenced, the canonical gospels.

2. Required Texts
Bock, Darrell, L. The Missing Gospels: Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities. Nashville: Nelson, 2006.

Ehrman, Bart. The Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Klauck, Hans-Josef. Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction. Translated by Brian McNeil. London/New York: T & T Clark, 2003.

3. Methods of Evaluation
All written work in this course is expected to be of high quality—i.e., it must conform to the style and format guidelines typical of Humanities courses—and it must be your own. To help ensure that these requirements are met, you are urged to visit the on-line guides listed below. In addition, a style sheet of my own design is to be attached to your assignments (see the assignment descriptions below). No paper will be accepted without the style sheet attached. For additional writing assistance, visit the following web sites:
http://www.atkinson.yorku.ca/Writing/tutoring.htm
http://www.arts.yorku.ca/caw/resources.html

A. Academic Integrity: York University is very concerned about the increase in student plagiarism. As heinous a crime as plagiarism is, sometimes it is perpetrated in ignorance. The university has set up an on-line tutorial to help students recognize acts of plagiarism. You are required to complete this tutorial (no papers will be accepted until you do so). Go to the web site and work your way through the tutorial. Print off the results of the quiz and hand them in on September 26. There is no grade value for this assignment, but no papers will be accepted until the test results are handed in to the instructor. Site address: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/

B. Text Analyses: students will select three out of five texts assigned to be read over the term (indicated on the syllabus), hand in a brief analysis of each and contribute heavily to the class in which the texts are to be discussed. Ask of the text: how is it interacting with (i.e., incorporating, challenging, expanding) other Christian literature? (i.e., with canonical texts assigned for the course; as we read more of this material, you will have more texts as  candidates for comparison–e.g., you can compare the Gospel of Peter only to mark, but the Dormition of Mary to Matthew, Mark, and Luke) Please follow the guidelines of this STYLE SHEET and hand in the style sheet with your analyses. Length: 2 pages. Grade value: 10% each. Due: the class in which the individual texts are discussed (no exceptions).

C. The Missing Gospels Book Review: much of the scholarship on the New Testament Apocrypha is produced by liberal scholars—i.e., scholars who consider certain NTA texts valuable (perhaps too valuable) for reconstructing the history of Early Christianity. We will finish off the course reading one of several recently-published responses to such scholarship: Darrell L. Bock’s The Missing Gospels. You are to prepare a review of Bock’s book. A typical scholarly should contain the following features: roughly 60% of the review is descriptive (i.e., a summary of its contents; the aim is to inform the reader about the book), and 40% is analytical (what are the book’s strengths and weaknesses? what are the author’s biases or particular viewpoints on the subject matter? what is the expected audience of the book? does the author write effectively for that audience? is the book a “good read”?, etc.). For more guidance on scholarly book reviews read the samples available HERE. The reviews will be discussed in class. Please follow the guidelines of this STYLE SHEET and hand in the style sheet with your paper. Length: 5 pages. Grade value: 20%. Due: November 14.

D. Major Paper: Choose an apocryphal text that we have not examined in class from the following list: Acts of Andrew, Acts of Barnabas, Acts of Mar Mari, Acts of Philip, Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, Apocalypse of Thomas, Apocalypse of the Virgin, Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, Book of the Cock, Epistle of Christ from Heaven, Epistle of Lentulus, Gospel of Nicodemus, and Revelation of Stephen. Prepare a paper on the text featuring the following: a brief description of its contents, an overview of previous scholarship, a summary of its manuscript sources, and a case for why the text is important for the study of the Christian Apocrypha and/or the history of Christian Literature. Please follow the guidelines of this STYLE SHEET and hand in the style sheet with your paper. Length: 12-15 pages. Grade value: 40%. Due: November 28.

E. Class Participation: to encourage an optimum of instructor/student interaction, a portion of your final grade is allocated to class participation. The grade is based on class attendance, on asking/answering questions, and on participation in the Apocryphicity BLOG (to be discussed in class). Grade value: 10%.

Missing papers: In the event that papers go missing, it is your responsibility to keep a hard copy of all written work submitted for the course.

Late papers: the instructor, like you, is a very busy person. He likes to receive papers on time so that he can give them back to you within a reasonable time and then get on with other things he has to do (the instructor has other courses to teach and other papers to grade). Late papers complicate his life. So, he cannot accept late papers unless they are accompanied with documentation from Special Needs or Health Services. Contact the professor if you foresee problems handing in papers on time.

4. Important Dates
September 20: Last date to enroll without permission of instructor
October 5: Last date to enroll with permission of instructor
November 9: Last date to drop course without receiving a grade

5. Lecture Schedule

Please come to class having read the assigned primary and secondary readings. A lecture outline for each week’s class will be posted on-line by Tuesday evening of each week. It is your responsibility to print your own copy of the outline and bring it to class.

Sept. 5: Introductions
Read after class today: Collating for Dummies.
On-line Resources: while stopping by my web site for Collating for Dummies, check out some of the other resources for the study of the New Testament Apocrypha.

Sept. 12: No class today

Sept. 19: Concepts: Canon, Orthodoxy and Heresy
LECTURE OUTLINE 
Read for Today: W. Bauer, excerpt from Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity PART 1, PART 2, PART 3; Klauck, Introduction; from Ehrman: “Canonical Lists” (p. 329-342).
On-line Resources: visit the internet’s premier site for on-line editions of apocryphal texts: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/.

Sept. 26: Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Gospels I: Mark and the Gospel Fragments
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Klauck chs. 1, 2, 6; Gospel of Mark; POxy 840; from Ehrman: Secret Mark, Papyrus Egerton 2, Gospel of Peter.
On-line Resources: visit Wieland Willker’s Secret Gospel of Mark homepage.
** Analysis of the Gospel of Peter due today (if you chose that text) ** Remember to follow and attach the STYLE SHEET to your paper.

Oct. 3: Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Gospels II: Matthew and Luke and Related Texts
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Klauck chs. 3 and 4; Gospel of Matthew 1-2 and 27-28, Gospel of Luke 1-2; Infancy Gospel of Thomas; from Ehrman: Gospel of the Nazareans, Gospel of the Ebionites, Gospel According to the Hebrews, Gospel According to the Egyptians; Proto-Gospel of James.
On-line Resources: as you begin thinking about your major paper, take a look at the bibliography available at the web site of l’AELAC (Association pour l'étude de la littérature apocryphe chrétienne).

Oct. 10: Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Gospels III: The Family of Jesus
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Klauck ch. 10; the Dormition of Mary, the Abgar Correspondence, Life of Joseph the Carpenter.
On-Line Resources: there are numerous versions of the Dormition of Mary. To read more about them visit the site of Dormition scholar Stephen Shoemaker.
** Analysis of the Dormition of Mary due today (if you chose that text) **

Oct. 17: Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Gospels IV: John and his Opponents
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Klauck ch. 7 (pp. 105-122 only); Gospel of John 1-6, 8:1-11; 20-21; D. Moody Smith, “The Problem of John and the Synoptics” PART 1, PART 2; from Ehrman: Gospel of Mary; Gospel of Thomas.
On-Line Resources: April DeConick, a professor at Rice University, hosts an excellent Blog called The Forbidden Gospels.

Oct. 24: Orthodoxy and Heresy in Acts of the Apostles
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Acts 1-9; 27-28; from Ehrman: Acts of John, Acts of Thomas, Acts of Peter (and the introduction p. 92).
On-Line Resources: a medieval scribe, unhappy with the abrupt ending of the canonical book of Acts, created an additional chapter. It can be read HERE.
** Analysis of the Acts of Thomas due today (if you chose that text) **

Oct. 31: Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Life and Letters of Paul
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: 1 Cor. 1; 2 Cor. 11; Gal. 1-2; 1 Tim.; Titus; from Ehrman: Acts of Paul, Acts of Thecla, 3 Corinthians, Paul and Seneca, Laodiceans, Pseudo-Clementines (Ehrman pp. 191-200).
On-line Resources: the Acts of Paul tells the story of Paul’s relationship with a female disciple named Thecla. The story is fascinating for what it tells us about the roles allowed women in early Christianity. For more on Thecla visit http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/corinthians/theclabackground.stm.

Nov. 7: Orthodoxy and Heresy in Apocalyptic Texts
SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
INFANCY THOMAS ARTICLE
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Revelation 1-4; from Ehrman: Apocalypse of Peter, Apocalypse of Paul.
On-Line Resources: the apocalypses of Peter and Paul are very important for understanding the concept and development of Hell in western thought. For a quick overview of the history of Hell visit THIS SITE.
** Analysis of the Apocalypse of Peter due today (if you chose that text) **

Nov. 14: The Apocrypha and its Critics
** Bock Review is due today **
On-line Resources: Darrell Bock has his own blog which can be accessed HERE. The blog is not organized well. For relevant posts on his book, type “Missing Gospels” in the Search box.

Nov. 21: Non-Christian Anti-Gospels
LECTURE OUTLINE
Read for Today: Klauck, chs.11 and 12; the Gospel of Barnabas, (read only the prologue and chs. 1-9, 42-44, 97, 216-222), the Toledoth Yeshu.
** Analysis of the Toledoth Yeshu due today (if you chose that text) **
On-line Resources: the Gospel of Barnabas has been used by Moslems for anti-Christian polemic. To get a sense of their arguments, visit THIS SITE.

Nov. 28: The Apocrypha in the Media
Preparation: today’s class is dedicated to viewing several films and television series inspired by apocryphal texts including: Stigmata (1999), The X-Files “Hollywood A.D.” (2000), Mary (2006), The Nativity Story (2006), and others.
On-Line Resources: before there were movies, artists drew upon the New Testament Apocrypha for their work. For a brief introduction to the subject, read this article from the National Catholic Reporter.