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Old Testament
[002D135]
A study of selected texts from the Pentateuch and the Former
and Latter Prophets. The texts have been selected to cover the
most essential aspects of the geography, history, writing and
literature of the Old Testament.
Selected texts: Genesis 1 - 11; Exodus l-
15; Deuteronomy; 1 and 2 Kings; Amos; Hosea;
Ezekiel; Deutero-Isaiah; Haggai; Zechariah 1-8.
New Testament
Greek [002D135]
(cannot be offered with 'New Testament in
English')
Translation, grammar (including parsing of verbs and nouns),
and syntax of set portions of the Greek New Testament.
Set texts: Mark 8-10; John 18-21
New
Testament (with Greek texts)
[002D145]
(candidates are required to have already
passed 'New Testament Greek')
(i) The purpose and theology of each of the Synoptic Gospels,
with particular reference to prescribed Greek texts;
(ii) Paul's theology, with particular reference to prescribed
Greek texts;
(iii) 1 Peter, James, Hebrews.
Attention should be given to:
-
careful
exegetical study of the prescribed Greek texts, using at
least one major commentary on the Greek text
-
study
(through English translations) of relevant texts other than
those prescribed to be studied in Greek
-
evaluation
of modern scholarly discussion of the texts and principal
topics relevant to the syllabus
Set texts to
be studied in Greek: Mark 3:22-30. Matthew
12:24-32. Luke 11:14-23. Matthew 6:7-15.
Luke 11: 1-4. 1 Corinthians Chapters 1 and 15.
Romans Chapter 8.
New
Testament in English
[002D140]
(cannot be offered with 'New Testament
Greek')
(i) The purpose and theology of each of the Synoptic Gospels,
with particular reference to set texts in English;
(ii) Paul's theology, with particular reference to set texts
in English;
(iii) A study of either 1 Peter and
James or The Epistle to the
Hebrews.
Attention should be given to:
-
careful
exegetical study of the prescribed texts, using major
commentaries which do not presuppose knowledge of the Greek
text
-
study
(through English translations) of relevant texts other than
those prescribed above
-
evaluation
of the principal issues raised by modern scholarly
discussion of the texts and principal topics relevant to
this syllabus.
Set texts:
Mark 3:22-30. Matthew 12:24-32. Luke
11:14-23. Matthew 6:7-15. Luke 11: 1-4.
Mark 14:53-64. Matthew 26:57- 66. Luke
22:54-71. 1 Corinthians Chapters 1, 7 and 15.
Romans Chapters 5- 8. Philippians chapter 2.
Church history: the Church to AD 461
[002D075]
Special attention will be paid to such topics as: the
expansion of Christianity in town and countryside; early
diversity, heresy and process of unification; ministry,
doctrine and worship; early apologists; Origen; persecutions;
Constantine; Church and state in the Christian empire;
Donatist, Arian and Nestorian controversies; the first four
General Councils; Augustine; the Papacy; Monasticism.
There are no set texts, but it is important to study the
relevant primary sources in such texts as: J Stevenson
(revised by W H C Frend), A New Eusebius: Documents
illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London,
SPCK 1987) and J Stevenson (revised by W H C Frend),
Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Documents illustrating the
history of the Church AD 337-461 (London, SPCK 1989).
Church history: Reformation and society c.1450–c.1600
[002D080]
An examination of attempts at religious reform in Europe
during the 16th century, which includes both reform of the
Church and religious life, as well as reforms of society
inspired by religious belief. The term ‘Reformation’ is
understood as applying to both Protestant and Catholic
movements of reform.
Topics covered will include: later 15th century desire for
reform; late medieval popular belief, and links between reform
of social and religious life, Christian humanism and its
influence; evangelical movements precipitated by Luther,
Zwingli, the Anabaptists and Calvin; the magisterial and
radical Reformations, their religious and social implications
and the response of different social strata to them; the
Papacy and Papal authority, Catholic evangelism, Catholic
Reformation and Counter-Reformation; Church, state and
politics, including the Reformation in England.
Church history: Issues in 19th-century Christianity
[002D130]
A thematic approach to the study of Christianity and society
which will use the history of 19th-century England as a site
from which to explore some general themes in the church
history of the period. Attention will be concentrated on the
following themes:
-
crisis and
reform in Church Establishments, the Oxford Movement,
Evangelicalism, Catholicism and Anti-Catholicism
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the
response of the churches to social and intellectual
challenges especially urbanisation, the development of
professional science and biblical criticism, the
relationships between the churches and politics, and
churches and the Empire
-
the role of
women in the churches, and secularisation.
Christian doctrine
[002D030]
A systematic study of three central themes in contemporary
Christian theology:
(i) Christology - such issues as: the relationship
between theological claims regarding Christ and Jesus of
Nazareth as a historical figure; the consciousness of Jesus
and its theological significance; the normativity or otherwise
of the Chalcedonian definition; the designation of Jesus as
sinless; claims about the divine and human nature of Jesus
Christ; Spirit Christology.
(ii) Trinity - such issues as: how the doctrine of
God as three-in-one can be elucidated and grounded; the
connections between a Trinitarian understanding of God and the
concept of Christian revelation; psychological and social
analogies for the Trinity; the proper use of the term 'person'
in Trinitarian theology; the doctrine of the Holy Spirit; the
filioque controversy; the ongoing significance of early Church
debates regarding the nature of God.
(iii) Atonement- such issues as: the strengths and
weaknesses of such metaphors as ‘sacrifice’, ‘satisfaction’,
‘victory’; the truth status of metaphorical language in
soteriology; the coherence or otherwise of the idea that God
suffers, with reference to its Trinitarian implications;
issues about universal salvation; Christian salvation and
human liberation.
Special attention should be given to:
-
how
Christian thought on these three topics developed during the
early Christian centuries
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the
connections between doctrines and their socio-cultural
settings
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the
interrelationships between the three different topics
-
the methods
and criteria deployed in the development of theological
positions.
Philosophy of
religion [002D035]
A study of the main problems in the philosophy of religion,
including such topics as: the proofs of God's existence; the
justification of religious belief; the divine attributes;
miracle; prayer; eternal life; the problem of evil.
Foundations in Biblical Hebrew
[002D150]
Translation, grammar (including parsing of words and phrases),
and exegesis of a set portion of the Hebrew text of the Old
Testament. Set text: Genesis 42-45.
Advanced
Biblical Hebrew [002D045]
A detailed study of selected portions of the Old Testament in
Hebrew. The primary emphasis is the exegesis of the texts, but
attention will also be paid to textual and philological
questions.
Set texts: Exodus 1-15; Proverbs 1-9.
Old Testament
theology [002D050]
The theology of the Old Testament with special reference to
the theme 'Worship', studied with special attention to the
following texts in English:
Exodus 12, 19-24, 32-34; Leviticus 16-19,
23; Deuteronomy 4-11; Psalms 42-50, 72-84;
Amos 5-7; Nahum; Habakkuk.
An English Bible (RSV) will be supplied in the examination
hall.
Intertestamental studies
[002D055]
A study of Judaism from the early second century BC to AD 135.
Topics will include: the history of the Jewish people in this
period; religious thought and religious movements, including
the Jewish reaction to Hellenism, the development of messianic
and eschatological beliefs, wisdom and the law; the Jewish
sects.
Special attention will be given to the following passages:
1 Maccabees 1-7. 2 Maccabees 3-7. Josephus,
Jewish War (trans. G A Williamson, Penguin Books).
The Letter of Aristeas (ed. R H Charles,
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, vol 2). Wisdom of
Solomon 1-5. Daniel 2,7, 10-12. Testament of
Levi, Testament of Judah (ed H F D Sparks, The
Apocryphal Old Testament), Psalms of Solomon 17
and 18 (ed H F D Sparks, The Apocryphal Old Testament).
1 Enoch 45-57 (ed H F D Sparks, The Apocryphal
Old Testament). 2 Esdras 11-13.
Ecclesiasticus: Prologue, 24-28, 38-39. Jubilees
21-33 (ed H F D Sparks, The Apocryphal Old Testament).
Mishnah, Aboth (ed H Dairby). Community Rule,
cols. 1-7 (all Dead Sea scrolls texts from G Vermes, The
Dead Sea Scrolls in English). Genesis Apocryphon.
Habakkuk Commentary, vols. 712. A Midrash on the Last
Days. A Messianic Anthology.
Johannine
writings in Greek [002D060]
(candidates are required to have already
passed 'New Testament Greek')
A study of the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles in
English, with special reference to the Greek text of John
1- 12, and 1, 2 and 3 John.
Romans in Greek
[002D065]
(candidates are required to have already
passed 'New Testament Greek')
The whole epistle should be studied in English, with the
following chapters to be studied in Greek:
Chapters 1 - 11, Chapter 13, verses 1-7.
Church, ministry and sacraments in early Christianity
[002D070]
Church, Ministry and Sacraments in early Christianity, with
special reference to the passages in English listed below.
Mark 14.17-25. Luke 22.14-23. John
15.1-17. Romans 6.3-11. I
Corinthians 10-12, 14. Ephesians 2.11-22. I
Timothy 3;
I Clement 40-44. Ign. Philad. 1-8.
Didache 7-15. (all ed K Lake, The Apostolic Fathers,
Loeb).
Liturgical studies
[002D110]
A general introduction to liturgy, with particular emphasis on
the principles underlying the various changes in worship and
the liturgical movements.
Topics will include the following: a general introduction to
the principles of worship; prayer, covenant, sacrifice,
symbolism; the Jewish background; the evolution of forms of
worship and the Christian calendar; corporate worship and
private devotion in the Middle Ages; worship during the
Reformation; the Books of Common Prayer; the modern liturgical
movement, Roman Catholic and Reformed; modern revisions of the
Book of Common Prayer.
Christian ethics
[002D105]
(i) The philosophical background in relation to:
(a) The Nature of Humankind: the Christian account of human
nature compared with other theories; the worth of persons and
the value of human life; the nature of conscience; the freedom
of the will;
(b) The Nature of Human Acts: the relation of acts to
consequences; acts and omissions; the principle of double
effect; deontological and teleological accounts of right
action.
(ii) The characteristics of Christian ethics in relation to
the basic Christian doctrines concerning God, humankind and
society.
(iii) A consideration of selected contemporary moral problems
in the light of the foregoing.
Islam
[002D115]
A mainly historical study considering both traditional and
radically novel views on the origins of Islam; the beginnings
of Islamic theology and law; the doctrines of the sects,
especially those of Shi’ism; the development of philosophy,
and, in particular, mysticism; the rise of Islamic modernism
and reformism; and contemporary practices.
Buddhism
[002D120]
A survey of the main features of Buddhism as a world religion,
with the emphasis on Indian Buddhism: early Buddhist doctrinal
teachings in their religious context, the Buddhist community
and monasticism, the scholastic Abhidhamma tradition, and
sectarian developments. Mahayana Buddhism as a later form of
Buddhism: the changing emphases on the teachings, especially
the role of the bodhisattva. Key features of Buddhism in Tibet
(including Vajrayana), China and Japan; and modern
developments in Sri Lanka.
Religious language
[002D100]
Topics will include: the negative way, analogy, metaphor,
symbol, verification, falsification, reformed epistemology,
belief ‘in’ and belief ‘that’, language-games, non-realism.
Mind
and person in the philosophy of religion
[002D095]
The concept of person and the mind/body problem, and their
significance for personal identity, religious belief, and
immortality.
Such books as the following will be found useful:
Plato, Phaedo. Aristotle, De Anima. E
Hartmann, Substance, Body and Soul. Peter Geach,
God and the Soul. Descartes, Meditations. John
Passmore, The Perfectibility of Man. Gilbert Ryle,
The Concept of Mind (Hutchinson's University Library
1949). H D Lewis, The Elusive Mind. P F Strawson,
Individuals. C V Borst (ed): The Mind-Brain Identity
Theory. J R Smythies (ed), Brain and Mind. J
Glover (ed), The Philosophy of Mind. Stuart Hampshire
(ed): Philosophy of Mind. B Berofsky (ed),
Determinism. Bernard Williams, Problems of the Self.
J Shoemaker, Self-Knowledge and Self-Identity.
Terence Penelhum, Survival and Disembodied Existence.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations.
David Hume, A Treatise on Human Nature. G W F Hegel,
Phenomenology of Spirit. John Plamenatz, Karl
Marx’s Philosophy of Man. Mark C Taylor, Journeys to
Selfhood: Hegel and Kierkegaard. Nathan A Scott,
Mirrors of Man in Existentialism. Carl Jung, Modern
Man in Search of a Soul. John Wisdom, Philosophy and
Psychoanalysis.
Science and
religion [002D041]
(i) The history of the relationship between religion and
science in the Medieval period (including Ptolemy), the
Renaissance period (including Copernicus and Galileo), the
Enlightenment period (including Newton), and the nineteenth
century (including Darwin).
(ii) Contemporary and philosophical issues. Cosmology and the
Anthropic Principle, quantum physics, Chaos Theory,
Neo-Darwinism, genetic engineering, and cloning. The aims and
processes of religion and science (including Popper and Kuhn),
and the relationship between religion and science.
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