Exegesis Paper
Movie Analysis
Novel Analysis
Web Page Presentation
Art Work
Grading Scale

(1) Exegesis paper on a passage that deals with a particular issue. After considering your personal interests and consulting your calendar for other assignments and tests, decide which passage you want to study. Your work should be solidly based on our studies in Paul's letters and draw conclusions on contemporary relevance. This is a formal paper, and therefore you need to use footnotes and bibliography.  For directions on how to compose footnotes and bibliographic entries, see my instructions under how to write an exegesis paper at the following web address: BIBL-277-exeg.htm. These directions give the proper form, and you need to follow them exactly.

The Second Coming of Christ
Odd things are often taught in the church today regarding the Second Coming of Christ. In this project you will seek to provide a responsible examination of 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11 and 1 Cor. 15:50-57 to show what Paul expected to happen. For this option you will need to read what commentaries say on these passages, as well as journal articles written to explain them. Be sure to include in your study the paper by Michael Cosby, "Hellenistic Formal Receptions and Paul's Use of APANTHSIS in 1 Thessalonians 4:17," in Bulletin for Biblical Research 4 (1994) 15-34.

Women in the Church at Corinth
In this project you will need to read what you can find about women in the culture of ancient Corinth and determine the relevance of this information for understanding and applying 1 Cor. 11:2-16. Begin by consulting the bibliography in "Apostle on the Edge: An Inductive Guide to Paul," p. 148 (see also footnote 18 on p. 141), and then progress on to other books and articles that you locate which have information on veiling customs of women in ancient Greece and Rome, their approaches to worship of various deities, etc.

Tithing and New Testament Faith
For this project you may want to compare what is said about tithing in such OT texts as Deut. 14:22-29 with Paul's advice in 2 Corinthians 8-9. Determine the nature of Paul's directions and their relevance for Christian giving today. Does 2 Corinthians 8-9 speak to the issue of tithing? Is tithing relevant for Christians today, or is much of the teaching on giving in the church out of touch with the New Testament? What motivated Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians 8-9? You will probably want to draw not only from written resources from the library and Internet, but also from your own experience in your home church.

Christians and Homosexuality
In the church today, homosexuality is a major source of debate. Romans 1:18-32 is an important text that speaks to this issue, and you will focus your efforts on this passage. For background purposes, you will also want to read other NT texts that mention this practice (e.g., 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10), as well as OT texts that speak of it (e.g., Lev. 18:22; 20:23; Wisdom of Solomon 14:12 [in the Apocrypha]). Background information on Greco-Roman practices is available in various library books. Begin with the material in "Apostle on the Edge: An Inductive Guide to Paul," and move on from there to find more books and articles (e.g., Richard B. Hays, "Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies: Drawing on scripture and tradition in the church debate on homosexuality, Sojourners [July 1991] 17-21; and The Moral Vision of the New Testament [New York: Harper Collins, 1996], pp. 379-406; Mark D. Smith, "Ancient Bisexuality and the Interpretation of Romans 1:26-27," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64 [1966] 223-256; Michael R. Cosby, Sex in the Bible [Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1984], pp. 142-166). Prof. Cosby has a lengthy bibliography on this issue, with articles and books representing a variety of viewpoints.

Male and Female Roles in the Christian Family
Gender roles are also a source of debate in the church, and this project allows you to explore this issue by carefully analyzing Eph. 5:21-6:12 in the context of other ancient household codes. "Apostle on the Edge" contains some of this information, but for a detailed study of such codes, see David L. Balch, Let Wives Be Submissive: The Domestic Code in 1 Peter (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1981), esp. pp. 1-59. See commentaries on Ephesians for explorations of the meaning of this passage and its relevance for today. Expect to see diversity of opinion.

(2) Movie Analysis
Videos play an important role in modern society, and developing your skills in interpreting and critiquing them will play an increasingly important part in Christian life and ministry.  Movie directors, like authors, shape their depictions of their characters by what they choose to show and what they choose to omit.  Those who have made movies about Paul present different portraits of him, depending on the director's theological beliefs, moral commitments, denominational affiliation (or lack thereof), understanding of the nature of Paul's letters and Acts, beliefs about the historical Paul (miraculous or non miraculous, etc.), and which New Testament material he or she chooses to include or omit..

In this project, you must carefully analyze how two movies from different time periods or different theological perspectives present the story of Paul.  This will involve painstaking analysis of how each movie develops its director's vision of Paul and through what means it does so.  You must evaluate how responsibly the directors have used the New Testament material to produce their portraits of Paul, as well as explain which documents were primarily used in these productions.  You will also evaluate the credibility of these portraits of Paul, critiquing the director's vision and explaining the value or lack thereof of the movie for various audiences.  The skills you develop in completing this project should better equip you to dialogue with the meanings presented in movies, T.V. programs, political advertisements, etc. that you watch, making you into a wiser consumer of video images.

(3) Novel Analysis
Novels about Paul differ in their authors' visions of what the apostle was like.  Some deal responsibly with Acts and Paul's letters; most do not.  Few novels are written by people skilled in New Testament interpretation, and most readers lack the skills to critique fictional accounts of Paul.

In this project, you will carefully analyze a novel about Paul in order to determine what portrait of him it presents, which New Testament documents (if any) it primarily uses for its depiction, how responsibly it deals with biblical material, what seems to be the author's intent in writing (what indications are there of what he or she seeks to accomplish?), and what techniques the author primarily uses to present this particular portrait of Paul.  You also need to explain what value you believe the book has; or if you believe it is destructive, explain why.  What makes it useful or harmful in today's society, and who would most benefit or be damaged by reading it?  Why?

(4) Original Art Work
Students who are artists may choose to do their own artistic depictions of Paul rather than critiquing the work of others.  In this demanding and rewarding project, you will do produce two original works of art, one of Paul as he is presented in Acts and another depicting how you believe Paul reveals himself in his own letters.  How you use symbolism is up to you, but your art must symbolically reveal two visions of the apostle.  Because I am not able to critique art adequately, you must arrange with an art professor to grade the quality of your work.  But I need to be able to evaluate what you do symbolically in your portraits of Paul, so you must provide a written description of each piece (not just a title, but an explanation).  They must show care in your attempts to integrate what you have learned from the New Testament into creative expressions of art.  Your grade will be based on the combined evaluations of the art professor and my own.

(5) Student-Devised Project
If you have a creative idea of a project that integrates careful reading of Acts and Paul's letters with another endeavor that I have not listed, you may approach me with your idea.  If it fulfills the goals of the class and involves work that you are excited about pursuing, I will give permission for you to do it.  You must bring a written summary of the project and defend its credibility as an assignment before I will agree to it.

Grading Scale for Exegesis Papers (adapt for other projects)

A
Strong bibliography (thorough research and careful use of form), excellent introduction, compelling argument presented with highly readable prose, well developed sequence of thoughts, strong thesis that is creatively defended with concrete data (not broad generalizations), perceptive interaction with primary and secondary sources (not just a listing of information), excellent grammar, correct spelling, powerful conclusion based on information contained in paper, and proper use of footnotes.

B
Good bibliography (careful research and good use of form), adequate introduction that speaks to the main issue addressed in paper, clear outline (nice flow to prose, with clear sequence of thoughts), responsible thesis that is defended with specific data (not broad generalizations; describes the subject matter fairly and accurately), interaction with sources (not just a listing of information), good grammar, few spelling errors, good conclusion based on information contained in paper, and proper use of footnotes with few mistakes.

C
Average essay that follows instructions, reports information fairly but with little imagination, contains a modest number of errors in grammar, form and content, fair bibliography (adequate research), fair introduction of main thesis, fairly readable paper with discernable outline, thesis defended with relevant data, sources used to defend points, adequate spelling and grammar, attempt to use proper form for footnotes and bibliography with modest number of mistakes.

D
Careless essay that does not follow guidelines and reflects a minimum effort to fulfill the assignment. Poor bibliography (shoddy research and sloppy use of form), no developed thesis, disjointed presentation, poorly written (too many grammatical and spelling errors), sloppy footnote form.

F
Failure to fulfill minimum requirements for assignment. Might have plagiarism problems (dishonesty), ignores directions and does not meet goals of assignment, numerous grammatical and spelling errors, serious factual errors.