Lesson 1 Introduction

Learning Objectives
A student completing this lesson should be able to:
Marshal and state the evidence for God's existence, the purpose of human existence, the inspiration of the Bible, and the laws of life; Explain with particularity what is meant by the New Testament term Gospel; Demonstrate a sense of the cultural and social conditions existing in the Greco-Roman world at the time of Jesus of Nazareth; Explain the biblical doctrines of the nature of God, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, creation, sin, repentance, and baptism; Show familiarity with the personalities and geographical terms encountered in this lesson; Explain the chronology and details of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and dispel common myths about his birth; and Define basic vocabulary words.
Reading Assignment
TOPIC	REQUIRED READING	SUPPLEMENTAL READING
Topic 1 The Middle East in the Days of Jesus	Elwell & Yarbrough  Chapter 2 (pp. 39-68) Germano Comments on Elwell & Yarbrough Chapter 2	Fisher - State of the Roman World at the Birth of Christ Germano Apostolic Christianity Gibbon - Gibbon The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Chapter 15) Stark The Rise of Christianity NOTE: the above four sources may be of some help in completing the Writing Assignment for this lesson.
Topic 2 The Gospel Accounts	Robertson §1 (p. 3) Elwell & Yarbrough  Chapter 3 (pp. 69-76) Germano  Comments on Elwell & Yarbrough Chapter 3	Thomas & Gundry §1 (p. 19) Distance Map of Galilee, Samaria and Judea
Topic 3 His Pre-Existence and Birth Preparations	Robertson §§2-9 (pp. 4-9) Armstrong Is Jesus God? Meredith Your Ultimate Destiny	Thomas & Gundry §§2-11 (pp. 19-27 Winnail The Real God: Proofs and Promises
Topic 4 Jesus’ Birth, Boyhood, and Baptism by John	Robertson §§10-24 (pp. 9-20) Ogwyn Is Christmas Christian?	Thomas & Gundry  §§12-27 (pp. 27-36) Ogwyn  Holy Spirit - Changing Your Life Meredith Should You Be Baptized?
Lecture Assignment
The lectures in this course are expositions of the Gospels, using Robertson's Harmony of the Gospels, providing students with a verse-by-verse analysis and explication of the Gospels. The focus is upon the literal content and meaning of the written gospel texts in their first-century context. Students should use the opportunity to make notes in their harmonies.
Lecture on The Greco-Roman World of Jesus' Time (Part I) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on The Greco-Roman World of Jesus' Time (Part II) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on What Are the Gospels? (Part I) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on What Are the Gospels? (Part II) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on Sections 1-2 (pp. 1-2) in Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels [The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ] (Part I) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on Sections 1-2 in Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels [The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ] (Part II) Watch Download MP3 Download Lecture on Sections 3-24 (pp. 3-20) in Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels [His Birth, Early Years and Baptism] (Part I) Watch Download MP3 Download   Lecture on Sections 3-24 in Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels [His Birth, Early Years and Baptism]  (Part II) Watch Download MP3 Download
Forum Assignment
Complete your icebreaker assignment. For credit, you will need to post three comments consisting of your short autobiography and two comments on the autobiographies of other students. The purposes of this icebreaker assignment are for you to introduce yourself to your classmates, to verify your enrollment in this course, and to promote student interaction. The icebreaker assignment is due by the eighth day of the semester. Post your autobiography as a reply to the "Bios" topic on the course forum. You can earn 25 bonus points in this course by doing so “on time.” On this assignment there is no credit granted for postings made after the eighth day of the semester.
Words and Phrases
Know the following words and phrases
apocalyptic Diadochi Diaspora Essenes ethnarch Feast of Dedication Galilee gennao Hasidim Hasmoneans Herod Herodians Judea logos mezuzah Midrash Mishnah monotheistic Nazareth Pharisees polytheistic praeparatio evangelium Priests pseudepigrapha Sadducees Samaritans Sanhedrin Scribes Second Temple Judaism Septuagint synagogue syncretism synoptic gospels Talmud targums tephillin tractates Vulgate Zealots
Drill and Practice Quiz
Take the Assignment 1 Quiz. It is an open book objective question quiz (true/false, multiple choice, matching), with no time limit, worth 40 points. You may take this quiz twice and only your highest score will be counted.
Writing Assignment
Do some research on the political, economic, health, religious, and living conditions in Galilee and Judea during the time of Jesus of Nazareth, and then  write an essay of at least five paragraphs describing what life was like for the average people of the land. Was this a poverty stricken, disease ridden society? We suggest you develop a separate paragraph for each of the five conditions, an introductory paragraph, a  concluding paragraph and a Works Cited section. Carefully write a short essay addressing this question. Be sure to give credit and use quotation marks, cite your sources and include a Works Cited section at the end of your essay. Before beginning your essay, carefully read the section How to Answer an Essay Question. Here are some sample essay questions and acceptable answers for you to see for format purposes: Sample 1   Sample 2   Sample 3. This assignment is worth 40 points. Post your assignment using the Assignment Page on your course toolbar. Note that you can post a paper in Microsoft Word as an attachment using the File Storage feature. Some prefer to submit their papers in this manner to preserve the format.