Friday, August 31, 2012

Say "Thessalonians" Three Times Really Fast

The 27 books of the New Testament begin with Matthew and end with the Revelation to John. Marcus Borg rearranges them according our best understanding of when in the first century the texts were actually written. He starts with St. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (generally understood to be the oldest Christian document) and ends with 2 Peter. Teaching all these books to seventh graders at St. John's, the most radical thing I do is have students read Mark (the earliest gospel) before Matthew.

1 comment:

Barry Fernelius said...

We did something just like what Borg has done in my EfM class. When the books of the New Testament are read chronologically, it's much easier to see how the ideas of the early church evolved over time.