STUDENT TESTIMONIAL
(NT501: Introduction to the New Testament, Spring 2026)
These first four weeks in Dr. Kim's Introduction to the New Testament course have fundamentally reshaped the way I approach, read, and engage with Scripture, especially the Gospels. I entered this course with a traditional foundation and a pastor's familiarity with the text; I had not yet allowed myself to sit with the hard questions that critical scholarship demands. I learned to view the New Testament not as a single, harmonized book but as a diverse collection of writings shaped by historical contexts, communal experiences, and theological reflection. Throughout this process, moments of new learning were accompanied by necessary unlearning. Assumptions about authorship, genre, oral tradition, textual transmission, and theological uniformity were challenged and reframed. Aha moments emerged as connections between community context and theology became clearer, particularly in the distinct portrayals of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.
Throughout these four weeks, I have had to unlearn assumptions I never knew I held. I had to unlearn that the Bible should be read as one harmonized voice. I had to unlearn that the Gospel writers were the people whose names the texts bear. I had to unlearn that "born again" was the best translation of anothen. Each act of unlearning was uncomfortable, but each one opened space for deeper understanding. I've also been challenged in ways that directly affect my ministry.
As a pastor who preaches from these texts every week, I cannot unsee what I have learned. I now carry a responsibility to handle the text with greater care, greater honesty, and greater awareness of the communities and contexts that produced it.
Ultimately, this course has helped me develop a more nuanced and mature engagement with the New Testament. Rather than weakening my appreciation for Scripture, this approach has deepened it by inviting honesty, humility, and attentiveness to the voices within the text. As I continue in this course, I am better equipped to read the New Testament critically and faithfully.
