← Religious Studies syllabus

EnglandReligious Studies

New Testament and Developments (Paper 3)

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do scholars interpret the New Testament, and how do scientific and historical-critical challenges affect its authority?

Paper 3 Ways of interpreting scripture and scientific and historical-critical challenges: source, form and redaction criticism, the Synoptic Problem, questions of authorship and purpose, and the impact of critical and scientific challenges on the authority of the text.
An Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 3 (New Testament Studies) guide to interpreting scripture and the critical challenges. Covers source, form and redaction criticism, the Synoptic Problem and Q, questions of authorship and purpose, the historical-critical method (Bultmann's demythologisation) and scientific challenges, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
16 min answer →

What was the world of first-century Palestine, and how do the Gospels and scholars present the identity of Jesus?

Paper 3 The social, historical and religious context of the New Testament and the person of Jesus: first-century Palestine, the titles and claims of Jesus, and the debate between Jesus as teacher, prophet and Son of God.
An Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 3 (New Testament Studies) guide to the context and person of Jesus. Covers first-century Palestine (Roman occupation, Hellenism, Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes), the titles of Jesus (Messiah, Son of Man, Son of God) and the debate over his identity as teacher, prophet or divine, with the scholarship and AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
16 min answer →

What did Jesus mean by the Kingdom of God, and how do scholars interpret the meaning of his death and resurrection?

Paper 3 Texts and interpretation of the Kingdom of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus: the parables and ethics of the Kingdom, its present and future dimensions, and interpretations of the crucifixion and resurrection.
An Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 3 (New Testament Studies) guide to the Kingdom of God and the death and resurrection of Jesus. Covers the parables and ethics of the Kingdom, the realised, futurist and inaugurated eschatology debate (Dodd, Schweitzer, Jeremias), and interpretations of the crucifixion and resurrection (Wright, Bultmann), with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
16 min answer →