Scotch College

VCE: Texts and Traditions

Rationale

Christian faith and the New Testament go together. There are many other ancient writings which speak of Jesus, but those included in the New Testament are foundational for Christian society, rituals, beliefs, values, and behaviour. 

Not all branches of the Christian tradition give equal weight to the written word, and those who have authority to interpret and protect the texts differ in various Christian traditions. In the Protestant tradition all are encouraged to explore the meaning of the texts for themselves. This calls for intellectual rigor and debate as well as academic honesty. Especially since, in addition to places of worship, schools and universities have become venues of dynamic interaction with the texts as their interpretation is explored. Such exploration of the foundational texts reveals much about Christianity as it continues to relate to changing circumstances. In many cases the texts themselves provide stimulus for change. Nowhere is this more clearly evident than in contemporary study of the Gospel of St Luke, the only Gentile author in the New Testament. His texts have exerted an influence on the culture of our society well beyond the limits of those who profess allegiance to Christianity.

Structure 

Unit 3: Texts and the early tradition

Unit 4: Texts and their teaching 

The term ‘text’ above refers to writings that are held as authoritative for the tradition as well as writings deemed authoritative, but whose authority is derived from their relationship to the core documents. In this study at Scotch the core ‘text’ is the Gospel according to St Luke. 

Throughout the study the word ‘traditions’ is understood to refer to continuing social organisations which play an important part in maintaining and shaping culture. Traditions contain beliefs, values and ideas about existence and human experience which are expressed in a variety of ways. In this study the tradition through which the text is approached is the Protestant Christian tradition. 

Assessment 

Unit 3: School-Assessed Coursework 25 per cent

Unit 4: School-Assessed Coursework 25 per cent

Units 3 & 4: Examination 50 per cent