Reln 220: Assignment 4

1. Read Van Voorst, 134-146, and the Oxford Encylopedia online article about the medieval Church, as well as the other online sections for this week. Choose one of the following topics pertaining to the development of the Catholic Church that interests you:

• The development of differing approaches to the Eucharist
• The relationship between philosophy and faith
• Ideas about Christ's atonement
• Women's visionary literature
• The relationship between church and state
• Church leadership
  
  

2. How does the Christian concern for salvation relate to the topic you chose? Write a 2 page paper explaining how your topic might influence Christian actions in the world. For example, if you thought salvation depended upon a particular belief, how might you act when that belief appears to be contradicted by logic? Or if you believed strongly in the presence of God experienced in a vision or revelation, and that revelation was not in accordance with Church teaching (or a representative of the Church said it wasn't), how might you react? Note: You do not need to be a Christian to address this issue; you are explaining how someone who is Christian might react. Make sure to provide specific references to texts to make your points.

3. At the bottom of your paper, choose a term or question you would like to see defined or discussed on the syllabus web site.