Department of Religion
Mary Suydam
Department of Religion
Mary Suydam
| Religion 220: Faith of Christians: Fall 2008 | |
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Mary Suydam Ascension 011 PBX 5067 Office Hours: T-Th 10-12 AM and by appt. |
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II. Texts
III. Course Requirements
All students will write 1-2 page papers each week to aid in preparing for discussions of the texts. Active participation in discussions is a critical component of this class. Missing more than two classes or two weekly papers will lower your final grade by one full point (B becomes C, for example).
Midterm and final exam questions will be given in advance. The final exam will be take-home and will be due on the day of the scheduled final exam. The final exam must be typed and double-spaced.
The research paper is an opportunity for you to pursue a topic in greater detail than class time allows. It will give you the chance to read, analyze, and write clearly about a subject that interests you. Each student is expected to choose a particular aspect or variety of Christianity that they would like to learn more about. This paper will be written in three stages. For details of each short paper and their compilation into a research paper, see Short Papers/Research Paper Guidelines.
Course Outline
PART I: ORIGINS
Week 1: Aug. 29, Sept. 1, 3, 5: Introduction; Jesus and his followers
Reading:
The gospels of Mark, chapters 1-2; Matthew, chapter 7; Luke, chapter 8
Frankiel, Christianity, 6-20
Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; John, chapter 1; Matthew 5:21-48; Mark chapters 13-16
Van Voorst, Readings in Christianity, pp. 282-3 (Albert Schweitzer)
Characteristics of Jesus in the gospels
Week 2: September 8, 10, 12: Paul and the Roman world
Reading:
Paul's letter to the Romans, chapters 1-10, I Corinthians 13 - 15
Van Voorst, Readings in Christianity, 25-55
Unamuno, The Agony of Christianity, chapters 1 and 2 (E-Res)
Schweitzer and the Historical Jesus
Week 3: September 15, 17, 19: The Early Church: Constantine and Augustine
Reading: Van Voorst, 68-92
Second and third century questions
Genesis 1:1-31
Augustine, Confessions
Augustine, City of God
Book XIV, chapter 28
Book IV, chapter 4
Book XV, chapters 1-2
Choose two readings from Van Voorst, 99-110
Timeline: Rome Becomes Christian
Augustinian political philosophy
Week 4: September 22, 24, 26: The Medieval Catholic Church: Sacramental Christianity
Reading: Van Voorst, 136-146
The Roman Catholic Church, "The Emergence of Catholic Christianity"
Frankiel, Christianity, 20-39, 58-83
Letter of Bishop Clement (ca. 96)
Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies (ca. 180)
Choose one reading from Van Voorst, 152-157
First Short Paper on Early Christianity due Friday, Sept. 26
PART II: FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING
Week 5: September 29, Oct. 1,3: Faith and Universalism
Reading: Van Voorst, 143-55, 286-294, 297-8, 312-315
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Who Am I?"
Excerpts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer I
Excerpts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer II
Choose one E-Res reading:
McFague, Models of God, 59-78
Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter with the World, 27-52
Week 6: October 6, 8: Sin and Redemption
Timeline: Development of Christianity to about 1300
Reading: Rita Nakashima Brock, "Losing your Innocence but not your Hope", in
Maryanne Stevens, ed., Reconstructing the Christ Symbol, 30-53 (E-Res)
Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics: A selection, 110-133
(E-Res)
OCTOBER 9-10 : READING DAYS
Writing Religious Studies Essays: A Guide
MIDTERM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15
Week 7: October 13, 15, 17: MIDTERM; The Afterlife
Reading: Selections from Dante's Paradiso (E-Res)
Week 8: October 20, 22, 24: Martin Luther and Protestantism
Reading: Van Voorst, 157-170; 179-180; 187-190; 192-195; 200-203 (Luther), 172-175; 209-211 (Anglicans); 195-197; 203-205 (Calvin)
Martin Luther: The Three Walls
Frankiel, Christianity, 39-48
Outline: The Protestant Reformation: Background and Martin Luther
Outline: Radical and Political Reformations
Van Voorst, 285-6 (Barth)
Tillich, The Reality of Revelation (E-Res)
PART III: VARIETIES
Week 9: October 27, 29, 31: The Counter Reformation
Outline: the Counter Reformation
Reading: Van Voorst, 181-186; 197-200; 206-209
Modern Christianity: Catholic and Protestant
Reforming the Reformation: What does it mean to be "radical"?
Film: Protestant Spirit USA
Second short paper due on the Protestant Reformation Friday, Oct. 31
Week 10: Nov. 3, 5, 7: Radical Christians then and now
Reading: Van Voorst, 301-310
Readings in Liberation Theology
Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation 149-178 (E-Res)
Instructions on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation (1984)
Unamuno, Agony of Christianity, 78-92 (E-Res)
Natural Law Theory and Same-Sex Relationships
Ethics and Genetic Manipulation
Week 11: November 10, 12, 14: Pentecostalism and the Quakers
The Society of Friends: Outline
The Autobiography of George Fox, chapter II
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory (E-Res)
Evangelicals, Pentecostalism, Fundamentalism: Outline
"Joyful Speaking for God: Pentecostal Women's Performances" (E-Res)
Reading: Bauman, Let Your Words Be Few, 20-42 (E-Res)
United Pentecostal Church International: The Way We Worship
United Pentecostal Church International: Apostle's Doctrine
Week 12: November 17, 19, 21: Mormons and Unitarians
Unitarians: The Flaming Chalice
Some Statements from Unitarian Web Sites
Reading: Thomas O'Dea, The Mormons, 119-154
Third short paper due on modern Christian groups Friday, Nov. 21
Week 13: Dec. 1, 3, 5: Women, Church, and government
Christianity: Some Definitions
Reading: Rosemary Ruether, "Can a Male Savior Save Women?" from Sexism and God-Talk, 116-138 (E-Res)
Film: A Priest Indeed
Jacquelyn Grant, "Woman's Experience Revisited" from White Woman's Christ and Black Woman's Jesus, 195-222 (E-Res)
McHaffie, "Readings in Her Story" (E-Res)
Women in Church Government: A Sampler
Chronology of Women's Ordination
Week 14: December 8, 10, 12: What is Christianity? Christians and others
Reading: Robert Wilken, "You Can't Go Home Again", from The Myth of Christian Beginnings, 158-185 (E-Res))
Christianity: Major Ingredients
Films: Rise Up and Walk
Impediments to Women's Full Participation in Christian Churches
FINAL PAPER DUE DECEMBER 12 in class.
FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WILL BE HANDED OUT DECEMBER 12.
