Reln 220: Assignment 4

1. Read Van Voorst, 134-146, and 152-57-and 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 specfic to Christianity, such as "real presence", that you would like to see defined or discussed on the syllabus web site.