Department of Religion
Mary Suydam
Department of Religion
Mary Suydam
| Religion 220: Faith of Christians: Fall 2012 | |
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Mary Suydam Ascension 011 PBX 5067 Office Hours: T-Th 1 - 2:30 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 unexcused classes or two weekly papers will lower your final grade by one full point (B becomes C, for example).That being said, you should not come to class if you are sick. It is your responsibility to notify the professor in advance and to write a short response to the reading to be handed in at the next class.
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. 31, Sept. 3, 5, 7: Introduction; Jesus and his followers
Reading:
The gospels of Mark, chapters 1-2; Matthew, chapter 7; Luke, chapter 8
Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; John, chapter 1; Matthew 5:21-48;
Mark chapters 13-16
Gospel of John, chapters 13-21
E-Res, Frankiel, Christianity, 6-20
Van Voorst, Readings in Christianity, pp. 282-3 (Albert Schweitzer)
Characteristics of Jesus in the gospels
Week 2: September 10, 12, 14: Paul and the Roman world
Reading:
Paul's letter to the Corinthians: 1Corinthians chapters 1-2; chapters 13-15
Paul's Letter to the Romans, chapters 1-10,
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 19, 21: The Early Church: Constantine and Augustine
NO CLASS MONDAY, SEPT. 17: ROSH HASHANAH
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 24 and 28: The Medieval Catholic Church: Sacramental Christianity
NO CLASS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26: YOM KIPPUR
Reading: Van Voorst, 136-146
Letter of Bishop Clement (ca. 96)
Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies (ca. 180)
Choose one reading from Van Voorst, 152-157
PART II: FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING
Week 5: Oct. 1, 3, 5: Faith and Universalism
First Short Paper on Early Christianity due Wednesday, Oct. 3
Reading: Van Voorst, 143-55, 286-294, 297-8, 312-315
Guest lecture Wednesday: Maxine Walker: The Eastern Orthodox Church
Choose one reading:
McFague, Models of God, 59-78 (E-Res)
Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter with the World
Week 6: October 8, 10: 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 
(Course Reserve)
OCTOBER 11-12 : READING DAYS
Writing Religious Studies Essays: A Guide
Week 7: October 15, 17, 19: MIDTERM; The Afterlife
Film: Bonhoeffer
Reading: Selections from Dante's Paradiso (P/Class)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Who Am I?"
MIDTERM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17
Week 8: October 22, 24, 26: 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
Outline: The Protestant Reformation: Background and Martin Luther
Outline: Radical and Political Reformations
Van Voorst, 285-6 (Barth)
Barth, Christian Dogmatics, selection 1 (on the Bible; in P/Class)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Selections from the Bible (handout)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Cheap Grace/Costly Grace"
Excerpts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer II
PART III: VARIETIES
Week 9: October 29, 31, Nov. 2: 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"?
Readings in Liberation Theology
Week 10: Nov. 5, 7, 9: Radical Christians then and now
Film: Protestant Spirit USA
Second short paper due on the Protestant Reformation Monday, Nov. 5
For Wednesday:
Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation 149-178 (E-Res)
Instructions on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation (1984)
For Friday:
Reading: Van Voorst, 301-310
Natural Law Theory and Same-Sex Relationships
The Ethics of Genetic Engineering
Two page response paper due one of these topics: same sex marriage or genetic engineering
How does the Christian tradition deal with new science, new social science understandings?
Week 11: November 12, 14, 16: 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
----------------------------THANKSGIVING BREAK----------------------------
Week 12: November 26, 28, 30: 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 Wednesday, Nov. 28
Week 13: Dec. 3, 5, 7: 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
Chrononolgy of LGBT Ordination
Week 14: December 10, 12, 14: 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 14 in class.
Timeline: Development of Christianity to about 1300
Timeline: Development of Christianity 1300 -- present
FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WILL BE HANDED OUT DECEMBER 14. EXAM IS DUE AT THE SCHEDULED EXAM DATE OF DECEMBER 18.
