Religion 121 Section
Descriptions
SEMESTER II, 2008-2009
INTRODUCTION
The Level I religion course introduces students to the dialogue between the biblical tradition and the cultures and communities related to it. Study of the biblical storyline, major biblical texts and their interaction with (e.g.) theology, religious practice, ethics, and social values. Consideration of methods and fields in the study of religion in a liberal arts setting.
The course is taught in multiple sections. Every section will cover a core list of biblical texts, but in each case distinctive approaches and themes will be emphasized. For details see below.
THE BIBLE AND SALVATION. Like the Philippian jailer, who cries out for salvation while his life literally crumbles around him, people for millennia have turned to the God of scripture for hope in the midst of brokenness. From images of personal healing to cosmic renewal, the Bible employs a surprising variety of metaphors to speak of God’s care and faithfulness toward God’s creation and covenant people. Employing both literary and historical approaches to reading, in this course we will explore the rich diversity of biblical images of salvation. We will also delve into ways theologians and fiction writers have utilized these biblical motifs to address specific cultures and contexts, with an eye toward identifying metaphors of salvation appropriate to our contemporary situation.
121 B: STANSELL, 905-1000, MWFTHE BIBLE AND ANTHROPOLOGY. This introduction to the Bible, with the help of cultural anthropology, reads Scripture in terms of its pivotal values, social relations, and theological motifs, with special reference to its Middle Eastern and Mediterranean setting. Topics include how the biblical world conceives of time, honor, material goods, family, sickness and health, suffering, and salvation, etc.
121 C: POEHLMANN, 800-855, MWFAMERICAN RELIGION, AMERICAN EXPERIENCES. You live in America, one of the most "religious" countries in the world - and it is "secular", right? So, we will be studying some of the religion you know and do not know: for example, denominations in Christianity, the influence of Protestantism, Judaism in the USA, how the Bible gets read and why Judaism and Christianity share a Bible (in parts) – and of course, other stuff. You will read some novels, other books, articles, and parts of the Bible. You'll write personal essays, critical essays and research reports, do library exploration and strategy, talk with other students and we'll learn from each other. Midterm and final examinations.
121 D: STANSELL, 1045-1140, MWFTHE BIBLE AND ANTHROPOLOGY. This introduction to the Bible, with the help of cultural anthropology, reads Scripture in terms of its pivotal values, social relations, and theological motifs, with special reference to its Middle Eastern and Mediterranean setting. Topics include how the biblical world conceives of time, honor, material goods, family, sickness and health, suffering, and salvation, etc.
121 E: BARBOUR, 1045-1140, MWFTHE BIBLE AND THE LITERARY IMAGINATION. This version of the course focuses on two central issues. We will explore what a literary critical approach to the Bible--a focus on narrative structure, symbolism, metaphor, characterization, irony, and other literary elements--reveals about the Bible's theological meaning. Second, we will read and discuss how selected works of literature have exemplified and examined central ethical and theological themes of the Bible, such as the nature of God, sin, the meaning of grace, the search for human community, and the shape of the Christian moral life.
121 F: RIPLEY, 1150-1245, MWF
THE BIBLE AND SALVATION. Like the Philippian jailer, who cries out for salvation while his life literally crumbles around him, people for millennia have turned to the God of scripture for hope in the midst of brokenness. From images of personal healing to cosmic renewal, the Bible employs a surprising variety of metaphors to speak of God’s care and faithfulness toward God’s creation and covenant people. Employing both literary and historical approaches to reading, in this course we will explore the rich diversity of biblical images of salvation. We will also delve into ways theologians and fiction writers have utilized these biblical motifs to address specific cultures and contexts, with an eye toward identifying metaphors of salvation appropriate to our contemporary situation.
CALLING AND COVENANT. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible provides countless stories of people called by God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God creates covenants with a chosen people, calling them to be set apart for the good of the whole creation. The New Testament God continues this calling, creating a new covenant through Jesus Christ. This class will explore what it means for Jews and Christians to be called by God - both as communities of faith and as individuals within those communities. Through conversations with these communities and modern resources on calling, it also will examine the meaning of vocation for people today.
121 H: ANDERSON, 1255-150, MWFCALLING AND COVENANT. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible provides countless stories of people called by God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God creates covenants with a chosen people, calling them to be set apart for the good of the whole creation. The New Testament God continues this calling, creating a new covenant through Jesus Christ. This class will explore what it means for Jews and Christians to be called by God - both as communities of faith and as individuals within those communities. Through conversations with these communities and modern resources on calling, it also will examine the meaning of vocation for people today.
121 I: BENJAMIN, 1045-1140, MWFJUDAISM’S BIBLE. Both Judaism and Christianity Bible have claimed the Bible as the foundational text of their traditions. But throughout the centuries, each religion has developed unique reading strategies for making sense of this diverse and complicated text. This course focuses on 1) those elements of the Bible that have had special importance for the development of Jewish literary and legal traditions, and 2) Jewish approaches to the Bible, with special attention to the practice of midrash (lit. interpretation) as a devotional and intellectual activity that has had a significant role in the development of Judaism.
121 J: ANDERSON, 200-255, MWFCALLING AND COVENANT. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible provides countless stories of people called by God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God creates covenants with a chosen people, calling them to be set apart for the good of the whole creation. The New Testament God continues this calling, creating a new covenant through Jesus Christ. This class will explore what it means for Jews and Christians to be called by God - both as communities of faith and as individuals within those communities. Through conversations with these communities and modern resources on calling, it also will examine the meaning of vocation for people today..
121 K: JOTHEN, 800-925 T, 800-920 THTHE GOOD LIFE. This course will examine this question: What is the Good Life? For centuries, people have turned to the Bible to provide a way to understand how to live "the good life." For the Israelites, it was to live per their covenant with God; for Christians, it was to live per the new covenant in Christ. We will examine the various formulations of the good life that are described within the Bible, both by reading the Bible and by looking at how other thinkers have answered this question by turning to the Bible. Supplementary issues will include the tension between God's action and human action, the nature of justice, and the type of self that the various ideas of the good life demand of a believer.
121 L: JOTHEN, 935-1100 T, 930-1050 THTHE GOOD LIFE. This course will examine this question: What is the Good Life? For centuries, people have turned to the Bible to provide a way to understand how to live "the good life." For the Israelites, it was to live per their covenant with God; for Christians, it was to live per the new covenant in Christ. We will examine the various formulations of the good life that are described within the Bible, both by reading the Bible and by looking at how other thinkers have answered this question by turning to the Bible. Supplementary issues will include the tension between God's action and human action, the nature of justice, and the type of self that the various ideas of the good life demand of a believer.
121 M: ODELL, 935-1100 T, 930-1050 THTHE BIBLE AND CONTEMPORARY MORAL REFLECTION. This course addresses two sets of questions-about the Bible and moral perspectives contained within its writings, and about the moral issues raised by the world that we live in. In order to gain an understanding of biblical moral perspectives, our study of the Bible will explore the historical contexts in which its writings were produced, and it will also trace the development of such themes as covenant, justice, and love for neighbors throughout the Old and New Testaments. Our study of contemporary moral issues will introduce us to a range of ethical and moral approaches to contemporary problems, and will ask whether or not biblical perspectives are compatible with them. Students will integrate these two sets of questions in final projects that explore such contemporary social problems as genetic engineering, the death penalty, affordable housing, and globalization.
121 N: HANSON, 1145-110 T, 1245-205 THSUFFERING AND HOPE: THE BIBLE AND THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING. From the loss of paradise in Genesis to the hope for a New Creation in the book of Revelation, one of the Bible's unifying themes is the question of why a world brought into being by a good and loving God should contain so much suffering. In this course, we will examine the ways in which various biblical writers addressed this question in their own situations and the historical, cultural, and theological factors that informed their views. We will also seek to bring the Bible's insights to bear on contemporary experience, from personal tragedy to the massive public suffering that has characterized recent history.
121 O: SCHUURMAN, 1145-110 T, 1245-205 THTHE BIBLE AND ETHICS. The primary focus of this section will be on what the Bible says about God's relation to humanity and world as these are created good, fallen into sin and corruption, being redeemed through Christ and the covenants, and to be fully renewed in the age of come. We will explore the bearing of these theological perspectives for ethical analysis of such moral issues as relativism, moral conflict, guilt, forgiveness, suffering, war, poverty, and sexism.
121 P: BOOTH, 120-245 T, 215-335 THTHE BIBLE, SLAVERY, AND CIVIL RIGHTS. This section proposes a study of the interaction between the text of the bible and the cultures where it was written and read, focusing especially on questions about slavery and civil rights. The communities where the Bible was written were familiar with slavery, and some texts in the Bible have been used to justify slavery ever since. Yet the communities where the Bible was written also struggled for and valued freedom, and other texts in the Bible have inspired opponents of slavery and advocates of civil rights. Consequently, the ideas of slavery and civil rights are fine test cases for understanding how the authorship of the Bible reflected root assumptions of the communities where it was written, as well as for understanding contemporary conflicts over interpreting the Bible. We will read and discuss key sections of the Bible as well as key texts in modern civil rights movements.
121 Q: SCHUURMAN, 120-245 T, 215-335 THTHE BIBLE AND ETHICS. The primary focus of this section will be on what the Bible says about God's relation to humanity and world as these are created good, fallen into sin and corruption, being redeemed through Christ and the covenants, and to be fully renewed in the age of come. We will explore the bearing of these theological perspectives for ethical analysis of such moral issues as relativism, moral conflict, guilt, forgiveness, suffering, war, poverty, and sexism.
121 R: RIPLEY, 905-1000 MWFTHE BIBLE AND SALVATION. Like the Philippian jailer, who cries out for salvation while his life literally crumbles around him, people for millennia have turned to the God of scripture for hope in the midst of brokenness. From images of personal healing to cosmic renewal, the Bible employs a surprising variety of metaphors to speak of God’s care and faithfulness toward God’s creation and covenant people. Employing both literary and historical approaches to reading, in this course we will explore the rich diversity of biblical images of salvation. We will also delve into ways theologians and fiction writers have utilized these biblical motifs to address specific cultures and contexts, with an eye toward identifying metaphors of salvation appropriate to our contemporary situation.
121 S: GOHDES-LUHMAN, 1145-110 T, 1245-205 THBIBLE AND RHETORIC. This course will examine the variety of literature and theologies at work in the Bible. We will compare the rhetorical strategies at work in the ancient writings with the rhetorical use of the Bible and biblical themes in American contemporary culture. Understanding that we are in the midst of a shift from modernity to post-modernity, we will examine where we place knowledge and faith in life and culture. Grading for the course will be based on content quizzes, writing assignments, class discussion and presentations
