I.
Basic concepts: What does it mean to be modern? How is tribal
culture different from modern culture? What is religion about?
|
| For this date |
Reading to do |
Additional instructions |
Submit deadline |
| Thur. 8/21 |
Machina, "Modernity" |
While reading, write objections and questions you
have about the reading. Bring these to class. Print the article
and bring to class. |
-- |
| Tue. 8/26 |
Machina,
"The Big Questions" |
Read carefully. Objections?
Questions? Print the article for class. |
-- |
| Smart,
"Worldviews" |
Write brief answers to the study
questions found at the start of the reading. (Often answers that
are just a couple of sentences long will be fine for a study question in
this course.) |
Tue. 8/26 |
| Smith,
"Is the Concept of Religion Adequate?" |
Follow the study guide found with the reading
and write answers to the questions in the guide. Print the article for
class. |
Tue. 8/26 |
| Thur 8/28 |
Russell,
"Faith of a Rationalist" |
Write brief answers to the following questions: 1) What is the guiding
principle Russell suggests we live by? 2) Why is Russell's view referred to
as "secular humanism"? 3) Does Russell's worldview seem thoroughly modern?
Print the article for class. |
Thur. 8/28 |
| Shapere,
"Unity and Method in Science" |
Look
for general themes that contrast with religious ways of understanding the
world. |
-- |
| Spong,
"The Path to Secularism" |
List
four or five main ways in which modernity has challenged the traditional
Christian worldview, according to Spong. Print the article for class. |
Thur. 8/28 |
| II.
Christianity and modernity: how is Christianity dealing with modern
pressures? |
| For this date |
Reading to do |
Additional instructions |
Submit deadline |
| Tue 9/2 |
Machina,
"Christianity in Brief" |
First read the Machina essay. You might print
any part you want to talk about in class. Next, print the essay
grading sheet found here.
Then print the sample student essay found
here, and try grading it using the grading sheet. Bring your
grading sheet and sample essay to class for discussion. |
-- |
| Thur 9/4 |
Hebrew Bible,
Genesis 1 - 3 |
Read this first, even if you think you already
know what it says. Pay attention to details. For example,
compare the picture of God found in Ch. 1 to the one found in Ch. 2. Print it for class use. |
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| Christian Information Foundation,
"How the Bible
and Evolution Conflict" |
Read. Think: why doesn't this author
simply reject science entirely as a route to truth? Then see below. |
-- |
| U.S. Catholic Bishops,
"Science and the Catholic
Church" |
Read. Think: in what ways is this
Christian viewpoint different from the one directly above? Then see
below. |
-- |
| Borg,
"Reading the Creation Stories Again" |
Read. Then write a clear, careful
paragraph to turn in, in which you cite things that Borg and the Bishops say
in order to prove that these two readings either agree or disagree. |
Thur. 9/4 |
| Tue. 9/9 |
Machina
"Christianity responds
to science" |
(These are the notes from the above Thur.
class, that link the above evolution materials to a broader context.) |
-- |
| Falwell, excerpts from
Listen, America! |
Study questions to turn in: 1) What is
Falwell's attitude toward the US as a secular nation-state? 2) What is
Falwell's view of the Bible? 3) What is Falwell's picture of the
overall cultural history of the US? |
Tue 9/9 |
| Thur. 9/11 |
Marty and Appleby, The Glory and the Power,
pp. 37 - 63. |
(This reading is not online. It comes
from the book required for the course.) Look for the defining
characteristics of Christian fundamentalist response to modern pressures.
There will be video in class that illustrates the text. Make a list of
your questions/comments about the reading, to bring to class. Bring
the book as well. |
-- |
| Tue. 9/16 |
| Marty and Appleby, The Glory and the
Power, pp. 68-87. |
We won't have time to discuss this very
much in class, but it provides valuable background that needs to be read. If you have
questions or comments about this reading, bring those to class. |
-- |
| Wallis, "Who Speaks for God?" |
Write brief answers to these: 1) What
is Wallace's main complaint about the Christian Right? 2) What
alternative does Wallace propose for "evangelical" Christians to pursue in
the public arena? |
Tue 9/16 |
| Brown, "Jesus and Salvation in Liberation Theology" |
Liberation theology is highly political. But it
differs from the political approach taken by the Christian activist
fundamentalists. Write a
brief description of the main differences. |
Tue 9/16 |
| Thur. 9/18 |
Machina, "Christian
Fundamentalism vs. Traditionalism" |
These notes summarize prior class discussion
and clarify it. They also introduce the idea of Christian
traditionalism. |
-- |
| Troeger,
"New Landscapes
of the Heart" |
Think: Does Troeger find Christian
tradition meaningful simply because he does not know or care about challenges from
modernity? Or is he a fundamentalist? If you had to label his point of
view, what word would you use? (Before deciding, read the next item as
well.) |
-- |
| Troeger, "Praise
the Source of Faith and Learning" |
Look for the approach to
modernity captured in this recent Christian poem written by the same
individual as the above. |
-- |
| Bultmann, "New Testament
and Mythology" |
Make sure you figure out
whether Bultmann sees himself as attacking Christianity or defending it.
What is his attitude toward modernity? PRINT this and bring to class.
|
-- |
|
Machina, "Liberal
Reform in Christianity"
NOW available. |
Begin organizing for the first
major writing project of the semester. Instructions are
here. Due
9/30. |
Tue. 9/30 |
| Tue. 9/23 |
No new
reading. |
Since we
didn't get to Bultmann last time, please bring your printed copy this time.
Work on your paper. Class will be about the Christian liberals, and
about the paper topic. |
-- |
| For information about seeing the video shown in class, click
here. |
|
III. Judaism and Modernity |
| For this date |
Reading to do |
Additional instructions |
Submit deadline |
| Thur. 9/25 |
Neusner, "Defining Judaism" and Solomon,
"Judaism" |
There will be a short quiz on these readings.
Think about these things: What are the relationships between the Jewish
people and Judaism? Is there just one form of Judaism? How has
Judaism changed over time? |
-- |
| Tue. 9/30 |
Hebrew Bible: excerpts from "Genesis"
about God's covenant with Israel |
This is crucial background for understanding
current Judaic fundamentalism. Please read this short item before
class, even though there is a paper due. In class, there will be a video
about Judaic fundamentalism. |
-- |
| Machina, "Conflict
in Palestine" |
This reading is needed for fully
understanding the video. It would be best to read it before class;
read it after class if you run out of time. |
-- |
| -- |
The first major writing project is due today. |
Tue. 9/30 |
| Thur. 10/2 |
Nessman, "Settler
Reaction to Pullout" |
How does this article relate to Judaic
fundamentalism? |
-- |
| Wikipedia: "Haredi
Judaism", sec. 1 through 2.1 |
Make a note of questions
you have. Think: Why might the Haredim be considered to be
fundamentalists? |
-- |
| Tue. 10/7 |
Marty and Appleby, pp. 89 - 98, and 109-123. |
List a few characteristics of the Gush Emunim
and of the Haredim that suggest they fit the general mold of religious
fundamentalism. |
Tue. 10/7 |
| The video shown in class
on 9/30 and 10/2 is on course reserve, 6th floor desk, Milner. If you
missed some of it, or want to review, go there.
Here is a list of the chapters
we used. |
-- |
| Thur. 10/9 |
Review Solomon, "Judaism",
from bottom of p. 6 to end of section on Reform Judaism. Also, check
out the home page of
this Reform group in Boston to get a flavor of some Reform thinking. |
Write a list of the main
ways in which the reform movement in Judaism departed from traditional
Judaism. Print the Solomon reading and bring to class. |
Thur. 10/9 |
| This is the final required
reading on Judaism.
Here are the midterm examination questions. The
answers are due Tue. 10/21. No further class schedule
items will appear on this page. |
Midterm exam 10/21 |
| The class schedule for the 2nd
half
of the semester is found on the "Schedule
2nd half" page. |
