I. What is
Christian theology and why does it matter?
|
| For this date |
Reading to do |
Other things to do |
Submit deadline |
| Mon. 1/14 |
None |
To get a head start, order or pick up a copy of
the text. |
-- |
| Wed. 1/16 |
|
Complete the mini-project described
here. Also, make sure you will have a
copy of the textbook by Jan. 28. |
1/16 |
| Mon. 1/21 |
Martin Luther King Day -- no class. |
Complete the Martin Luther King project
described here. |
1/23 |
| Wed. 1/23 |
Class survey, found
here. |
Print and complete as much of the survey about
future themes and topics as you can. These will be collected in class
on Wed. after a little time for discussion. |
1/23 |
| Migliore, "The Task of Theology", found
here. |
Write brief answers to these: (1) What does
Migliore think theology is? (2) Why does he think it is
important for Christians to engage in thoughtful theologizing? (3)
What are his main worries about theologizing? |
| II. Should
Christian theology be based on faith? Is human reasoning the enemy?
What is faith, anyway? |
| For this date |
Reading to do |
Things to do |
Submit deadline |
| Mon. 1/28 |
Machina, "St. Tertullian on Philosophy" found
here. |
Write brief answers to the study questions
found here. |
1/28 |
| Flew, Hare, Mitchell, "Theology and
Falsification" found
here. |
Make notes for yourself about this reading, so
that you can be on a discussion panel. Think about: What is the point
of Flew's parable? What is the point of Mitchell's counter-parable?
What is a blik? What is Hare's point? |
-- |
| Wed. 1/30 |
Machina, "Christian Faith" found
here, and study guide found
here. |
There will be an in-class quiz on this reading. |
1/30 |
| Mon. 2/4 |
Pojman, "Can Religious Belief Be Rational?"
found
here. |
Write brief answers to the study questions
found here. |
2/4 |
| Wed. 2/6 |
Review and reread as needed. |
Here are the
instructions and topic choices for the first major essay project of the term. It will be due 2/13. |
2/13 |
| III.
Issues regarding God as Creator and Sustainer of the physical universe and
of all that has being |
| Mon. 2/11 |
Markham (the textbook), "Introduction" (pp. 1 -
3) and Chapter 6 (pp. 102-119) |
See the study guide found
here. |
-- |
| Genesis Chap 1 and Chap 2 (from the Bible).
Available
here. |
| Wed. 2/13 |
No new reading. Review as needed. |
Complete your essay on faith. |
Essay 2/13 |
| Thur 2/14 |
Happy St. Valentine's Day. |
Even though supposedly named after a saint,
this holiday is not a Christian holiday. There apparently was at least
one person named St. Valentine, but the current holiday seems to have
nothing to do with him (them?). |
-- |
| Mon. 2/18 |
Marcus Borg, "The Bible as Metaphor", available
now
here. |
This is Borg's analysis of literalism with
respect to the Genesis account of creation. Think: How would a
literalist respond? |
-- |
| Machina, "St. Thomas Aquinas and Paul Tillich –
Two Views of God the Creator" available now
here. |
Make a note of at least three things about this
reading that you want to ask about or talk about in class. Turn in
these notes in class. |
2/18 |
| Wed. 2/20 |
Machina, "Does God Have to be a Person?"
Click here. |
Think: do you think St. Thomas' proposal for
understanding talk of God as though God were a person works well? |
-- |
| Dawkins, "The Blind Watchmaker" available now
here. |
Write a one-paragraph summary of Dawkins' main
line of thought. |
2/20 |
| Mon. 2/25 |
Broom, "Beyond Naturalism" available
here. |
Think: do you find Broom's response to Dawkins
to be satisfactory? |
-- |
| Machina, "Religious Difficulties with
the Theory of Evolution in Biology". Available
here. |
Write: Which difficulty mentioned in this
reading do you presently find to be the most impressive? Why? |
2/25 |
| Here is the
Midterm exam. It
will be due on Wed. 3/5. |
Exam 3/5 |
| Wed. 2/27 |
Review and reread as needed. Class will be
about summarizing the discussion of God as creator. |
Start thinking about the exam, at least to the
point of being able to ask questions about the exam in class, if needed. |
-- |
| IV. If God
is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, why is there so much evil and
suffering in the world? Does Christianity have anything to say about
this issue? |
| Mon. 3/3 |
Genesis, Chapter 3, from the Bible, available
here. |
Study guide available
here. Reminder: bring printed copies
of readings to class. |
-- |
| Excerpts from the book of Job, from the Bible,
available
here. |
Follow this study guide
for which parts of the book of Job to read. In this case, there is too
much to print out, so skip that. If you can get a printed Bible, it
would be helpful to have it in class. |
-- |
| Wed. 3/5 |
No new reading. |
Turn in Midterm exam. |
Exam 3/5 |
| Have a safe and enjoyable Spring
Break. Don't forget to come back. |
| The class schedule for the rest
of the semester will be found on the "Schedule
2nd half" page. |
