Instructions
Write well-developed, clearly organized answers to all the questions. Each question counts for 4 points.
This is an exam that you complete outside of class. In completing the exam, you are free to refer to the readings and your notes, or to talk with other students about your answers. In fact, work together with other students on this exam can be a good thing from which everyone learns. But whatever you finally turn in MUST be your OWN writing, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, expressing YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING at the time you wrote it.
Please limit yourself to 3000 words all together (Did you know that word processing software generally can count the words for you?). Submit answers printed on paper, not hand-written. Please don't single space -- use at least 1.2 line spacing (1.5, or double spacing is fine). No fancy stuff like plastic covers, binders, elaborate cover sheets, money stuffed between pages, etc!
| DO NOT QUOTE OR CLOSELY PARAPHRASE ANYTHING WITHOUT FULLY CITING YOUR SOURCE. (Not even the textbook, or course materials.) |
| DO NOT INCLUDE MORE THAN A FEW very BRIEF QUOTATIONS OF ANYTHING IN YOUR ENTIRE SET OF ANSWERS. Quotes are not required, and often just take up valuable space. |
| THE ONLY ALLOWABLE REASON FOR QUOTING ANYTHING IS TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A POINT YOU HAVE STATED IN YOUR OWN WORDS. THE PENALTY FOR ILLEGITIMATE or excessive QUOTING IS "DEATH". Your ability to find relevant quotes is not what this test is about. You need to demonstrate that you understand the ideas well enough to express them in your own words. |
If you work with another student in preparing your answers, don't draft your actual answers together, and don't agree on exactly what examples you will use, or how you will express a particular point. When you work with someone, talk over the issues and share ideas, but don't do any outlining or writing together. Don't show your completed answer to someone else in order to help them; there are too many cases in which the helper ends up helping too much and then we have troubles deciding who knows what.
Advice
| The biggest problem with this kind of exam has been that students write answers that are too incomplete or sketchy. Don't assume that the reader will "just know" what you're getting at; instead, assume the reader is ignorant about this particular subject matter. Do not assume that the reader has been in the class or has done the reading. |
| These questions can all be answered quite well simply by drawing ideas from our class discussions and the assigned readings. You are not expected to go out and find more sources. You are not prohibited from finding more sources, but it you decide to use more sources, leave enough time to write your own answers in your own words, and don't get sucked into just paraphrasing something someone else wrote that you don't really understand. The latter can be a cause of real trouble; you are much better off saying what you really think and understand than trying to sound profound by half-copying from something you don't really "get". |
| Your answers are graded on how well they answer the question that is asked. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by going off on a tangent. Instead, focus on giving an accurate answer to the question. Your space and time is limited. So, be direct, precise, clear. You have a lot to squeeze into these answers. |
Questions
1. (a) Why is the existence of evil and suffering a problem for Christian theology? (b) Describe at least four different ways in which Christian theology has attempted to explain why God allows evil, or why God causes or allows suffering. Include Leibniz' ideas, along with others discussed in class. Develop each idea in enough detail that you make it clear how the idea is supposed to work. (c) For each of the explanations you have described, summarize at least one significant philosophical objection.
2. (a) There are various versions of the "substitution" account of how something about Jesus "saves" people. For purposes of this question, use the popular version that Stump lays out at the beginning of her article -- the version that she refers to as (A). Summarize (A) in your own words, making it clear how (A) describes what salvation is, and exactly how Jesus plays a role in providing the opportunity for salvation. (b) Stump lists numerous philosophical objections to (A), and concludes that (A) is not a good account. Lay out in detail at least four of her objections. Be sure your answer makes clear just what aspect of (A) she is objecting to, and exactly how the objection is supposed to count as a serious problem for (A). (Please note that this question is not about what you personally think of substitution accounts. It would probably be a mistake to take sides in presenting your answer.)
3. (a) According to the sacrifice account of salvation based on the work of Alison and Barker, how does Jesus provide "atonement for sin"? Make clear what "atonement" for sin means in this context. (b) According to the so-called "moral example" account, how does Jesus provide for atonement for sin? In both (a) and (b) provide considerable detail. Make clear how these accounts are different from the penal substitution account according to which God punishes Jesus in our place.
4. According to the Badham essay, is there life after death? Summarize her main line of argument for her answer to this question. Hick's essay on resurrection argues that Badham's line of reasoning is flawed. What specific aspect of Badham's line of argument is attacked in Hick's essay? Explain how Hick's own argument is supposed to work.
5. (a) Explain the "exclusivist" viewpoint, including the Christian theological support for it. Explain the main Christian theological objections to it. (b) Explain Rahner's way of modifying the exclusivist position and describe the main objections to his proposal from the dialogical point of view. (c) Outline the main theological ideas that Ariarajah, Kűng, and Hick share. Also describe how these ideas are different from each other.