REL 102 Syllabus

NB green highlighted texts in schedule for your written Qs & Cs (posted 5 Nov 2007)

It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

(Albert Einstein, 1921, in response to Thomas Edison’s opinion that a college education is useless)

In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase in sorrow.

(Ecclesiastes 1.18)

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

(Anonymous)

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

(William Butler Yeats)

Schedule

Evaluation

Resources

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Westminster College
REL 102: Understanding Christianity
Fall Semester • 2007

Welcome!

Welcome to Religion 102: Understanding Christianity! The course title describes our main objective, which is to gain a better understanding of Christianity. We will do so this semester by focusing on Christian theology. More specifically, our aim will be

•	to become familiar with significant ideas of Christian theology and to consider their significance for the history of western civilization and for us;
•	to become familiar with the ways those main ideas have been developed and defended;
•	to become familiar with the significant developments and debates that have shaped Christianity;
•	to become familiar with major thinkers who have shaped Christian theology; and
•	to cultivate an appreciation of Christianity that is both critical and creative.

Achieving these goals will not be easy; the course will require hard work on your part. At the same time, you can expect this course to be full of challenging, enlightening, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding experiences.

Caveat

This course is designed so that anyone, religious or not, who does the required work can attain the goals mentioned above. This course is not designed to persuade you to a particular faith or religious point of view. Nor is it intended to build up or disparage existing faith. Students who consider themselves to be followers of any religion, or no religion at all, are all welcome on this semester journey to become better acquainted with Christianity, to learn to appreciate it better, and to become informed and responsible critics of it.

Requirements and evaluation for the course

Evaluation

For my criteria for evaluation of assignments go to Evaluation and read the information carefully.

NB: If you have any questions regarding any assignment, please 1) ask in class for the benefit of others or 2) make an appointment to see me.

Assigned
readings

Assigned readings are essential and should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned—use your best judgment to divide the readings evenly for each week. Keeping notes on the readings is highly recommended. Occasionally I may assign additional readings, but these will ordinarily be short. You must come to class with written questions or comments you have about the readings (see Participation). The primary focus throughout the course will be on the biblical texts and their application.

Research

Paper

You will write a 3–4 page paper on a particular 1) theme or controversy, 2) doctrine or 3) theologian that interests you. Browse through the table of contents in McGrath's Christian Theology and his Christian Theology Reader for ideas or come up with your own topic for research. Consult the instructor as you pursue your interest and as you research (the earlier you do so, the earlier you'll know how feasible your research paper will be). Try to narrow your interest as you do your research and write (e.g., as you develop your bibliography and work on your paper). Whatever your topic and thesis, make sure that connections with course materials are evident in your final work. You may find the Tips for writing papers helpful.

•

You must submit (on the R-drive) and discuss with me the following two preliminary, ungraded assignments, the quality of which may affect your final paper grade. Make an appointment as early as you can (see schedule below) to bring a hard copy of these for discussion.

1) Proposal: Submit in one file

1.1) a paragraph stating your proposal for research and

1.2) a preliminary bibliography that includes at least 10 secondary sources (besides course textbooks or reference books) you found to be promising for your paper, including 5 journal articles.

You may use Web sources for your research, but they will not count among the 10 sources required for this assignment. NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they also exist in print form.

Use the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian) for the bibliography.

Submit your proposal as early as possible in the semester, so that it can be approved for you to begin your work.

2) Draft: Submit in one file

2.1) a clear introductory paragraph that includes the thesis of your paper,

2.2) two sample paragraphs, and

2.3) your revised bibliography (or works cited).

•

The paper should represent original work (i.e., your own thoughts), not a mere digest of other people’s opinions. Your own reading and re-reading of the relevant texts, as well as review of other materials, are fundamental to the task. I want to know what you discover in your engagement with the text(s)—a "text" can be written works, art works, music, plays, movies, interview, research results, poll data etc.—whether or not you agree with the authors or the opinions presented in class, including mine.

Focus on honing your ability to argue for your opinions and conclusions by supporting them with evidence from texts (especially primary sources) and other relevant sources.

•

Your final bibliography (or works cited) must contain at least 8 sources, including 4 journal articles used in your paper.

Use only printed sources in your paper, even if you used Web sources during your research. NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they also exist in print form.

Use footnotes to document your sources following the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian). Learn the automatic footnote function of your word processor.

•

Follow all the instructions given on my Evaluation page under Written assignments.

Terms

Throughout the semester, you will be responsible for learning significant terms covered in our texts or in class (see the “terms” file on the R-drive). You will be responsible for the definitions. Use 1) the course texts (e.g., glossary and index [including "Details of Theologians" in McGrath's Christian Theology Reader]), 2) the resources listed in Resources to consider below, or 3) any other appropriate sources of information. The terms may constitute a part of any quiz or exam.

Quizzes

exams

There will be 2 short quizzes (ca. 15 minutes) and 1 longer quiz at midterm (ca. 30 minutes). They will cover the materials in the course you will have learned by the time of the quizzes, including the reading assignments and terms. The final exam will cover the entire sweep of the course. See my Evaluation page under Quizzes and examinations.

In lieu of the final exam, you may take an oral exam (ca. 30 minutes). You must inform me at least a month before the exam date to discuss this option.

Grades

Grades will be assigned as fairly as possible. See my Evaluation page under Grades for more information. The final grade for the course will consist of the following:

•

paper

30%

NB: participation is a significant part of this course.

See my Evaluation page under Participation

for more information and instructions.

•

participation

15%

•

final examination

25%

•

quiz #2 (ca. 30 mins)

15%

•

quiz #3 (ca. 15 mins)

10%

•

quiz #1 (ca. 15 mins)

NB: If you have any questions about how you're doing in the course, please make an appointment to see me.

Extra

credit

You may earn extra credit any time during the semester.

•

Submit a 2–3 page reflection paper relating something from popular culture (e.g., movie, play, TV show, book, any performance) to particular course text, theme, or theologian (consult the instructor). The paper should be an analysis of popular culture, indicating how you have understood the course materials and connected them to popular culture. The paper should be mostly critique and not merely a plot summary.

•

Do other extra credit assignments described in the file on the R-drive.

NB: The instructor reserves the right to make the final determination concerning any extra credit. You can earn a maximum of 5% toward the final grade. You may write more than one, if you wish, but you won't receive more than 5% total in extra credit.

Required books
•	Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 2001.
•	McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007.
•	McGrath, Alister E. The Christian Theology Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007.
Recommended books (* = highly recommended)
*	Achtemeier, Paul. Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.
*	Allen, Diogenes. Christian Belief in a Postmodern World: The Full Wealth of Conviction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992.
*	_____. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985.
*	_____. Primary Readings in Philosophy for Understanding Theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992.
	Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993.
	Kerr, Hugh T. The Simple Gospel. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. [really good stuff]
	Lane, Tony. Harper's Concise Book of Christian Faith. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1984
	Miles, Jack. God: a Biography. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.
	Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. 5 vols. Chicago: Chicago University, 1989.
*	Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979. (See my web page "Resources" under "Miscellaneous" for the first edition of Strunk.)

Resources to consider
	See my Resources page for McGill, AV & Web resources (e.g., Catechism of the Catholic Church).
	R-drive: for helpful materials, check not only the course folder but also the "Religion" folder.

Keeping in touch
During the semester check your e-mail regularly for the latest messages from me regarding course matters (e.g., changes in the syllabus). Also visit this page for updates to the syllabus, as well as my homepage for other information and resources related to the course. Please feel free to make an appointment any time about any course matters.

Tips from former students

For some practical advice from former students, see the tips page.

One last word …

Regardless of how demanding all of this is, I’m pretty much a nice guy. I promise to be as fair as possible. I recognize that you’ll be quite busy this semester, striving after all your passions. I understand. I have my passions too, e.g., my wonderful family, music, philosophy, nature, mountain biking, fixing things, food. But I’m also very passionate about education, both yours and mine—I don’t just mean the business of acquiring knowledge, but more importantly the total development of honorable human beings. I don't require you to share my excitement about all the things we'll cover, but I do expect you to complete the requirements for the course. To help you do that as well as you can, I will make myself available outside the class time and the office hours. I'll be more than glad to help you out when you're stuck while doing an assignment. Or if you have any questions, concerns, complaints, and even compliments, I will do my best to take the time to listen and offer my response. Keep in mind that I'm here to help you learn. So, again, welcome to Religion 102: Understanding Christianity!

C o u r s e S c h e d u l e

MWF 15:10–16:10 PH 132

Date

Assigned readings

• = required

> = recommended

+ = read in the library (do not check out)

Project / texts

bold = primary focus text

red bold = important deadline

highlight = R-drive file (only on campus & Internet Explorer)

Class / topics

Week 1

Aug 29 W

Aug 31

Sep 3

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•Fisher: Effective Learning

•McGrath, Intro: xxi–xxv, xxviii, 3–4; ch. 1

•McGrath, Reader: xv–xxiv; xxvii–xxxiii, xlii 1.5; 1.6; 1.13; 1.1–1.4

>McGrath, Intro: answers to study questions

>McGrath, Reader: 1.22–1.24; 1.30–1.34

>Nicene Creed

>Apostles' Creed

>Do you know how to think? (a self-exam)

•Copy all relevant Web pages to your hard disk or diskette

•Reminder: bring your Qs & Cs to each class (see Participation)

•McGrath, Reader: 1.1–1.4

>Optical Illusions

>Perception quiz

>Calendar

>Do you know how to think? (a self-exam)

>Riddles

>Bible Hunt

>Study Guide 1 (2007: these may be helpful, but they may not always correspond with the new editions)

>Study Guide 2

•Optical conditioning

•General orientation

•What is Christianity?

•What is the / the Christian religion?

•What is Christian tradition?

•What is Christian faith?

•What is Christian doctrine?

•No class Aug 31 & Sep 3 (work on paper)

•"The Patristic Period, c. 100–700"

Week 2

Sep 5 W

Sep 7

Sep 10

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 1

•McGrath, Reader: intro; 1.1–1.4

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 2

•McGrath, Reader: 1.7–1.10

>Nicene Creed

>Apostles' Creed

>Catechism of the Catholic Church (great source of information)

•Reminder: bring your Qs & Cs to each class (see Participation)

•McGrath, Reader: 1.1–1.4

•McGrath, Reader: 1.7–1.10

>McGrath, Intro: answers to study questions

>Study Guide 3

>Study Guide 4

>Study Guide 5

•"The Patristic Period, c. 100–700"

•"The Middle Ages & the Renaissance, c. 700–1500"

>Sieger Köder: "The Last Supper"

Week 3

Sep 12 W

Sep 14

Sep 17

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 3

•McGrath, Reader: 1.12–1.18

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 4

•McGrath, Reader: 1.19–1.34

•McGrath, Reader: 1.15; 1.17; 1.18

•McGrath, Reader: 1.24; 1.29; 1.30

>Study Guide 6

>Study Guide 7

>Study Guide 8

•“The Age of Reformation, c. 1500–1750”

•“The Modern Period, c. 1750–the Present”

Week 4

Sep 19 W

Sep 21

Sep 24

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 4

•McGrath, Reader: 1.19–1.34

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 5

•McGrath, Reader: intro; 2.1–2.10

•Paper appointments: Beckert–Hadricky

•McGrath, Reader: 1.24; 1.29; 1.30

•McGrath, Reader: 2.1; 2.2; 2.5; 2.9

>Study Guide 9

>Study Guide 10

>Study Guide 11

•“The Modern Period, c. 1750–the Present”

•“Sources & Methods: Getting Started: Preliminaries”

Week 5

Sep 26 W

Sep 28

Oct 1

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 6

•McGrath, Reader: 2.11–2.23

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 7

•McGrath, Reader: 2.24–2.40

•Lewis: bk. 1

>Creation retold (humor)

>Bible in 50 words

>Bible Contradiction & Responses

>Myth

>The NT Gateway (great site for NT study)

>Redaction & hermeneutics (funny & instructive)

•Paper appointments: Mackey–Thompson

•Last date for proposal: Sep 28 (R-drive; file name = "last name proposal.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

•McGrath, Reader: 2.11–2.15

•McGrath, Reader: 2.17–2.19; 2.45

•McGrath, Reader: 2.17; 2.31; 2.32

>Translation comparison

>Transmission errors

>Greek NT: 1st page

>Mt1

>Manuscript

>Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts (very helpful)

•“The Sources of Theology”

•“Knowledge of God: Natural & Revealed”

•Quiz 1 (Oct 1) (early dismissal)

Week 6

Oct 3 W

Oct 5

Oct 8

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 7

•McGrath, Reader: 2.24–2.40

•Lewis: bk. 1

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 8

•McGrath, Reader: 2.41–2.50

•Lewis: bk. 2

>The Greeks (great interactive site)

•McGrath, Reader: 2.35; 2.44; 2.45; 3.42

•McGrath, Reader: 2.43

•McGrath, Reader: 2.41; 2.49

>Study Guide 15

>Study Guide 16

>Study Guide 17

•“Knowledge of God: Natural & Revealed”

•No class Oct 3 (work on paper)

•“Philosophy & Theology: Introducing a Dialogue”

Oct 13 Sa

Movie night with the Nas 7:46-ish

directions on the R-drive (view in MS Word: in menu, click View>Print Layout) or click here

Week 7

Oct 10 W

Oct 12

Oct 15

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 9

•McGrath, Reader: 1.30; 2.45; intro; 3.1–3.8

•Lewis: bk. 3

•McGrath, Reader: 3.9–19

•McGrath, Reader: 3.20–3.27

>"Darwin and Humanity: Should We Rid the Mind of God" (theism v. atheism debate between Alister McGrath & Peter Atkins, 13 Mar 2007; or try this or this

>Dawkins-McGrath debate (23 Mar 2007)

>Bahnsen-Stein debate (the "great" debate, 1985)

•McGrath, Reader: 3.4–3.8

•McGrath, Reader: 3.13; 3.14; 3.15

•McGrath, Reader: 3.21; 3.24; 3.26

>Study Guide 18

>Study Guide 19

>Study Guide 20

•"The Doctrine of God"

Week 8

Oct 17 W

Oct 19

Oct 20–23 (break)

Oct 24 W

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 10

•McGrath, Reader: 3.28–3.34

•Lewis: bk. 4

•McGrath, Reader: 3.35–3.43

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 11

•McGrath, Reader: intro; 4.1–4.11

>Chalcedonian definition

>Chalcedonian definition (excerpts)

>C. S. Lewis: historical Jesus

•McGrath, Reader: 3.13; 3.20; 3.28; 3.31

•McGrath, Reader: 3.41; 3.43

•McGrath, Reader: 4.1–4.11

>Study Guide 21

>Study Guide 22

>Study Guide 23

•"The Doctrine of the Trinity"

•Quiz 2 (Oct 19) (early dismissal)

•"The Doctrine of the Person of Christ"

Week 9

Oct 26 F

Oct 29

Oct 31

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 11

•McGrath, Reader: 4.12–4.22

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 12

•McGrath, Reader: 4.23–4.28

•McGrath, Reader: 4.29–4.41

>Jesus & Superman? (scroll all the way down to see the comparison)

>Resurrection theories

>666 or 616? (click on "numerology")

Happy !

•Last date for draft: Oct 29 (R-drive; file name = "last name draft.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

•McGrath, Reader: 4.12–4.22

•McGrath, Reader: 4.23–4.28

•McGrath, Reader: 4.29; 4.31; 4.33; 4.34; 4.35; 4.36; 4.37; 4.41

•"The Doctrine of the Person of Christ"

•"Faith and History: The Christological Agenda of Modernity"

Week 10

Nov 2 F

Nov 5

Nov 7

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 13

•McGrath, Reader: intro; 5.1–5.22

•McGrath, Reader: 5.23–5.35

•McGrath, Intro: ch. 14

•McGrath, Reader: intro; 6.1–6.31

>Lewis: 4.4–11

>"Darwin and Humanity: Should We Rid the Mind of God" (theism v. atheism debate between Alister McGrath & Peter Atkins, 13 Mar 2007; or try this or this

>Dawkins-McGrath debate (23 Mar 2007)

>Bahnsen-Stein debate (the "great" debate, 1985)

•McGrath, Reader: 5.1; 5.3; 5.4; 5.5; 5.10; 5.12; 5.13; 5.14; 5.17; 5.19; 5.21

•McGrath, Reader: 5.24; 5.25; 5.29; 5.30; 5.32; 5.35 (esp 5.29)

•McGrath, Reader: 6.11–6.18 (esp 6.11–12, 16–18)

>Study Guide 27

>Study Guide 28

>Study Guide 29

•"The Doctrine of Salvation in Christ"

•“The Doctrine of Human Nature, Sin and Grace"

Week 11