Christian Belief and Thought

 

RELS 1202 AA

Spring 2015

Peter G. Ahr, Ph.D.

Course Requirements

Scope and Purpose of the Course

Class Schedule and Assignments

Resources

Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:15 p.m. in Fahy Hall, Room 108

This is the March 15, 2015 version; check regularly for revisions. 


Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew pray together with other Catholic and Orthodox clergy in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014.  Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Newark and President of Seton Hall's Board of Trustees, is the second figure from the left.
Jan 13 Introduction to the course: the roots of the Christian tradition in the Hebrew Bible

Christianity is, first of all, a tradition (or perhaps better, a stream of traditions); we all encounter it at a particular point in the history of those traditions, and any look at the Christianity of a particular time and place is a look at a point in that history.  The history is a definite one, and by all accounts it begins with the collection of literature that Jesus and his contemporaries took as the word of God.  In this first class we will be giving an overview of that literature and its place in the development of the Christian tradition, and a quick overview of the tradition itself.

The first class will also cover the course requirements and other matters dealt with in this syllabus.

Jan 15 God, the Covenant and the Hebrew tradition

The Exodus
The covenant

Read before class:  

The Bible: Exodus, chapters 1 through 24


Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam

Sistine Chapel

Jan 20 God, the Covenant and the Hebrew tradition


The stories of the ancestors

David, Solomon and the Temple
The Prophets

 
Read before class:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 1 through 5, pp. 19-89, especially pp. 19-59

The Bible:  Genesis chapters 1 through 23

 

Abraham, San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th cent.

Jan 22 God, the Covenant and the Hebrew tradition

 

The Exile
Second Temple Judaism

Read before class:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 1 through 5, pp. 19-89, especially pp. 19-59


Jerusalem
Jan 27 Jesus and the Gospels

The Gospel traditions
The Synoptic question

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 6, pp. 91-117

Luke, chapters 1, 2, 22, 23, 24

To post a Journal entry, go to "Tools" on the Blackboard version of the course, and click on "Journals" in that menu.  Choose the Journal for that week, and paste your entry there.  Please do not "attach" a document there; either compose it in Blackboard, or cut/paste it from Word.
  Your Journal entry must be posted before the beginning of class; it will not be available to you once class begins.

For each Journal entry, choose one of the questions at the end of the assigned chapter, and answer it briefly.  Then add any other thoughts you may have about the materials in the chapter.  What surprised you?  What did you find interesting?  If there is more than one chapter assigned for a particular week, choose a question from any of the assigned chapters for this assignment.

Writing Assignment
Choose one of the online texts (the ones which appear in blue) from this syllabus, and prepare a close reading of that text.  Your reading must include a discussion of the historical context of that particular text: where and when was it written?  What issues does it address?  What does it take for granted?  What does it say about what Christian belief means?  What influence did the text have in its time and later?  The final paper should be three to five pages in length.  You may use the course textbook and the notes appended to the online text as part of your study; but your paper must include your own analysis of the text on the basis of that information.  Some of the texts on the syllabus may be more difficult than others; please check with me in person or by email to let me know what you propose to do.  An outline of your paper is due to me by February 17; and the paper itself is due no later than April 7.

Note that the Resources on this syllabus can provide you with a number of valuable sources that will help you with your research project, although your final paper must reference both print and online sources. 


Sandro Botticelli,  Adoration of the Magi
Florence, Uffizi
Jan 29
Jesus and the Gospels

The Gospel of John


Read before class:
John, chapters 1, 2, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21

Jesus washing the disciples' feet.  13th century French
Feb 3 Christian beginnings: first preachers

Paul and the first witnesses
Early Christian churches

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 7

The Bible: The Acts of the Apostles, Paul's Letter to the Romans


The Conversion of St Paul, Caravaggio
Feb 5

Christian beginnings: first preachers

Early Christian churches and the formation of the New Testament

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 7

Letter of Pliny to Trajan on the Christians

The Gospel of Thomas


Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century Bible
Feb 10

Early Christianity

Christianity and pagan culture
Persecution
Theological questions
From persecuted sect to state religion

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 8

Tertullian on pagan learning

Origen on classical learning

 

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

Rome, 3rd century

Feb 12 Early Christianity

Persecution
Theological questions
From persecuted sect to state religion

Read before class:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 8

 

Other reading:

Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans

Pagan charges of ritual cannibalism

The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence

 


Catacomb gravestone of Firmia Victora
2nd-3rd century
Feb 17

The Imperial Church

Church councils

Theology as response to philosophical inquiry

 

 

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 9

The Creed of the Council of Nicaea

 

Other reading:

Eusebius on the conversion of Constantine

The Edict of Milan

 

Term paper outline due in class

Sant' Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna

Feb 19

The Imperial Church

Monasticism


Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 10

The Rule of St. Benedict

Other reading:
Athanasius' Life of Anthony the First Hermit

 

Review for the Midterm Exam


St. Benedict delivering his Rule to his monks.  Saint Gilles Monastery, Nimes, 1129
Feb 24 Byzantine Christianity

The sacred emperor
The patriarchate

Read before class and post a Journal entry:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 11

Other reading:

Procopius on Justinian's Church of the Holy Wisdom (the Hagia Sophia)



Justinian and his court.  San Vitale, Ravenna
Feb 26 Byzantine Christianity

The patriarchate
Byzantine monasticism
Devotion to the Virgin Mary
Icons

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 11

Other reading:
Easter Sermon of St. John Chrysostom


Iconostasis, St. George's Patriarchal Church, Istanbul
Mar 3 The Rise of Islam

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 12

Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Mar 5 Snow Day - University closed for weather reasons.  Midterm postponed to March 17
Mar 10-12 Spring Break - No Classes  
Mar 17

Midterm Exam on the preceding material  (rescheduled)


Giotto, The Last Judgment
Scrovegni Chapel, Padua
Mar 19 Latin Christianity in the Early Middle Ages

Develpment of theology
Conversion of the Germanic tribes
Monasteries and bishops

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 13

Other reading:
The Conversion of Augustine

Vincent of Lerins' "canon"
Pope Leo I and Attila



Pope Leo I and Attila.  Raphael, Vatican Palace
Mar 24 Latin Christianity in the High Middle Ages

Monasteries and religious orders
Cathedral building

Read before class and post a Journal entry:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 14 and 15

Other reading:
Description of the Abbey of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux' Apology, excerpt
Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God


Cluny Abbey
Mar 26 Latin Christianity in the High Middle Ages

Devotion to the Virgin Mary
Eucharistic Devotion
Pilgrimage and Crusade

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 14 and 15

Other reading:
Thomas Aquinas on the Existence of God

The Fourth Lateran Council's Decree against heresy

Sainte Chapelle, Paris

Mar 31

Latin Christianity in the Late Middle Ages

Early reforms: Francis and others
Late medieval devotional life: clergy and laity
The late medieval papacy
The role of the church
The churches and the rising national states


Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 16 and 17

 


Isenheim Altarpiece, Mattias Gruenewald
Apr 2 Holy Thursday - No Class  
Apr 7 Reformations in the Western Churches

The churches and the rising national states

The question of justification
The role of the church
Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
English Puritanism

Read before class and post a Journal entry:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 18 and 19

Other reading:
Luther's Ninety-five Theses
 

Term paper due at class


Martin Luther by Lukas Cranach
Apr 9 Reformations in the Western Churches

The churches and the rising national states

The role of the church
Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
English Puritanism

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 18 and 19

Other reading:

The Heidelberg Catechism

The Thirty-Nine Articles


Dr. Martin Luther King preaching in Ebenezer Baptist Church
Apr 14

Roman Catholic Christianity 

St. Peter's Basilica
The Council of Trent
The Jesuit order

Read before class and post a Journal entry:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 20 and 21

Other reading:

The Creed of Pius IV (1564)
The Council of Trent on Original Sin

The Council of Trent on the Sacraments


The Council of Trent
Apr 16

Roman Catholic Christianity 

The Jesuit order
Baroque Catholicism
Devotions

 

Read before class:

The Christian Theological Tradition, chapters 20 and 21

 

Other reading:

From the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
"Dark Night of the Soul" of John of the Cross


Burial of the Count of Orgaz, El Greco
Toledo, Church of Santo Tom
é
Apr 21

European Christianity in the modern world

The French Revolution and its aftermath

Development of Christian missions beyond the Americas

Religion as expression of national identity
Christianity and colonialism

 

Reading before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 22


Map of the world by Matteo Ricci
Apr 23

European Christianity in the modern world

Development of Christian missions beyond the Americas

Religion as expression of national identity
Christianity and colonialism

Christianity and modern thought

Reading before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 22


The galaxy Abell 370, photographed by the Hubble telescope in 2009
Apr 28

American Christianity

Puritans and Cavaliers
Established churches and the First Amendment
Roman Catholic immigration

The First Vatican Council

Read before class:
The Christian Theological Tradition, chapter 23

 


St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
Apr 30 Review for Final Examination
The Last Judgment, by Hans Memling 
May 12
2:30-4:30pm

Final Examination

 


 
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Scope and Purpose of the Course

This course is intended to provide you with an understanding of the variety of ways in which Christian people have lived their faith in God.  We will begin with a study of the basic stories and themes in the Hebrew Bible, which formed the religious consciousness of Jesus and the early Christians, and have served ever since as part of the authoritative sources of Christian tradition.  We will then look at the evidence of the first generations of Christians: their recollection of the person and meaning of Jesus of Nazareth, and the ways in which they preserved his story in the New Testament and other early Christian writings.  We will then look at the early Christian churches in the Roman empire, to see the variety of ways in which they understood and lived out their faith in Jesus: the issues which confronted them, and the ways in which they dealt with these issues.

The sudden recognition of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman empire brought to the fore the variety of understandings of the meaning of Christian belief.  The Roman imperial system from Constantine forward looked to a unified Christian church as a fundamental unifying force in the crumbling empire; we will look at the ways in which the variety of Christian understandings came in conflict with the imperial need for a unitary church.

We will look particularly at two basic forms of Christianity which developed out of this imperial synthesis: the Byzantine church, Greek-speaking and centered in the imperial capital of Constantinople; and the Latin church of the western Mediterranean and north-west Europe.  We will look both at the "high" theology of these churches, and at the popular forms of religious belief and practice as they developed over the centuries.

As European civilization developed in the middle years of this millennium, a variety of movements led to the development of a number of very different forms of Christianity over the course of the sixteenth century.  Out of these movements developed the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches we recognize today, each with its distinctive forms of belief and practice, and each with its own sense of fidelity to the ancient Christian tradition.

In the last weeks of the course, we will examine the impact of the European contact with the non-European world on the development of the Christian tradition, with particular attention to the religious history of the United States.

Obviously, an introductory course of this scope can not cover all that might be said or known about this enormously rich topic; all we will be able to do is examine some representative movements, texts, objects and other evidence of the rich diversity of Christian belief and practice over the past two millennia.  At the same time, however, this understanding of the development of Christianity as a religious tradition should help you understand something more of your own religious background, and give you some of the tools to refine your sense of religion well beyond the few weeks of this course.  If you are not of a Christian background, this course should give you a sense of who these curious "Christians" are.
 
 

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Course Requirements:

The text for this course is The Christian Theological Tradition, edited by Catherine Cory and Michael Hollerich, published in third edition by Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-602832-1.  It is available in the University Bookstore.  Each class during the semester will cover topics discussed in the textbook; you are expected to have read the assigned chapters of the textbook before the class in which the chapters are to be discussed, since the class time will be devoted to discussing the matters raised in these chapters.

The other book you will need for this course is the Bible.  Any 20th-century translation of the Bible is acceptable; I personally prefer the Revised Standard Version for its fidelity to the linguistic structure of the original texts.  Certain books of the Bible are included in the course reading, as noted above.

In addition, many classes will also be discussing other materials available on the Web, especially primary source text and visual materials.  Links to these materials are in the syllabus; you are also expected to have studied these materials before the class in which they will be discussed.  Links are visible as lines of blue text in the syllabus.

Most classes will also include a number of slides to illustrate the points under discussion.  These slides will be posted before class on Blackboard, and will remain there for your continued reflection.

Grading Criteria:

Disability Services Statement: Students at Seton Hall University who have a physical, medical, learning or psychiatric disability, either temporary or permanent, may be eligible for reasonable accommodations at the University as per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In order to receive such accommodations, students must identify themselves at the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS), provide appropriate documentation and collaborate with the development of an accommodation plan. The DSS phone number is 973-313-6003. For further information, please go to http://studentaffairs.shu.edu/health/DisabilitySupportServices.html.
 

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Resources:

In addition to the textbook and the materials referenced in the syllabus, you may find additional material of interest in the following locations:

 

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Image at top of page: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, the senior bishop of the Orthodox Churches, led a prayer service with Catholic and Orthodox clergy in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on May 26, 2014.  This church, called by the Orthodox the Church of the Resurrection, is built on the site of what is believed to have been the tomb of Jesus.  The first Christian church on this site was built by the emperor Constantine in the fourth century; the present building dates in large part to the 11th and 12th centuries, with renovations in the 16th and 19th centuries.  This prayer service, at the place where Christianity can be said to have begun, is yet another step towards the reconciliation of the various Christian churches that is happening in our time.  The history we will be studying in this course is all too often the story of divisions developing within Christianity; the ecumenical movement of our time is a movement of Christians toward fulfilling Jesus' prayer "that all may be one."  Of more local interest, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Newark and former president of Seton Hall's Board of Trustees, was part of the Catholic delegation to this historic meeting.  He is the second person from the left in the picture.  Cardinal McCarrick is now the emeritus Archbishop of Washington; he has a residence on the Seton Hall campus.