Religion 325
Rel 325J
Christianity and Community:
The Empire of Rome, the Kingdom of God, and the Development of Christianity
James W. Aageson
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday and Wednesday 1:30-3:00
Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-2:30
By appointment
E-mail: aageson@cord.edu
Web page: http://www.cord.edu/faculty/aageson/JWAageson.html
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Perhaps one of the greatest and most interesting confrontations of the early church, reflected already in the writings of the New Testament, is the encounter between the Jesus community and the Greco-Roman world. Almost immediately after Jesus' death the message about him began to spread to people living in the Roman imperial world, and it was in this world that the early church would ultimately survive and flourish. This course will address the character of this encounter in the formative period of the church: 50CE and beyond. To that end, we will:
1. investigate primary texts that display the character of this encounter.
2. think about the interaction between religion and culture
3. consider the way the religion of Jesus changes into a religion about Jesus in a Roman imperial context.
4. reflect on how and why the church grew.
5. investigate different forms early Christianity took.
HE STUDY OF RELIGION IN THE LIBERAL ARTS: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
1. To give rational and cogent explanation of religion and religious phenomena.
2. To observe in the study of religion the interaction between method and the material of religion.
3. To understand that, in the study of religion and the methods appropriate to the study of religion, we arrive at only penultimate conclusions and that inquiry into religion is invariably open-ended.
4. To develop an intellectual skepticism which drives intellectual inquiry, encourages curiosity, and prevents the collapse into cynicism.
5. To understand that religion is not primarily a private or personal matter but is corporate and public and therefore open to observation.
6. To observe that religion is not simply a way of believing or thinking but is way of living, doing, and behaving.
7. To see that religion was, is, and will be a prime force in the formation of culture, social and political organization, and thus of civilization itself.
8. To perceive that religion--both past and present--functions on the level of ethnos (a social group, a people), ethos (a world view), and ethics (a way of living).
9. To assist in developing a perspective on religion and life that avoids the problematic extremes of absolutism and relativism.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
James Aageson--Paul, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Early Church
Ralph Martin Novak--Christianity and the Roman Empire: Background Texts
Jaroslav Pelikan--Jesus through the Centuries
Rodney Stark--The Rise of Christianity
One of the following
Karen Armstrong The Spiral Staircase
Dorothy Day The Long Loneliness
C. S. Lewis Surprised by Joy
Mother Teresa Come Be My Light
Jim Wallis God's Politics
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Study the assigned readings
2. Take three exams.
3. Write three five page analysis papers on assigned course books.
4. Write one five page reflection paper (see below)
5. Attend and participate in class
COURSE EVALUATION:
1. Five page papers: 10 % (each)
2. Class participation: 15 %
3. Exams: 15 % (each)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Students are expected to be guided by the highest expressions of academic integrity in completing course requirements. These expectations are set forth in Academic Integrity at Concordia College. Students who show a disregard for academic integrity and are detected should expect to be penalized by receiving failing grades (in such cases make-up is not possible). Each violation of academic integrity will be reported to the Academic Dean's Office and the offender will be placed on probationary status for one year.
Violations of academic integrity include cheating, plagiarism, falsification, facilitating others' violations and impeding. These violations are fully defined in Academic Integrity at Concordia College, pp. 11-13 and should be carefully studied.
These definitions were developed in a North American cultural context. Other cultures define forms of academic dishonesty differently. International students studying at Concordia, however, are expected to be guided by North American norms of academic integrity. Any student who is unclear about the application of these norms in the completion of a particular assignment should consult the course instructor.
COURSE OUTLINE:
Week 1: August 28
Introduction to the Course
Week 2: September 2 & 4
Christianity on the Ground in its First Centuries: Strands from the Big Picture
Read: Stark, pp. xi-72
Week 3: September 9 & 10
Christianity on the Ground in its First Centuries: Strands from the Big Picture
Read; Stark, pp. 73-162
Week 4: September 16 & 18
Christianity on the Ground in its First Centuries: Strands from the Big Picture
Read; Stark, pp. 163-215
First Analysis Paper Due Date September 18
Week 5: September 23 & 25
From the Jesus Community to Christianity: The Case of Paul
Read: Aageson, pp. 1-17, 90-121
Exam # 1 September 13
Week 6: September 30 & October 2
From the Jesus Community to Christianity: The Case of Paul
Read: Aageson, pp. 122-170
Week 7: October 7 & 9
From the Jesus Community: The Case of Paul and Thecla
Read: Aageson, pp. 193-210
Second Analysis Paper Due Date October 9
Week 8: October 14 & 16
Christianity and the Roman Empire
Read: Novak, pp. 43-100
Week 9: October 23
Christianity and the Roman Empire
Read: Novak, pp. 139-171
Week 10: October 28 & 30
Christianity and the Roman Empire
Group report 1 (Jim Wallis) and converasation
Read Novak, pp. 171-200
Exam #2 October 30
Week 11: November 4 & 6
Jesus Through the Centuries
Read: Pelikan pp. 46-121
Third Analysis Paper Due Date November 6
Week 12; November 11 & 13
Jesus Through the Centuries
Read: Pelikan, pp. 122-181
Week 13: November 18 & 20
Jesus Through the Centuries
Read: Pelikan, pp. 182-233
Week 14: November 25
No Class
Fourth Analysis Paper Due Date November 25
Week 15: December 2 & 4
Group Reports and conversations 2 & 3
Week 16: December 9 & 11
Groups Reports and conversations 4 & 5
Reflection Papers Due December 9
Week 17: Final Exam Time
Exam # 3
Analysis Papers:
1. Choose an argument or idea from one of the required readings that interests or intrigues you and that you would like to think about further.
2. If you choose to address an argument expressed by one of the authors, your task is to analyze that argument.
3. If you choose to work on an idea, your task is to elaborate the implications of the idea for the development of Christianity and to think about how that idea may be expanded or relate to other aspects of the Christian religion.
4. You may consult and cite up to three additional secondary sources in your analysis of the argument or idea.
5. In the writing of these papers be both analytical and creative in thinking about how the argument works or does not work or how the idea may be applicable to other aspects of Christianity.
6. These papers are to be well written, formally presented, and properly annotated where necessary (according to the Chicago Style).
7. Be prepared if asked to present you paper to the class.
Reflection Paper:
1. Write a five page reflection paper on one of the following sentences:
My theory of religion is ...
The heart of Christianity is ...
(Fill in an idea) has helped me think about my responsible engagement in the world...
The thing I least or most liked about the ideas in this class is ...
The connection between Christianity and American society today is best understood ...
Christianity is true ‘for the Bible tells me so' ...
Group Reports:
1. Groups will be formed soon to read one of the five elective course books. You may start reading your book immediately.
2. Working as a group use a power point presentation (and any written material you think would be helpful) to lead the rest of the class through the issues, ideas, struggles, and insights of the book. Remember, the remainder of the class will not have read the book.
3. Where possible and appropriate raise issues that might provoke some conversation among the members of the group or class. Attune your presentation to the genre of the book you are reading.
4. You have 90 minutes for the presentation and discussion.
JAMES W. AAGESON
