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RS 120
Christianity: Past and Present Sections
I & J
Professor
James Byrne Office:
St. Edmund’s 223 X2759,
jbyrne@smcvt.edu Office
hours: Tuesdays
and
Wednesdays: 10.30am-12.00pm and
by appointment 1.
What is this course about? This
course is about the major world religion known as Christianity. It is
open to students of any religious point of view. We will study Christian
origins, beliefs, hisTORRy, practices and disputes. 2. What Reading Material Is Required? You
will need: 1.
A copy of The Christian Theological Tradition (Catherine
A. Cory and David T. Landry, eds). Abbreviated in the outline as TCTT.
Available in the booksTORRe. 2.
A Bible with both the Hebrew scriptures (‘Old Testament’) and
the Christian scriptures (‘New Testament’). Recommended editions
are: The New Jerusalem Bible or The Revised Standard Version or The New
American Bible. Warning: not all versions of the Bible are
suitable for university level work; ask my advice if you are in doubt
about the copy you have. ·
You will be unable to take the course
without access to these two items. ·
Some other shorter pieces of reading
(mostly primary texts) will
be distributed throughout the semester. You should keep these in a
suitable file and note which topic to which they refer. You will need to
read these texts for your assessment. 3.
What Does The Course Involve For The Student You
should be ready for the following: ·
Attendance:
you are expected to attend all sessions unless you are absent for a good
reason such as illness. I expect full attendance at each class; the only
exceptions are documented illness or serious personal reasons. If
possible, you should let me know before class if there is a serious
reason why you cannot attend. Missing more than one un-excused class
will affect your final grade. ·
Punctuality:
You should aim to be in the classroom 5 minutes before the start. If you
are persistently late your grade will be reduced and you will risk
failing the class participation section of the course. ·
Class
reading:
you are expected to come to class with the reading for that day already
done. Making notes (1-2 pages) on the reading is strongly recommended;
for each class you should bring with you the notes which you take on the
reading, plus any questions, problems or issues which the reading raised
for you. ·
Active
participation:
you must be prepared to participate actively in the class. This means: ·
having
the reading done and notes made ·
active
listening (i.e. showing that you are listening) ·
making
notes during class ·
asking
questions ·
active
in group discussions ·
Some
tips on reading texts: o
read
each text several times and make notes on the main points as you go; use
a dictionary to check the meaning of words you do not understand; o
think
about the hisTORRical, personal, social and intellectual context of the
author; who was s/he writing for?; why did s/he write this?; what did
s/he hope to achieve?; what seems to have influenced him/her in writing
this text? o
remember
that authors wish to communicate ideas, so even when something is
difficult it is not impossible - the author is trying to tell you
something! o
identify
the key words and ideas; if you accept the last bullet-point, then try
to find out what the key idea of a passage is (it may not be the most
obvious one) and see if you can express it in a basic way; o
ask
questions: do I agree with this?; is this consistent with other views of
the same author?; is it viable as a view of the world?; is it logically
coherent? o
make
connections: how does this thinker or passage relate to things you have
already studied or know? ·
Discussion:
classes will generally be a mixture of input from me, group discussion,
general question and answer sessions, etc. Taking this course will not
be a passive experience. You will not be forced to speak, but you should
be ready to discuss ideas with me and with others members of the class.
I will sometimes provide questions to help you with the reading. These
may be given to you one class in advance or handed out during class as a
basis for discussion. Some
tips on group work and discussion: o
be
sure that you know the names of everyone in your group, that you can see
and hear them and that you are all sitting comfortably (not in a
straight line!); o
listen
carefully to what someone is saying and try to respond to it (if you do
this other people will quickly respond to you); while someone else is
talking try not to be thinking of what you are going to say next; o
don’t
be afraid to disagree, politely but firmly; don’t be afraid of saying
what you think - your opinion matters and you can take risks without
feeling that you are getting things wrong (although it can happen!); o
respect
other people’s views; even if you can’t agree with them you can
learn a great deal from them. Remember, an opinion is a belief or
assessment backed up by reasons; beliefs or assessments without reasons
are simply prejudices. ·
Special
needs: please
let me know if you have any special learning needs or if there is any
facTORR which could interfere with your work on this course. You will
have my full support in your learning. ·
Note:
I do not permit eating in class (but drinks are okay). |
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Class
Number & Date |
Topic and Reading Note that for some Chapters I have indicated selected pages (in parentheses). You should aim to read the whole Chapter but the required reading for that Chapter is in parentheses. If in doubt read all of the Chapter. |
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1.
Jan. 15 |
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2.
Jan. 17 |
Reading
1: TCTT Chapter 1 (pp.1-4) & Introduction to Part
1, 'The Old Testament' (pp. 13-16). Reading
2 : TCTT Chapter 2 (pp. 18-20) and The Book of
Genesis 1:1 - 3:24. |
|
3. Jan 22 |
Reading
1: TCTT Chapter 3 Reading
2:The Book of Genesis Chapters 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22 & The Book
of Exodus Chapters 1-14 (this reading is also relevant to Paper 1). |
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4. Jan. 24 |
Reading1:
TCTT Chapter 4 (pp. 49-55) & Chapter 5 (pp. 62-68) Reading
2: Psalms 22 & 137 & Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 & The Gospel of
Mark Chapter 15. |
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5. Jan. 29 |
Reading
1: TCTT Introduction to Part 2, 'The New Testament' & Chapter
6 Reading
2: Gospel of Mark, Chapters 1- 6 & Gospel of Luke, Chapters 3 &
4. |