Winter 2019/Fuller Online

ET520

Sanders

ET520: BIBLICAL AND PRACTICAL PEACEMAKING (4 units: 160 hours). Ron Sanders.

DESCRIPTION: The prophet Isaiah anticipates a coming ruler who will reign over the world with justice and righteousness as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The New Testament identifies this ruler as Jesus, God with us, the Messiah who will guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79). This course will explore what it means to be peacemakers in an increasingly pluralistic and polarized world. We will compare broad streams of the current ethical paradigms of just war theory, nonviolence, and the developing paradigm of just peacemaking. We will study how to make practical application of following the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures in international relations, church conflicts, and contentious social issues.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course has three objectives: (1) to develop practical ways for following Jesus’ call to Christian peacemaking in our ministry and practice; (2) to critically assess different Christian ethical approaches to peace and war (a global issue), including nonviolence, just war theory, and just peacemaking; (3) to consider theological rationales for Christian commitment to nonviolence and transforming initiatives of peacemaking.

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours, which is outlined below in the assignment and assessment section. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1300 pages required

Friesen, Duane K. Christian Peacemaking & International Conflict: A Realist Pacifist Perspective. Herald Press, 1986. ISBN: 978-0836112733, $21.45. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [134 pgs. assigned].

Park, Andrew Sung. Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective. Wipf & Stock Pub, 2009. ISBN: 978-1608990498, Pub. Price $25.00 [198 pp.]

Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks, ed. Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. ISBN: 978-1137293374, Pub. Price $54.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [256 pp. assigned].

Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Abingdon Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0687002825, Pub. Price $28.99. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [306 pp. assigned].

Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. Basic Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-0465052714, Pub. Price $17.99 [280 pp.]

Required Reading Available Online (Not for Purchase):

Feinberg, John S. and Paul D. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World, 2nd Edition. Crossway Books, 1993, 2010. ISBN: 978-1581347128, Ch. 14. Available Online in E-Reserves [61 pgs.]

Herr, Robert, and Judy Zimmerman Herr, eds. Transforming Violence: Linking Local and Global Peacemaking. Herald Press, 1998. ISBN: 978-0836190984, Chs. 1, 2 Available Online in E-reserves [26 pp.]

Stassen, Glen Harold. “The Fourteen Triads of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-7:12).” Journal of Biblical Literature 122, no. 2, June 1, 2003 [41 pgs.].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Online instruction hours: video lectures, group learning activities, posting to forums related to reading and instruction, and online interaction related to reading and instruction [20 hours].
  2. 1300 pages of required reading [90 hours].
  3. E-quizzes & Responses: Quizzes (7 total) based on reading schedule and two required responses/quiz to other students’ quizzes (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [5 hours].
  4. Class participation in online forums, group projects, and module activities [200-300 word forum posts + shorter responses to others’ posts—16 posts required]. (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [8 hours].
  5. Mid-term exam [1 hr. exam]. (30%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [5 hours of individual study and 2 hours online participation].
  6. Group project on applying just peacemaking theory to a contemporary conflict. This assignment requires group participation and collaboration. (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome 3]. [5 hours online participation and 5 hours individual research and writing].
  7. Ten-page final paper on a topic of student’s choice. A just-peacemaking/conflict resolution project can be substituted for the final paper on professor’s approval. (30%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 3]. [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5 or C1 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Option to meet the C1 requirement in the 80 MATM Program (Fall 2015).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.