Spring 2016/Fuller Live!
Menlo Park and Sacramento
TH550
Oden
TH550: WORLD RELIGIONS IN CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE. (4 units: 160 Hours) Patrick Oden.
DESCRIPTION: This course has two main aims. The first is to provide an overview of several of the world's major religions-typically Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and, time permitting, Sikhism -focusing on their emergence and history, core beliefs and practices, religious texts and interpretations, as well as contemporary influences and expressions. Second, this course introduces various approaches on how Christianity relates to other religions, technically known as the "theology of religions." Towards these aims, the course critically discusses Catholic and Protestant as well as Evangelical approaches towards other religions as well engaging in some comparative theology. The course touches briefly on the implications for and nature of interfaith dialogue.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By completing this course, the student will (1) gain a workable knowledge of selected world religions focusing on origins, core beliefs, and practices; (2) develop skills in learning how to empathetically understand the religious and spiritual attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, decisions, and practices of those of other religions in their own contexts; (3) become more sensitive and discerning, regarding both similarities and differences among religious beliefs and identities as well as various interreligious approaches and proposals; (4) learn some basics about how to relate to other religions and representatives of religions as well as facilitate dialogue from a Christian perspective.
COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. Additionally, students are required to attend at least one visit to a religious site of one of the religions covered in the course.
REQUIRED READING: 1191 pages required.
Course Reader [75 pp].
Kärkkäinen, V.-M. An Introduction to the Theology of Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0830825721, Pub. Price $29.00 [290 pp. assigned].
Knitter, P.F. Introducing Theologies of Religions. Orbis, 2007. ISBN: 978-1570754197, Pub. Price $25.00 [246 pp. assigned].
Ludwig, T. The Sacred Paths. 4th ed. Prentice Hall, 2006. ISBN: 978-0131539037, Pub. Price $104.99. E-textbook version $42.90 [180 pp. assigned].
Original texts: Reading of short portions of sacred texts of religions in key documents such as HinduVedas or Upanishads, Buddhist Dhammapada or Heart Sutra (Prajna Paramita) or the Muslim Quran or the Sikh Adi Granth). Students may use links to vetted websites with online scriptures that will be provided by the instructor. [50 pp. assigned].
Choose ONE text from the list on the syllabus on Comparative Theology and Interfaith Dialogue. [250-350 pp. assigned]. Here are a sample of choices:
Ayoub, Mahmoud. A Muslim View of Christianity: Essays on Dialogue. Orbis Books, 2007. ISBN: 978-1570756900, Pub. Price $28.00 [264 pp.].
Beaumont,M. Christology in Dialogue with Muslims: A Critical Analysis of Christian Presentations of Christ for Muslims form the Ninth and Twentieth Centuries. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2011. ISBN: 978-1610975933, Pub. Price $29.00 [260 pp.].
Bennett, C. Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations: Past and Present. Continuum, 2008. ISBN: 978-0826487834, Pub. Price $34.95 [272 pp.].
Gross, R.M. & Muck, T.C. Buddhists Talk about Jesus, Christians Talk about the Buddha. Continuum, 2003. ISBN: 978-0826411969, Pub. Price $24.95 [156 pp.].
Imbach, J. Three Faces of Jesus: How Jews, Christians and Muslims See Him. 2nd ed. Templegate, 1993. ISBN: 978-0872431942, Pub. Price $12.95 [151 pp.].
Khalidi, T. The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature. Harvard University Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0674011151, Pub. Price $22.00 [256 pp.].
Smith Wilfred Cantwell. What is Scripture: A Comparative Approach. Augsburg Books, 2000. ISBN: 978-0800626082, Pub. Price $26.00 [392 pp.].
Volf, Miroslav. Allah: A Christian Response. HarperOne, 2011. ISBN: 978-0061927072, Pub. Price $15.99 [336 pp.].
Ward,K. Religion & Revelation: A Theology of Revelation in the World's Religions. Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0198263753, Pub. Price $60.00[360 pp.].
Wimbush, Vincent, ed., Theorizing Scriptures: New Critical Orientations to a Cultural Phenomenon. Rutgers University Press, 2008. Price: ISBN: 978-0813542041, Pub. Price $32.95 [324 pp.].
RECOMMENDED READING: Further readings on specific topics are provided in course syllabus.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
1181 pages of required reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-4]. [78 hours].
One critical textual analysis, [6 pp.] (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-4]. [10 hours].
DLA: Weekly “Christianity among the Religions” reflections on Moodle [250 words each week] (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-4]. [10 hours].
Visit to a religious site and reflective report, [5 pp.]. (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-4]. [7 hours].
Final research paper [10 pages] on a topic of student’s choice (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-4]. [25 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: C1, TH4. Meets the requirement for World Religions (WREL) in cultural literacy or the requirement in Globalization (GLBL) in MA programs. Serves as a course substitute for MB501.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.