Christianity Since the Reformation(s)
Fall 2006
Th 7 Can/Must
the Christian organism evolve?
Tu 12 Contemporary
Christianity as a media event:
Bring
1 article from 2006 to discuss in class.
(Lindberg, Preface through Chap. 3 )
Th 14 Sex
and the Holy City (DVD) Lindberg,
Chapters 4-6)
Tu 19 Christ
& Culture: Discussion of
Lindberg through Chapter 7.
Th 21 Video: Martin Luther (DVD) (Lindberg, Chapter 8)
Tu 26 Finish
Martin Luther DVD: Discuss film and Luther's impact.
In Luther's Works ( Miller Library) or elsewhere, read 1 substantial document or 3
prayers (or hymns)--a close, careful reading. In class, be prepared to discuss Luther's voice, and
speculate upon why his words had
such a profound impact in his own times and in subsequent centuries. Bring full bibliographical information
and specific textual examples to support your speculations.
Th 28 Catholic
vs. Protestant Perceptions of the Reformation: Why is Christian diversity a problem for many
Christians? What other
issues divided Christians during the centuries covered by Lindberg in Chapters
1-8?
Tu 3 Video: Behind the Veil (#771) Part II; Essay #1 due
Tu 10 Francis
de Sales, 45-183
Bring 3 passages that help us to explore who Francis
de Sales's intended audience was, and why he attracted large numbers of
Calvinist Protestants back to the Catholic fold.
Th 12 Francis
de Sales, 187-242
Th 19 Shakers: Hands to Work and Hearts to God(DVD)
Tu 24 A
Quaker in Colonial North America (Woolman, 3-116)
Th 26 Woolman,
116-192
Come prepared to discuss 3 specific passages illuminating JW's theology, spirituality,
and legacy for future social justice advocates.
Tu 31 Woolman, 195-272
Th 2 Blake,
Innocence and Experience
(handouts)
Tu 7 Coleridge: Nature and God (handouts)
Th 9 Bonhoeffer (DVD)
(Bonhoeffer, Memoir, Introduction, Part I )
Tu 14 Theologians
under Hitler (DVD) Essay # 2 due
Th 16 Be
prepared to discuss 3 passages from Cost of Discipleship, Parts I and II that contain the core components of
Bonhoeffer's theology, spirituality, and attitude toward secular power circa
1937.
Tu 28 Bonhoeffer
(Parts III & IV) How does what
we learn in the 2 videos help us to understand and contextualize the Cost of
Discipleship?
Th 30 Fox
(Preface, Introduction, and Part I)
Th 7 Conclusions
REQUIRED
TEXTS [available in Colby Bookstore]:
Bonhoeffer,
The Cost of Discipleship
Francis
de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life
Fox,
Pentecost in Asia
Lindberg,
A Brief History of Christianity
Moulton
(ed.), The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman
* handouts on Blake and Coleridge [distributed in
class]
FACTORS
DETERMINING THE FINAL GRADE:
All
assignments must be submitted in hard copy, not as e-mail attachments or faxes.
All
assignments must be submitted in order to pass the course. Extensions must be
negotiated in advance. Late papers
and more than 2 unexcused absences will affect the final grade.
About
the assignments:
Essays
should be double-spaced and must be submitted in hard copy. You may try an imaginative format as
long as you address the question and find ways to provide documentation and
concrete examples/evidence from the appropriate texts. Whatever format you choose, narrow the
topic as much as possible--construct your own specific topic within the broader
general topic--so that you can examine portions of the text closely and analytically. Draw genuine conclusions; do not be
content with summarizing.
Essay
1 (due October 3 at 4 pm.)
The Reformation represents one moment in the Christian
church's continuing process of self-definition. Using Lindberg's book as the class's common point of
reference, as well as our assigned videos, films and class discussions, write
an essay that describes your own perspective on how the reforms of the
sixteenth century are related to the other crucial moments of self-definition
within Christianity during the preceding fifteen centuries. If you like, you might also add a
section on what kind of precedents the Reformation(s) of the sixteenth century
set for subsequent encounters between Christianity and (political, social,
cultural, economic, and/or ecclesiastical) change.
Essay
2 (due November 14 at 4 p.m.)
Our assigned readings by de Sales, Woolman, Blake, and
Coleridge provide various perspectives on the theology/spirituality centered on
the interior life which emerged, in part, as a response to the turbulent social
and political changes witnessed by the authors. Write an in-depth exploration of the differences (or
similarities) among the theologies (or spiritualities) of the interior life
found in the assigned readings by these four authors.