Religion
290: Jesus in Tradition and History
Tuesdays / Thursdays 1:30-2:45 OM
04
Dr. C.D. Elledge, Professor
Office Hours: MWF 11:30-1:20, 2:30-4:00 and by
appointment
This syllabus is available online at www.gustavus.edu/~celledge/Rel-290.htm
Email the class: s-rel-290-001@gustavus.edu
(Jesus with Mary and John
the Baptist; Mosaic in Hagia Sophia, 12th
century; general use)
Religion
290: Jesus in Tradition and History
Tuesdays / Thursdays 1:30-2:45 Dr. C.D. Elledge, Professor Office Hours: MWF 11:30-1:20, 2:30-4:00 and by
appointment This syllabus is available online at www.gustavus.edu/~celledge/Rel-290.htm Email the class: s-rel-290-001@gustavus.edu
(Jesus with Mary and John the Baptist; Mosaic in Hagia Sophia, 12th century; general use) |
Description
An investigation of the life and mission
of Jesus in the ancient historical context of first century
Objectives
This course has been designed with the following goals in view:
– to provide a comprehensive study
of the life, message, and activity of Jesus within his own ancient historical
context in first century
– to initiate the participants of the course into the intermediate level of Gospel criticism, which will allow for a more sophisticated conception of Jesus as he appears in the earliest written testimonies to his life and mission.
– to read the most significant contributions to the Historical Jesus movement(s), from its origins to the present.
– to begin forming one’s own synthesis regarding the life and teachings of Jesus.
Evaluation
– Class Participation (20%): Students will be responsible for reading the assigned texts prior to the scheduled class day. They will also be responsible for commenting upon the assigned texts, asking critical questions, and completing in class exercises. This includes completion of the Topical Commentary assignment, explained on the first day of class.
– Special Presentations (20%): Students will complete and present before their peers one of the special topics Reports listed in the syllabus. The presentation will include: a) a ten-minute in class presentation; b) a five-page written report that summarizes the topic; c) addressing student (and instructor) questions regarding the topic of the presentation.
– Papers (40%): Students will compose one five-page Position Paper on a particular topic (for options, see below). The paper must critically utilize all relevant materials covered in the course, as it makes its claims. These may include material from the NT and apocryphal gospels, other ancient writings, and contemporary models of Historical Jesus Research. The due dates and topics of these papers are clearly listed on the syllabus.
– Final Examination (20%): A written examination (open resource), primarily in essay format, will judge students’ abilities to think in disciplined and creative ways, regarding the life of Jesus.
Absences
More than three absences from the course will affect grading.
Academic Honesty
The following code will be written and signed on every
examination and graded paper: “On my
honor, I pledge that I have not given, received, or tolerated others’ use of
unauthorized aid in completing this work.”
All written work is to be completed independently, unless otherwise
noted by the instructor. Using the ideas
and/or words of another writer and representing them as your own may constitute
plagiarism. It is your responsibility to give credit to those whose ideas and
language you utilize when you write.
Disability Services
“Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) work together to ensure
‘reasonable accommodation’ and non-discrimination for students with
disabilities in higher education.
A student who has a physical, psychiatric / emotional, medical,
learning, or attentional disability that may have an
effect on the student’s ability to complete assigned course work should contact
the Disability Services Coordinator in the
Presentation Schedule: Click here to view your individual presentation topics and the dates when they are due.
Required Texts
Barker, Gregory, ed. Jesus in the World’s Faiths: Leading Thinkers from Five
Religions
Reflect on His Meaning. Orbis:
Dawes, Gregory W., ed. The
Historical Jesus Quest: Landmarks in the Search for the
Jesus of History.
anthology of some of the most important statements about the Historical Jesus]
Elledge, C.D. The Bible and the
2005. [A brief introduction to
their significance for Jesus research]
Patterson, Stephen J., Hans-Gebhard
Bethge, James M. Robinson. The
Fifth Gospel: The
Gospel
of Thomas Comes of Age.
1998. [A recently discovered apocryphal gospel of Jesus’ sayings]
Stanton, Graham. The Gospels and Jesus. Second edition.
Press, 2002. [The main textbook for the course]
A Bible with Apocrypha is required for the course and should be brought to all regular meetings of the class. Links to web resources are clearly indicated on the syllabus.
I. The Ancient Evidence for Jesus:
What is our early evidence
for Jesus, both within and beyond the New Testament?
Feb 12
Introduction to the Course
Feb 14
Selection of Presentation Topics
Selection of Topical Commentary Topics
Selection of Position Paper Topics
The Ancient Evidence for Jesus: A Panoramic View
Feb 19
Mark: Our Earliest Written Gospel
Feb 21
The Two-Source Gospel Hypothesis
1.Report: Mark and the
“Messianic Secret” (Christine)
Feb 26
Matthew: Jesus, the Culmination of the Torah
2.Report: Matthew’s Portrayal
of the Pharisees (Allison)
Feb 28
Luke: Jesus, the
Prophet of
3.Report: Luke’s Portrayal of
Women (David)
Mar 4
The Q Source (link)
Mar 6
The Gospel of John
4.Report: “The Jews” in John’s Gospel (Amanda)
Gospel of Thomas
5.Report: Some Authentic
Sayings of Jesus in Thomas (Drew)
Mar 13
Other NT Apocrypha
Mar 18
Greco-Roman Testimonia and
Jewish Sources
6.Report: Josephus on Jesus, James, and John the
Baptist (Nick)
Please attend the lecture,
“Discovering the Lost Tomb of Herod the Great”
(Ehud Netzer,
Mar
20
***** Topical
Commentary Due
Weighing the
Evidence
March 21-30
Spring Break
II. The World that Jesus Lived In:
What is our evidence for understanding
Apr 1
Jesus and His Contemporaries: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Fourth Philosophy, Sicarii, Zealots,
John the Baptist, Miscellaneous Holy Men, Prophets, and Royal Pretenders
Bible
and the
7.Report:
What was the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist? (Mark)
8.Report:
Who was Judas the Galilean? (Jake)
Apr 3
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
Rule of the Community;
Some Works of the Torah
Apr 8
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
9.Report: Some Messiahs from
Apr 10
The
Roman Rule in
10.Report: Who were Herod the Great and Herod Antipas? (Todd)
11.Report: Who was Joseph Caiaphas? (Heidi)
12.Report: Who was Pontius Pilate? (Abby)
Apr 15
Jesus, the
13.Report: Crucifixion:
The Archaeological Evidence (Veronica)
III. The Quest of the Historical Jesus:
How have scholars used the
evidence to make important claims about Jesus?
Apr 17
Reimarus, Strauss
14.Report: Geza Vermes on Jesus
Apr 22
Schweitzer, Kähler
15.Report: E.P. Sanders on Jesus
Apr 24
Käsemann, Current Approaches
Link: Borg, “Portraits of Jesus”
16.Report: John Dominic Crossan
on Jesus (Scott)
17.Report: Richard Horsley on Jesus (Dan)
IV. Position Papers:
How do you use the available evidence to
address the following questions in Jesus research?
Apr 29
May 1
***** Position Paper #2 Due: What Did Jesus Mean by the
In class discussions and debates
May 6
*****
Position Paper #3 Due: Why
Was Jesus Crucified?
In class
discussions and debates
May 8
Jesus and
Contemporary Conspiracy Theories
“The Jesus Tomb
Controversy”
In class video and
discussion
V. Jesus and World Religions:
How do the major
religions of the world respond to Jesus today?
May 13
Buddhism and Hinduism
Assignment: Prepare a typed, one-page statement, comparing and contrasting your views about Jesus with those you find expressed in the readings.
May 15
Islam and Judaism
Assignment: Prepare a typed, one-page statement, comparing and contrasting your views about Jesus with those you find expressed in the readings.
May 20
Jesus and Christianity
Conclusion
Assignment: Prepare a typed, one-page statement, comparing and contrasting your views about Jesus with those you find expressed in the readings.
Final Examination:
Topical Commentary Assignment
Each member of the course will prepare a commentary on one of the five topics listed below. The commentary will provide programmatic reflection upon an important issue in Jesus research, by charting a single motif or issue throughout the ancient evidence for Jesus. By composing this index, each student will be prepared to serve as “class specialist” on the motif or issue in question. Individual entries in the Commentary need only be two to three complete sentences in length. The entire commentary is to be submitted in typed form.
Options for General Commentary Assignments (two to three sentences per entry)
1. What honorific titles and terms are used of Jesus in the Gospel?
2. What does Jesus say about the “kingdom” [of God, heaven, etc.]?
3. What miracles does Jesus perform? What do they mean?
4. What are the conflicts at stake in Jesus’ controversies / disagreements with other persons / groups?
5. What kinds of interactions does Jesus have with other persons and groups? What
are their respective responses to him?
Example (for question 1 above):