Christian Traditions II: The Empire of Rome and the Kingdom of God
James W. Aageson
OFFICE HOURS:
By appointment
E-mail: aageson@cord.edu
Web page: http://www.cord.edu/faculty/aageson/JWAageson.html
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Perhaps one of the greatest and most interesting confrontations
of the early church, reflected already in the writings of the New Testament,
is the encounter between the Jesus community and the Greco-Roman world.
Almost immediately after Jesus’ death the message about him began to spread
to people living in the Roman imperial world, and it was in this world that
the early church would ultimately survive and flourish. This course will
address the character of this encounter in the formative period of the church:
30CE-400CE. To that end, we will:
1. investigate primary texts that display the character of this encounter.
2. learn about sites and people who display different aspects of
this encounter.
3. consider the way the religion of Jesus changes into a religion
about Jesus in a Roman imperial context.
4. reflect on how and why the church grew.
5. investigate different forms early Christianity took.
HE STUDY OF RELIGION IN THE LIBERAL ARTS: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
1. To give rational and cogent explanation of religion and religious
phenomena.
2. To observe in the study of religion the interaction between method and
the material of religion.
3. To understand that, in the study of religion and the methods appropriate
to the study of religion, we arrive at only penultimate conclusions
and that inquiry into religion is invariably open-ended.
4. To develop an intellectual skepticism which drives intellectual inquiry,
encourages curiosity, and prevents the collapse into cynicism.
5. To understand that religion is not primarily a private or personal matter
but is corporate and public and therefore open to observation.
6. To observe that religion is not simply a way of believing or thinking
but is way of living, doing, and behaving.
7. To see that religion was, is, and will be a prime force in the formation
of culture, social and political organization, and thus of civilization
itself.
8. To perceive that religion--both past and present--functions on the level
of ethnos (a social group, a people), ethos (a world view), and ethics
(a way of living).
9. To assist in developing a perspective on religion and life that avoids
the problematic extremes of absolutism and relativism.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Primary Text:
New Revised Standard Edition of the Bible
Secondary Texts:
Richard Horsley--Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman Imperial
Society
Ralph Martin Novak--Christianity and the Roman Empire: Background
Texts
Rodney Stark--The Rise of Christianity
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Study the assigned reading texts in the Bible, the secondary literary sources, as well as the exploration of the historic sites visited on the seminar with a view to what they may say to us about the encounter between Rome and the church.
2. Write three five page papers: 1) an analysis paper of one of the sites we visit and the way this site illustrates some aspect of the church’s encounter with the Roman imperial world, 2) an evaluation paper of one of the reading assignments (especially Stark and Horsley) and your critical reply to the author’s argument, and 3) an integration paper in which you seek to bring together two and aspects of our investigation of the Empire of Rome, the Kingdom of God, and our travel experience in order to interpret these two aspects in light of each other.
3. Generate two journal or experiential insights that have come
to your mind during the semester and
that pertain to the issue of the emergence and spread of Christianity.
Oral report to the class for information and discussion. A one page
write up of this insight will be handed in.
4. Write a take home exam to be turned in following your return home. The date will be determined depending on whether you extend your trip.
COURSE EVALUATION:
1. Five page papers: 15 % (each)
2. Class participation: 25 %
3. Journal insights: 5% (each)
4. Take home exam: 20%
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Students are expected to be guided by the highest expressions of academic integrity in completing course requirements. These expectations are set forth in Academic Integrity at Concordia College. Students who show a disregard for academic integrity and are detected should expect to be penalized by receiving failing grades (in such cases make-up is not possible). Each violation of academic integrity will be reported to the Academic Dean's Office and the offender will be placed on probationary status for one year.
Violations of academic integrity include cheating, plagiarism, falsification, facilitating others' violations and impeding. These violations are fully defined in Academic Integrity at Concordia College, pp. 11-13 and should be carefully studied.
These definitions were developed in a North American cultural context.
Other cultures define forms of academic dishonesty differently. International
students studying at Concordia, however, are expected to be guided by North
American norms of academic integrity. Any student who is unclear about
the application of these norms in the completion of a particular assignment
should consult the course instructor.
COURSE OUTLINE:
Sequence of topics and assignments
1. Pre departure reading assignments: ed. Horsley, pp. 1-8, 10-24, 47-71, 72-86; Novak, pp. 1-9.
2. From Jesus to Paul, from Galilee to Rome, from village to city
A. Paul and Jesus in context (lecture)
B. A counter-imperial gospel: ed. Horsley, pp. 140-147, 148-157,158-166,
167-183.
C. Paul and the Corinthians: ed. Horsley, pp. 88-95, 96-103, 104-125,
242-252; 1 Corinthians 1-4.
D. On to Rome and Spain: Paul and the Epistle to the Romans: ed.
Horsley, pp. 184-204; Romans 1:1-15,
13:1-7, 15:14-29.
E. From Jerusalem to Rome: Luke’s portrayal of Paul: Novak, pp. 10-42;
Acts 9-28.
3. The Rise and Growth of Christianity
A. Conversion and the Growth of the church: Stark, pp. 3-47.
B. The church and the Jews: Stark, pp. 49-71.
C. The care of the sick and the growth of the church: Stark, pp.
73-94.
D. Women and the growth of the church: Stark, pp. 95-128.
E. The urban church: Stark, pp. 147-162.
F. The martyred church: Stark, pp. 163-189.
G. The church as an institution: Stark, pp. 191-208.
4. The kingdom of God encounters the Roman Empire
A. The martyrs: Paul and Thecla, Perpetua and Felicitas: Novak, pp.
104-115.
B. A bishop goes to his death: Ignatius of Antioch: Novak, pp. 43-100.
C. East meets west: Iranaeus and the heretics
D. The North African connection: Tertullian and the Montanists, Cyprian
and persecution
E. The triumph of Christianity: Novak, pp. 139-227.
1. Constantine: conversion and the edict of Milan
2. Constantine’s mother, pilgrimage, and the Holy Land
3. Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381)
4. The rise of orthodoxy
F. Augustine, bishop of Hippo
1. The Bible, theology, and politics
2. Human nature
5. Conclusions: Discussion and Summary
6. Looking Ahead
A. Paul in Asia Minor
1. Gentiles
2. The journey’s in Acts
B. John in Asia Minor
1. Revelation and resistance
2. Revelation’s letters: Revelation 1- 22
C. The Itinerary--step by step