Introduction

The Level I religion course introduces first-year students to the dialogue between the Biblical traditions and the cultures and communities related to them. Students study the Biblical storyline, major Biblical texts and their interaction with, for example, theology, religious practice, ethics, and social values, while considering methods and fields in the study of religion in a liberal arts setting. An additional prospectus describes the theme of each section.  For details see below.

121 A: RIPLEY, 800-855, MWF

THE BIBLE AND SALVATION.  Like the Philippian jailer, who cries out for salvation while his life crumbles around him, people for millennia have turned to the God of scripture for hope in the midst of brokenness. From images of personal healing to cosmic renewal, the Bible employs a surprising variety of metaphors to speak of God’s care and faithfulness toward God’s creation and covenant people. Employing both literary and historical approaches to reading, we will explore the rich diversity of biblical images of salvation. We will also delve into ways select theologians, artists, and filmmakers have utilized these biblical motifs to address specific cultures and contexts, with an eye toward exploring metaphors of salvation appropriate to our contemporary situations.

121 B:  LAGERQUIST , 905-1000, MWF

READING THE BIBLE AROUND THE WORLD.  The Bible is one thing all Christians have in common. Protestant Reformers insisted that the Bible be made available in the vernacular, common language of believers. Missionaries make translating the Bible among their first tasks. Despite agreement that the Bible is central to faith differing readings of the Bible often lead to disputes and divisions among Christians. In this section we will pay attention to what the Bible says and to how it is heard/read by various audiences. We will ask what constitutes a “good” reading and what factors contribute to one. We will read with particular readers from across time and around the world, particularly Asian, African, and Latin American readers in the past few decades.

121 C: RIPLEY, 905-1000, MWF

For a description of this section, see the description for Section A.

121 D: ODELL, 1045-1140, MWF

LOVE AND JUSTICE IN THE BIBLE.  All too often, it is assumed that the Old Testament develops the theme of justice, while the New Testament introduces the theme of love, as if God’s character and strategy for dealing with the world abruptly change with the turn of the page.  This course challenges that assumption by asking what love and justice have in common in biblical writings stretching across Old and New Testaments.  Some of the questions we’ll consider include:  How do different settings, such as family, clan and community, national and international relations, affect biblical perspectives on justice? How are these differing perspectives reflected in the various genres of biblical writing such as narrative, law, prophecy, wisdom, and apocalyptic? Where do we see biblical writers wrestling with problems posed by the apparent lack of justice? Is there any point at which love and justice part company? Finally, how might these perspectives help us reflect on contemporary problems?

121 E: WILSON, 1045-1140, MWF

JESUS AT THE MOVIES.  This section of Religion 121 will study core biblical texts in light of a series of thoughtful films, with special attention to the way in which filmmakers have portrayed the figure of Jesus or employed symbolic references to the Christ in non-biblical films.  Special emphasis on writing essays that bring film and biblical text into conversation.  Only open to students who can attend film screenings on many Thursday nights.

121 F: LAGERQUIST, 1150-1245 MWF

For a description of this section, see the description for Section B.

121 G: BECKMAN, 1150-1245 MWF

WOMEN AND/IN THE BIBLE. We will study the Bible and the way in which women are portrayed in and have responded to it.  You will know your way around the Bible by the time we are through, knowing when, why, where, how and from which perspective biblical texts were written. You will strive for biblical literacy. We will know the classic “proof texts” for and against women.  In addition, we will look at the use of these selections in religious traditions to shape attitudes toward and treatment of women, focusing especially on women in different social locations; as harlots and manipulators; as victims of violence through rape, torture, silencing, marginalizing, and exclusion; and as active religious leaders as mothers, queens, judges, and ministers.

121 H: BOOTH, 1255-150 MWF

LAND, FOOD AND JUSTICE IN BIBLICAL TRADITIONS.  This section uses food as a lens for understanding the Bible, both in the context of cultures that wrote it, and in the context of contemporary discussions of sustainability.  Because food is prominent in biblical narratives it is a useful interpretative lens.  Biblical prophets make food central in their vindication of the poor and hungry.  Biblical communities announce, debate, adjust, and renounce dietary prescriptions.  Biblical texts employ similes, metaphors, and parables derived from food to advance larger points about spiritual growth or fulfillment.  Guided by these considerations, we will address four main themes involving food and biblical traditions: (1) distributive food justice; (2) food production and care of the land; (3) food and just treatment of animals; and (4) food choices as religiously meaningful.

121 I: ODELL, 1255-150, MWF

For a description of this section, see the description for Section D.

121 J: BOOTH, 200-255, MWF

For a description of this section, see the description for Section H.

121 K: JOTHEN, 800-925 T, 800-920 TH

GENDER IMAGININGS.  Debates about the Bible’s role in defining “male” and “female” as well as the marital, sexual and social roles that flow out of gender are a lively part of contemporary culture. This section will think about the Bible in relationship to such debates. In particular, two questions will inform our conversations: 1) How is gender presented within the biblical world? 2) How does the Bible shape how we “imagine” gender? In order to ask these questions, we will examine a variety of ways contemporary thinkers understand gender within the biblical canon, ideas about the moral and social authority of the Bible and how the Bible is employed within contemporary debates about gender.

121 L: HANSON, 935-1100 T, 930-1050 TH

THE BIBLE AS SCREEN PLAY.  Movies have become our common language, one of the principal means by which we communicate and interpret our experiences and ideas (not to mention our primary form of entertainment).  Biblical stories and themes have been a central source for filmmakers from the very beginning of the medium.  What happens to those stories and themes in the process?  What does the process of filmmaking teach us about how the Biblical authors may have brought their stories to life in their time?  How do films illuminate the Biblical text, and how are contemporary perspectives, values, and prejudices reflected in the filmmakers’ work? The balcony is open. Please note that the films will be screened outside of class; there will be a weekly scheduled screening, and the films will be available on library reserve for those unable to attend.

121 M: ALEXANDER, 935-1100 T, 930-1050 TH

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE BIBLE. From the Africans first encounter with the absurdity that was chattel slavery in the New World, they and their descendants had to struggle with issues of identity and their sense of self. One of the most important sources for African Americans in their efforts to understand themselves as a people as well as their place in the world has been the Bible. This section will examine 1) the manner in which African Americans first encountered the Bible 2) how African Americans came to use the Bible 3) the dominant Biblical themes that developed – and in many respects persist – in African American culture; e.g. Exodus, the Babylonian captivity of the Hebrew people, and justice for the downtrodden and the dispossessed.

121 N: BENJAMIN, 1145-110 T, 1245-205 TH

TORAH, MIDRASH, GOSPEL:  THE BIBLE BETWEEN JUDAISM ANDCHRISTIANITY. Both Judaism and Christianity have claimed the Hebrew Bible (or “Old Testament”) as the foundational text of their traditions.  Throughout the centuries, both traditions have developed distinctive reading strategies for making sense of the diverse and complicated texts they regard as scripture.  This course takes a thematic approach to topics in the Hebrew Bible that were important and sometimes divisive for its later readers, including the authors of the New Testament. These themes include law, prophecy, kingship, and the Temple in Jerusalem.  For each of these topics, we will study important passages from the Hebrew scriptures and then examine related passages from rabbinic midrash (a form of biblical interpretation that has played a significant role in the development of Judaism) and the New Testament.  Through attentive and active participation in this course, students will attain a basic familiarity with biblical texts, themes, and genres and understand some of the tools with which scholars approach them.  In addition, this course seeks to help students become adept at the interpretation of texts and the practice of close reading, skills useful not only in biblical or religious studies but in all academic fields.

121 O: SCHUURMAN, 1145-110 T, 1245-205 TH

THE BIBLE AND ETHICS.  The primary focus of this section will be on what the Bible says about God’s relation to humanity and world as these are created good, fallen into sin and corruption, being redeemed through Christ and the covenants, and to be fully renewed in the age of come.  We will explore the bearing of these theological perspectives for ethical analysis of such moral issues as relativism, moral conflict, guilt, forgiveness, suffering, war, poverty, and sexism.

121 P: BENJAMIN, 120-245 T, 215-335 TH

For a description of this section, see the description for Section J.

121 Q: SCHUURMAN, 120-245 T, 215-335 TH

For a description of this section, see the description for Section O.

121 R: ERICKSON, 935-1100 T, 930-1050 TH

A “GREEN BIBLE”?: EARTH, ITS CREATURES, AND ECOLOGICAL IMAGINATION.  Adam and Eve frolic through a garden of nameless animals,  and Noah navigates a floating zoo. Jonah gets lost in the belly of a big fish, and Job faces the unseemly monstrosities of Behemoth and Leviathan. Strange lambs, lions, beasts, dogs, doves, donkeys, and other creatures populate biblical texts. With these nonhuman creatures in mind, this section will pay particular attention to ‘ecotheological’ and ‘ecocritical’ readings of creation in biblical narratives. We’ll focus on the bible, environmentalism, and critical animal studies, paying particular attention to how these texts portray what it means to be a “human” and “nonhuman” creature.  We’ll look at the vital roles nonhuman creatures play in these stories, and we’ll ask what kinds of perspectives these creaturely readings may give on the earth and contemporary environmental issues.