Jesus for Christians & NonChristian

Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Garber

jeremy.garber@iliff.edu

Indian Jesus.jpg

Course Synopsis

Who is Jesus of Nazareth, and what is his relationship to Jesus Christ? This course will examine this central question in multiple religious and non-religious cultural contexts. We will use the methods of comparative theology to read ideas about Jesus in the contexts of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR), and non-theistic texts. Students will compare and contrast these ideas of Jesus to create their own understanding of Jesus’ narrative and his relationship to our present world in their particular context.

Required Texts

Course Overview

Who is Jesus of Nazareth, and what is his relationship to Jesus Christ? This course will examine this central question in multiple religious and non-religious cultural contexts. We will use the methods of comparative theology to read ideas about Jesus in the contexts of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Paganism, Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR), and non-theistic texts. Students will compare and contrast these ideas of Jesus to create their own understanding of Jesus’ narrative and his relationship to our present world in their particular context.

Course Objectives

 

Participation and Class Discussion: 40%

Short Papers and Discussion Facilitation: 20%

Final Project: 20%

 

Students will be required to post a short response to weekly discussion prompts in the asynchronous online forum and respond to at least two other posts during the following week. This will be assessed in participation and class discussion. Missing more than one week will mean automatic failure of the class. Posting one week late will mean a reduction of one letter grade. Posts after two weeks will be an automatic zero.

 

There will be three mandatory 90-minute Zoom synchronous sessions for discussion and participation.

 

Each student will write a three-page response paper to the readings for the week and three discussion questions, and lead discussion on that week’s forum. This will be the short paper assignment.

 

Masters students will write a 12- to 15-page final paper on their own comparative or constructive Christology, or other topic on consultation with the instructor. PhD students will write a 25- to 30-page paper.

DMin students will design a teaching curriculum or sermon series presenting key aspects of the course for use with their research community.

 

I am an ADA coordinator myself and sensitive to the needs of disabled students. You can find DU’s accommodation policy at https://www.du.edu/studentlife/disability-services/facultystaff/index.html

 

You can find the DU Religious Accommodation policy at https://www.du.edu/studentlife/religiouslife/aboutus/policy.html

DateDayDetails
Jun 14, 2022TueWeek One: Jesus, Comparative Theology, and Hermeneuticsdue by 05:59AM
Jun 20, 2022MonWeek One Discussion: Jesus in the Gospelsdue by 05:59AM
Jun 21, 2022TueWeek Two: Jesus in His Contextdue by 05:59AM
Jun 23, 2022ThuWeek Two Zoom Check-Indue by 10:30PM
Jun 27, 2022MonWeek Two Discussion: Jesus in His Contextdue by 05:59AM
Jun 28, 2022TueWeek Three: Jesus and Empiredue by 05:59AM
Jul 04, 2022MonWeek Three Discussion: Jesus and Empiredue by 05:59AM
Jul 05, 2022TueWeek Four: Jesus and Modernismdue by 05:59AM
Jul 11, 2022MonWeek Four Discussion: Jesus and Modernismdue by 05:59AM
Jul 11, 2022MonProject Proposaldue by 05:59AM
Jul 12, 2022TueWeek Five: Jesus and Atheismdue by 05:59AM
Jul 14, 2022ThuWeek Five Zoom Check-Indue by 10:30PM
Jul 18, 2022MonWeek Five Discussion: Judaism, Atheism, and Jesus Problemsdue by 05:59AM
Jul 19, 2022TueWeek Six: Jesus and New Religious Movementsdue by 05:59AM
Jul 25, 2022MonWeek Six Discussion: Jesus and New Religious Movementsdue by 05:59AM
Jul 26, 2022TueWeek Seven: Jesus and Paganismdue by 05:59AM
Aug 01, 2022MonWeek Seven Discussion: Jesus and Paganismdue by 05:59AM
Aug 01, 2022MonProject Check-Indue by 05:59AM
Aug 02, 2022TueWeek Eight: Jesus and Islamdue by 05:59AM
Aug 04, 2022ThuWeek Eight Zoom Check-Indue by 10:30PM
Aug 08, 2022MonWeek Eight Discussion: Jesus and Islamdue by 05:59AM
Aug 09, 2022TueWeek Nine: Jesus and Asian Religionsdue by 05:59AM
Aug 11, 2022ThuPeer Reviewdue by 05:59AM
Aug 15, 2022MonWeek Nine Discussion: Jesus and Asian Religionsdue by 05:59AM
Aug 16, 2022TueWeek Ten: Your Own Personal Jesusdue by 05:59AM
Aug 22, 2022MonShort Paper and Discussion Facilitationdue by 05:59AM
Aug 22, 2022MonFinal Projectdue by 05:59AM