Jesus and the Gods: Christianity and the Religions of Antiquity
RELI 301
Spring 2019 not offered
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| Certificates: International Relations |
This course will focus on the politics and methods of comparison in order to reveal how thinkers have described the myths and practices of early Christianity as they relate to the religions of ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome. In reading carefully a wide range of ancient texts and modern scholarly discussions, we will be thinking on several levels at once. That is, we will learn about the gods and ritual practices of ancient Greece and Rome and also think critically about the agendas of the many writers--from Plato to Thomas Jefferson and beyond--who described them for their own purposes. How did Jesus of Nazareth come to be understood as a god, who dies and rises, in a world brimming with gods? Why was he remembered as a philosopher and a martyr, like Socrates? How--and with what motives--did writers throughout history compare Jesus with the priests and kings of ancient Israel or with the gods and goddesses of the Hellenistic Mystery Religions? What is the place of Demeter, Isis, and Osiris in the history of religion? How did early Christians understand their rituals of death and resurrection in terms of rebirth, salvation, and martyrdom? Considering themes and theories of piety and sacrifice, purity and prophecy, wisdom and narrative, ethics and philosophy, mythmaking and cultural critique, we will ask how the politics of comparison and classification have shaped not only our understanding of Jesus and Judaism, ancient Greece and Rome, but also the construction of "Judaism" and "Christianity" as religions--and the very category of religion itself. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (RELI-MN)(RELI)(STS) |
Major Readings:
Possible readings:
Jonathan Z. Smith, DRUDGERY DIVINE: ON THE COMPARISON OF EARLY CHRISTIANITIES AND THE RELIGIONS OF LATE ANTIQUITY
Valerie M. Warrior, ROMAN RELIGION
Christopher P. Jones, BETWEEN PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN
selections from James B. Pritchard, THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST: AN ANTHOLOGY OF TEXTS AND PICTURES
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three short papers. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the "Method & Theory" and "Historical Traditions" requirement for the Religion major. |
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