Jesus and the Gods: Christianity and the Religions of Antiquity
RELI 301
Fall 2024
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01
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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 did early Christians understand their rituals of death and resurrection in terms of salvation and sacrifice? 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 "Mystery Religions"? This course will focus on the methods and politics of comparing Christianity and the religions of antiquity. Considering themes and theories of religion and sacrifice, wisdom and prophecy, ethics and philosophy, and mythmaking and cultural critique, we will ask how the politics of classification and comparison have shaped not only our understanding of Jesus and Judaism, and of 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: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (CGST-MN)(RELI-MN)(RELI)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Robert Dobbin, ed. and trans., EPICTETUS: DISCOURSES AND SELECTED WRITINGS (Penguin Classics, 2008)
Luther Martin, HELLENISTIC RELIGIONS: AN INTRODUCTION (Oxford University Press, 1987)
Jonathan Z. Smith, DRUDGERY DIVINE: ON THE COMPARISON OF EARLY CHRISTIANITIES AND THE RELIGIONS OF LATE ANTIQUITY (University of Chicago Press, 1990)
P. G. Walsh, trans., APULEIUS: THE GOLDEN ASS (Oxford World's Classics, 1995)
P. G. Walsh, trans., CICERO: THE NATURE OF THE GODS (Oxford World's Classics, 1998)
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two short papers (6 pp.) and a final essay (10 pp.) |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the "Method & Theory" requirement for the Religion Department major. |
| Instructor(s): Cameron,Ron Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 11 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 5 | SO: 6 | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 0 |
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