RUTGERS UNIVERSITY 

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840:222 ISSUES IN RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
Spring 2002

Dr. James W. Jones

Office Hours M:11-12,  W: 10-12  Loree 132

Ph: 932-9623  Please use this phone number and not email to contact Dr. Jones

The following books are available at New Jersey Books.

Paul Tillich, The Dynamics of Faith

Martin Buber, I and Thou

J.P. Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions

A packet of materials is also for sale at New Jersey Books.

Class Participation: Students are expected to attend the class meetings and to have done the readings for that section. Class participation is a major part of the work

of the course and students will be graded on it.

Examinations: There will be three in class quizzes as marked on the syllabus.

                                           COURSE OUTLINE

This course is divided into four parts: one on religion in the modern world, one on God, one on religious truth, and a conclusion. These units are divided into various sub-sections as described below.

                   I.  RELIGIOUS THOUGHT AND MODERN CULTURE

1. Setting the Stage: Religion and Modernity. As an introduction we will explore some of the characteristics of the modern world and their impact on religion, the nature of secularization, and the function of religion in a modern, secular society .

2. Atheism and Existentialism. This section will discuss the rise of modern atheism, focusing on the thought of F. Nietzsche and J .P .Sartre. Students should be prepared to discuss what Sartre meant by 'existentialism' and 'existence precedes essence' and his understanding of freedom and autonomy and why Sartre and Nietzsche think that God's existence is a threat to human freedom, as well as possible responses to their arguments.

Reading: J.P. Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotions, pp. 1-59.

3. Kierkegaard and The Possibility of Belief. This section will introduce you to the ideas of S. Kierkegaard on religion, faith, and God. Students should be prepared to discuss Kierkegaard's 'stages on life's way,' his relation to modernity and to existentialism, and his understanding of religious faith.

Reading:  E. Duncan, Soren Kierkegaard, selections.

                                                             II. GOD

4. Paul Tillich. This section will introduce you to the basic ideas of P. Tillich on religion, faith and God. Students should be prepared to discuss the basic thrust of Tillich ' s theology and what he means by 'ultimate concern,' 'ground of being,' 'sign and symbol,' and 'particular and universal.' Reading: P. Tillich, The Dynamics of Faith

QUIZ  1

5. Martin Buber. This section will introduce you to the basic ideas of M. Buber on religion, human life and God. Students should be prepared to discuss what Buber means by '1- You' and 'l-It' relationships, by the phrase' all life is meeting' and how his idea of God compares and contrasts with that of Tillich.

Reading: M. Buber, I and Thou, parts one & three

6. The Return of the Goddess: Feminist Theology. This section will introduce some of the basic themes in contemporary feminist religious thought and will discuss the possibilities and problems associated with both the reworking of traditional western theologies and the recovery of earlier Goddess religion.

Reading: Carol Christ, The Laughter Of Aphrodite, selections

QUIZ 2

                                   III. RELIGIOUS TRUTH

7. Religious Knowledge. This section is designed to help you understand the nature of human knowledge and the place of religious knowledge within it. Emphasis will be on comparing and contrasting religious knowledge with that found in natural science. During this section, you should be prepared to discuss the following: the major similarities and differences between religion and science; whether or not science explains everything and, if not, what science leaves unaccounted; and various definitions of such crucial terms such as "objectivity," "proof' and "knowledge." We will also discuss various definitions of faith and the nature of our most basic convictions in religion and other disciplines and how we arrive at and defend our most basic convictions. We will also develop an analogy between perception and faith. Students should be prepared to discuss these topics (the nature of basic convictions, the analogy to perception) as well as what T. Kuhn means by "paradigms."

Reading: James W. Jones, Texture of Knowledge, chapters 1,2,4,6.

8. Religious Experience. We will discuss various types of religious experience, the role of religious experience in religious knowledge, and whether there is more to reality than the world of space and time.

                                              IV. CONCLUSION

9. The Problems of Pluralism. This section will discuss the problems raised for religion by the existence of many other religious traditions, such as how one religion can claim our allegiance when other religions also exist and how we might respond to the variety of religious options available today. Students should be prepared to discuss those issues and, as well, be able to define the terms 'relativism,' 'absolutism,' 'critical relativism,' 'pluralism,' and describe what P. Berger means by 'relativizing the relativizers. ,

Reading: James W. Jones, Texture of Knowledge, chapter 5

                A. Fernando,  “A tale of two theologies”

10. REVIEW

Last day of class. Final quiz.

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This page was revised Jan/02/2002