Jesus

Dr. Mark Given

Welcome to the online home of REL 320, Jesus. The Requirements and Calendar are accessed by clicking on the buttons above.  This "virtual" syllabus--not the printed copy--is your "real" syllabus for this class.

The Goal

The purpose of this course is to deepen your knowledge of early traditions about Jesus and early Jesus movements through primary and secondary sources. You will become acquainted with many of the historical, literary, and ideological issues currently under investigation in Jesus scholarship. It’s a great time to be alive and to be a Jesus scholar! 

The purpose of this course is not to convert you to any particular confessional or non-confessional position. In a 1963 decision, the supreme court encouraged the study of religion in an academic environment. This is consistent with a goal common to most universities of studying all significant aspects of human experience in a sympathetic and responsible, yet thoughtful and critical, manner. Religion is a very significant aspect of human experience and Jesus' influence on Christianity and western culture more generally, both past and present, is comparable to that of Paul. Therefore, ancient Jesus phenomena is a highly appropriate subject for study in a university.  

The main methods used in this course will be literary-historical and socio-rhetorical. The former method concentrates on interpreting the literature of early Christianity in its original historical context.  The latter focuses on the social structures and conflicts of early Christianity, paying particular attention to the types and forms of argument employed by early Christians.

A literary-historical religion course is an excellent place to begin to develop the sort of critical thinking skills that will serve you well in your university career and beyond. It takes acquired skills and diligent efforts to reconstruct the past and understand how and what people were thinking and feeling two millennia ago in a world more different than like our own. I will encourage you to think critically about current issues of interpretation and to learn to support your ideas with reasoned and evidence-based arguments.

A socio-rhetorical religion course is an excellent place to contemplate an important issue addressed by the Public Affairs mission of Missouri State. Early Christianity, like the early Judaism from which it sprung, was a religious movement of great diversity. Already within the pages of the New Testament we see religious and political rhetoric in action as competing ideologically and ethnically defined groups assert their particular visions/versions of Christianity and struggle with the problem of unity in diversity. Visions/versions of Jesus were in the thick of the debate. Examining early Christian experience with such issues may encourage reflection upon our experience.

My office is Strong Hall 266. Hours: MWF 10:00-10:50 AM and MF 2:00-2:50 PM. Appointments are also possible. My email address is markgiven@missouristate.edu. I encourage you to email me with questions, comments, etc., if you cannot come by during office hours. Just put your name, course, and section on the subject line (e.g., Eric Cartman Rel 321-1) and I’ll be sure to read your mail first.