Bible 321: Biblical Themes
of Peace (3 hrs)
- return to dept. home
page
| "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
will be called children of God." Matthew 5:9 |
| "Regarding revenge, whereby we resist
our enemies with the sword, we believe and confess that the Lord
God has forbidden his disciples and followers all revenge and
resistance...." Dordrecht Confession |
Anabaptists hold pacificism or non-violence to be a biblical
teaching, but aside from a few texts, such as Matt 5:9 or Jesus'
admonition to turn the other cheek, very few passages in scripture
spell out a doctrine of non-violence or non-resistance. Abraham
and David took up the sword to fight in wars. Jesus himself advised
his disciples "Think not that I have come to bring peace,
I have not come to bring peace but a sword." The study of
the theme of peace in the Bible calls for a thorough reading of
scripture and thoughtful reflection upon the meaning of what seem
to be violent stories. In this course, we will utilize a variety
of methods of biblical study in order to formulate a nuanced and
multifaceted understanding of the Bible's teachings on peace.
In order to achieve our objective in this course, students
will be active participants in determining questions and investigative
strategies and will read and interpret the Bible rather than depend
upon the findings of other readers.
- Assignments:
- Paper One 15%
- Annotated Bibliography 15%
Paper Two 30%
Exam 30%
Reading Journal and Class Participation 10%
Texts:
Bible, preferably with Apocrypha
Course Readings
All reading assignments are to be completed before the assigned
class
Tentative Class and Reading Schedule
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Divine and Human Kingship: Dancing
in the Dragon's Jaw
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Ancient Near Eastern Divine Kingship Readings
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Genesis 1-2
Exodus 15
Isaiah 27; 51
Ezekiel 21
Psalms 68; 74; 104
Hebrews 4:12
Revelation 13
The Divine Warrior-King class notes
- The
Enuma Elish
- Alternate
Version
Recommended: Neufeld, Thomas R. Yoder Put on the Armour of
God: The Divine Warrior from Isaiah to Ephesians JSNTSup 140.
Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997. (ATLAS) |
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Exodus and Conquest Readings
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Alexander Rofé, “The Laws of Warfare in the Book of Deuteronomy
: their Origins, Intent and Positivity,” Journal for the Study
of the Old Testament 32 (1985): 23-44 (ATLAS).
Exodus 15;
Judges 4-5
War: Exodus and
Conquest class notes
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The Crucified Messiah Readings
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Jürgen Moltmann, "The
Crucified God" in Theology Today 31 n. 1 (1974) pp.
6-18.
William C. Placher, “Christ Takes Our Place: Rethinking Atonement,” Interpretation,
53 (1999): 5-20 (ATLAS)
Warren Carter, “Resisting and imitating the empire: imperial
paradigms in two Matthean parables,” Interpretation, 56 (2002):
260-272 (ATLAS)
The Crucified
Messiah class notes
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Recommended: The Ekklesia Project
Longer
Reflections Regarding September 11, 2001
Prof. Richard Goode, Lipscombe University, Nashville, TN
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Jesus
and the Upside Down Kingdom
March 18 Vengeance
Paul
Weapons of the Spirit
Love of Enemies (Buber
and Levinas) Shir
Ha Shalom
Forgiveness
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Readings |
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
"Costly Grace," in The Cost of Discipleship (unfortunately
this is just the beginning of the reading)
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Paul Weapons of the
Spirit
Apocalypticism
and Peace
Exam Wednesday April 20 10:30 am -12:30 pm