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ALLIANCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
MI 831 Missions Seminar: World Religions
Spring 2004, Monday 1:15pm – 4:30pm
Room: 370
Instructors: Chuck Davis and Stephen Bailey
Davis home phone: (845) 353-0323
e-mail: [email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course follows a study of the major religious traditions of the world from four vantage points:
1. the historical origins and sociological cradles of the major non-Christian religions;
2. the philosophical assumptions and their resultant theological systems;
3. the existential manifestations of these religions in their pursuit for meaning;
4. their encounter with Christian faith and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.
COURSE LEARNING GOALS
1. Students will interact with the history, context and practice of the primary religious traditions of
the world through reading, lecture, interview, video, sacred site visit, and discussion.
2. Students will come to appreciate an insider’s perspective on these religions by reading from their
sacred writings and by observing their sacred rituals.
3. Students will explore some of the folk religious dimensions of these religions through reading and
interview.
4. Students will learn themes and attitudes useful in dialogue and the presentation of the Christian
faith to people from these religious communities.
5. Information Literacy Goal: Students will evaluate information and its sources critically, and
incorporate selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
COURSE CORRELATION
MI 831 is fitted into the ministry phase of the CHURCH, PERSON AND MINISTRY PHASES of the
ATS Ministry Formational Model.
REQUIRED TEXT
Halverson, Dean C., ed. 1996. The Compact Guide to World Religions. Minneapolis: Bethany House
(paperback). ISBN: 1-55661-704-6.
Smith, Huston. 1991. The World’s Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (paperback). 1992.
ISBN: 0-06-250811-3.
Ballou, Robert O., ed. 1976. The Portable World Bible. New York: Penguin Books.
ISBN: 0-14-015.005-6
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REQUIREMENTS/GRADING
1.
Attendance. The instructor expects that students in this course will be in attendance at all
sessions of the course and be attentive and prepared to discuss the issues scheduled for
consideration in each class. There are normally no excused absences. This requirement will
be counted as 35% of the grade.
2.
Reading Quizzes. Students will read all of the required reading for each class session before
coming to class. At the start of most classes there will be a short quiz on the reading for that
class session. This is to ensure that all students are prepared to engage in a meaningful
discussion on the subject the reading addresses with the other students and faculty in the
class. Quiz results will account for 35% of the grade.
3.
Interviews. Students will conduct five ethnographic interviews with people from five of the
religions that are studied in the course of the semester. These interviews will serve as
foundational material for the integrative paper. A suggested format is attached to the
syllabus.
4.
Integrative Paper. On the basis of the interviews, class discussion and religious site visits
during the semester, and any other research deemed necessary, the student will prepare an
eight-page summary related to the process of Christian interaction with other world religions.
The student will reflect on two questions: What can I learn from the followers of other
religions? What would Christian witness need to look like in the light of the deep social
connections in these religions? It is important to use the discoveries of the interviews to
serve as key observations to the argumentation of the paper. 30% of the grade. April 26.
5.
Students are required to attend the AGSM Retreat February 20 –22
a. Cost is $75 per student (spouses may attend for $50). This amount will be billed to your
student account.
b. We will leave from ATS on Friday, Feb. 20 at 2pm and will return to ATS on Sunday
evening Feb. 22 by midnight.
c. What to bring.
i. Pillow, linens and blanket or sleeping bag.
ii. Walking shoes (we will do some hiking) for outdoors.
iii. Any medication you will need while there
iv. Your Bible
d. This will be graded as part of attendance (see 1. of course requirements).
6.
Participation in mentoring groups.
a. The last hour of each class will be given to mentoring group discussions.
b. These discussions will be designed to assist you in your personal growth emotionally,
professionally and spiritually.
c. This will be graded as part of attendance (see no. 1. of course requirements).
GRADING SCALE
Grades are assigned based on your competency in performing the assignments in this syllabus.
A (4.0) 93-100
A- (3.7) 90-92
B+ (3.3) 88-89
B (3.0) 83-87
B- (2.7) 80-82
C+ (2.3) 78-79
C (2.0) 73-77
C- (1.7) 70-72
D+ (1.3) 68-69
D (1.0) 63-67
D- (0.7) 60-62
F (0.0) Below 60
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LATE WORK
All written work is due by the beginning of class on the date assigned. No late work will be accepted for
this class. See the ATS policy on extensions (ATS Catalog p.46). Incompletes will not be given except
in the case of serious illness or emergency.
COURSE CALENDAR
January 26 - Introduction
READING
H 11-36, S 1-11, 384-391,
B 3-14
February 2 – Hinduism
H 87-102, S 12-81,
B 17-91
February 9 – Buddhism: Theravada
H 54-69, S 82-153,
B 95-159
February 16 – Buddhism and Confucianism: Mahayana
H 70-86, S 154-195,
B 483-529
Feburary 23 – Retreat Weekend – No Class
March 1 – Shinto, Taoism, Chinese Religion and Zen
H 198-234, S 196-220
B 533-574
March 8 – Islam
H 103-120, S 221-270
B 437-479
March 15 – Spring Break – No Class
March 18-20 – Immersion
March 22 – Immersion Weekend – No Class
March 29 – Judaism
H 121-143, S 271-316
B 219-234
April 5 – Primal and Folk Religion in the World Religions
[Guinea Case Study]
H 37-53, S 365-383
April 12 – Post-Modernity and the Uniqueness of Christ
H 182-197, 235-267
B 163-215
April 19 – No Class
April 26 – No Class
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Ethnographic Interview
Reminders:
a) This is information gathering – avoid critique of their answers or debate
b) The lead questions are just to get you started – spring off of these to help you better
understand of the people and the religion
c) Pray before you go – your contact is not merely social; our enemy has a vested interest in
this person and in keeping you from understanding and loving them and their world
d) Honor their culture from the beginning – be aware of gender issues; purity issues; social
rules of engagement
Introduction: I am taking a university level course on world religion. Part of our learning
assignment is to go beyond books and speak personally with followers of
__________. I want to know more about you and your religion. If you are in
agreement, I would be interested in asking you some questions to help my
understanding.
1) Personal Information
* Name, Age (estimate; not necessary to ask), Gender, Cultural background, Marital Status,
Occupation, General living situation
2) Introduction to the Religion
a) What does one have to do to become a ___________________?
b) Please tell me about the land which you have come from. What are your earliest memories of
practicing your religion?
c) If American born – how were you introduced to your religion? Conversion
experience?
3) Religious Practice
a) What are the most important things to know about __________________?
b) What practices do you observe? When? How? With Whom?
c) What are the most difficult practices living in America?
d) If you were to describe your religion to an American who knew nothing about it, what
would you say?
e) What misconceptions do Americans have about your religion that you would like to
change?
f) What misconceptions do religious followers of ___________ have of Christians that
you have found different?
g) Has anyone from your religious group converted to another religion? How did that
happen? How did that feel? What was the attitude of the people to this person?
What happened afterwards?
Conclusion: Thank you for this time that you have given me.
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SELECTED BOOK LIST FOR
WORLD RELIGIONS
GENERAL TEXTS
Bach, Marcus. 1961. HAD YOU BEEN BORN IN ANOTHER FAITH. Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice-Hall.
Berry, Thomas. 1996. RELIGIONS OF INDIA: HINDUISM, YOGA, BUDDHISM.
New York: Columbia University.
Danielou, S.J., Jean. 1964. INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT RELIGIONS. Notre Dame.
Fides Press.
Nigosian, S.A. 1990. WORLD FAITHS. New York: St. Martin’s.
Ross, Nancy W. 1966. THREE WAYS OF ASIAN WISDOM: HINDUISM, BUDDHISM
AND ZEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE WEST. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Smart, Ninian. 1966. WORLD RELIGIONS: A DIALOGUE. Baltimore: Penguin.
Smart, Ninian. 1998. THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Huston Smith. 1991. THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS, Revised. San Francisco: Harper-Collins.
BUDDHISM
(A) SACRED TEXTS
Conze, Edward (ed). 1959. BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES. New York: Penguin.
THE SUTRA OF HUI NENG. Hong Kong: Buddhist Book Distributor Press.
Warren, Henry C. (ed). 1926. BUDDHIST WRITINGS: THE BUDDHA, THE DOCTRINE,
THE ORDER. New York: Reynolds.
(B) GENERAL TEXTS ON THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Carter, John Ross and George Bond, (eds). 1982. THE THREE-FOLD REFUGE IN THE
THERAVADA TRADITION. Chambersburg, PA: Anima Books.
Coleman, James W. 2001. THE NEW BUDDHISM : THE WESTERN TRANSFORMATION
OF AN ANCIENT TRADITION. New York: Oxford.
De Bary, William T. (ed). 1972. THE BUDDHIST TRADITION IN INDIA, CHINA AND
JAPAN. New York: Random House.
Ishii, Yoneo. 1986. SANGHA, STATE AND SOCIETY: THAI BUDDHISM IN HISTORY.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii.
(C) GENERAL TEXTS ON MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
Lester, Robert C. 1987. BUDDHISM: THE PATH TO NIRVANA. San Francisco: Harper and
Row.
Richardson, E. Allen. 1985. EAST COMES WEST: ASIAN RELIGIONS AND CULTURE IN
NORH AMERICA. New York: Pilgrim.
Suzuki, Beatrice L. 1963. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM: A BRIEF OUTLINE. New York:
Collier Books.
(D) GENERAL TEXTS ON ZEN BUDDHISM
Dumoulin, Heinrich, S.J. 1965. A HISTORY OF ZEN BUDDHISM. New York: McGrawHill.
Pollack, David. 1985. ZEN PEOMS AND THE FIVE MOUNTAINS. New York: Crossroads.
Smith, Forrest (ed). 1993. PURE-LAND ZEN ZEN PURE-LAND. Second Edition. Bronx:
Translation Committee of the United States and Canada.
Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. ZEN AND JAPANESE CULTURE. New York: Pantheon.
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Watts, Alan W. 1965. THE WAY OF ZEN. New York: Random House.
(E) GENERAL TEXTS ON TANTRIC BUDDHISM
Lerning, Ferdinand D. 1978. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHIST TANTRIC SYSTEMS.
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
(F) GENERAL TEXTS ON TIBETAN BUDDHISM
Bell, Sir Charles. 1931. THE RELIGION OF TIBET. Oxford: Clarendon.
Das, Lama Surya. 1977. AWAKENING THE BUDDHA WITHIN. New York: BantamDoubleday.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup and Jeffrey Hopkins. 1976. PRACTICE AND THEORY OF TIBETAN
BUDDHISM. New York: Grove Press.
Waddell, L. Austine. 1972. TIBETAN BUDDHISM. New York: Dover.
(G) TEXTS THAT INCLUDE CHRISTIAN APPROACH
Cobb, John B. 1982. BEYOND DIALOGUE: TOWARD A MUTUAL TRANSFORMATION
OF CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Fernando, Antony. 1981. BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY: THEIR INNER AFFINITY.
Colombo, Sir Lanka: Eccumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue.
King, Winston Lee. 1962. BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY: SOME BRIDGES OF
UNDERSTANDING. Philadelphia: Westminster.
Latourette, Kenneth S. 1956. INTRODUCING BUDDHISM. New York: Friendship.
LCWE. 1980. CHRISTIAN WITNESS TO BUDDHISTS. Wheaton: LCWE.
Tsering, Marku. 1993. SHARING CHRIST IN THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST WORLD.
Revised Edition. Upper Darby, PA: Tibet Press.
CONFUCIANISM
(A) GENERAL TEXTS ON CONFUCIANISM
Yoo, Hsin-Chung. 2000. AN INTRODUCTION TO CONFUCIANISM. New York:
Cambridge University.
(B) TEXTS ABOUT CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO CONFUCIANISM
Chung, Julia. 1977. CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY.
New York: Kodansha International.
Yu, Chi-Ping. 1984. CONFUCIAN AND BIBLICAL CONCEPTS OF FILIAL PIETY:
IMPLICATIONS FOR PASTORAL CARE IN THE CHINESE CHURCH IN TAIWAN.
Boston University: Microfiche thesis.
HINDUISM
(A) SACRED TEXTS
Buck, W., (ed). 1973. MAHABHARATA. New York: Meridian-Penguin.
Edgerton, Franklin (ed). 1972. THE BHAGAVAD GITA. Cambridge: Harvard University.
Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. 1984. BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS. Los Angeles:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
(B) GENERAL TEXTS ON HINDUISM
Eck, Diana. 1981. DARSAN: SEEING THE DIVINE IMAGE IN INDIA. Chambersbur, PA:
Anima Books.
Isherwood, Christopher. 1962. VEDANTA FOR MODERN MAN. New York: Collier Books.
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Gidoomal, Ram. 1993. SARI ‘N’ CHIPS. Sutton, Surrey: South Asian Concern.
Mangalwadi, Vishal. 1992. THE WORLD OF GURUS, Revised Edition. Chicago:
Cornerstone.
Mangalwadi, Vishal. 1997. INDIA: THE GRAND EXPERIMENT. Minneapolis:
MacLaurin Institute.
Radhakrishnan, S. 1962. THE HINDU VIEW OF LIFE. New York: MacMillan.
Renard, John. 1999. RESPONSES TO 101 QUESTIONS ON HINDUISM. New York: Paulist.
(C) TEXTS THAT DEAL WITH CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO HINDUISM
Arokiasamy, Soosai, S.J. 1986. DHARMA, HINDU AND CHRISTIAN ACCORDING TO
ROBERTO DE NOBILI: ANALYSIS OF ITS USE AND MEANING AND ITS USE
AND MEANING IN HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITY. Roma: Pontificia University.
Gidoomal, Ram and Mike Rearon. 1994. KARMA ‘N’ CHIPS: THE NEW AGE OF ASIAN
SPIRITUALITY. London: Wimbledon.
LCWE. 1980. CHRISTIAN WITNESS TO HINDUS. Wheaton: LCWE.
Pitt, Malcolm. 1955. INTRODUCING HINDUISM. New York: Friendship.
Reconciliation! Fellowship of Churches. 1997. 30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS.
Colorado Springs: World Christian News and Books.
Soper, E.D. 1957. THE INEVITABLE CHOICE: VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY OR
CHRISTIAN GOSPEL. New York: Abingdon.
Wardell, Margaret and Ream Gidoomal. 1994. CHAPATIS FOR TEA: REACHING YOUR
HINDU NEIGHBOR: A PRACTICAL GUIDE. Guildford, Surrey: Highland Books.
ISLAM
(A) SACRED TEXTS
Arberry, A.J., Translator. 1955 THE KORAN INTERPRETED. New York: Collier Books.
Shakir, M.H., Translator. 1990. THE QUR’AN TRANSLATION. Elmhurst, NY: Tahrike
Tarsile Qur’an.
(B) GENERAL TEXTS ON ISLAM
Cooper, Anne. 1993. ISHAMAEL MY BROTHER. Bromley, England: MARC.
Kateregga, Badru D. and David W. Shenk. 1997. A MUSLIM AND A CHRISTIAN IN
DIALOGUE. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press.
Musk, Bill A. 1989. THE UNSEEN FACE OF ISLAM. Bromley, England: MARC.
Woodbury, J. Dudley, (ed). 1989. MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ON THE EMMAUS ROAD.
Monrovia, CA: MARC.
(C) TEXTS THAT INCLUDE CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO ISLAM
Livingstone, Greg. 1993. PLANTING CHURCHES IN MUSLIM CITIES. Grand Rapids:
Baker.
Musk, Bill A. 1995. TOUCHING THE SOUL OF ISLAM. Crowborough, England: MARC.
Parshall, Phil. 1980. NEW PATHS IN MUSLIM EVANGELISM. Grand Rapids: Baker.
(D) WEBSITES FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES
www.islam-guide.com
www.answer-islam.com
www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic
www.islam.org
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SIKHISM
(A) GENERAL TEXTS ON SIKHISM
Cole, W. Owen. 1978. THE SIKHS : THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES.
New Delhi: Vikas.
Jaggi, R.S. (ed). 1985. THE HOLY GRANTH: SRI RAG TO MAJH. Pahala, India:
Department of Punjab.
Singh, Ishar. 1984. THE PHILOSOPHY OF GURU NANAK: A COMPARATIVE STUDY.
New Delhi: Atlantic.
(B) TEXTS THAT DEAL WITH CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO SIKHS
Giddomal, Ram and Margaret Wardell. 1996. LIONS PRINCISSES, GURUS: REACHING
YOUR SIKH NEIGHBOR. Godalming, Surrey: Highland.
SHINTOISM
(A) GENERAL TEXTS ON SHINTOISM
Picken, Stuart D. 1980. SHINTO, JAPAN’S SPIRITUAL ROOTS. New York: Kodaneha
International.
GENERAL TEXTS ON CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO WORLD RELIGIONS
Fernando, Ajith. 1988. THE CHRISTIAN’S ATTITUDE TOWARD WORLD RELIGIONS.
Bombay: Gospel Literature Service.
Freedman, David N. and Richael J. McClymond (eds). 2001 THE RIVERS OF PARADISE:
MOSES, BUDDHA, CONFUCIUS, JESUS AND MUHAMMAD AS RELIGIOUS
FOUNDERS. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
Halverson, Dean C. (ed). 1996. THE COMPACT GUIDE TO WORLD RELIGIONS.
Minneapolis: Bethany House.
Kraemer, Hendrik. 1961. THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE IN A NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD.
Grand Rapids: Kregel.
Okholm. Dennis L. and Timothy R. Phillips, (eds). 1996. FOUR VIEWS ON SALVATION IN
A PLURALISTIC WORLD. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Ramachandra, Vinoth. 1999. FAITHS IN CONFLICT: CHRISTIAN INTEGRITY IN A
MULTICULTURAL WORLD. Downer’s Grove: Inter Varsity.
Rommen, Edward and Harold Netland, (eds). 1995 CHRISTIANITY AND THE RELGIONS:
A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF WORLD RELIGIONS. Pasadena: William Carey.
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