Core 9 - Toward a Christian Humanism - Term 101
Core 9 Faculty
- Prof. Angela Elrod-Sadler - Philosophy/Student Services
- John Jezierski, MSN - Nursing
- Fr. Jeff Kirch, C.PP.S. - Religion
- Fr. Timothy McFarland, C.PP.S. - Religion
- Bro. Robert Reuter, C.PP.S. - Philosophy (Director of Core 9)
Guest Lecturers
- Dr. Michael Malone - Philosophy
- Dr. John Nichols - Philosophy
- Dr. Thomas Ryan - Education
- Fr. Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S. - SJC Chaplain
- Dr. Ilicia Sprey - History
- Dr. Jody Taylor Watkins - Reference Librarian
Core 9 Required Texts
- Core 9 Syllabus
- The Gospel of Luke
- Eucharist, by Robert Barron
- The Gift of Peace, by Cardinal Bernardin
- Faith Among Faiths: Christian Theology and Non-Christian Religions, by James L. Fredericks
- Jesus the Christ: Contemporary Perspectives, by Brennan Hill
- The Christian Vision of Humanity: Basic Christian Anthropology, by John R. Sachs
- Night, by Elie Wiesel
Core 9 Readings
- Barron, Robert. Eucharist. New York: Orbis, 2008.
- Bernardin, Joseph Cardinal. The Gift of Peace: Personal Reflections by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. Chicago: Layola Press, 1997.
- Begely, Sharon. "The Anatomy of Violence." Newsweek April 30, 2007. Vol. 148, Issue 18. 10 July 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=24834402&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Byron, William J. "The Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching." America. 179 October 1998: 9-12. 10 July 2007. http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=1236498
- Fredericks, James. L. Faith Among Faiths: Christian Theology and Non-Christian Religions. New York: Paulist Press, 1999.
- Fuellenbach, John. "Kingdom of God as Principle of Action in the Church." Annual meeting of The Reformed-Roman Catholic Dialogue. Zeninghuis, Oegstgeest, Netherlands. November 20, 1999. May 29 2007. http://www.sedos.org/english/fuellenbach.htm
- Gilkey, Langdon, "Creation and Evil." Maker of Heaven and Earth. New edition. University Press of America, 1985. 209-246.
- Hick, John. "There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil." Philosophy of Religion. Third edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1963. 40-46.
- Hill, Brennan R. Jesus the Christ: Contemporary Perspectives. New Edition. Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 2004.
- Holy Bible, The. Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. NRSV. New York: Oxford UP, 1977. Print.
- Patella, Micheal F., O.S.B. The Gospel According to Luke. Collegeville Bible Commentary, New Testament Volume 3. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2005.
- Reuter, Robert, C.PP.S. "A Word About Truth." Saint Joseph's College. Rensselaer, IN, May 2008.
- Ruether, Rosemary Radford. "Ecojustice at the Center of the Church's Mission." Mission Studies 16, no. 1 (1999): 111-121. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed June 25, 2008). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0000995767&site=ehost-live&scope=site
- Sachs, John R. The Christian Vision of Humanity: Basic Christian Anthropology. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991.
- Schreiter, Robert, C.PP.S. "Can We Forgive 9/11?" St. Anthony Messenger Press, September 2006. http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Sep2006/Feature3.asp
- "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." All Human Rights for All. No date given. Access May 15, 2005. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
- Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006.
Collegial Agreements
The Core Nine Faculty have agreed on the following guidelines for writing assignments this semester:
- Each student will be responsible for a minimum of 25 pages of written work over the semester.
- One writing assignment common to all sections of Core Nine will be a personal "Christian Manifesto."
- Since we are working toward a Christian Humanism that is respectful of all human persons, we ask you to try to avoid the use of exclusive or sexist language both in your written work and in class discussions.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
Unit One: In the Presence of Evil
M August 23 - The Challenge of Christian Humanism
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: Syllabus, pp. 10-14
W August 25 - A World of Suffering
- Lecturer: Dr. Ilicia Sprey
- Reading: Night, Elie Wiesel
M August 30 - The Problem of Evil
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: Syllabus:
"Creation and Evil," pp. 15-25
"There is a Reason Why God Allows Evil," pp. 26-30W September 1 - Never Again! The Call for Universal Vision
- Lecturer: Fr. Jeff Kirch
- Reading: Syllabus:
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights," pp. 31-34
"Parliament of World Religions' Global Ethic," pp. 35-42W September 8 - The Meaning of Suffering
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Syllabus:
"The Anatomy of Violence," pp. 43-48
"Can We Forgive 9/11?" pp. 49-53
Book of Job, selections pp. 54-64Unit Two: Creation In the Image of God
M September 13 - What Does "Creation" Mean?
- Lecturer: Dr. John Nichols
- Reading: Sachs pp. 5-25;
"Introduction"
"Creation in God's Image"
Syllabus:
Book of Genesis, selections pp. 65-67W September 15 - Freedom and Community
- Lecturer: Fr. Jeff Kirch
- Reading: Sachs, pp. 27-42
"The Gift of Human Freedom"
"The Individual in Community"M September 20 - The Fully Human Person
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Sachs, pp. 43-58
"Humanity: Male and Female"
"Body and Soul"W September 22 - Sin and Grace: Undoing and Uplifting
- Lecturer: Dr. Michael Malone
- Reading: Sachs, pp. 59-74
"Sin"
"Grace: The Gift of God's Life"M September 27 - The "Ends" (destiny, meaning, finality) of Human Life
- Lecturer: Dr. Thomas Ryan
- Reading: Sachs, pp. 75-112
"The Mystery of Death"
"Resurrection of the Body"
"Our Final Destiny"Unit Three: Jesus the Christ
W September 29 - People, Places and Customs in Jesus' Time
- Lecturer: Fr. Kevin Scalf
- Reading: Hill, pp. 1-23
"Introduction"
"People and Places"M October 4 - Luke: the Gospel of Universal Salvation
- Lecturer: Fr. Jeff Kirch
- Reading: The Gospel of Luke, Chs. 1-12
W October 6 - Luke: The Gospel of Compassion
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: The Gospel of Luke Chs. 13-24
M October 11 - Teacher and Miracle Worker
- Lecturer: Dr. Jody Taylor-Watkins
- Reading: Hill, pp. 42-87
"Teacher and Prophet"
"Worker of Mighty Deeds"W October 13 - The Birth Stories
- Lecturer: Prof. Angela Elrod-Sadler
- Reading: Hill, pp. 24-41; 88-100
"Searching for the Historical Jesus"
"The Birth Stories"M October 18 - Death and Resurrection
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Hill, pp. 101-139
"The Passion Stories"
"Raised from the Dead"W October 20 - Savior and Salvation
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: Hill, pp. 177-219
"Savior"
"Liberator"M October 25 - The Green Jesus: Christology and the Environment
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Syllabus: pp. 68-74
"Ecojustice at the Center of the Church's Mission"
Hill, pp. 160-176
"Christology and the Environment"W October 27 - Clarifying the Faith
- Lecturer: Dr. John Nichols
- Reading: Hill, pp. 220-238
"Early Doctrines"
Unit Four: Jesus and the Kingdom of God
M November 1 - The Kingdom of God and Other Religions
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Syllabus: pp. 75-87
"The Kingdom of God as Principle of Action in the Church"
Fredericks, pp. 1-36
"Introduction"
"Before Pluralism"W November 3 - Many Religions: Critical Thinking
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: Syllabus: "A Word About Truth," pp. 88-90
Fredericks, pp. 37-54; pp. 103-118
"John Hick's Copernican Revolution"
"How Helpful Is Pluralism?"M November 8 - Solution: Comparative Theology
- Lecturer: Prof. Angela Elrod-Sadler
- Reading: Fredericks, pp. 162-180
"After Pluralism: Doing Theology Comparatively"
Syllabus: "Islam at a Glance", pp. 91-95Unit Five: Christian Living
W November 10 - Eucharist: Sharing Our Hunger
- Lecturer: Fr. Jeff Kirch
- Reading: Barron, pp. 9-61
"Introduction"
"The Eucharist as Sacred Meal"M November 15 - Eucharist: Giving Thanks, Giving Life
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Barron, pp. 62-94
"The Eucharist as Sacrifice"
W November 17 - Eucharist: "Source and Summit"
- Lecturer: Bro. Rob Reuter
- Reading: Barron, pp. 95-141
"If It's Only a Symbol, to Hell with It"
"The Emmaus Supper"M November 29 - Reconciliation
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: Bernardin, pp. vii-41
"Part One: False Accusation"
W December 1 - Our Brother Joseph
- Lecturer: PBS DVD
- Reading: Bernardin, pp. 45-154
"Part Two: Cancer"
"Part Three: A Priest First, A Patient Second"
"Part Four: Befriending Death"M December 6 - Faith, Reason, Action - The Christian Humanist Synthesis
- Lecturer: Fr. Jeff Kirch
- Reading: Syllabus, pp. 96-100
"Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching"
Syllabus: pp. 10-14W December 8 - From Nine to Ten: Now What?
- Lecturer: Fr. Tim McFarland
- Reading: None! Merry Christmas!
Core 9 Internet Sources
- United States Holocaust Museum
- Yad Vashem
- Human Rights Resource Center - A number of resources on human rights can be found on this site.
- From Jesus to Christ - A PBS site with some interesting information about the world of Jesus, his ministry and a bit of historical context.
