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Course Outline
Selected Bibliography
Instructions for Reflective
Essay
A. Course Description:
This course will examine the Roman Catholic church’s
involvement in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue since the time of the Second
Vatican Council (1962-65). It will include discussion of the historical context
of the dialogue, some of the major primary documents related to it, and the
theological and ecclesiological issues that have shaped it. The course will take
a critical look at both the successes and the tensions that have accompanied the
dialogue, from both theological and institutional perspectives.
The goals of this course are to enable the student: (1) to
understand the historical and theological grounds for ecumenical and interfaith
dialogue; (2) to analyze critically the common ground Catholicism shares with
other traditions, and to identify the areas of difference or disagreement that
exist; (3) to appreciate and respect the integrity of other religious
traditions, and to be open to learning from them, while remaining firmly
committed to one’s own tradition.
B. Style and method:
The course will be taught in a lecture and discussion
format. The methodology employed will be text- and historical-critical.
C. Required Readings:
The following books are required for the course:
Wayne Teasdale, Catholicism in Dialogue: Conversations
Across Traditions. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004.
James L.
Fredericks. Faith Among Faiths: Christian Theology and Non-Christian
Religions. New York: Paulist Press, 1999.
Lutheran World
Federation and the Roman Catholic Church. Joint Declaration on the Doctrine
of Justification. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. (Text also available
online
at the Vatican website.)
United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Bible, the Jews, and the Death of Jesus.
Washington: USCCB Publications, 2004.
Additional
readings will be posted online or given as handouts. I will take care of any
necessary copyright permissions, and will ask the class to
reimburse me for any fees.
D. Papers:
Each student is asked to submit a 10-15 page research paper
on a specific theological or ecclesial issue in ecumenical or interfaith
dialogue. Students should select a topic that expands on or complements, rather
than duplicates, materials covered in the class sessions. The paper must have a
thesis and be referenced according to Chicago (preferred—with either footnotes
or endnotes) or MLA standards. The due date of the paper is to be negotiated by
each student with the instructor. It must be no later than a week after the last
class, so that I can submit grades in a timely fashion.
In addition, students will be asked to prepare one
summary/discussion guide on a required reading for the class, as well as one
reflective essay (out of a choice of
six) of 3-5 pages.
Grades:
Grades will be computed according to the following
percentages: Research Paper 40%, Reflective essay 30%, Discussion guide 10%,
Overall Participation 20%.
Course Outline:
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Jan. 4 |
Introduction to the
Course: Review of Syllabus
Background to the Dialogue
Required Reading: Teasdale, Part I, pp. 3-37
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Jan. 11 |
Ground Rules for
Dialogue
Foundational Catholic Documents on Ecumenism
Required Reading:
Leonard Swidler, “The Dialogue Decalogue”
(distributed)
Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism
Teasdale, Part II, pp. 41-80
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Jan. 18 |
The Lutheran-Catholic
Dialogue I
Required Reading:
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
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Jan. 25 |
The Lutheran-Catholic
Dialogue II
Discussion with Dr. Tom Dickens, Dept. of Religious Studies, Siena
College
Required Reading:
“Joint Declaration on Justification: Reformed
Comments” by
Anna Case-Winters. From Concord Makes
Strength (distributed)
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Feb. 1 |
The Reformed-Catholic
Dialogue I
Discussion with Rev. John Paarlberg, First Church of Albany
Required Reading: “Ecumenism in Reformed Perspective” by Karel Blei.
from Concord Makes Strength” (distributed)
“The
Presence of Christ in Church and World” (online)
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Feb. 8 |
The Reformed-Catholic
Dialogue II
Required Reading: “Towards
a Common Understanding of Church” (online)
“Christ at the Center” by D. Tamburello
(online pdf file)
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Feb. 15 |
Other Ecumenical
Dialogues/Issues
Required Reading:
Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration, 1965
2004 Report of the International Joint Commission
Baptism and
"Sacramental Economy"
Recommended Reading:
Other Orthodox-Roman
Catholic documents
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Feb. 22 |
Issues in Interfaith
Dialogue I: The Rise of Pluralism
Foundational Catholic Documents
Required Reading: Fredericks, Chapters 1-4, pp. 1-99
Vatican II “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions”
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Mar. 1
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Dialogue with the Jews
Required Reading: The Bible, the Jews, and the Death of Jesus
(selected documents)
“A
Sacred Obligation” from the Christian Scholars Group
A helpful resource:
Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
A helpful resource on Nostra Aetate:
Anti-Defamation League website
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Mar. 8
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Dialogue with Islam
Required Reading:
Vatican Council and
Papal Statements on Islam
Catholic-Muslim
Relations in the United States
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Mar. 15 |
No class
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Mar. 22
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Dialogue with Eastern
Religions
Required Reading:
The Los Angeles
Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue
God and Buddhism - An essay by John Cobb
"Jesus the Christ and Shakyamuni Buddha" - from The Buddha and the
Christ (distributed)
Towards One World Family - address from the Hindu-Christian
consultation
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Mar. 29
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Issues in Interfaith
Dialogue II: Pitfalls and Possibilities for Catholicism
Required Reading: Teasdale, Part III, Chapters 7-8; Part IV
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Dominus Iesus”
“Dominus
Iesus: A Stumbling Block to Reformed-Catholic
Dialogue?” (distributed)
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Apr. 5 |
Issues in Interfaith
Dialogue II: Evaluating Pluralism
Summary and Conclusions
Required Reading: Fredericks, Chapters 5-8, pp. 103-180
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Apr. 12 |
Snow date |
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