PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION--PL 253
Fall, 1997
Dr. Bill Myers
PS112D
Course Description:
Throughout history, the human animal has searched out and been fascinated with the transcendent. This course will be an examination of that search as it has occurred in religion, primarily in the Judeo-Christian tradition. With that in mind, the course will consist (tentatively) of the following units:
I. History: The origins of the Hebrew religion and the emergence and development of Christianity
II. The concept of God in the Middle Ages
III. The atheistic reaction
IV. The American experience
V. The Radical Empiricisms: Existentialism and Pragmatism
VI. Neo-classical/process theology
Texts:
John H. Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 4th edition. Prentice Hall, 1990.
Yeager Hudson, The Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. Mayfield, 1991.
A course packet from the bookstore (CP). A set of handouts from me (CH).
Evaluation:
First exam: 15%
Second exam: 25%
Final exam: 30%
Short papers: 20%
Class Participation: 10%
Exams:
There will be three exams in this class, with each subsequent one counting for a greater percentage of your grade. Given this, each exam will be a bit more challenging than the previous one. The exams themselves will be a blend of objective and essay questions. You will need to bring a blue book to each exam period.
Short papers:
You will do four short writing assignments during the course of the semester. I will hand out a topic and give you a week to complete it. The papers will need to be at least 500 words (about 2 typed pages) and no more than 1000. They don't have to be typed, but they must be legible. Together the four will count for 20% of your grade.
Class participation and attendance:
This portion of your grade will be based on your actual participation in class and on your attendance. Attendance will be taken every class period. Attendance is expected and, as you will soon see, necessary in order for you to do well in this class. Excessive absences (more than 3) will result in the lowering of your final letter grade up to one full letter grade. After your 6th absence, it will no longer be possible for you to pass the class.
Make up exams and papers:
I have an EXTREMELY unfavorable view of late exams and papers. If you going to miss an exam or a paper due date, you must make arrangements before the test date or the due date to take a makeup exam or turn in a late paper. If you do not make prior arrangements, you will get a zero for that assignment. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Tentative Schedule of Classes
9/8: General Information. Intro to Philosophy of Religion.
9/10: Religion as a mirror of humanity.
Reading: CP, 1-18, from Religion and the Human Image, by Raschke, Kirk and Taylor
9/15: Continued.
9/17: The Hebrew story
Reading: CP, 19-32; Hudson, 526-530, from Raschke, et. al.
9/22: Continued.
9/24: The Christian story
Reading: CP, 33-45, from Raschke, et. al.
9/29: Continued.
10/1: First exam.
10/6: The concept of God from the early church to the middle ages.
Reading: Hick, 5-14; CP, 45-59
10/8: The divine attributes.
Reading: CH, 1-2; Hudson, 72-79, 85-89
10/13: Does this God exist? The arguments for God’s existence.
Reading: Hudson, 164-177, 197-200; Hick, 15-23.
10/15: What's wrong with this picture? Arguments for atheism: The problem of evil.
Reading: Hudson, 288-304;
10/20: Continued.
Reading: Hick, 39-48
10/22: Erich Fromm's religious humanism.
Reading: CP, 63-70, "Religious Humanism."
10/27: Review for exam 2.
10/29: Second exam.
11/3: Religion, American style.
Reading: CH, 3-12, Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."
11/5: Continued.
Reading: On reserve: Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."
11/10: A modern reaction: Atheistic existentialism
Reading: Hudson, 607-623, from Ecclesiastes, "All is Vanity"; Albert Camus, "The Myth of Sisyphus"; Jean Paul Sartre, "Existentialism is a Humanism"
11/12: Christian existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard. Is faith still possible?
Reading: CP, 70-76, "Truth is Subjectivity"
11/17: The Radical Empiricism of William James. A modern view of faith.
Reading: CH 13-24, W.K. Clifford, "The Ethics of Belief" and William James, "The Will to Believe"
11/19: A new vision: Process theology, an introduction.
Reading: CP, 81-91; 147-156; from What is Process Theology, by Robert Mellert and "The World and God: A Process Perspective," by Delwin Brown.
11/24: Continued.
12/1: Process theology: Applications.
Reading: CP, 101-120, from Mellert
12/3: Continued.
Reading: CP, 120-140, from Mellert
12/8: Process theology and the problem of evil.
Reading: CP, 157-175; Hick, 48-55. David R. Griffin, "Creation Out of Chaos and the Problem of Evil"
12/10: Wrap up and review.