Religions of the World

Course Syllabus


Text: Robert E Van Voorst, Anthology of World Scriptures, 3rd ed. Wadsworth Publishing Company: Belmont, CA. 2000.

You are about to embark on a study of matters that consume the passions of the vast majority of the people who inhabit our world. The intellect certainly is a part of the human being; all would agree that we are more than our intellect. It is the searching for what that “more” is that religion is all about. This semester you will be examining Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There are other major religions in the world, but the fact is that most all of them are “off-shoots” of one of these. For instance, Buddhism and most of the other religions of the orient have their origins in Hinduism. We must recognize that many people groups all over the world practice an “unorganized” religion known as Animism. Nothing holds these religious practices together, except a basic concept that various physical realities possess deeper spiritual powers. There is no written material to examine, as this religious expression is practiced almost exclusively in tribal contexts where literacy is not present. Thus, apart from this fifth non-systematized religion, the four religions you are about to study comprise the vast majority of religious adherents in our world.

The Anthology you will read contains exclusively primary documents. You will not be reading what others say about the religions you will study; you will be reading what those who hold these religions consider to be their sacred texts. You will be asked to read specific portions of these ancient scriptures, and to organize them theologically. Scriptures are never organized theologically; they are a compilation of narratives (stories) and statements of doctrine, but not given in any kind of specific order. YOU will do the work of organizing the religious thinking of each of the four religions you will be studying. Then, you will be asked to watch a movie that relates to each of the religions, and write a paper explaining how the movie displays the beliefs of that particular religion.

You will have 18 weeks to complete this course (one semester). That means that you will have four weeks to work on each of the four religions, plus the first week of introductory material. It will be up to you to divide up your time efficiently. Due dates (by weeks in the semester) are given to you in this syllabus.

Theological Analysis (Systematic Theology)

From your reading of the scriptures of each of the four major world religions, you will prepare an outline of the beliefs. Complete sentences are NOT necessary. You will simply write down as many doctrinal points in each of the following categories as you can find. Make sure, however, to write them down in an organized fashion. Thus, do not repeat statements already made, and try your best to place doctrinal assertions in some sort of logical order. Here are the six categories you will work with.

I. Theology proper

        1. Who is “God”?

        2. How has God, and how does God now, communicate with humans?

II. Anthropology

        1. Who and what is “human”?

        2. How does the human live best?

III. Cosmology

        1. What is the world of matter?

        2. How did the world come to exist as we know it?

IV. Hamartiology

        1. What is “sin”?

        2. What are its consequences?

V. Soteriology

        1. How is the human delivered from the consequences of sin (i.e., what must one do and/or believe)?

        2. How is one delivered from sin itself (so he/she stops doing it)?

        3. When does the deliverance occur?

        4. How does one's life change (or how is it supposed to change) once he/she becomes a “believer”?

VI. Eschatology

        1. How will the present order of life end?

Now we are ready to get started:

Week 1     READ “The Nature and Definition of Scripture (pp. 4-10)

OUTLINE the material

READ “The Uses of Scripture” (pp.10-12)

OUTLINE the material

ANSWER questions 1,2,4,6 on p. 23

READ “Suggestions on How to Read Scripture” (pp. 20-21)

All work is due at beginning of Week 2


Weeks 2-5      Study of Hinduism

  1. READ p. 25

  2. READ “The Creation Hymn,” “Creation from Brahman,” “That You Are,” “The Way of Asceticism,” “The Chanting of Om,” and the entire excerpt from “The Bhagavad-Gita”

  3. Prepare your outline of the Systematic Theology of Hinduism

  4. Watch the movie “Monsoon Wedding,” and write a paper discussing how the movie reflects the religious beliefs of Hinduism.

  5. All work is due at the beginning of Week 6


Weeks 6-9     Study of Judaism

  1. READ p. 205 to top of p. 206

  2. READ “The Call of Abraham,” “The Call of Moses,” “The Covenant with Israel,” “The Oneness of God,” “God as the Divine Shepherd,” “Gods' Creation of the World,” “The Revolt of Humanity,” “The Final Judgment of the World,” “Resurrection of the Dead,” “Offerings for the Forgiveness of Sin,” “The Day of Atonement”

  3. Prepare your outline of the Systematic Theology of Judaism

  4. Watch the movie “The Chosen,” and write a paper discussing how the movie reflects the religious beliefs of Judaism.

  5. All work is due at the beginning of Week 10


Weeks 10-13     Study of Christianity

  1. READ p. 251

  2. READ “Jesus Denounces Pharisees and Lawyers,” “The Arrest, Trial and Death of jesus,” “The Resurrection of Jesus,” The Ascension of Jesus,” “The Word Became Flesh,” “Results of Justification,” “The Resurrection of Christ and the Believer”

  3. Prepare your outline of the Systematic Theology of Christianity

  4. Watch the movie “Babbette's Feast” (NOTE: this movie is an allegory of Christianity; that is, the characters and events stand for certain key elements of Christianity) and write a paper discussing how the movie reflects the religious beliefs of Christianity.

  5. All work is due at the beginning of Week 14


Weeks 14-17     Study of Islam

  1. READ p. 291-top p. 292

  2. READ “The Mission of Muhammad,” “Opposition to Mohammad,” “The Death of Muhammad,” “God's Absolute Oneness,” “God's Names,” “God's Power,” “God's Predestination,” “Adam, Eve and the Fall,” “The Holy Quran,” “Resurrection and Judgment,” “Heaven and hell,” “Holy War,” “Confession of Faith,” “Prayer,” “Alms,” “Pilgrimage”

  3. Prepare your outline of the Systematic Theology of Christianity.

  4. Watch the movie “The Message,” and write a paper discussing how the movie reflects the religious beliefs of Islam.

  5. All work is due at the beginning of Week 18