Introduction to World
Religions & Cults [BAP 210]
Spring
2009
Instructor:
This
course will introduce and emphasize the major world religions other than
Christianity: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The class will also study
smaller world religions, and
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and Neo-Paganism, including
Wicca. We will look briefly
at cults. The class will begin with
a brief study of religion itself.
The
instructor’s goals are to portray these religions in a fair light, considering
both positive and negative information, and to equip Christian students for the
tasks of discernment and witness.
Text:
Neighboring Faiths by
Winfried Corduan.
There
may be several study trips. In the past there have been at
least 2: a mosque and a synagogue.
Other years have included a
Buddhist meditation center and/or a Hindu temple. The dates of the field trips will not be finalized
until after the semester has started.
The instructor will give as much advance warning as possible. These trips will most likely take place
in the evening. The trips are an
important part of the class, and attendance is mandatory.
Evaluation:
study
group participation 15%
Study Groups:
Each student will participate in a study group
focused on one religion: Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Baha’i, Sikhism, so-called Traditional Religions, Mormonism, Wiccan neo-paganism or bizarre
cults. Other topics may be approved
by the instructor, but there must be at least three participants in each
group.
The groups will meet weekly outside of
class. At the study group
meeting, each member shall
discuss his or her research and
share knowledge and insight.
The goal is for the students in the study group to acquire much deeper
knowledge of a single religion than will be possible in class. The meeting
would also be an opportunity to pray about issues that have come up as part of
the research, including contact with members of other religions.
Research Papers:
Your research paper must look in depth at some
dimension of a religion. Topics may
include: a major belief (God, human
life, eternity, morality, worship), Scriptures (Koran, Book of
Mormon, etc.), history, current events, Christians missions to or contact with
the other religion, Christian apologetic responses to the other
religion’s claims, a sect and subgroup within the religion, detailed interviews with believers from
the other religion*, or a topic of interest to the student (after approval from
the instructor).
*See the instructor before you do this. You will need to write interview
questions ahead of time and submit them both to the instructor and to the person to be interviewed.
Please read the following information carefully.
o
Papers
that do not cite sources and follow RBC guidelines will be returned to the
student.
o
Your
paper must take an in-depth look at one aspect of the religion. Papers that deal with general history and
beliefs and merely give an introduction to the religion (with the exception of
sects or sub-groups) are unacceptable.
Schedule (tentative):
ü Spring Semester: Feb.
23 – May 22.
ü Spring Break: March12-15 NO CLASS, Friday March 13.
ü Easter Break: April
3-12 NO CLASS MWF April 6, 8 &9.
Weeks
1&2 Introduction
to the class
What
is religion?
The
study of religion
Judaism
Islam
Weeks
3-5 Islam,
cont.
Zoroastrianism
“Traditional”
Religions/African.
Native American Religion
Quiz
1
Weeks
5-7 Hinduism
Quiz 2
Buddhism
Mid-term
(probably March 27).
Weeks
7&9 Jainism,
Sikhism, Bahai
Chinese
Popular Religion
Shinto
Weeks
10&12 Neo-Paganism/Wicca
Santeria,
Macumba, Voodoo (a closer look)
Cults
Mormonism
Jehovah’s
Witnesses
Quiz
3
Research
Papers due Friday May 15,
Late
papers docked 10% daily.
May
21 or 22
Final Examinations
The Study
of World Religions and the Mission Statement of RBC
The mission of
Rosedale Bible College is to provide an evangelical junior Bible college
education in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition that equips students to grow
spiritually and academically and to serve effectively in the church and
society.
Evangelical? The instructor is an evangelical Christian, who understands this faith not as a social or political category, but as the belief that through Jesus Christ all people are invited to a restored relationship with God. The instructor places emphasis on a personal relationship with God through Christ, holds a high view of the verbal inspiration of the Bible, and is eager to invite others to this faith.
One of the foundations of sound evangelical Christianity is love for others. The study of world religions gives us opportunity to understand and love others by investigating what might be most important to them—their religion. It is very unlikely that a person can be a convincing witness of the truth of that Christian faith, if that person has not taken the trouble to understand other people’s religious faiths and attempted to offer reasonable and attractive explanations in light of what they’ve learned. This class is not about evangelism or missions, but does lay a sound foundation for those who want to employ knowledge gained in it for those purposes.
Junior Bible College? This class assumes no prior knowledge of other religions. In fact, this class assumes that most students have had very limited contact with adherents of other faiths.
Anabaptist/Mennonite
tradition? Our history as a persecuted sect,
independent of state religion, gives us a strong foundation for resisting the
persecution of others or making coercive impositions of faith and morals on
those outside the church. Our tone
and respect for others’
rights to make their own decisions with regard to religion gives us a
good starting place for mutually
beneficial discussion. Our
belief in tolerance does not entail a lack of commitment and certainty on our
part, but does allow others their turn to speak and our promise to listen
attentively.
Grow spiritually? Sometimes seeing the intense and sincere piety
of those in other religions encourages us greatly to pursue our own faith with
renewed zeal. At the same time,
evaluating beliefs objectively helps us to see the reasonableness and
desirability or our own faith.
Grow academically? Religion is one of the
principal and defining characteristics of the human race. Knowledge of various religions is useful
universally in academic disciplines.
Serve effectively? North America is a pluralistic culture with
numerous religions which are now well-established not just in major cities, but
in small towns and rural areas as well.
There is almost no place in the church in which study of religion would
not make a person more competent to serve.