Presentation College
Department of Arts and Sciences
Fall 2009

Religious Studies 123 IN: Christian Tradition
Class Hours and Location: Internet
Instructor: Martin C. Albl, Ph.D.
Office Hours: C329A; M T W Th  F 9:00-9:50 A. M. or by appointment. (I am also generally in my office weekdays from 8:30 A.M. -4:00 P.M., except class times.

Phone: 229-8540 (office); 225-8971 (home)
E mail: Use WebCT e mail

Course Description: An introduction to the theological study of the faith of the Christian community. It examines contemporary Christian understandings of God, Christ, humanity, existence, the Bible, and salvation. This course (or RS233 Catholicism) is a prerequisite for all other courses in Religious Studies (from 2009-2010 PC Catalog).

Successful completion of this course fulfills General Education Goal 8a: "Demonstrate literacy in the beliefs and practices of Christianity, especially those within the Roman Catholic tradition."

Course Objectives

A. Scriptural: The student will...

1. Recognize major divisions of the Bible

2. Recognize different approaches to scriptural interpretation

3. Understand the historical context of scripture

4. Be familiar with key sections of scripture: Genesis, Exodus, prophets, Job, Gospels, Paul's letters, Revelation

B. Historical. The student will...

1. Know the basic history of the Jewish people as recorded in the Hebrew scriptures

2. Understand how traditions about Jesus were passed down and recorded in the Gospels

3. Know the basic teaching of early councils and creeds (especially the Apostles' and Nicene Creed)

4. Gain a basic understanding of the different types of Christianity, including the historical reasons for this variety

5. Know the basic history of the Presentation Sisters (sponsors of Presentation College)

C. General: The student will...

1. Understand basic theological concepts: revelation, inspiration and inerrancy of scripture; sacraments; Trinity; atonement; Christology

2. Explore the relationship between faith and reason

3. Understand Christian teaching on final judgment

4. Recognize various images of God and reasons for this variety

5. Understand the relationship between scripture and church tradition

6. Discuss the relationship of other religions to Christianity

Required Texts

• Albl, Martin C. Reason, Faith, and Tradition. Winona, MN: St. Mary's Press, 2009

•  Kushner, Harold. When Bad Things Happen to Good People. New York: Schocken Books, 1981 or any other edition

• Any edition of the Bible. A version with explanatory notes is especially valuable.

• Class notes and other material will be available on-line through the WebCT program

Methods of Course Evaluations
Students' learning in the course will be evaluated by written essays, participation in on-line chats or discussion board, and by written exams.

Grading Percentages
Short Essays..............................................................25%
Final Essay................................................................15%
Chat Room  OR Discussion Board Participation….....10%
Exams........................................................................50%

Grading Scale
A:  93-100%
A-: 90-92%
B+: 88-89%
B:  83-87%
B-: 80-82%
C+: 78-79%
C:  73-77%
C-: 70-72%
D+: 68-69%
D: 63-67%
D-: 60-62%
F: below 60%

Class Participation
Students are required to either (1) attend a weekly chat room (one hour) OR (2) submit postings to the discussion board. Choose whichever option fits your schedule or learning style. Students are not required to participate in both.

Chat Option
Chat room sessions will be held Thursdays at 8:15 P.M., beginning August 27. We will also schedule one more chat time, based on the students’ interest and availability.

Students should come to each chat session prepared to discuss the readings for that week. Discussions will be led by the instructor, and will last one hour. Students are graded on attendance and active participation.

Discussion Board Option

•  Students will answer specific discussion questions.
• The discussion board is informal, so don't worry about perfect spelling or grammar. Simply post your honest thoughts and reactions.
• Postings for each week should be a total of 300 words. Students may post their answers all at once, or throughout the week. Students may post them independently, or may respond to the comments of another class member. 
• Postings must be done during the week assigned. Thus, Week 01 postings should be done anytime from Wednesday August 26 to Sunday, August 30 (midnight deadline, Central time). No credit is given for late postings, unless prior arrangements have been made, or in case of emergencies.

Short Essays
Two short essays (500-750 words) are required. Detailed instructions will be posted under the Learning Module.

Final Essay
This essay will be 750-1,000 words in length, typed, double-spaced, 10-12 pt. font. The student will report on a church service that he or she attends this semester. The report may be on any service in which the student is interested (including services which the student regularly attends). Detailed instructions for this paper will be posted under the Learning Module.

Exams
Exams will be taken online with a proctor. They will consist of multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short essay questions. A detailed study guide will be provided one week before the exam.

Exam Proctors
Exams will be taken with a proctor. Available proctors are:

Campus	Proctor
Aberdeen area students	Kristie Morrison (PC Learning Center, 229-8581)
Fairmont area students	Toni Schantz, 235-4658
Eagle Butte area students	Sr. Marilyn Dunn 964-4071
Kilian students	Rose Toering, Student Success Center, 221-3207

Other students should select a proctor, subject to the instructor's approval. All proctors should meet one of the following requirements:

• An instructor or counselor at an educational institution
• Clergy or pastor at a church
• A librarian or other person working in an educational area at a library
• A work supervisor 

Personal friends or relatives should not serve as proctors. Approved proctors must fill out a proctor agreement form (posted under the Learning Module).

Extra Credit for Exams

• If a student wishes to raise her or his grade on an exam, the student may write one paragraph (3-4 good sentences), explaining why the correct answer is correct. Students may need to add additional related information to make sure they have 3-4 good sentences. (The correct multiple choice answer does not count as one of the sentences.)
• The student may not simply copy from class notes or another source, but rather express his or her understanding of the answer in his or her own words.
• When correcting an essay question, students should simply correct the portion of the essay that was incorrect. 
• Corrections may be e mailed to the instructor
• The score of the corrected exam will be averaged with the score of the original exam.
• Exams corrections are due within two weeks after receiving the graded exam. The last exam may not be corrected due to lack of time at the end of the semester.

Writing Assignment Policies

• Plagiarism. Plagiarism is unacceptable (see p. 37 of the 2008-2009 PC College Catalog). Students must write in their own words and style. Simply changing around a few words from a source is not acceptable, since this does not demonstrate true understanding.

• Submitting assignments. Students should send assignments as attachments through the WebCT Mail I will respond back to each student, normally within 24 hours, after I receive an assignment electronically. If I do not respond, students should assume that I have not received the assignment, and contact me. WebCT records the student's Mail, and keeps a record of when assignments were sent in. Students must have written evidence indicating when assignments were submitted; simply saying that an assignment was e mailed on time is not acceptable evidence.

• Late penalties. Assignments turned in within a week after the due date are reduced a half letter grade; work turned in after one week will be reduced a full letter grade, work turned in after two weeks will be reduced two letter grades. Extensions may be given for legitimate reasons if the instructor is contacted before the due date, or as soon as possible in case of emergency.

• Rewriting assignments. Any assignment may be rewritten for a higher grade, if time permits before the end of the semester

ADA Accommodation Statement

Presentation College is committed to ensuring equal learning opportunities for all students, and provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodations in accordance with the College’s procedures. If you are a student requiring accommodations or services, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services located in the Career Learning Center at 1-800-437-6060, Ext. #581.

Class Schedule

Date	Topic	Readings/ Due Dates Note: Readings refer to the biblical books or textbooks. Weekly notes are posted in the Learning Module
Week 1 August 26-30	Introduction to the class Faith and Reason	Albl, 1-17 Class notes
Week 2 August 31-Sept 6	General and special revelation	Genesis 1-3  Albl, 100-115 Class notes
Week 3 Sept 7-13	Overview of the Old Testament Concept of Inerrancy Inspiration of the Bible Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham	Genesis 4-22 Albl, 199-213 Class notes
Week 4 Sept 14-20	Interpretation of Genesis 1-3 Nature of Good and Evil Christian Anthropology Exodus from Egypt, Passover	Exodus 1-12; 20; Albl, 183-186 Class notes Take Exam 01 by Sept. 18
Week 5 Sept 21-27	Proofs of God's Existence Concept of sacrifice	Leviticus 11; 16-17; Albl, 49-56; 80-94 Essay 01 due by Sept. 26
Week 6 Sept 28-Oct 4	Analogical Understanding of God Images of God Prophets	Jeremiah 1 Albl, 115-121 Class notes
Week 7 Oct 5-11	Critical approaches to Scripture Cultural context of Scripture "Why do bad things happen to good people?"	Kushner, Introduction and chapter 1 Albl, 216-219; 230-234 Class notes
Week  8 Oct 12-18	Overview of the New Testament Traditions about Jesus Kingdom of God	Gospel of Mark chapters 1-5 Kushner, Chapters 2-3 Albl, 281-287; 302-313 Class notes Take Exam 02 by Oct 16
Week 9 Oct 19-25	Sacraments Humanity and Divinity of Jesus	Mark 6-10 Kushner, chapters 4-5 Albl, 271-275 Class notes Essay 02 due Oct 23
Week 10 Oct 26-Nov 1	The Church Scripture and Tradition Canonization of Scripture	Mark 11-16 Kushner, chapter 6 Albl 224-225; 243-249 Class notes
Week 11 Nov 2-Nov 8	Jesus in the other Gospels Prayer	Gospel of Matthew 5-7 Gospel of John 1 Kushner, chapter 7 Class notes
Week 12 Nov 9-15	Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed Communion of the Saints Martin Luther and the Reformation	Romans 1-8 Kushner, chapter 8 Class notes Take Exam 03 by Nov 13
Week 13 Nov 16-22	Christian Denominations	1 Corinthians 12-15 Class notes Essay 03 due Nov 20
Week 14 Nov 23-29	Christian Views of Salvation Presentation Sisters	Revelation 1-12 Class notes
Week 15 Nov 30-Dec. 6	Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory	Revelation 13-22 Albl, 164-176; 187-195 Class notes Take Exam 04 by Dec 4. All rewrites, corrections, and assignments due Dec. 4.
Week 16 Dec 7-Dec 11	Christianity and Other Religions	Class notes; Albl, 363-371

This syllabus is subject to revision if necessary. Any changes will of course be communicated to the students well before any assignment due dates.