Course Description: The course will focus on the traditional Christian beliefs about final judgment and life after death, and briefly consider beliefs from other religions and beliefs in modern culture. The course fulfills scriptural or general requirements for the religious studies minor. The course also fulfills the requirements for a Humanities / Aesthetics elective.

Course Objectives

• Understand basic methods in addressing theological questions
• Understand the nature of metaphorical and analogical language in theology
• Understand and practice historical-critical approaches as an aid in understanding scripture
• Understand basic concepts in the Christian view of the afterlife
• Understand basic Christian beliefs concerning time and the afterlife
• Understand basic Christian beliefs concerning the body and afterlife
• Understand basic Christian beliefs concerning salvation
• Discuss various Christian view concerning the afterlife
• Discuss the relationship between medical and religious views concerning the afterlife
• Understand the basic Muslim views concerning the afterlife

Required Texts

• Cory, Catherine. The Book of Revelation. New Collegeville Bible Commentary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2006.
• Kreeft, Peter. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven, But Never Dreamed of Asking. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1990.
• Lewis, C. S. The Great Divorce. New York: Macmillan, 1946 (or any other edition; available on Amazon.Com or other sources).
• Any edition of the Bible.
• Class notes and other material will be available on-line through the WebCT program (http://courses3.webct.com)

Instructional Techniques
Teaching through weekly notes on Internet,  weekly chat rooms (1 hour) or discussion board, quizzes, exams, and essays.

Grading Percentages
Class Participation.................................................10%
Essays...................................................................20%
Final essay.............................................................15%
Exams................................................................... 55%

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%

Discussion Board

•  Students will answer specific discussion questions each week.
• 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.

Essays

• Two essays of 3-4 pages (750-1,000 words)  will be assigned (double-spaced, 10-12 pt. font).
• Final essay of 5-7 pages (1250-1750).

I will post specific guidelines for each essay.

Writing Assignment Policies
Work that appears to be copied from a source with little or no changes is not acceptable, even if credit is given to the source. Plagiarism is unacceptable. See the statement under Academic Policies in the Presentation College catalog.

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 will be reduced one letter grade per week late.

Students should send assignments as attachments through the WebCT Mail. I will respond back to each student, usually within 24 hours, after I receive an assignment. 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 will keep a record of when assignments were sent in. Students need to have written evidence for when assignments were sent; simply stating that an assignment was e mailed on time is not acceptable evidence.

Any essay assignments may be rewritten for a higher grade, if time allows.

Writing Guidelines
Essays are graded on the following criteria:

a. Quality of writing (organization, clarity, mechanics). Use APA or MLA style  for citing sources and bibliography.

 b. Level of understanding. Explain the concepts in your own words

c. General statements are supported by specific examples and evidence.

d. When sources are used, the student shows a good understanding of the sources, and expresses them in his or her own language.

e. Plagiarism is unacceptable. See p. 37 of PC's 2007-2008 College Catalog.

ADA Accommodation Statement 

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 at 1-800-437-6060, Ext. #438.

Class Schedule

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