Jesus in Scripture and Tradition Course Syllabus

Course Description The Bible says that Jesus was identified as God's beloved son at his baptism. The same identification was made about Israel in the Old Testament and the disciples of Christ at their baptism. The striking similarity of these titles establishes a tight interrelationship between the people Israel, the person of Jesus Christ, and the church.

In this course, we will explore how a close reading of the book of Genesis, the Gospels, and early Christian writers can shed further light on these relationships and, in so doing, deepen our understanding of the figure of Jesus Christ. Unlike many other treatments, this course does not presume that Jesus character can be plumbed solely by an examination of the Gospel stories. The witness of the Jewish scriptures and the lives of the saints are also important sources for this task.

The course will be eight weeks in length and organized around three topical questions:

Who is Israel? (primary source material: the book of Genesis) Who is Jesus? (primary source material: the Gospels and the Creeds) Who is the Church? (primary source material: a selection of post-Biblical Christian writers)

No matter what your background in the study of theology, this course will provide a fresh approach to the identify of Jesus Christ that will reveal how the church has explored the unmeasurable depths of his person.

Course Goals By successfully completing this course, students will learn to: Recognize major people, places, and events of the Old and New Testament as related to

the narratives of Israel and Jesus Reflect on the mysteries of Christ Examine the Churchs relationship to Christ Explore religious questions through study of themes and selected biblical passages Reflect on ways major biblical themes apply to modern life

Required Materials Instructional Content: All of the needed learning materials are posted in the course on edX. This content is accessible under the Courseware tab. Common student questions and answers are available at the edX Frequently Asked Questions page.

See the edX Frequently Asked Questions page for information on supported browsers. Multimedia content will also have a text-based alternative for anyone who cannot access the multimedia for any reason. Textbook(s): There is no textbook.

NOTE: There are several instances where the University of Notre Dame received permission to display outside readings, articles, and images. In accordance with the copyright permissions acquired by the University and with the edX user agreement, students are prohibited from downloading these supplemental readings, articles, and artwork/images.

Course Support Students Helping Students: If you need some help, or feel strong enough to help others, there are a number of ways you can reach out to other students. In the course in edX, there is a Help discussion forum in each section where you can ask any kind of question to get some help or start a discussion on a topic of interest to you. Dont forget that we also have a Jesus in Scripture and Tradition facebook page, where you can join up with others and talk about class. Technical Help: There is also a Technical Help discussion forum, so if you are trying to view content and you are having trouble, help is just a few steps away. Post a message describing the problem and someone will respond within 36 hours. Assignments There are three (3) graded assignments in this course. Please read the description provided here carefully to understand how you will be evaluated on these assignments. At the end of the three major modules, there is a Culminating Assignment - this is a short answer response to one or more questions. If more than one topic is provided, it is for choice - only one question is to be answered.

Feedback Special Note for the Who is Israel Culminating Assignment Option B or C (not A): Upon submission of your response, you will see the option to view a short (roughly 10-12 minute) video Professor Anderson providing his response to the questions. While this will reflect to you Professor Andersons thoughts on the question, this also reflects that there are several potential appropriate answers but no single right answer. Audit-Only Students: you will not receive individual feedback on your submission, nor will you receive a traditional grade, such as a 92%. You will only be given credit or not based on whether or not you submit a response. Any submission will be considered complete. Students who submit nothing by the close of that section (see course calendar for details) will receive an incomplete. Verified-Certificate Students: you will receive a complete rubric and written feedback to your writing assignments. This feedback will be emailed to the email address associated with your edX account. We cannot submit to an alternative email address. Students who have purchased the verified certificate should expect to receive feedback within two weeks of the deadline for that assignment - see course calendar for details. Course Policies Grading Structure All students are graded on a complete/incomplete basis. If you submit the three culminating assignments, you will receive complete-credit. If you submit nothing, you will not have completed the course. There are no letter grades or percentages assigned to the three module-culminating assignments in this course. This course is not designed to function as a traditional course from an evaluation perspective. Feedback: see the feedback section above (in Assignments) Make-up Policy Due to the structure of this course, no late work will be accepted after the official course conclusion - July 27. We do recommend that you follow the course calendar as closely as possible to keep in line with the majority of students and to get the most out of the live sessions with faculty.

Communication Policy Professors and Teaching Assistants are dedicated to responding to discussion forums and posts made to Facebook and Twitter within 36 hours. However, it should be noted that the same is NOT true of email. Please only use the communication tools established in edX, Facebook, and Twitter to send communication about this course. Students are expected to communicate in a professional and friendly manner. Offensive or inappropriate language is subject to the policies of edX and may result in removal from the course. Original Work Policy Each student is responsible for ethically contributing to the course. Each students submissions in this course must be an accurate and true representation of his or her own work.