At the beginning of this course, students will be introduced to research tools that will help them succeed throughout their religion career at the Academy of the New Church.
This unit introduces both print resources, as well as electronic resources which will make researching more efficient and effective.
Included in this unit is an introduction to the Canon of Sacred Scripture, as well as the Theological Writings for the New Church.
The Gospel of John tells a story that took place two-thousand years ago. Between that time our our time today much has changed. Technology has advanced, empires have risen and fallen, customs once-valued have faded from cultural consciousness, and the meaning of faith has been transformed. How can readers today expect to engage with the Gospel of John or any other ancient text without first developing a sense of the world in which the ancient story took place?
This unit is designed to address that question and bring students closer to being able to see the Gospel of John in its historical and cultural context. This will enable everyone to engage in a more meaningful way with the story, and perhaps make connections that would otherwise be lost.
Students will learn about daily life in new testament times, the religious climate at the time, social standards and norms, military activity and empire builders, and more.
In addition to gaining an understanding of life at the time, students will pay special attention to differences in Media Culture in the ancient world and our modern world. Media Culture helps to make sense of how information was transmitted at the time--from word of mouth to cave drawings to papyrus even to facebook and instagram, Media Culture has always been integral to the success and enrichment of the human race.
Readers of Scripture have a tendency to read the Gospel of John as an extension of the Synoptic Gospels (that is, Matthew, Mark, and Luke). While this makes sense, seeing as they all tell stories about Jesus' mission on earth, much is lost by this approach to the Fourth Gospel (John), which in actuality only overlaps with the Synoptics by 10%.
This course makes every effort to treat the Gospel of John as its own text, rather than allowing it to be overshadowed by its counterparts.
Unit 3 prepares students to read the Gospel of John as a stand-alone book, and to revel in it's unique telling of the life of Jesus.
This course endeavors to navigate the challenges of understanding Jesus the revolutionary figure in history, and then Jesus Christ, the savior and son of God in whom over two-billion people in the world today put their faith. Much of this course's understanding has been shaped by the work done by religious scholar Dr. Reza Aslan. In his book "Zealot," Aslan endeavors to get back to understanding Jesus the man, who's life is the foundation for the New Testament perspective. While not the first person to explore these things, Aslan's presentation is gripping and informative.
This unit sets the foundation for students' grasp of the gap between the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
The Gospel of John opens with these cryptic words--a kind of Creation story in its own right. Right from the outset, this gospel seeks to make a connection of itself to the most important words in the Bible, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). What is this Word (Logos) and why does it matter?
This unit is designed to highlight the message that The Gospel of John wishes to make crystal clear: Jesus of the New Testament is one and the same as Jehovah of the Old Testament.
This is a short unit, but understanding its content is crucial to understand if anyone wants to grasp the fullness of The Gospel of John.
The world was forever changed after the life of Jesus. Though he lived roughly 33 years, it was really his 3 year ministry that made the difference. In this unit, students will explore a number of topics brought up by Jesus’ ministry.
This unit actually covers the bulk of the Gospel of John. During it we will engage with such topics as:
what it means to have integrity
how to be a disciple of any philosophy or way of life
what makes a miracle and do they still happen today
what makes a person truly free
In addition, we will focus on main themes as they arise in the text.
Lightness and Darkness
Spiritual Food vs. Natural Food
Spiritual Drink vs. Natural Drink
Oneness with the Father
“Mob Mentality” or groupthink
Violent Response to the Lord
Jesus as King
Wherever He went, Jesus made an impression on the people who came to hear Him. Some became followers, and others became opponents. How He was received said more about the opponents and followers than it did about Jesus, as He was open to recieve all people.
Throughout His ministry, He famously worked to make Himself known through preaching, teaching, and miracles, but no effort to introduce His true nature is more profound than what came to be known as His seven "I AM" Statements. Each of the seven helps people to take a different view of what the Lord can be in their lives. This was not only true for His contemporaries, but remains true for followers (and opponents) today.
I AM the Bread of Life
I AM the Light of the World
I AM the Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM the Resurrection and the Life
I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
I AM the True Vine
In the previous unit (UNIT 3 - The Book of Signs: Jesus Ministry) we found that Jesus' ministry was indeed off to a great start. People started believing in His divinity as more and more began to hear about Him. They were intrigued by His strange deeds, His miraculous demonstrations, and His radical teachings. Eventually Jesus’ disciples numbered in the thousands and would traverse miles to see Him, and many would give up everything they knew to be considered one of Jesus own.
Jesus' popularity grew to revolutionary numbers, and this upset the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem very much, even to the point where they plotted to put an end to His ministry...and His life.
"This teaching is too hard for us" (John 6:60). This thought began to creep up more and more within the discipleship of Jesus, and droves left Him behind and returned to their old ways of life and belief. Jesus' followers dwindled until only a handful remained. Once Jesus' followers filled up fields, now they couldn't fill a synagogue. Even then, when most had lost their devotion to Jesus, one of His disciples, the dreaded Judas, not only rejected Him, but betrayed Him. Judas turned Him in to those leaders of Israel who'd always resented Him and sought to take His life.
How did this happen? How could Jesus go from being the ancient equivalent of a pop icon to being nailed to a cross, rejected by those who were willing to Die for Him?
In this unit, we answer these questions and more, focusing on the literal elements of the story, such as the key players in Jesus' trial, His execution, and His burial, as well as more conceptual topics, such as "what makes for a fair trial?" "why do we abandon things that we love?" and "how can we stay true to what we believe about the world and our part in it?"
After Jesus was executed, there was great sadness within His remaining disciples. And while it will take the broader Christian community some time to have their wailing turned into dancing**, Jesus' closest disciples need only wait three days. On the third day of death, a time when Jewish tradition held that the soul would leave the body, Jesus performs His most famous miracle, He came back. It was not merely in the spirit, but in the body also.
Jesus made His final appearances in chapters 20 and 21 of the Gospel of John and in doing so, He restores the resolve of His disciples, commanding them to get out in the world and make a difference. Make a difference they did. Each disciple went out and preached the Gospel, and some of their traditions and stories remain with us today-- namely, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, also in the Acts and the Epistles. The first generation of disciples inspired faith in subsequent generations who lived and died in their teaching. The world was transformed and Christian faith can be found in all corners of the globe.
What was so powerful about the teachings of Jesus? What was so revolutionary that men and women were willing to become martyrs for their fledgling faith? Was the crucifixion necessary? And what about the resurrection? What do these tragic and wonderful things mean for us today, two thousand years later?
In this final instructional unit, students will be confronted with these questions and more. Their grasp of the text and the themes thus far will be put to the test as they work to wrap their minds around philosophical questions about life and death.
**Ps. 30:11
During the last few classes in this course, students will process the narrative of the Gospel of John, as well as overarching themes, recurring characters, and relevant doctrines. In addition, everyone will prepare for the final exam.