SMC205 - First Lecture

SMC205H1F – Variety of Christian Experience *Experience- somewhat misleading term Not *lived experience Some text we read – Prologue of St. Johns concept- prologue of experience Christianity and culture roots Nature of the program? – title rejection of theologian claim and rejection to claim that all that matters is theologian etc. Christianity as a set of ideas Encounter with God and man (Jesus) perfectly human/divine – encountering this person.. what happens? (Christianity definition? Is it a sensible or problematic definition?) Go back to the sources, gospels and what do they say, are they theological books? – series of events, of odd experiences with responses *weird responses? If they help… use them… As a human, use own experience Aim of courses- snapshots, subjective image Mostly medieval, very little modern Scripture Readings 1. Jesus and the Apostles Makes sense to start here… focus on Jesus, all strands of Christianity will focus on Scripture/Bible How does one approach Scripture? – With humility - As a believer: awe and reverence - Fear and trembling with which one approaches ALL kinds of Scripture Koran is one speaker Christian – 4 speakers – what I the difference? Is there a Bible in Heaven? – no, not for Christian Muslim – definitely has Koran in Heaven 1 = cannot approach both books in the same way – Church and Scripture in Christian Experience – is there a Church in Heaven? Answer is meant to be yes, community of saved = Church in glory Strong link between church on earth and church on heaven – Christian belief Positions you may want to focus on when approaching Scripture- Christians have been more casual with their book than Muslims and Jewish – Bible misnomer – translated to plural “the books” Are we stuck with these books- many do not like the Old Testament (too long, make it easier/lighter) – why can we not get rid of such scriptures- get rid of would be saying God can change his word, this cannot be done... because then you say God can change his word… so cannot get rid of Jewish Psalms most read by Christians because it describes Christ, most directly talks about Christ- read more than the gospels themselves – all psalms read in course of the week, obliged – today cannot do it because lack stamina so now every 4 weeks psalms is read. Gospels – III concerned with last 3 days – not biographies, mostly preparation for moment to come- they are primarily recounting of sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ – there is some pedagogical material as well – Beatitudes *God becomes man, man suffers on the cross- this is very important- what the Church is there for, to put this mystery before you and for us to look at it over and over again – what does this mean for how you live? Scriptures are an invitation to experience the encounter as Apostles first had it, they are a way to engender memories, you too can love Christ, that is always the Christian problem “how to experience the encounter and how to move from indifference to love” all else is secondary to that… those are the aims for which the church exists, for which scripture put together etc. the test is always that “In the beginning was the Word” – that God becomes man in Jesus, to hear his announcement is meant to be source of all in Christian experience o No one else knows God besides Son – Son introduces you and me into the divine life and done by his example, example of himself and by living a specific rich, complicated relationship with the world o Christianity cannot be said to be always changing and not changing* according to Silano - if you did not change you would be dead, what lives is not dead and must change - Passage of time- can make for loss or growth and more understanding - It depends what you do with your time! – ignorance is wide spread today! – example kids in Christian schools do not learn much despite so much time in school - You need the classics- Augustine, Thomas – to understand Christianity 2 “The world occurs”- how does Christian approach the “world” Ambivalence in answer- we embody the world, angels do not – angels not subject to time they are closer to divine natu