RLB218 Historical Jesus

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2011
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Václavík, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
each even Wednesday 10:50–12:25 J22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 1/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Annotation
The course follows three wawes of the "quest of historical Jesus" and their contemporary criticism in theology and the study of religions. It is focused on methodological aspects of Jesus research, especially on transformations of his figure within the process of early Christian mythmaking.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- distinguish different layers in ancient sources about Jesus on the basis of textual criticism;
- analyze theological and ideological tendencies in different sources relating to the figure of Jesus;
- formulate methodological problems connected with the question of Jesus' historicity;
- evaluate the possibility of historical reconstruction of Jesus' life and teaching on the basis of available sources;
- appraise the "quest of historical Jesus" as a theological concept of modern times.
Syllabus
  • (0) Introduction to the course. (1) Outline of Jesus research. (2) Christian sources to the historical Jesus. (3) Non-Christian sources to the historical Jesus. (4) Discussion I: Criteria for the historicity of Jesus. (5) Geographic and social context of Jesus' activities. (6) Jesus' anchoring in social relations. (7) Forms of Jesus' teaching. (8) Discussion II: Comparison in the study of early Christianity. (9) Scale of Jesus' characteristics. (10) Circumstances of Jesus' death. (11) Tensions between the historical Jesus and early Christology. (12) Discussion III: Social-Rhetorical approach.
Literature
  • POKORNÝ, Petr. Ježíš Nazaretský : historický obraz a jeho interpretace. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2005, 174 s. ISBN 8072981358. info
  • FUNDA, Otakar Antoň. Ježíš a mýtus o Kristu. Vyd. 1. Praha: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, nakladatelství Karolinum, 2007, 366 s. ISBN 9788024612768. URL info
  • THEISSEN, Gerd and Annette MERZ. Der historische Jesus : ein Lehrbuch. 3., durchgesehene und um Lit. In Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001, 570 s. ISBN 3525521987. info
  • HURTADO, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ : devotion to Jesus in earliest Christianity. Pbk. ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans publishing company, 2005, xxii, 746. ISBN 0802831672. info
  • MACK, Burton L. The Christian myth :origins, logic, and legacy. New York: Continuum, 2001, 237 s. ISBN 0-8264-1355-2. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, three class discussions based on home readings and individual written commentaries, presentation and defence of individual seminar papers.
Assessment methods
Requirements for the colloquium:
(a) active participation in class discussions;
(b) written commentaries in given sources;
(c) seminar paper defenced in a class discussion.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2011, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2011/RLB218