RLB87 Eschatology in a Perspective of the Study of Religions

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 5 credit(s). Recommended Type of Completion: k (colloquium). Other types of completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc. (lecturer)
Mgr. Kryštof Trávníček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Dušan Lužný, Dr.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
Tue 13:20–14:55 zruseno D21
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: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Eschatology as the teachings about "the last things" is not characteristic of the monotheistic religions but also other traditions. Special position has eschatological teachings in Judeo-Christian tradition – because of the special role of the Apocalypsis. The course provides students with basic terminology, concepts and notions like eschatology, apocalypsis, soteriology, milleniarianism etc. Special attention is paid to the selected religious visions of the end – both individual (death of an individual and her/his postmortem path) and collective ends (termination or disaster of the humankind). These visions are contained mainly in canonical but also non-canonica literary sources as well as they are often subject of visual depictions. Both literary and visual matters are largerly utilised in the course; special accent is paid to the comparative prospective in the whole course. At the end of this course, students should be able to understand various eschatological texts; another outcome will be knowledge of the visuals connected with the texts.
At the end of the course students should be able to:
define basic eschatological forms in various religions (both individual and universal)
define basic concepts of the various eschatological visions in various religions
describe basic images of the various eschatological visions in various religions
describe basic examples of the images of the various eschatological visions in Buddhism and Christianity.
Syllabus
  • 1. What is an eschatology – individual and universal/cosmic eschatology; chiliasm; eschatology and history, soteriology, milleniarianism.
  • 2. Postmortem trial I. – Jama s tribunal, Buddhist notion of six realms; to be reborn, karma, hells and postmortem trial.
  • 3. Postmortem trial II. – Various religious postmortem tribunals from the comparative perspection.
  • 4. Bardo – text – specific Tibetan individual eschatology; the role of the awakening (Bodhi) in the Bardo state; critical text analysis.
  • 5. Bardo – visuals – specific Tibetan individual eschatology; the role of the awakening (Bodhi) in the Bardo state; critical images analysis.
  • 6. Maitréya – the future Buddha and his role in the Buddhist eschatology.
  • 7. Shambhala – text – Buddhist universal/cosmic eschatology „in praxis“ – Tibet, Mongolia and Buryatia; Ahalar, text analysis.
  • 8. Shambhala – visuals – Buddhist universal/cosmic eschatology „in praxis“ – Tibet, Mongolia and Buryatia; image analysis.
  • 9. Hells – one possible place to be reborn; two concepts of hells: normative and lived Buddhismu (mind state versus real place).
  • 10. Paradises – one possible place to be reborn; two concepts of hells: normative and lived Buddhism (mind state versus real place).
  • 11. Apocalypsis I. – Judeo-Christian tradition; the role of apocalypsis in monotheistic religious systems.
  • 12. Apocalypsis II. – Book of the Revelation, text and its interpretations; the role of the text in the history of Christianity.
Literature
  • BENEDIKT. Eschatologie - smrt a věčný život. Translated by Pavel Váňa - Helena Kozlová. Brno: Barrister & Principal, 2004, 195 stran. ISBN 8085947196. info
  • The encyclopedia of apocalypticism. Edited by John Joseph Collins. New York: Continuum, 2004, xvii, 498. ISBN 082641253X. info
  • CROCKET, W. C. Čtyři pojetí pekla : Four views on hell (Orig,). 1. vyd. Praha: Návrat domů, 2001, 197 s. ISBN 80-7255-025-X. info
  • BULTMANN, Rudolf Karl. Dějiny a eschatologie. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1994, 129 s. ISBN 80-85241-66-8. info
  • VESELÝ, Josef and Petr POKORNÝ. Perspektiva víry : úvod do eschatologie. 1. vyd. Praha: Kalich, 1992, 207 s. ISBN 8070173602. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussions, reading of texts, homeworks
Assessment methods
Colloquim requirements:
(a) written essay;
(b) active attendance on the lectures.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
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 Autumn 2003, Spring 2007.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2009/RLB87