THSR302 - Comparing Texts and Traditions in the Abrahamic Faiths

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THCT100 What Christians Believe ; PHIL107 Philosophy of World Religions .

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Interreligious understanding and respect is an essential concern for navigating today's pluralistic society. This unit aims to provide you with an introduction to the comparative study of sacred texts and their theologies, concentrating on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You will explore various ways of reading these sacred texts, both from within the religious tradition, and respectfully, from the perspective of another faith tradition. This unit will enable you to engage with the methodologies of comparative theology, interreligious learning, and 'scriptural reasoning', and apply them to interreligious encounters, both in Australia and internationally.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Compare the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam using a variety of resources and respectfully analyse these texts with due awareness of the lived traditions within which these texts are read and interpreted by their religious communities (GA1; GA4; GA6; GA10); 

LO2 - Critically evaluate the methodological overlaps and differences between comparative theology, interreligious learning and scriptural reasoning, and how interreligious learning can occur with members not belonging to that religious tradition (GA1; GA4; GA6);  

LO3 - Apply comparative interreligious insights to a local Australian context on issues that may arise in interreligious learning, doing so in light of international perspectives (GA1; GA4; GA6). 

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• Revelation, authority, inspiration, and sacred texts in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; 
• The similarities and differences in hermeneutics (science of interpretation) between Judaism, Christianity and Islam when studying their sacred texts (and that of others);  
• A study of specific texts within each religious tradition (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) to see how they have interpreted, and continue, to interpret their sacred texts; 
• A study of sacred texts that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam either have in common with one another or share similar themes. 
• The conceptual frameworks of comparative theology, interreligious learning, and scriptural reasoning. 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, integrated classroom discussions and online learning (where applicable), focusing on students as active learners. It also includes guest lectures and excursions (where feasible and available) related to the unit content. The remaining hours involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Assessment will focus on developing your ability to analyse, evaluate, and apply what you have learned to specific interreligious encounters. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to, presentations, essays, reports, examinations, and case studies. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

John Dupuche, Fred Morgan, and Fatih Tuncer, “Three Prayers in Dialogue” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 52/4 (2017) in press. 

David Ford, “Jews, Christians and Muslims Meet around Their Scriptures: An Interfaith Practice for the 21st Century,” April 5, 2011 (https://www.interfaith.cam.ac.uk/resources/lecturespapersandspeeches/jewschristiansandmuslimsmeetaroundtheirscriptures  accessed 27.02.18) 

Francis Clooney, “Religious Diversity and Comparative Theology” in Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Boundaries (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) 3-23. 

Marianne Moyaert, “Who is the Suffering Servant? A Comparative Theological Reading of Isaiah 53 after the Shoah,” In: M. Voss Roberts (Ed.), Comparative Theology: Insights for Systematic Theological Reflection (New York: Fordham University Press, 2016) 216-237. 

Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, “Comparative Theology and the Status of Judaism,” in: Francis Clooney (ed)., The New Comparative Theology: Interreligious Insights from the Next Generation (London: T&T Clark, 2010) 89-108.  

Ismail Albayrak, “Reading the Bible in the Light of Muslim Sources: From israiliyyat to islamiyyat,” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 23/2 (2012) 113-127. 

Rita George-Tvrtkovic, “What Muslims Can Teach Catholics about Christianity,” in: Mara Brecht and Reid Locklin (eds.), Comparative Theology in the Millennial Classroom: Hybrid Identities, Negotiated Boundaries (New York: Routledge, 2016) 153-163. 

Jeannine Hill Fletcher, “Among the Nones: Questing for God in the Twenty-First-Century Classroom,” in: Mara Brecht and Reid Locklin (eds.), Comparative Theology in the Millennial Classroom: Hybrid Identities, Negotiated Boundaries (New York: Routledge, 2016) 141-152. 

Reimund Bieringer, “The Normativity of the Future: The Authority of the Bible for the Future,” in: Reimund Bieringer and Mary Elsbernd, Normativity of the Future: Reading Biblical and Other Authoritative Texts in an Eschatological Perspective (Leuven: Peeters, 2010) 27-45.