+INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS

Catalog description

Introduces worldwide Christian origins and current practices. Applies relevant aspects of the academic study of religion to facilitate the evaluation of divergent Christianities. Compares the historical roots of Christianity: in Judaism, in the life of Christ, in the biblical canons, in pre-critical vs. critical hermeneutics, and in the development of divergent traditions: Orthodoxy, the Eastern Churches, Catholicism and Protestantism. Topics include current pastoral practices focused on sacraments, liturgy, preaching and prayer and the hyperreligious experience of monasticism, mysticism and fundamentalism.