Course resources
Syllabus, attendance, and office hours
- Syllabus
- Attendance sheet (make a copy, type your name in the title, and then share it with alex.gruber@snc.edu)
- Office hours sign-up
- Online etiquette
Assignment descriptions
Course presentations (shared after each class)
Self-assessments
Submission Portals
Class Discussions (sign up on February 23)
Submit written portion as Google Doc or Word document as “Firstname Lastname Class Discussion”
Destiny cycles
Submit files as “Firstname Lastname Destiny Cycle”
- Add any additional descriptors as needed (eg “Works cited,” “Script,” “Video”)
Head, Heart, and Hands Essays
Written reflections
Submit Google Doc or Word document as “Firstname Lastname Reflection Number”
Tuesday classes
January 24: What is this class? How do I take notes?
- Syllabus
- University of Redlands ASDS, Five note-taking methods (in class)
- Introducing THRS 117M slides
- THRS background Jamboard
January 31: What is faith? What does experience have to do with faith?
- David Foster Wallace, “This is Water,” text or audio, especially start and end – Hypothes.is
- Quest, “Ancient Story, New Chapter”
- Chimamanda Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story”
February 7: What does Tradition have to do with faith? What does reason have to do with faith?
- The Didache, esp. 14-16: listen or read and Hypothes.is
- John Paul II, “Letter of His Holiness John Paul II to Reverend George V. Coyne, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory,” Vatican
February 14: Why does the Hebrew Bible matter? Why does the New Testament matter?
Prince of Egypt scenes
- “Deliver Us“
- Moses flees Egypt
- Moses and the Burning Bush
- The Ten Plagues
- The Smiting of the First-Born
- The Parting of the Red Sea
Luke Timothy Johnson, selections from The New Testament: A Very Short Introduction, 1-3, 21-23, 28-32
Written reflection due by class: Way to Love chapter
Sign up for discussions
February 21: Why do the Gospels matter?
- Harrington, “How Do Catholics Read the New Testament?” 81-90, How Do Catholics Read the Bible?
- Just one of the following from your Bibles: Matthew 1-2 and 28, Mark 1 and 16, Luke 1-2 and 24, OR John 1 and 21.
- Please bring your Bible to class.
February 28: What is the reign of God? Does it matter that Jesus was Jewish?
Agatha Kulaga, “Cake to the People,” American Giant, Fall 2022
Gregory Boyle, SJ, Barking to the Choir, 7-9, 13-16, 26-28, 83, 104, 115, 123, 135-136, 165, 174, 195-196
- Beverly E. Mitchell, “Anti-Semitism and Black Antipathy,” Plantations and Death Camps, 55-66
March 7: What is crucifixion? What is sin?
- Video, “The Science behind Crucifixion,” Smithsonian Channel
- ONE of the following: Matt 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, John 18-19
- Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” – Hypothes.is
- What is hell? Jamboard (in class)
March 14: No class! Spring break
Have fun! Be safe! Read a little bit!
March 21: Who is/are the Trinity? What is a cult, and why isn't Christianity (usually) one?
Quest, “Trinity: The Living God of Love”
Kilgariff and Hardstark, “Karen on How to Not Drink the Kool-Aid…,” SSGDM, 99-110
March 28: How do I cite my sources? Do our bodies matter?
Note-taking check-in (in class)
Video, “John Swinton: Theology and Disability,” Hymns Ancient and Modern
April 4: No class! Advisement
Take a break!
April 11: No class! Health day.
Take a break!
April 18: Does it matter that Jesus was Middle Eastern?
Quest, “God Who Breaks Chains”
Video, “What Did Jesus Really Look Like?” Seeker
April 25: How manly was Jesus? Does it matter that Jesus was single?
Zuba, “I’m a transgender woman. Here’s what I want the Catholic Church to know about my life,” America Magazine – Hypothes.is
Craig Ford, “LGBT Catholics Are a Reality,” Commonweal Magazine – Hypothes.is
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2357-2359
Written reflection due by class: assigned text from Apr. 6-25 (do not use a text you used for a class discussion)
May 2: What use is THRS today?
May 9: No class! We have no final exam.
Enjoy your summer break!
Thursday classes
January 26: Who is God? What is THRS?
- Quest, “Introduction”
- Who is God? Jamboard (in class)
- My first image of God
- Images of God gallery response (in class)
- Zahra Ayubi, “There is no one Islamic interpretation on ethics of abortion…,” Religion News Service
February 2: Do you believe in destiny?
- Way to Love, “Love Your Enemies”
HHH 1 Essay due by 5 p.m.
February 9: What does Scripture have to do with faith? How do you read Scripture?
- Harrington, “The Word of God in Human Language,” 13-16, How Do Catholics Read the Bible?
- Julie Zauzmer Weil, “The Bible was used to justify slavery. Then Africans made it their path to freedom,” The Washington Post
- What is the Bible? Jamboard in class
Email Prof. Gruber with assessment choice (written or conversational)
February 16: Assessment 1 - What are the foundations of THRS?
February 23: How is the class going? How do I research and write?
Joe Dyal and Dr. MacDiarmid
Anne Lamott, “Shitty first drafts,” in Bird by Bird
Note-taking check-in (in class)
March 2: What is resurrection? What is communion?
Video, “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians, Part One (full documentary) | Frontline,” Frontline PBS | Official, 45:55-53:57, 59:23-1:03:36
Robin Wall Kimmerer and Emergence Magazine, “Robin Wall Kimmerer on the Gifts of Mother Earth”
Hypothes.is and podcast (first 15 minutes)
March 9: What is incarnation?
Quest, “Gracious Mystery Ever Greater, Ever Nearer”
Critical reflection due by class: assigned text between Feb. 28 and Mar. 9
March 16: No class! Spring break
Have fun! Be safe! Read a little!
March 23: Who is the Holy Spirit? Let’s review.
- Quest, “Creator Spirit in an Evolving World”
Email Prof. Gruber with assessment choice (written or conversational)
March 30: Assessment 2 - Who is Jesus, and why does he matter to THRS?
April 6: Does it matter that Jesus wasn't a priest? Does the earth matter?
- Quest, “Accompanying God of Fiesta”
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, “The ‘Honorable Harvest’: Lessons From an Indigenous Tradition of Giving Thanks,” Yes! Magazine (Hypothes.is link)
- John Stokes and Kanawahienton, Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address (PDF)
Video, “Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address,” Peter Brooks
Critical reflection due by class: Way to Love chapter
April 13: Does it matter that Jesus was poor?
Quest, “Liberating God of Life”
April 20: Does it matter that Jesus was a man?
Quest, “God Acting Womanish”
April 27: Does it matter that Jesus was a reformer? Does it matter that Jesus wasn't Christian?
- Crash Course, “The Protestant Reformation”
- Quest, “Generous God of the Religions”
- “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”
May 4: Who is God? How was this class?
