TH7391, Theological Capstone Seminar: Eschatology

St. Mary’s University
Spring 2019
Dr. Todd Hanneken (EMAIL)

Jump to date: January 15, 22, 29, February 5, 12, 19, 26, March 2/5, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7

January 15, 2019, Week 1 – Introductions

Introductions (HTML)
Syllabus (HTML)

Topic overview (HTML)

January 22, 2019, Week 2 – Ancient neighbors

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (HTML)

• Egyptian Book of the Dead, excerpts (20 MB PDF)
• Epic of Gilgamesh, excerpts from Tablets 11 and 12 (PDF)

Ancient Greece and Rome (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• Homer, Odyssey, Book 11 (PDF)
• Hesiod, Theogony (very short excerpt in reading guide)
• Plato, Gorgias, excerpt (PDF)
• Vergil, Aeneid, Book 6 excerpt (PDF)
• Philo of Alexandria, excerpts (PDF)

January 29, 2019, Week 3 – Hebrew Bible and Old Testament

Hebrew Bible (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• Psalm 49
• Amos 5, 9
• Joel 3-4
• Ecclesiastes 3:19-22
• Isaiah 14:1-27; 24-27; 38:9-22; 65-66
• Daniel 7-12

Old Testament (HTML)

• Sirach 39:9-11 and 41:3-13
• Wisdom of Solomon 1-5
• 1 Maccabees 2:27-42
• 2 Maccabees 6:12—7:42

February 5, 2019, Week 4 – Qumran and Apocalypses

Dead Sea Scrolls
Study guide (PDF)

• Himmelfarb, “The Dead Sea Scrolls,” pp. 50-52 in Apocalypse: A Brief History (PDF)
• Collins, “The Instruction on the Two Spirits,” “The Eschatological War,” and “The Hodayot,” pp. 38-41, 91-109, and 119-123 in Apocalypticism and the Dead Sea Scrolls (EBOOK) (This ebook can be read on screen but not printed.)
• Excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls: “The Instruction on the Two Spirits” from the Community Rule, “Thanksgiving Hymn 10,” and an excerpt from “The War Scroll,” pages 101-103; 163-164; 181-183; 261-262 in Vermès, Géza, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. New York: Allen Lane/Penguin, 1997. (PDF)

1 Enoch (HTML)

• Himmelfarb, “The Book of the Watchers and Ascent to Heaven,” pp. 15-30 in Apocalypse: A Brief History (PDF)
• Excerpts from 1 Enoch: “The Book of the Watchers” and “The Apocalypse of Weeks,” pages 19-49, 140-143 in Nickelsburg and Vanderkam, 1 Enoch: A New Translation Based on the Hermeneia Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004. (PDF)

February 12, 2019, Week 5 – NT Epistles and Gospels

New Testament Epistles (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• 1 Cor 15
• 1 Thess 4:13-5:28
• 2 Thess 2
• 2 Peter
• New Catholic Encyclopedia, “Rapture” (PDF)

New Testament Gospels (HTML)

• Synoptic “apocalypse” (PDF in parallel columns)
• Luke 17:20-37 (HTML)
• Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (HTML)
• Matthew 25 (HTML)

February 19, 2019, Week 6 – Apocalypse of John

Hour One (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• Revelation 1-14
• Wilfred J. Harrington, O.P., Revelation. Sacra Pagina 16. Collegeville: Liturgical, 1993, pp. 97-102, 137-145. (PDF)

Hour Two

• Revelation 15-22
• Frontline, “Apocalypse!” transcript (LINK) and video (441 MB MP4)
• Wilfred J. Harrington, O.P., Revelation. Sacra Pagina 16. Collegeville: Liturgical, 1993, pp. 14-23. (PDF)

February 26, 2019, Week 7 – Apocalypses of Ezra and Peter

Apocalypse of Peter (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• The Apocalypse of Peter, translated by Elliott (1993), edition by Ehrman (2003) (PDF)
• Bauckham, Outline and Summary of the Apocalypse of Peter (1998) (PDF)
• Himmelfarb, pp. 99-101 in Apocalypse: A Brief History (PDF)
• Optional – Jan N. Bremmer, “Orphic, Roman, Jewish and Christian Tours of Hell: Observations on the Apocalypse of Peter” in Nicklas, Tobias, ed., Other Worlds and Their Relation to This World: Early Jewish and Ancient Christian Traditions, JSJSup 143, Leiden: Brill, 2010. (PDF)

4 Ezra (HTML)

• 4 Ezra 3-14 (PDF)
• Himmelfarb, pp. 55-73 in Apocalypse: A Brief History (PDF)

March 2 and 5, 2019, Week 8 – Theology Day and follow up

Since Theology Day will occupy your Saturday and impact the time you would otherwise have spent preparing for class, we will not have new texts or a student leader on March 5. Please do take an hour or so to review your notes from the first half of class. We can talk about any questions you may have. In particular, please be prepared to discuss:

1. One idea or theme that you really got—something that makes sense and will be useful in pulling the program together or your plans for work after graduation.
2. One term, topic, or issue that still hasn’t clicked—something that seems like it is important and you should know, but doesn’t yet make sense or seem like anyone cares.

We will also look ahead to the second half of the course, particularly what you will need to start thinking about the topic for the second class meeting you will lead. It would be good to reflect on what techniques used by student leaders in the first half of the course you found particularly helpful to learning and discussion.

In the second half of the course we will be spending more time with McDowell and Kirkland. The primary perspective of the authors is one of systematic theology, but they also situate scripture into their categories. Reading their brief summaries of material we already covered in greater depth should serve as a handy review, and also give us a feel for their perspective.

• “New Testament Apocalyptic,” pp. 1-5 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “The Scriptures (Political Theology in),” pp. 51-60 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “The Eschatological Presence of Christ in the New Testament,” pp. 83-89 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.

Mid-course review (HTML)

(Spring break week of March 12, 2019)

March 19, 2019, Week 9 – Irenaeus and Augustine

Irenaeus (HTML)

• “Irenaeus of Lyons,” pp. 89-96 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Athanasius of Alexandria,” pp. 96-100 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Brian E. Daley, S.J. The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, pages 25-32. (PDF)
  By the way, Daley’s book was included in a scene in “The Good Place” on NBC (screenshot)
• Irenaeus, Against the Heresies Book 5, chapters 23-36. From the series Ante-Nicene Fathers, which is publicly available in a variety of formats at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Originally published 1885, Roberts and Donaldson, original translators and editors. (PDF)

Augustine
Study guide (PDF)

• “Augustine,” pp. 60-68 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Origen of Alexandria,” pp. 28-33 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Daley, The Hope of the Early Church pp. 131-150. (same PDF as above)
• Augustine, City of God book 13, chapters 1-8; book 20, chapters 5-30. Also from the Ante-Nicene Fathers series, translation by Dods first published 1871. (PDF)

March 26, 2019, Week 10 – Judaism and Islam

Testament of Abraham (HTML)

• E. P. Sanders, “The Testament of Abraham” in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Volume 1, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments. Edited by James H. Charlesworth. New York: Doubleday, 1983, pp. 882-895. (PDF)

Talmud (Pereq Heleq) (HTML)

• H. Freedman, translator, Isidore Epstein, editor. The Babylonian Talmud. Tractate Sanhedrin, Pereq Heleq, excerpts. London: Soncino, 1935-1948. (PDF)

The Qur'an and Islam
Study guide (PDF)

• Abdullah Yusuf Ali, translator. The Meanings Of The Holy Qur'an. First published 1934. Suras (chapters) 55 “The Beneficent” and 56 “The Event” (LINK)
• Fazlur Rahman. “Eschatology.” In Major Themes of the Qur'an. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980, pp. 106-120. (PDF)
• William C. Chittick, “Muslim Eschatology.” In The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology. Edited by Jerry L. Walls. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. 133-134. (PDF)
• Reverend Dr. Patrick J. Ryan, (YouTube)
• Qur'an, Sura 18, (LINK)

April 2, 2019, Week 11 – Hell

The Harrowing of Hell (HTML)

• Images of the Harrowing of Hell (HTML)
• Passages related to the Harrowing of Hell (HTML)
• The Gospel of Nicodemus (PDF)
• Ephrem of Syria, Carmina Nisibena Hymn 36 (PDF)
• Dante Inferno Canto 4 (PDF)

Select additional topics from the Middle Ages and Reformation (HTML)

• “Medieval Apocalypticism,” pp. 6-10 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Reformation Apocalyptic,” pp. 10-17 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Julian of Norwich,” pp. 33-36 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Hildegard of Bingen, excerpts from Scivias (PDF)

April 9, 2019, Week 12 – Folk Eschatologies

Day of the Dead (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• Coco (library or see email for alternatives)
• Metz, Johann Baptist. Excursus: Dogma as a dangerous memory (PDF)
• The Personification of Death in Popular Music (HTML)
• See also, Carmichael and Sayer, The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico (PDF)

Ghosts and C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (HTML)

• The Sixth Sense (DVD in library or see email for alternatives)
• Indigenous Sacred Ways (PDF)
• C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (PDF)

April 16, 2019, Week 13 – 20^th Century Systematic Theology

Hans Urs von Balthasar (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• “Hans Urs von Balthasar,” pp. 36-40 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Hans Urs Von Balthasaar, translated by David Kipp and Lothar Krauth. “A Short Discourse on Hell” in Dare We Hope “That All Men Be Saved”? with a Short Discourse on Hell. San Francisco: Ignatius (1988) pp. 163-221. Originally published 1987 as Kleiner Diskurs über die Hölle. (PDF)

Additional survey of 20^th century systematic theology on eschatology (HTML)

• “Feminist Theologies,” pp. 45-50 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Jürgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope,” pp. 74-78 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Liberation Theologies,” pp. 78-82 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Benedict XII’s Benedictus Deus (1336 CE) (PDF)
• D. A. Lane. “Eschatology (In Theology).” New Catholic Encyclopedia, Second Edition. (2003) 345-352. (PDF)
• Peter C. Phan. “Contemporary Context and Issues in Eschatology.” Theological Studies 55.3 (1994) 507-536. (PDF)
• Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel and Jürgen Moltmann. “To Believe With All Your Senses: The Resurrection of the Body.” CTSA Proceedings 60 (2005) pp. 1-12. (PDF)

April 23, 2019, Week 14 – 21^st Century America

Contemporary Themes in Eschatology: 21^st Century Black America (HTML)
Study guide (PDF)

• A Black Theology of Liberation (PDF)
• Black Hebrew Israelites CARM.org (PDF)
• The Importance of Spirituality in African-Americans' End-of-Life Experience (PDF)
• The Slave Naratives as a Source of Black Theological Discourse- The Spirit and Eschatology (p. 54 -61) (PDF)
• We Have Been Believers (PDF)
• What most people don’t know about African spirituality (PDF)
• Black Panther - Killmonger Death Scene: (YouTube)
• Clip of Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom’s Mother on Death and Spirituality: (YouTube)

American Millennialism, Millerites, and Cognitive Dissonance (HTML)

• “Political Messianisms,” pp. 68-74 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• “Dispensationalism,” pp. 18-21 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.
• Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter. When Prophecy Fails. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1956. pp. 3-32. (PDF)

April 30, 2019, Week 15 – Synthesis

• “Conclusion,” pp. 105-10 in McDowell and Kirkland, Eschatology.

Mid-course review expanded with sources and terms from second half of course (HTML)

May 7, 2019 – Final exam

Subject to frequent revision
Last updated 4/27/2019