Syllabus
Preliminary Syllabus: 1. Introductory lecture: The Gablerian programme of the Biblical Theology and the results of 200 years of the Historical Jesus-reseach
Recommended reading: Theissen, Merz, "The Historical Jesus. A Comprehensive Guide" chapter 1; James D.G. Dunn, "Jesus Remembered" chapters 4-6 2. Seminar. The Results of Jesus-studies and theology: Dale Allison’s "The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus"
Recommended reading: James Dunn: "A New Perspective on Jesus. What the Quest for the Historical Jesus Missed" 3. Seminar. Scientific method and observation: Alan Chalmers, "What Is This Thing Called Science?" 3rd ed chapters 1-4 and Borg, Wright "The Meaning of Jesus" chapters 1-4
Recommended reading: Ain Riistan, "About the Background of the Command to Love your Enemies" 4. Seminar. Religious Belief and Scientific theories: Roy Clouser’s "The Myth of Religious Neutrality" chapters 2-5
Recommended reading: Raymond Martin, "The Elusive Messiah: A Philosophical Overview of the Quest for the Historical Jesus" 6. Seminar. The nature of the process of scientific inquiry: paradigms and consensuses in the "normal science": Bruno Latour, "Science in action" Introduction and chapter 1 and Alan Chalmers, "What Is This Thing Called Science?" 3rd ed chapter 8
Recommended reading: Thomas Kuhn, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions"
Nelson W. Polsby, "Social Science and Scientific Change: A Note on Thomas Cuhn’s Contribution" - Annual Rewiew of Political Science Vol 1. June 1998, 202. 7. Seminar. Paradigms and consensuses in Jesus-research: Pieter Craffert "The Life of a Galilean Shaman" chapters 1-3
Recommended reading: James Beilby, Paul Rhoddes Eddy (Eds.), "The Historical Jesus. Five Views" 8. General discussion: What did I learn? How to go forward?
Annotation
The course will be dealing with the methodological problems involved in the historical Jesus research and with analysing the ideological/religious premises involved in the process of the scientific inquiry.
It will be led by a guest lecturer of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University, dr. Ain Riistan. Dr. Riistan is a Docent of Theology and of History of Religions at the Tartu Theological Seminary, as well as a Lecturer of the New Testament in the Faculty of Theology and a Research. The Seminar will take place on Friday from 9:15-10:45 in S2, the seminar room #305 in the third floor. However, the introductory lecture will take place in M, the lesser auditorium (# 102) in the first floor.