Three Faiths, Two Peoples: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Holy Land

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course explores the history of Christian experience in the Holy Land, with a focus on Christian relationships with Jews and Muslims. We will focus on the theme of the Church's identity in the world from its biblical roots to the multiplicity of contemporary understandings. In addition to discussing how Christians have engaged questions of identity and vocation in and for this context through the centuries, we will address two primary questions. First, how do Jews, Christians, and Muslims articulate their relationship with the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem? Second, how have Christians approached relations with Jews and Muslims, from the First Century through the Byzantine, Medieval, Reformation, modern, and post-Shoah eras? Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to consider how different conceptions of history, relationship to the land, and theologies of interfaith relations shape approach to contemporary political questions. Additional research, presentation and research paper required at the higher level