Judaism from a Catholic Perspective
Holy Apostles Seminary Course taught by
Roy Schoeman
Syllabus
The Role of Judaism in
Salvation
Summer 2012
| Professor: |
Roy
Schoeman |
Phone:
|
(978) 821-7995 |
E-mail:
|
schoeman@post.harvard.edu |
Webpage:
|
www.salvationisfromthejews.com/HolyApostles.html
(or scroll down home page and click Holy Spirit
icon near the bottom) |
I. Required Texts
Schoeman Salvation is
from the Jews: The Role of Judaism in Salvation History from Abraham to
the
Second Coming (Ignatius: 2003)
Schoeman Judaism from
a Catholic Perspective (Catholic
Truth Society: 2008)
Additional
readings will
be made available as required, including selections from the following:
Herford,
Christianity in Talmud and Midrash
Goodrich-Clarke,
The Occult Roots of Nazism
Lustiger,
The Promise
Lapide,
Three Popes and the Jews
Lively
Abrams, The Pink Swastika
Ali/Spencer,
Inside Islam
Aaronovich,
Voodoo Histories
Schoeman,
Honey from the Rock
John
Paul II, On Jews and Judaism
Vatican
II, Nostra Aetate
USCCB
subcommittee "Reflections on
Covenant
and Mission"(2002) and "A Note on Ambiguities Contained
in Reflections
on
Covenant and Mission" (2009)
II. Course Description
The
course will encompass a wide-ranging
discussion on various aspects of the relationship between Judaism and
the
Catholic Church. The central focus is
the role that Judaism plays in salvation history according to Catholic
doctrine. The topics discussed will be
drawn from the following, in response to student interest and time
available:
Pre-Incarnation:
The origin of the
Jews and
Judaism
The
election, the role of the
Jews in bringing about the Incarnation
Typological
significance of the
Jews in the Old Testament (e.g. St. Cyril of Jerusalem Mystagogic Catechesis, etc.)
Forms
of Judaism at the time of
Christ
Political
dynamics between the
Jews and Rome at the time of Christ
Early Church and
Judaism:
Interplay of Jews
and Gentiles
in the early Church
Roman/Jewish/Christian
political dynamics
Church
Fathers on Jews and
Judaism
Early
Christian-Jewish Polemics
Competing
theories on the role of Judaism post-Incarnation
(St. Augustine's Living Letters
of the Law, extreme supersessionism, dual-covenant theory,
etc.)
Heresies
with respect to
Judaism Ebionism, Marcionism, etc.
Reflections
of Judaism in
Catholic Liturgy and Religious Practices
Judaism in Early
Christian Centuries
Destruction of
Temple and exile
of the Jews and its effect on Judaism
Redefinition
of Judaism in
absence of Temple (to Rabbinic Judaism)
Bar
Kochba revolt and its
effects on Jewish/Christian relationship (Birkat HaMinim,
excommunication of Jewish Christians from
synagogue)
Revision
of Jewish canon of
scripture (and its relation to Catholic/Protestant polemics)
Emergence
of written Talmud and
its effects
The Messiah and
Jesus in Jewish Scripture
Key
prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures
Jewish anti-missionary interpretations/textual variants
History
of Jewish interpretations (pre- and post-Christianity)
Talmudic
teachings about the Messianic prophecies, the Messiah(s), and Jesus
Revelation and
authority in Judaism
Hebrew
Scriptures, Oral tradition, Talmud, sages
Gnostic/occult/mystical
streams (Kabbalah)
Jewish-Christian
Relations in the Middle and Early
Modern Ages
Expulsions and
persecutions of
the Jews
Jewish-Christian
Polemics
The Holocaust
Spiritual roots of
Nazism
Nazi
anti-Christianity
Church
condemnation of Nazism
Jewish
understanding of the
Holocaust
Effects
of the Holocaust on
Jewish Theology
The Arab world,
Islam, and the Holocaust
Implications for
the Jews and the 2nd
Coming
The Role of
Judaism between the 1st and 2nd
Comings of Christ
Early Christian
views Church
Fathers, etc.
Relevant
Church writings and
actions through the Centuries
Recent
Catholic comments and
teachings Pius XI, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI
Jewish
entry into the Church
Contemporary
Jewish-Catholic
dialog
III. Course Outcomes
The course aims to give:
- a deeper understanding of the Catholic Church as God’s
fundamental
system for the salvation of all mankind, and the role that Judaism
plays in
that system.
- an illumination of some of the mysteries in the history of the
past
2000 years with respect to the Jews, in the light of Judaism’s
role in
the 2nd
coming.
- a basic knowledge and understanding of Judaism as it defines
itself as a religion, both now and in the past.
- a basic overview of the history of the Jewish people and of the
Jewish religion.
- a basic overview of the
history of Church teaching on Judaism and of
the interaction over the past 2000 years between the Jewish community
and the
Catholic Church.
IV. Grading and Requirements
Tests
/ Quizzes:
Short
unannounced quizzes may be given from time to
time at the start of the class on the readings assigned for that class.
These
are intended to simply reveal whether the reading was done, and will be
graded
essentially "pass/fail".
There will be no mid-term or final
exam.
Paper
/ Project:
Rather,
there will be a single substantial
paper (7-10 pages, 2000-3000 words) on a relevant topic of particular
interest
to the student, approved in advance by the professor.
The paper must be submitted in hard copy form, following the
normal guidelines for papers (including those for plagiarism) at Ave
Maria
University. The precise due date, at
the end of the course or shortly thereafter, will be announced shortly.
It is possible that in some cases,
by
prearrangement with the professor, a class presentation on a topic of
special
interest to the student may be substituted for the paper.
Final
Grade:
The final course grade will be made
up equally of class participation (which includes the spot quizzes) and
the
paper.
Detailed Class Plan (note: schedule subject to change)
Class 1: Mon. -- Introductory
Class
Syllabus, etc.
Witness Testimony
Beginning of Overview of the Role of Judaism in Salvation
Required reading for this class: None
Assignment from this class: Begin reading for Mon, Jan 17:
Salvation
is from the Jews, pp 15-23, 45-72,111-134.
Reading the rest of pp. 1-134 may prove helpful, too, but is not
required)
Class 2: -- Overview
continued
Required reading for this class: None
Assignment for next class:
Continue reading
Salvation is from the Jews, pp 15-23,
45-72,111-134.
Link to
Lecture Notes from Class 2
(pdf file)
Class 3: Early History
of Israel
History of Israel Jacob to Christ Overview
Sects at time of Jesus
Destruction of Temple and its Effect on Judaism
Bar Kochba Revolt
Talmud
Jesus in the Talmud
Link to
Lecture Notes from Class 3
(doc file)
Required reading for this class:
Salvation is from the
Jews, pp 15-23, 45-72,111-134.
Supplemental Reading (useful background information but
reading is
not
required):
Assignment for next class:
Class 4: Jesus as the
Jewish Messiah
Jesus’ Trial before the Sanhedrin
Messianic Prophecies about the Messiah in the Old
Testament
Structure of Sanhedrin and Legality of
Jesus’ Trial under Jewish Law
Link to
Lecture Notes from Class 4
(doc file)
Required reading for this class:
Inside
the Vatican
article on the Trial of Jesus, Salvation pp. 32-35,
72-111
Assignment for next class:
Judaism from
a
Catholic Perspective pp. 6-32 (also available on webpage),
Salvation
pp. 135-160
(note: this had previously appeared
here as pp. 6-19 so questions on pp. 19-32 were eliminated from "quiz")
Class 5: Issues in the Development of
Jewish Theology
Jewish Theology at the time of Jesus
Jewish Theology from the Talmud
Introduction of Mystical Judaism/ the Kabbalah
Hasidism
"Reform" and "Conservative" Judaism
Reconstructionism
Effects of the Holocaust on Jewish Theology
Elie Wiesel vs. Edith Stein
Assignment for this class:
Judaism from
a Catholic
Perspective pp. 6-32 (also available online),
Salvation
pp. 135-160
Assignment to be done by class after next:
Supplemental Video/Audio: (will be played in class)
Further Background material (only if
interested):
Class 6: Wed. Jan 26 -- Contemporary
Hareidi
("ultra-Orthodox") Judaism
We will watch the film
"Ushpizin".
Film is about 90 minutes long so class will run about 15 minutes over.
Collect questions to discuss next class
No assignment for this class.
Assignment for next class as given previously:
Supplemental Video/Audio for Monday Jan. 31: (will be played in class
but you may want to think about them beforehand)
Further Background material (only if
interested):
Class 7: Mon. Jan 31 -- Streams in
Post-Holocaust Jewish Theology
Discussion of Hareidi Judaism from Ushpizin
and the crisis in post-holocaust Jewish
Theology as reflected in Reconstructionism,
in the theology of Rabbis Arthur Green, Hertzberg,
and Kushner and Jewish theologians
Richard Rubenstein and Elie Wiesel.
Assignment for this class:
Supplemental Video/Audio for today: (will be played in class but you
may want to think about them beforehand)
Audio and Video shown in class not on
above list:
Further Background material for today
(only if
interested):
Reading assignment for the next class:
Class discussion will encompass all of Chapter 6 of
Salvation, and
it would be useful to read all of it, but students are only responsible
for pp. 179-205; 233-240
(in other words, if there is a quiz it will be limited to those pages)
Class 8: Wed. Feb. 2 -- Spiritual Roots of the Holocaust
The role of occultism, eugenics, and sexual depravity in Nazism
Nazism's Campaign against Christianity
Here is a
link to the sample paper
topics I gave in class on Feb. 2
Class 9: Mon. Feb. 7 -- Spiritual Roots of
the Holocaust (continued)
Plan and assignment for this
class:
Because I did not finish the material during last Wednesday's class,
we will continue on the same topic for another class. There is no
additional
reading assignment for this class. The reading on Islam is required now
for
the next class (Wed. Feb. 9)
Followup on last class:
Paper
Topics:
Here is a
link to the sample paper
topics I gave in class on Feb. 2. It would be
good to start considering a possible topic.
Holocaust Revisionism:
A student asked about the claims made by Holocaust "Revisionists" which
deny
the scope of the extermination of Jews, the number 6 million, or even
the
existence of an intentional extermination campaign. These
revisionists
make blatently factually false claims, but without knowing the evidence
that contradicts them there is no way to know that they are lying. The
Nizkor Project website (
www.nizkor.org)
is a good resource for finding documentation
about the Holocaust, and refutation of the specific arguments used by
Holocaust
deniers. The page
https://nizkor.org/features/qar/qar00.html
is a good Q&A summary
of the refutations. Another useful summary page is
https://nizkor.org/features/techniques-of-denial/
.
In passing, I note that the Yad Vashem museum in Israel already has
already assembled the
names of 3.8 million Jews exterminated by the Third Reich. Their
project is described here:
https://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/names/index.asp
Reading
assignment for the next class:
Class discussion will encompass all of Chapter 7 of
Salvation, and
it would be useful to read all of it, but students are only responsible
for pp. 254-281, 289-302
(in other words, if there is a quiz it will be limited to those pages)
Class 10: Wed. Feb. 9 -- The Arab World and
Islam
Islam as a "revealed" religion
The origins, theology, and meaning of Islam
Connections between Nazism, Islam, and the Arab world
Not required, but if you are
interested:
Followup on last class:
More on Holocaust denial, etc.:
The website of Israel's Holocaust
Museum
www.yadvashem.org has a
wealth of material,
including thousands of photographs, documents, 3.8 million names Jewish
victims of the Holocaust,
etc. It is probably the best single site for understanding and
documenting the Holocaust.
More on the Homosexuality/Nazi connection:
More on the Eugenics/Margaret Sanger/Nazi connection:
More on the Arab-Islam/Nazi connection:
Photographic
documentation of the activities of the wartime
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
in particular, and of the Muslim Nazi Hanjar troops in general:
- Simon
Wiesenthal Center: photographs of the Grand
Mufti
with Moslem SS units, other photos of Bosnian Moslem Nazi soldiers
including
one in which they are studying an anti-Semitic tract, and an
unforgettable
photo of a field full of Moslem Nazi troops prostrate in prayer.
- "Svijet"
(Serbian Newsweekly)
site has numerous photographs documenting activities of Bosnian Moslem
Nazi troops during the war, including a touching one of a Bosnian
Muslim Nazi soldier
lovingly putting up a "pin-up" photo of the Grand Mufti Husseini in his
quarters.
Reading assignment for the next
class:
No reading assignment for
Monday Feb. 14, but there IS one for next Wednesday.
Assignment
for Wed. Feb. 16:
There are two assignments for Wed. Feb. 16:
(1) Please submit a proposed paper topic to me by then. You are
welcome to speak to me about it before then either before or after
class or the talk, or email me. Although here is a
link to the sample paper
topics
I gave in class on Feb. 2, it would be better to choose a topic
that interests you particularly rather than "pick" one from the list.
(2) There is also a reading assignment, which consists of the 3
documents
below. Please print them out and have them with you in hard copy
on
the 16th:
Class 11: Mon. Feb. 14 -- From Terror to Hope
No class tonight. Attendance required at Walid Shoebat talk
8 PM in Demetree Auditorium
Palestinian Terrorist who became born-again Christian and pro-Israel
will speak.
Class 12: Wed. Feb. 16 --
Catholic Teaching on Judaism over Time
An overview of what Catholic sources (Church Fathers,
Saints, Popes) said about Judaism and Jews, and Church
actions with respect to the Jews, from the beginning
of the Church to today.
From this
class:
Notes from class as
Powerpoint
Presentation or
webpage
(webpage designed to work with Internet Explorer)
on Catholic Teaching on Judaism
Reading
assignment for the next class:
In the Old Testament, the
Book
of Esther
(in its entirety, but it is only about 12 pages long)
Class 13: Mon. Feb. 21 -- Reflections of
Jewish Practice in Catholicism
Reflections of Judaism in the Catholic Church in
liturgy, feasts, and scripture. Christological and
Mariological meanings in the Old Testament.
Reading
assignment due for this class:
In the Old Testament, the
Book
of Esther
(in its entirety, but it is only about 12 pages long)
Class 14: Wed. Feb. 23 -- Reflections of
Jewish Practice in Catholicism (cont)
and addendum to post-Nostra Aetate Church Teaching on Judaism
Continuation of the topics of the previous two classes.
Links to Notes shown in class and
related documents:
Reflections
on Covenant and Mission (August 2002)
Note
on Ambiguities in Reflections on Covenant and Mission (2009)
Class
Notes (mostly extracts) about Reflections on Covenant and Mission
Documents
Class
Notes on Parallels in Catholic and Jewish Liturgy etc.
Image
of Sede Vacantist "Monastery" Homepage
Wikipedia
Page on the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews
No assignment for
next class:
Class 15: Mon. Feb. 28 -- Political History of
Israel and Palestine
An overview of the history of Israel/Palestine and the roots
of the current impasse
Class 16: Wed. Mar. 2 -- Jewish Converts and Jewish Conversion
The stories of some particularly notable Jewish converts,
and a discussion of the current state of Jewish conversion .
