REL 407: Christianity in Premodern Asia: Paper Topics & Readings

Using the readings we have done for class and the additional readings indicated, answer one of the following questions in an 8-10 page essay.  The use of additional sources is encouraged but not at all required.  You may cite your references either in footnotes or with parenthetical references in the text - but be sure to clearly indicate your sources!!.

You may alternatively write an 8-10 page research paper on the topic of your choice (subject to approval).

1. Discuss the nature of “orthodoxy” and “heresy” in earliest Asian Christianity.  How does this compare with the origins of Christianity in the Greek world (as described in the New Testament)?  How did the Asian Christians of later centuries represent this early period?  Are there some features that seem characteristic of Asian Christianity in the first three centuries?

Readings :

• Weeks 1 & 2

• Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, Chapter 1: Edessa

• The Doctrina Addai

• Sidney Griffith, The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 6 (2003)

2. Compare the writings of Ephrem, Aphrahat, and Isaac of Nineveh with each other and with Gregory of Nyssa’s Catachetical Oration.  What similarities and differences do you encounter in the writings of the three “Asian” theologians (i.e., Ephrem, Aphrahat, and Isaac)?  How do they compare with Gregory of Nyssa’s “Greek” theology?  What are the similarities and differences between Gregory and the “Asian” authors?  In comparison with Gregory, are there any particular themes, characteristics, etc. that you would identify as distinctive of “Asian” Christian theology?  Where do Philoxenus and Narsai fit into this scheme (and Justinian and Paul of Nisibis)?

Readings :

• Weeks 3 & 4

• Ephrem, Hymns on the Nativity 8 & 14

• Aphrahat, Demonstration 1

• Isaac of Nineveh, I.50 and I.51

• Gregory of Nyssa, The Great Catechism

3. Compare the status of Christianity in Western Asia under Sasanian rule and under Islamic rule.  Were their more opportunities for the Christians of Western Asia before or after the Islamic conquests?  How did Christians respond to the difficulties and limitations occasioned by being ruled by non-Christians?  How did they interpret the different religious beliefs of their rulers?

Readings :

• Weeks 2 (2^nd class), 4 (both classes), 5 (2^nd class), & 6 (1^st class)

• The Martyrdom of St. Shushanik

• The Martyrdom of Abo, the Perfumer from Baghdad

• The Covenant of Umar

• Victoria L. Erhart, "The Church of the East during the Period of the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs," Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 78 (1996): 55-71 (coursepack)

4. Note the various ways in which the Chinese Christian texts of the 7^th-9^th centuries reflect the adaptation of Christianity to fit the religious ideas of Chinese culture.  Do you think that these authors go too far in their mixture of Christianity with Chinese religion, resulting in something that is really neither, or do you think that they effectively “translate” Christianity into Chinese culture while maintaining its “core” beliefs?  Is it appropriate to call this “Taoist Christianity” as Palmer does?

Readings :

• Weeks 7 (2^nd class) & 8

• Stephen F. Teiser, "The Spirits of Chinese Religion", from Donald S. Lopez, Jr, Religions of China in Practice, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996)

• Lao Tzu: Selection from the Dao De Jing

• Chung Tzu: Selections from the Zhuangzi

• Confucius: Selections from the Analects

• Buddha's Sermon on the No-Self  [At Brooklyn College]
• The Heart Sutra (selection)

   

5. What was the status of Christianity within the Mongol empire?  Is there a marked difference between how Asia Christians and European Christians represent Christianity in the Mongol empire?  Are there differences in their portrayals of Mongols?  What do you make of these differences?  Are there any indications that Christianity in Central Asia and China has been adapted in this time and place to fit Mongol social and cultural traditions?  How significant are these adaptations? 

Readings :

• Weeks 9 & 10

• The Journey of Friar John of Pian de Carpine

• Monks of Kubla Khan (rest of text); also available at  The History of Rabban Sawma and Mar Yahbh-Allaha (read from p. 36 to end).

• Ibn al-Athir: On The Tatars, 1220-1221CE (An Islamic account of the effect of the Mongols in Persia)

• Martin Tamcke, "Coexistence and Discussion between Nestorian Christians and Shamanistic Mongolians--A Model with a Future?" The Harp 10 (1997): 25-37 (e-reserve)

• Stephen Andrew Missick, "The Assyrian Church in the Mongolian Empire as Observed by World Travelers in the Late 13th and Early 14th Centuries," Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies 13 (1999): 85-102 (e-reserve)

• George Lane, "An Account of Gregory Bar Hebraeus Abu al-Faraj and His Relations with the Mongols of Persia," Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 2 (1999)