Courses
Enemy Love and Solidarity with the Marginalized: An Interdisciplinary Conversation with Matthew’s Gospel
Jeannine Brown
A New Testament Course and Syllabus on "The Meaning of Love"
This is a course description and syllabus developed from our 2015 course development grant competition. See below for a downloadable syllabus.
Many of the New Testament writings highlight love within the messianic community as an essential and central value. Matthew’s Gospel presses beyond this internal love ethic to exhort Jesus’ followers toward love of enemy and solidarity with the “least of these.” This course is intended to offer seminary students an interdisciplinary learning experience around the topic of love derived from Matthew’s Gospel. Students in the course will explore Matthew’s exhortations to love broadly and deeply and will consider theological, ethical, psychological, and leadership dimensions of this framing of love. Over seven modules (consisting of two-‐week increments), seven guest experts will participate in an interdisciplinary conversation with the faculty member and students focused around and stemming from Matthew’s love ethic. Distance-‐friendly technologies for guest contributors (e.g., Skype, Adobe Connect) will be utilized to prepare the course for a second offering in a hybrid distance format to reach a wider student population.
Click here to download the syllabus for Enemy Love and Solidarity with the Marginalized: An Interdisciplinary Conversation with Matthew’s Gospel
Course Readings
Bauckham, Richard. “God Crucified” and “God’s Self-‐Identification with the Godforsaken: Exegesis and Theology.” In Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity, 1-‐59, 254-‐68. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
Brown, Jeannine K. “Matthew 5:1-‐16,” Matthew 5:17-‐48,” and “Matthew 25:14-‐46.” In Matthew. Teach the Text Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Baker, forthcoming (April, 2015).
“Matthew’s ‘Least of These’ Theology and Subversion of ‘Us/Other’ Categories.” In Matthew: Texts @ Contexts. Edited by Nicole Wilkinson Duran and James P. Grimshaw, 287-‐301. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.
Brown, Jeannine K., Carla M. Dahl and Wyndy Corbin Reuschling. “Location: Our Selves, Our Disciplines, Our Process,” and “Being and Becoming: A Journey towardLove.”
In Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation, 1-‐14, 15-‐36. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Carter, Warren. “Love Your Enemies.” Word & World 28 (2008) 13-‐21.
Cheung, Luke L. “Jesus’ Teaching on ‘Love Your Enemies’ and the Building of a Harmonious Society.” CGST Journal 50 (January, 2011) 21-‐46.
Corbin Reuschling, Wyndy. “Prayer and Speaking Out.” In Desire for God and the Things of God: The Relationships between Christian Spirituality and Morality, 62-‐79. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2012.
Gutiérrez, Gustavo. “Encountering God in History.” In A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation. Translated and edited by Sister Caridad Inda and John Egaleson, 189-‐212. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1973.
Luz, Ulrich. “The Final Judgment (Matt 25:31-‐46): An Exercise in ‘History of Influence’ Exegesis.” In Treasures New and Old: Contributions to Matthean Studies. Edited by David R. Bauer and Mark Allan Powell, 271-‐310. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996.
Liu, Qingping. “On a Paradox of Christian Love.” Journal of Religious Ethics 35 (2007) 681-‐694.
Responses: Ogletree, Thomas W. “The Essential Unity of the Love Commands: Moving beyond Paradox.” Journal of Religious Ethics 35 (2007) 695-‐700. Stackhouse, Max L. “The Christian Ethic of Love: A Dialogical Response.” Journal of Religious Ethics 35 (2007) 700-‐711.
Lewis, Thomas, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon. A General Theory of Love. New York: Vintage Books, 2001.
Maltby, Lauren E., and Todd W. Hall. “Trauma, Attachment, and Spirituality: A Case Study.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 40 (2012) 302-‐312.
Murphy, Nancey C. “When Jesus Said ‘Love Your Enemies’ I Think He Probably Meant Don’t Kill Them.” Perspectives in Religious Studies 40 (2013) 123-‐129.
Polema, Margaret M. “Sociology, Philosophy, and the Empirical Study of Godly Love.” In The Science and Theology of Godly Love. Edited by Matthew T. Lee and Amos Yong, 157-‐82. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2012.
Powell, Mark Allen. “Matthew’s Beatitudes: Reversals and Rewards of the Kingdom.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 58 (1996) 460-‐79.
Pregeant, Russell. “The Gospel of Matthew” and “Knowing Truth, Doing Good: The New Testament and Contemporary Christian Ethics.” In Knowing Truth, Doing Good: Engaging New Testament Ethics, 123-‐44, 321-‐65. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.
Sandage. Steven J. and Jeannine K. Brown. “Converging Horizons for Relational Integration: Differentiation-‐Based Collaboration.” Journal of Psychology and Theology 40 (Spring, 2012) 72-‐76.
Sanders, E. P. “Judaism And The Grand ‘Christian’ Abstractions: Love, Mercy, and Grace.” Interpretation 39 (1985) 357-‐372.
Snodgrass, Klyne N. “Matthew and the Law.” In Treasures New and Old: Recent Contributions to Matthean Studies. Edited by David R. Bauer and Mark Allan Powell, 33–127. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996.
Stassen, Glen H. “The Sermon on the Mount as Realistic Deliverance.” In A Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship in a Secular Age, 175-‐915. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.
Wink, Walter. “Can Love Save the World?” In Religion, Terror and Violence, 115-‐121. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Wolterstorff, Nicolas. “Justice and Love” and “Justice, Love, and Shalom.” In Journey toward Justice: Personal Encounters in the Global South, 105-‐12, 113-‐18. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.
