Marriage and Sexuality in the New Testament

Religious Studies 344-275
Spring 2003
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:10-2:25 pm
CHS 202
http://www.carrieschroeder.com/nt_marriage
Prof. Caroline T. Schroeder
318 Muller
607-274-3542
cschroeder@ithaca.edu
Office Hours:  Th 10-11 am
or by appointment

Course Description

The New Testament is a canonical religious text for millions of people today.  Many have regarded it for centuries as prescribing normative beliefs and behaviors for Christians past and present.  The precise nature of these normative beliefs and behaviors, however, has been deeply contested.  This course examines the role of the New Testament in debates over marriage and sexuality.  We will begin by exploring marriage and sexuality in the Roman world in order to understand the context in which the New Testament was written and read.   We then will study early Christian attitudes toward sexuality and marriage and compare them with views held by other groups in antiquity.  How did these views deviate from or challenge ancient Jewish, Greek, and Roman views?  How did they conform?  Is the New Testament uniform in its positions on marriage, sex, and the family?  The second part of the course addresses the ways in which later Christians read and used the New Testament in their writings about marriage and sex.  Some of the topics will include the use of the New Testament in the Christian monastic movement,  the legend and cult of Mary Magdalene in the medieval period, and the debates over marriage and celibacy during the Reformation.  Finally, we will turn to the role of the New Testament in contemporary conflicts in traditionally white and African-American protestant traditions over homosexuality, AIDS, and the role of wives in Christian marriages, as well as the required celibacy of Catholic priests.

Course Objectives

  1. An introduction to views on marriage and sexuality in the Greco-Roman world and early Judaism
  2. A thorough examination of key passages in the New Testament and other early Christian literature on the family, marriage, divorce, virginity, and sexuality, including 
  3. An understanding of the diversity of early Christian views on marriage, sexuality, and the family
  4. An understanding of the diversity of interpretations of the New Testament throughout history and in the contemporary era
  5. Advancement of critical and analytical writing skills
  6. Development of skills in research methodologies for the study of the Bible from a historical perspective

Required Texts

Note:  Students should bring the assigned readings (or detailed notes) to class every day.
The following required textbooks are available at the IC Bookstore.  (The textbooks are also on reserve in the IC library.)
  1. HarperCollins Study Bible
  2. L. William Countryman, Dirt, Greed, and Sex:  Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implications for Today
  3. Bernadette Brooten, Love Between Women:  Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism
  4. Elizabeth A. Clark, St. Augustine on Marriage and Sexuality
  5. Bullough and Brundage, eds., Sexual Practices and the Medieval Church
  6. The Letters of Abelard and Heloise (Penguin version)
Please note:  The HarperCollins Study Bible is a required textbook even if you already own another translation of the Bible.  I have chosen this version, known as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) for the course because:
In addition, a required coursepack will be available for purchase from Chris Haase in 109 Dillingham Center.

Course Requirements

Class participation and attendance
Students should come to class prepared to discuss the daily assignments.  Assignments should be completed before class on the day on which they are listed on the syllabus.  Students should bring the assignments (or detailed notes) to class along with specific questions and topics for class discussion.  

To facilitate discussion, students must participate in the discussion board on the IC Courseware page for this class.  Students are expected to login to the discussion board before each class session, post at least one new thread about the readings for the day, read the other threads, and respond to at least two posts by other students.  In class and on the discussion board, all students are expected to participate in a thoughtful, well-prepared manner that is grounded in the course assignments.  Participation in class and on the discussion board will be graded by the quality of participation.

All members of the class are expected to reflect critically on they ways in which they can contribute to constructive rather than destructive class dynamics.  I often call upon students and may not wait for students to volunteer themselves.  Take notes:  you will be expected to incorporate issues raised in class discussions in your papers.

More than two unexcused absences may severely affect your grade.  Students with multiple excused absences should speak to me about a make-up assignment for their missed participation.  Unexcused absences cannot be made up.  If you must miss class, you should get notes from a classmate before meeting with me to go over missed material.  If you miss a video or other multi-media presentation in class, it is your responsibility to find and view the material on your own time.

Papers
You will write two papers based on the assignments and class discussion.  Papers will be graded on the strength of their argument and use of course materials.  Late papers will not be accepted.

Minimum requirements for the papers are:
  1. A thesis supported by evidence from primary sources and information provided by secondary sources.
  2. A minimum length of 1500 words (approximately 5-7 pages).
  3. Documentation of all facts, ideas, and quotes taken from other sources (including lecture and class discussion) using parenthetical citations.
  4. An avoidance of lengthy direct quotations from either primary or secondary sources; students instead should summarize and analyze the sources in their own words as much as possible.
  5. Correct grammar and spelling throughout the paper.
Papers will be turned in electronically to the Courseware drop box or via email.

Final Project
There is no final exam for this course.  Instead, the final assignment, due on the final exam date for the class, is a group website on a passage or set of passages from the New Testament related to marriage and sexuality, or a theme or issue related to marriage or sexuality in the New Testament.  You will meet several times with Kathy Barbieri and a tutor from ACCS to learn to use HTML and Dreamweaver to build a website.  Together, your group will produce a website that provides at minimum the following elements:
Each group will have 2 to 4 students, and students will pick their topics and form their own groups themselves.  (However, no two groups can do the same topic.)  More information and instructions about the project will be forthcoming.  The project will be graded as follows.  Students will be graded individually on their contributions to each component of the project :

 Timely completion of HTML worksheet: 5 points

Attendance at Dreamweaver workshops: 10 points

Project proposal (group grade): 45 points

Content of your individual contributions to the website:
 100 points

Design and appearance of your individual contributions to the website: 20 points

Design and appearance of the shared components of the website (group grade):
20 points

Total points possible:
 200 points total

You will need to use the Cornell Library to research your bibliography; please plan accordingly.

Grading

Work that violates the academic integrity policies of the College or this course will receive a ZERO and will be reported to the Dean's office.
Late work will not be accepted and will receive a ZERO.
If you experience an absolute emergency and need an exception to this policy, you must provide an official excuse from your adviser, dean, or doctor and make arrangements with me before the work is due.  

All assignments will be given a percentage grade based on the following grading scale:
F 0-59% expresses little accurate information and/or is not coherent, fails to answer the questions posed by the assignment, does not meet minimum assignment requirements (especially the word length)
D 60-69% demonstrates little thought; work shows effort, but the information, explanation, and conclusions are weak
C 70-79% articulates your thoughts coherently
B 80-89% explores why you think the way you do
A 90-100% reserved for excellence, when you use the material as a springboard for higher level critical thinking of your own rather than merely report information or describe what you think.  For instance:  You engage with other perspectives or counter-arguments.  You demonstrate creativity and original thought.  You step back from your own point of view to look at the pros and cons of thinking in the ways you do

Pluses and minuses will be included on final course grades where appropriate.  Regular, critical engagement with the assignments in class and on the discussion board is required to earn a participation grade above 75%.  You will not be graded on whether or not your comments are "right."  You will be graded using the above grading scale on whether or not you completed the assignments, critically reflected on them and the issues for the class, and constructively engaged questions and ideas posed by the professor and your fellow classmates.

Final grades will be calculated as follows:
Attendance & participation: 20%
Papers: 40% (20% each)
Final Project:
 40%

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism will not be tolerated.  Students should consult Ithaca College's plagiarism and academic honesty policies at http://www.ithaca.edu/judicialaffairs/SCCAppendix.htm#AppendixII.  Students must also submit original work for each assignment in this course.  So, students may not turn in a paper that is identical to or contains portions of another paper or assignment that has already been submitted for this course or any other course.  To prevent plagiarism, I submit papers to an anti-plagiarism search engine at Turnitin.com.

Students may be removed from the course for disruptive behavior, excessive absences, plagiarism or academic dishonesty, or other activities that the professor deems unacceptable.

I encourage students to study together and to discuss course materials outside of class.  Unless otherwise indicated in the assignment, no papers or other graded assignments are collaborative; they must be completed by the individual student.  Students should use their own discretion in determining how far to take their conversations about the readings before writing their papers.

Students with questions about the academic integrity policies for this course should consult with the professor before the deadline for the assignment in question.

Course Websites and Email

All information about the course can be found at the main course homepage at http://www.carrieschroeder.com/nt_marriage.  Hot links to important websites relevant to the course are also located there.

Additional material for students, including changes or updates to the assignments, can be found at the Ithaca College Courseware site at http://courses.ithaca.edu.  This course will utilize several features of the Courseware website, including the grading reports and discussion board.

I frequently communicate with students over email.  All students must have an active Ithaca College email account and should check their email frequently for correspondence from other students or from me.  If you have another outside email account that you prefer to use, you should forward your IC email to that address.

Schedule of Assignments 

These assignments are subject to change by the professor.  Students who miss a class should check the Courseware site (http://courses.ithaca.edu) for announcements about the course, updates to the syllabus, and handouts.

Students should bring the assigned readings (or detailed notes) to class every day.

An* indicates an assignment in the Coursepack.
Tu Jan 21
Introductions
Th Jan 23
Backgrounds:  The Family in the Roman World; Studying the New Testament Historically
Explore all of the maps at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/
roman.html
Assignment in handout:
- Rawson, "The Roman Family," in Rawson (ed.) The Family in Ancient Rome
- Ehrman, "The Historian and the Believer," in Ehrman, The New Testament
Recommended:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/
tensions.html
Tu Jan 28
Gender and the Body
Dirt, Greed, & Sex, 11-19
*Rousselle, Porneia, 5-46
Th Jan 30
Sex & Marriage in the Non-Christian Ancient World
Dirt, Greed, & Sex  20-44
Brooten, Love Between Women, 1-9, 42-71
Tu Feb 4
Jesus Traditions on Marriage and the Family
Learn about the Gospels at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/religion/story/gospels.html
Mt 10:34-39, Lk 12:51-53, Lk 14:26-27
Mt 12:46-50, Mk 3:31-35, Lk 8:19-21
Mt 22:23-24, Mk12:18-27, Lk 10:25-28, Lk 20:27-40
Mt 19:23-30, Mk 10:23-31, Lk 18:24-30
Jn 2:1-11
Countryman, Dirt, Greed, & Sex  45-66, 80-96, 147-156
Check out Jesus's family tree at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/religion/jesus/tree.html
Th Feb 6
Dreamweaver Workshop
HTML worksheet due
Visit A Portrait of Jesus's World and read about "Jews in the Roman Empire" and "Apocalypticism" and post to the Courseware discussion board http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/
Tu Feb 11
Jesus Traditions on Adultery and Divorce
Mt 5:27-32, Mk 9:42-48
Mt 19:1-12, Mk 10:1-12, Lk 16:18
Jn 7:53-8:11
*Philo, Special Laws 594-602
Dirt, Greed, & Sex, 157-189
*Rousselle, Porneia, 78-101
Th Feb 13
Jesus Traditions on Sexuality:  Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven
Mt 19:10-12
Mt 5:27-30, Mk 9:42-48
Lk 23:26-31
*Porneia 107-128
Tu Feb 18
Paul on Marriage and Sexuality, Part I
1 Cor 5-7, 11:1-12, 14:34-35
2 Cor 12:20-21
1 Thess 4:3-8
Gal 3:26-28, 5:19-20
Dirt, Greed, & Sex 97-98, 104-109, 190-220
*Musonius Rufus 85-89
Th Feb 20
Paul on Marriage and Sexuality, Part II
Martin, The Corinthian Body, selections (handout)
Tu Feb 25
Paul on Homosexuality Part I
Brooten, Love Between Women, 73-113
Rom 1:1-32
Dirt, Greed, & Sex 109-123
Th Feb 27
Paul on Homosexuality Part II
Brooten, Love Between Women, 215-266
Tu Mar 4
Paul on Homosexuality Part III
Brooten, Love Between Women, 267-302, 359-362
review *Philo 597-599
Bullough & Brundage, Sexual Practices, 55-71
Th Mar 6
Dreamweaver Workshop  
Paper #1 due
Tu Mar 11- Th Mar 13
No Class -- Spring Break
Tu Mar 18
The Household Codes
1 Cor 14:34-35
Col 3:18-4:1
Eph 5:21-6:9
1 Peter 2:18-3:7
1 Timothy 2:8-15, 5:1-8, 6:1-2
Titus 2:1-10, 3:1
*Musonius Rufus 89-97
*Plutarch, Advice to Bride and Groom
 Dirt, Greed, & Sex 124-129, 224-229, 232-234
Th Mar 20
Early Christian Asceticism and the Apocryphal Acts, Part I
*Chaereas and Callirhoe (selections)
*Acts of Thecla
Tu Mar 25
Early Christian Asceticism and the Apocryphal Acts, Part II
1 Tim 4:1-5
2 Tim 3:1-9
1 Peter 2:11
*MacDonald, The Legend and the Apostle, 54-77
Th Mar 27
Augustine on Lust, Marriage, and Original Sin
Clark, St. Augustine, 13-31, 71-78, 99-105
Tu Apr 1
Augustine and Jerome:  Marriage vs. Asceticism
*Jerome, Against Jovinian I:1-15
Clark, St. Augustine, 42-70, 78-94
Bullough & Brundage, Sexual Practices, 22-33
Th Apr 3
The Perpetual Virginity of Mary
Mt 1:1-25, Lk 1:1-2:40
Mk 3:31, 6:3, Mt 12:46, Mt 13:55-56, Lk 8:19, Jn 2:12, Jn 7:3-5, Acts 2:14, 1 Cor 9:5, Gal 1:19
*Proto-gospel of James, selections
Clark, St. Augustine, 94-96
Bullough and Brundage, Sexual Practices, 102-117

Lecture by NT Scholar Bart Ehrman at Cornell, details TBA
Tu Apr 8
Prostitution and the Legend of Mary Magdalene
Mt 26:6-13, Mk 14:3-9, Lk 7:36-50, Jn 12:1-8
Mt 27:55-61, Lk 8:1-3
Lk 10:38-42, Lk 12:1-3
Mt 28:1-10, Mk 6:1-13, Lk 23:49-24:35, Jn 19:25, 20:1-18, 1 Cor 15:4-8
*Mary Rose D'Angelo, "Reconstructing 'Real' Women from Gospel Literature:  The Case of Mary Magdalene," in Women and Christian Origins, 105-128
Gospel of Mary and Gospel of Philip selections (handout)
Sexual Practices & the Medieval Church 34-42, 149-160
*"St. Mary Magdalene" in the Golden Legend
Th Apr 10
Marriage and Celibacy in the Middle Ages, Part I
Sexual Practices & the Medieval Church, 141-148
Letters of Abelard & Heloise, 57-108
Tu Apr 15
Marriage and Celibacy in the Middle Ages, Part II
Sexual Practices & the Medieval Church, 118-134
Letters of Abelard & Heloise, 109-158, 180-82
Th Apr 17
Marriage and Virginity in the Reformation
*Luther, On Monastic Vows & The Estate of Marriage (selections TBA)
*Merry Wiesner-Hanks, "From Spiritual Virginity to Family as Calling" in Gender, Church,  & State in Early Modern Germany, 36-46
*Merry Wiesner-Hanks, "Luther and Women:  The Death of the Two Mary's" in Feminist Theology:  A Reader, ed. Anne Loades, 123-34
Tu Apr 22
Modern Debates about Homosexuality
*Richard Hays, "Relations Natural and Unnatural:  A Response to John Boswell's Exegesis of Romans 1," Journal of Religious Ethics 14 (1986) 184-215
*Dale Martin, "Heterosexism and the Interpretation of Romans 1:18-32" Biblical Interpretation 3 (1995) 332-55
*Carter Heyward, "Heterosexist Theology:  Being Above It All," Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 3.1 (1987) 29-38
Th Apr 24
AIDS
* Cheryl J. Sanders, "Sexual Orientation and Human Rights Discourse in the African American Churches" in Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in American Religious Discourse, 178-184
*Victor Anderson, "Deadly Silence:  Reflections on Homosexuality and Human Rights" in Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in American Religious Discourse, 185-200
Tu Apr 29
Women in Marriage
*Clarice J. Martin, "The Haustafeln (Household Codes) in African American Interpretation:  'Free Slaves' and 'Subordinate Women'" in Cain Hope Felder (ed), Stony the Road We Trod
*Southern Baptist Statement on the Family
Paper #2 Due
Th May 1
Priestly Celibacy
Sacerdotalis Caelibatus:  Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Celibacy of the Priest (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/
documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis_en.html)
The Married Priest movement at http://www.rentapriest.com
Theresa Mancuso, "Quest for an Undivided Heart" Review for Religious 1994:189-95  (handout)
Tues May 6
Final Projects Due and Presented to the Class
8 am, Final Exam Room

Page last updated 1/20/03
Copyright Caroline T. Schroeder, 2003*
All rights reserved
*Except grading scale (based on criteria developed by Anne Burlein)