A Theological History of Modern Israel
Course Description:
Modern Jerusalem is seen by many to be a "cup of trembling" on the world stage.
Given the sovereignty of God, this course asks, "What is the relationship
between theology and the history of Israel?" Students will examine a range
of views discussed by Christian conservatives. Variations of dispensationalism,
premillennialism, and amillennialism will be discussed in light of scriptural
support and historical events. Following a review of the covenant God made with
Israel, and the methods God used in bringing the Assyrians and Babylonians to
serve his providence, students will look at the significance of 70 AD and the
resulting diaspora. The scope and sequence then follows the Jews as they are
scattered and gathered the world over. What has been the historical and theological
relationship between Jews and Christians? Why are Christians and Jews divided
over Zionism? Why does the UN spend the majority of its energy on Israel? How
has history brought about the current state of affairs in Israel? What are the
major religious expectations for the future of Israel? Although this course
is open to students from the 9th grade up, there is a screening test over Old
Testament history and basic world history.
Please Contact Us with questions not
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The scope and sequence is outlined in the following weeks
Setting the Stage
1. Class overview: logistics, warnings, encouragements , Intertestamental
2. Geography: Mesopotamia to Egypt, reading
3. Covenant. with Abraham, Moses, reading , reading, reading
History to 15th century
4. Discipline: Judges, Kings, Assyrians, Babylonians, reading , reading
5. Scattering Persians, Greeks, Maccabees, Romans, reading
6. Destruction of the Temple, Fall of Masada, Diaspora, reading
Theology
7. New Testament: Romans 9 -11, Hebrews..., reading , reading , reading
8. Theological Variations: Dispensationalism and Amillennialism, reading
9. Anti Semitism: positions on Israel and the Church
up through the Crusades reading , reading , reading
Nationalism
10. Zionism from 1492 to 1948 , reading
11. Interactions: Ottoman Empire, Islam, and Judaism reading , reading
12. Nations Rage: Nazi Holocaust, British Mandate, USA,
USSR, Arabs reading, reading, reading
Gathered
13. Restoration: Israel 1948 - 1967, reading, reading , reading , reading , reading
14. Struggle: Israel 1967 to present, reading , reading
15. Eschatology: End Time Scenarios, reading
16. History Review, International relations, Gaza, EU,
OPEC, UN, USA reading
Individualization
Students may choose a regular track or an honor's
track. The honor's track requires more rigorous research and
essay writing than the regular track. Essays in the regular track require
800 - 1000 words. Essays in the honors track require 1200 - 1600 words. |
Requirements
w03_Cartography PowerPoint or Motion Slideshow (due week 3)
a. The geography project requires students to draw a map to rubric standards which presents a thematic history relating to Israel. An visual example might be to show the Diaspora during a giving time period. [The
Honors option includes a PowerPoint presentation with multiple maps, one of
which must be hand drawn.]
b. Arrange a series of (15 - 25) still photos and/or drawings in a slide show set to music with narration and playable as a (panning/zooming) video. The theme needs to be geographic or regionally demographic. [Honors include subtitles.]
w06_Psalm or Quiz over a Reading (due week 6)
a. Write a poetic focus along the lines of a psalm that that relates the emotion
and theology of an event in Israel's history. The rubric requires footnotes
of the facts in the psalm. [Honor's student may record a melody for their psalm
or enhance it with rhyming and/or metered phrases.] For inspiration see Psalms:
68, 78, 105, 106, 107, 114, 135, 136.
b. The "Quiz over a Reading" is to locate and propose an appropriate reading found on the web that would enhance the content of one of the course weeks 7 - 14. If approved, then the student will compose 11-14 multiple choice questions over the article to be taken as an open book format. The selected reading should be between 5000 and 9,000 words. [Honor's student would write 15 - 20 questions over an article of 8000 - 12,000 words.]
w09_Theological Essay or Debate Video (due week 9)
a. It would be unreasonable to discuss the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 without mentioning
possible interpretations of the words of Jesus. Likewise, it would be unreasonable
to discuss the events of 1948 and 1967 without noting their influence on Christian
(and Jewish) eschatology. To help deal with these eschatological subjects, students
will have the option of writing a theological thesis based essay in defense
of a position, or in simply comparing positions. Students could also choose
to explore the fulfillment of some Old Testament prophecy or the significance
of Romans 9 - 11. Extensive background material is online to cover Traditional
Dispensationalism (Israel is chosen land during millennial reign, with return
to temple worship and such) and Covenant Amillennialism (Israel is fully replaced
by the church in God’s plan, and has no special future). There are also
Moderate views of Progressive Dispensationalism and Historic Premillenialism. [The rubric for the Honor's essay requires the addition of four multiple choice questions to help the reader check for understanding.]
b. Select an issue of theology concerning Israel and stage a debate which is video taped. The script needs to be written and approved in advance and the resulting audio-visual file should be between 5 and 10 minutes long. Acting counts.
w12_Document Based Question or (due week 12)
a. Student's will look at historical source documents in a self selected area of
research to learn the various viewpoints over an event of history related to
Israel. An essay will be written to analyze the sources within the context of
the authors, audiences, and purposes of the documents. [Honors Track select
8 documents, Regular Track select 5 documents.]
b. Make a video which uses documentary evidence to counter a position promoted by revisionist historians who are dedicated to portraying Israel in a negative light. The resulting expository audio-visual file should be between 5 and 10 minutes long. [Honors Track students would include motion picture evidence in their documentary.]
w15_Impact of Israel Essay (due week 15)
a. This essay will focus on the political, economic, medical, or technological ramifications of Israel's historical events, that
students select from the past 2000 years of history.
b. Assignment Option (due as substitute for any week)
A student initiated (and teacher approved) proposal can be used in place of any one of the above assignments. One possibility is to deliver a 45 minute lecture in class.
[Each of the five assignments are worth 30 points, for a total possible of 150
points (38% of the overall grade).]
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15 Weekly Readings and Quizzes [10 points each for 150 points,
or a total of 38% of the overall grade.]
All the reading assignments are on line, and/or in your Bible. A weekly quiz
helps students be accountable to cover each week's readings. There is a final
semester exam.
12 Weekly Discussion Threads [4 points each week for 48 points,
or a total of 12% of the overall grade.]
Moderated topics are discussed in password protected forums. Students may also earn credit in this category by posting verses they have memorized.
1 Final Semester Exam [50 points, or a total of 12% of the
overall grade.]
This is an open notebook timed exam based on course lectures and readings.
Due Dates: Assignments must be uploaded by the last day of the week they are due. After one week late the assignment is 50% of its original value.
Grades: 400 points possible
A = greater than 360 points
B = 320 - 359
C = 280 - 319
D = 240 - 279
A personal comment from the course
instructor
