Christ & Being Human

"The goal of this class is simple and, hopefully, life altering: Let us try to imagine what would it mean for humans today—for us!—to see in Jesus a paradigm of their own humanity." – Miroslav Volf

Course Description

This course explores the ways in which Christ—as a character in the gospel narratives, an object of Christian theological reflection, and a living presence in the life of the Church—might inform Christian visions of human life and practices (individual, communal, and cosmic) that promote human flourishing in today’s world.

Students will consider the possible relationship between conceptions of the good life, drawn from exegetical and theological interpretation of the narrated life and teaching of Jesus, and the students’ own visions of the good life and other current perspectives, supported by an analysis of varied aspects of human life in contemporary societies Students will engage a thematic reading of the Gospel of Luke, organized around the Gospel’s core themes and touch-points with key concrete phenomena of human experience.

Guiding questions

  • What does it mean for Christ to be the key to human existence?
  • What does a flourishing life look like if Jesus Christ is taken to be the key?

Principal Objectives

  • Students will be equipped to wrestle with the formal question of the relation between Christ and human life drawing on the gospels (with particular focus on Luke) as source texts for articulating this relation.
  • Students gain insight into the way their visions of Jesus and of the good life are shaped by their cultural contexts.
  • Students come away better able to articulate their own vision of flourishing in dialog with the figure of Jesus and the relation between his life and theirs, as each student understands it.

A Unique Take on Theological Education

"Christ & Being Human intentionally makes a muddle of all the disciplinary clarity that has come to characterize theological education, not necessarily out of antipathy to the variety of disciplinary approaches but in some ways, in light of it. The class doesn’t ask students to adopt a posture of naivety so much as to re-orient their critical attention to the question of the flourishing of their lives and the lives of others in light of the narrated life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Exploring Jesus’ life and ministry as a paradigm of human flourishing, we encourage students to explore the ways in which Jesus’ life might be at odds with the ways in which our lives are aligned to prevailing socio-economic conventions. But we also ask students to consider the possibility that echoes or examples of Jesus’ paradigmatic flourishing might be discerned in secular readings or cultural sites.

While becoming more attuned to the implicit ways in which their visions of flourishing life might be being malformed by the societies in which we live, we hope also to open their minds to the possibility that a-theological or secular sites—an episode of Radiolab, a chapter of Huxley’s A Brave New World, an interview with Marie Kondo—might also reveal to us new and faithful ways of articulating what flourishing life construed in relation to Jesus might be. As Miroslav has put it in introducing the course to students on the first day, 'The goal of this class is simple and, hopefully, life altering: Let us try to imagine what would it mean for humans today—for us!—to see in Jesus a paradigm of their own humanity.'"

– Drew Collins (Lecturer, Yale Divinity School)

Instructors

Drew Collins
Associate Research Scholar and Program Director, Christ & Flourishing
Miroslav Volf
Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School

Syllabus: Christ & Being Human

WEEK 1

Course Introduction
  • Luke 9:18-27; Romans 6:1-14
  • Hans Frei, “A Meditation for the Week of Good Friday and Easter”
  • Willie J. Jennings, “Introduction,” The Christian Imagination, 1-11

WEEK 2

Why Visions of True Life Matter (Or: The Pearl of Great Price)
  • Matthew 13:44-53; Luke 4:1-12, 5:1-11, 17:20-33; Romans 14:1-23
  • Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, 1-29
  • Matthew Croasmun & Miroslav Volf, For the Life of the World, 11-34,
  • David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” 256-268
  • Howard Thurman, “Jesus – an Interpretation” & “Epilogue,” Jesus and the Disinherited, 1-25, 100-102

WEEK 3

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’?”
  • Matthew 7:24-28; Luke 6:17-49, 10:25-37, 14:25-33, 18:18-26; John 9:24-41, 10:1-18, 11:25-27, 12:20-26; Philippians 2:5-11
  • John Webster, “Christology, Imitability and Ethics,” Scottish Journal of Theology 39:3, 309-326
  • Dorothy Day, “Why,” “Wheat and Cockle,” and “Your Three Objections,” From Union Square to Rome, 1-17, 143-173
  • Matthew Croasmun & Miroslav Volf, For the Life of the World, 45-147
  • James Cone, Speaking the Truth, vii-viii, 4-8.

WEEK 4

Home as a Cradle of Our Humanity
  • Luke 2:39-52, 4:16-30, 9:28-36, 9:51-62, 14:12-14, 15:11-32, 16:1-9, 18:28-30; 1 Peter 2:4-8; 1 John 4:7-21, Revelation 21
  • Ryan McAnnally-Linz & Miroslav Volf, “Cadbury Lectures”
  • Monique Valeris & Lucia Tonelli, “How To Marie Kondo Your Home in 2019,” ElleDecor.com
  • Dorothy Day, On Hospitality, 20-26
  • Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, 31-41
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, LXVII

WEEK 5

Birth & Expectation
  • Luke 1:1-3:38, 12:49-53, 13:31-35, 14:25-27, 18:15-17; John 3:1-16, 16:16-24; 1 Peter 2:1-2
  • Jürgen Moltmann, “The Promise of the Child,” In the End—the Beginning, 1-18
  • Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World, chs. 1-2
  • Radiolab, “G: Unnatural Selection” [click for audio or transcript]
  • Frances Young, Face to Face, 8-68
  • Julian of Norwich, “The Kind, Loving Mother,” Revelations of Divine Love, Ch.LX

WEEK 6

Call & Responsibility
  • Luke 1:5-80, 2:1-35; 3:1-22, 4:1-30, 9:1-6, 9:21-27, 10:1-20, 10:38-42, 12:49-53, 13:6-9, 14:25-33, 19:1-27, 21:1-4; 1 Peter 1-2:10, 3:8-12
  • Charles Taylor, Ethics of Authenticity, 43-80
  • Dorothy Day, “May 10th,” On Pilgrimage
  • Søren Kierkegaard, “The Listener’s Role in a Devotional Address,“ and “What Then Must I Do? Live as an ‘Individual’,” & “Occupation and Vocation; Means and End” Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing
  • Miroslav Volf, “Work, Spirit, and New Creation,” Work in the Spirit, 88-122

WEEK 7

Freedom & Bondage
  • Luke 4:31-44, 6:1-5, 7:1-10, 8:22-39, 9:43b-50, 11:14-23, 11:27-28, 11:37-54, 16:10-13, 17:1-10, 20:20-26, 21:7-18, 22:14-46; John 8:31-38; Romans 7:14-25
  • Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 26-78
  • Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 10-17
  • James Cone, “The Gospel of Jesus, Black People, and Black Power,” Black
  • Theology & Black Power, 31-43
  • Taylor, Ethics of Authenticity, 81-121

WEEK 8

Forgiveness & Justice
  • Luke 6:27-38, 7:36-50, 11:1-4, 12:8-12, 15:11-32; 17:1-5; 18:1-14, 22:63-23:49
  • Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 79-99
  • Jonah Engel Bromwich, “Everyone Is Cancelled,” The New York Times, June 28th 2018 (Watch embedded video by Kimberly Foster)
  • Imaculée Ilibagiza, Left to Tell, xix-xx, 3-12, 37-44, 73-94, 129-135
  • James Cone, “The Gospel of Jesus, Black People, and Black Power,” & “Reconciliation,” Black Theology & Black Power, 43-61, 143-152
  • Miroslav Volf, “How Should We Forgive?” Free of Charge, 157-191

WEEK 9

Boredom & Entertainment
  • Luke 6:20-25; 7:24-33, 10:21-37, 11:29-36, 12:35-48, 12:54-56, 17:20-24, 21:25-36; 24:13-35; Matthew 22:1-14; Mark 6:21-28; Ecclesiastes 2:1-3:15; Ephesians 5:1-20; Philippians 4:4-9; Revelation 2:1-5
  • David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, 33-37, 54, 78-79, 87, 105-109, 317-321 / The Pale King, 78-85, 437-438
  • Simone Weil, “Reflections on the Right use of School Studies with a View to the
  • Love of God,” Waiting for God, 105-116
  • C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, XII-XIII
  • Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Boredom, 11-48

WEEK 10

Sickness & Healing
  • Job 2:1-13; Luke 4:16-30, 5:12-32, 7:11-23, 8:26-56, 9:1-6, 10:1-12, 13:10-17, 17:11-19; James 5:1-19
  • Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague”
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, chs 1-3, 64-68
  • Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World, chs. 16-17
  • Yuval Harari, Homo Deus, 1-3, 19-55

WEEK 11

Mourning & Death
  • Luke 2:25-38, 6:20-25, 7:11-17, 8:40-56, 9:21-27; 17:20-37, 22:1-23:56; Matthew 9:14-15, 24:3-31; John 14:1-31, 16:4-33; Romans 12:14-15; 1 Peter 4:13-19; James 4:9; Revelation 1:4-8, 12-18, 2:8-11, 9:1-6, 21:1-8
  • Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, 267-90 and “Expectations”
  • C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, ch. 4.
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, chs. 8-13, 15
  • Mark O’Connell, “600 Miles in a Coffin-Shaped Bus, Campaigning Against Death Itself,” NY Times, February 9, 2017

WEEK 12

Joy & Fear
  • Luke 1:11-79, 8:22-56, 10:17-24, 12:4-34, 15:1-32, 19:35-44, 21:25-28, 24:1-53; Matthew 10
  • Gustavo Gutiérrez, We Drink from Our Own Wells, 114-21
  • C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, ix-x, 1-19, 159-175, 205-230
  • Marianne Meye Thompson, “Reflections on Joy in the Bible” in Joy and Human Flourishing
  • Frank Furedi, How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, “Introduction” & “Conclusion: Towards a Less Fearful Future”
  • Julian of Norwich, Showings, chs. 20, 24, 25, 64.
  • Christian Wiman, “The Cancer Chair”

Semester Overview

WEEK 1

Course Introduction
  • Luke 9:18-27; Romans 6:1-14
  • Hans Frei, “A Meditation for the Week of Good Friday and Easter”
  • Willie J. Jennings, “Introduction,” The Christian Imagination, 1-11

WEEK 2

Why Visions of True Life Matter (Or: The Pearl of Great Price)
  • Matthew 13:44-53; Luke 4:1-12, 5:1-11, 17:20-33; Romans 14:1-23
  • Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, 1-29
  • Matthew Croasmun & Miroslav Volf, For the Life of the World, 11-34,
  • David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” 256-268
  • Howard Thurman, “Jesus – an Interpretation” & “Epilogue,” Jesus and the Disinherited, 1-25, 100-102

WEEK 3

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’?”
  • Matthew 7:24-28; Luke 6:17-49, 10:25-37, 14:25-33, 18:18-26; John 9:24-41, 10:1-18, 11:25-27, 12:20-26; Philippians 2:5-11
  • John Webster, “Christology, Imitability and Ethics,” Scottish Journal of Theology 39:3, 309-326
  • Dorothy Day, “Why,” “Wheat and Cockle,” and “Your Three Objections,” From Union Square to Rome, 1-17, 143-173
  • Matthew Croasmun & Miroslav Volf, For the Life of the World, 45-147
  • James Cone, Speaking the Truth, vii-viii, 4-8.

WEEK 4

Home as a Cradle of Our Humanity
  • Luke 2:39-52, 4:16-30, 9:28-36, 9:51-62, 14:12-14, 15:11-32, 16:1-9, 18:28-30; 1 Peter 2:4-8; 1 John 4:7-21, Revelation 21
  • Ryan McAnnally-Linz & Miroslav Volf, “Cadbury Lectures”
  • Monique Valeris & Lucia Tonelli, “How To Marie Kondo Your Home in 2019,” ElleDecor.com
  • Dorothy Day, On Hospitality, 20-26
  • Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, 31-41
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, LXVII

WEEK 5

Birth & Expectation
  • Luke 1:1-3:38, 12:49-53, 13:31-35, 14:25-27, 18:15-17; John 3:1-16, 16:16-24; 1 Peter 2:1-2
  • Jürgen Moltmann, “The Promise of the Child,” In the End—the Beginning, 1-18
  • Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World, chs. 1-2
  • Radiolab, “G: Unnatural Selection” [click for audio or transcript]
  • Frances Young, Face to Face, 8-68
  • Julian of Norwich, “The Kind, Loving Mother,” Revelations of Divine Love, Ch.LX

WEEK 6

Call & Responsibility
  • Luke 1:5-80, 2:1-35; 3:1-22, 4:1-30, 9:1-6, 9:21-27, 10:1-20, 10:38-42, 12:49-53, 13:6-9, 14:25-33, 19:1-27, 21:1-4; 1 Peter 1-2:10, 3:8-12
  • Charles Taylor, Ethics of Authenticity, 43-80
  • Dorothy Day, “May 10th,” On Pilgrimage
  • Søren Kierkegaard, “The Listener’s Role in a Devotional Address,“ and “What Then Must I Do? Live as an ‘Individual’,” & “Occupation and Vocation; Means and End” Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing
  • Miroslav Volf, “Work, Spirit, and New Creation,” Work in the Spirit, 88-122

WEEK 7

Freedom & Bondage
  • Luke 4:31-44, 6:1-5, 7:1-10, 8:22-39, 9:43b-50, 11:14-23, 11:27-28, 11:37-54, 16:10-13, 17:1-10, 20:20-26, 21:7-18, 22:14-46; John 8:31-38; Romans 7:14-25
  • Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 26-78
  • Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 10-17
  • James Cone, “The Gospel of Jesus, Black People, and Black Power,” Black
  • Theology & Black Power, 31-43
  • Taylor, Ethics of Authenticity, 81-121

WEEK 8

Forgiveness & Justice
  • Luke 6:27-38, 7:36-50, 11:1-4, 12:8-12, 15:11-32; 17:1-5; 18:1-14, 22:63-23:49
  • Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, 79-99
  • Jonah Engel Bromwich, “Everyone Is Cancelled,” The New York Times, June 28th 2018 (Watch embedded video by Kimberly Foster)
  • Imaculée Ilibagiza, Left to Tell, xix-xx, 3-12, 37-44, 73-94, 129-135
  • James Cone, “The Gospel of Jesus, Black People, and Black Power,” & “Reconciliation,” Black Theology & Black Power, 43-61, 143-152
  • Miroslav Volf, “How Should We Forgive?” Free of Charge, 157-191

WEEK 9

Boredom & Entertainment
  • Luke 6:20-25; 7:24-33, 10:21-37, 11:29-36, 12:35-48, 12:54-56, 17:20-24, 21:25-36; 24:13-35; Matthew 22:1-14; Mark 6:21-28; Ecclesiastes 2:1-3:15; Ephesians 5:1-20; Philippians 4:4-9; Revelation 2:1-5
  • David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, 33-37, 54, 78-79, 87, 105-109, 317-321 / The Pale King, 78-85, 437-438
  • Simone Weil, “Reflections on the Right use of School Studies with a View to the
  • Love of God,” Waiting for God, 105-116
  • C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, XII-XIII
  • Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Boredom, 11-48

WEEK 10

Sickness & Healing
  • Job 2:1-13; Luke 4:16-30, 5:12-32, 7:11-23, 8:26-56, 9:1-6, 10:1-12, 13:10-17, 17:11-19; James 5:1-19
  • Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague”
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, chs 1-3, 64-68
  • Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World, chs. 16-17
  • Yuval Harari, Homo Deus, 1-3, 19-55

WEEK 11

Mourning & Death
  • Luke 2:25-38, 6:20-25, 7:11-17, 8:40-56, 9:21-27; 17:20-37, 22:1-23:56; Matthew 9:14-15, 24:3-31; John 14:1-31, 16:4-33; Romans 12:14-15; 1 Peter 4:13-19; James 4:9; Revelation 1:4-8, 12-18, 2:8-11, 9:1-6, 21:1-8
  • Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, 267-90 and “Expectations”
  • C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, ch. 4.
  • Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, chs. 8-13, 15
  • Mark O’Connell, “600 Miles in a Coffin-Shaped Bus, Campaigning Against Death Itself,” NY Times, February 9, 2017

WEEK 12

Joy & Fear
  • Luke 1:11-79, 8:22-56, 10:17-24, 12:4-34, 15:1-32, 19:35-44, 21:25-28, 24:1-53; Matthew 10
  • Gustavo Gutiérrez, We Drink from Our Own Wells, 114-21
  • C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, ix-x, 1-19, 159-175, 205-230
  • Marianne Meye Thompson, “Reflections on Joy in the Bible” in Joy and Human Flourishing
  • Frank Furedi, How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, “Introduction” & “Conclusion: Towards a Less Fearful Future”
  • Julian of Norwich, Showings, chs. 20, 24, 25, 64.
  • Christian Wiman, “The Cancer Chair”

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Student Perspectives

"There are not many classes like this one at Yale Divinity School. It was thoroughly theological while being completely practical. It developed my intellectual ability and my personal faith ... One of the best courses at YDS."

"My relationship with religion is fraught. Malformed by a Christian fundamentalism that bore its disciples more by the sword than the cross, Christ & Being Human allowed me to encounter a Jesus molded not to the image of doctrine, ideology, or philosophy, but the breath of Scripture, discipleship, and a wealth of sacred and secular texts that gesture toward the bright sadness behind the world’s dark glass. I am an atheist sympathetic to religious people who prostrate themselves before a God who sends rain upon just and unjust. Christ & Being Human invited me to reflect that such prostration engenders a greater, or, at least, better freedom than a secularism that stands apart from religion, arms-crossed, instead of amidst religion, arms-extended."

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"This was definitely one of the best courses I have taken at YDS. It was fascinating, the readings were broad but deeply related to the course, and the discussions we had were wide-ranging and engaging. Additionally, this is one of the only courses I have taken at YDS that actually put scripture at the center of the course ... We started and ended each class with scripture, and kept the figure of Christ at the center of what we talked about in relation to the good life."

"There are not many classes like this one at YDS. It was thoroughly theological while being completely practical. I felt like it developed and grew both my intellectual ability and my personal faith and beliefs. It is very rare for a class to do that, and I greatly commend both of the teachers for that. This class already has had an impact on my life, and I have no doubt that it will greatly impact my ministry. One of the best courses at YDS."