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The University of Manchester
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures
Centre for Religion and
Political Culture
Samuel Alexander Building, WG13
Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL England
timothy.stanley@manchester.ac.uk
44.0.790.662.1551

















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RELT20031 Making Sense of Christ ESSAY QUESTIONS

 

You are required to submit two essays of approximately 2500 words in length. The first is formative and can be handed directly into your instructor, and the second is summative and must be submitted in duplicate to the school office, Samuel Alexander room A6. The feedback and assessment criteria which will be used to grade your essays is available for download as a PDF. The following is a list of suggested essay questions and topics to address:

  1. Discuss the following statement from Lessing's, On the Proof of the Spirit and of Power: "Accidental truths of history can never become the proof of necessary truths of reason."
  2. Outline and comment upon Kant's understanding of Christ in Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone.
  3. Write a critical assessment of Hegel's understanding of Jesus Christ.
  4. "Discuss the following statement from Schleiermacher's The Christian Faith: "The Redeemer, then, is like all men in virtue of the identity of the human nature, but distinguished from them all by the constant potency of his God-consciousness, which was a veritable existence of God in him."
  5. Outline the argument of Strauss' Life of Jesus and comment upon its importance for Christology.
  6. Discuss the following statement from Kierkegaard: "The thesis that God has existed in human form, was born, grew up, etc., is certainly the paradox sensu strictissimo, the absolute paradox."
  7. Write a critical evaluation of kenotic Christology.
  8. In what ways has Liberal Protestantism understood Jesus of Nazareth?

Further Instructions

 

In these essays you will be required to show an understanding of and an ability to evaluate critically one or more of the Christologies of the theologians studied on the course. The objectives of the essays are: a) to enable you to deepen your knowledge of the theologian or Christology studied in the course unit, b) to give you opportunity to develop your critical evaluation of theological arguments, and c) to develop your essay writing skills.

The first of these two essays is formative. That is, although you will receive a mark, it will not count towards your final result for this course unit. The formative essay is intended to give you the opportunity to develop your essay writing skills and to enable you work through problems with the assistance of your course unit tutor in preparation for formal assessment. Formative feedback will be provided by means of feedback forms, which describe in detail the strengths and weaknesses of your essay. Formative feedback is also provided in individual tutorials, the times of which will be negotiated with each student on return of the formative essay.

The second essay is summative. That is, the mark awarded for the essay will contribute to your final result for the course unit. Feedback will also be provided for the summative essay and individual tutorials can be arranged once the essay has been marked.

Essays should be word-processed and should include references (either footnotes or endnotes) and a full bibliography of works cited in the essay. Guidance on writing essays will be provided during the course, and advice on examination preparation towards the end of the course. Students requiring further tutorial assistance may consult the instructor by appointment in Samuel Alexander Room WG13.

For further reading for your essays, a brief bibliography has been provided here.