REL 363 - Suffering and the Sacred (1)

This course examines diverse biblical response paradigms concerning human suffering as found throughout Jewish and Christian traditions. Paradigms we will explore include: Lament and protest as prayer form; redemptive suffering and self-sacrifice; liberation from social/political and psychological oppression; forgiveness; defiant joy as spiritual resistance; and relinquishment or shedding of Ego-mind including amid the pain of spiritual growth known as Dark Night of the Soul. These meaning making responses and coping strategies, as well as hope amid affliction, are undercurrents throughout the course. Includes Liberation Theology (black, womanist, and feminist), Holocaust Theology, and Contemplative/Mystical Theology. Offered every third year.
(Humanities)