2) Critical Analysis Paper: Choose one of the books listed below and write a 1500-1800 word (5 page double-spaced) critical analysis paper. The critical analysis has two main components and purposes: First, you are to summarize briefly and succinctly the main points of the text (approx. 2 pages), integrating what you have learned from the reading with the relevant materials in lectures, class discussions and reading assignments. Second, you are expected to engage critically and thoughtfully with the material and in so do doing offer comments that reflect this critical process. Please note that a critical response is not a book review; it is a critical analysis and response. While summary is a part of the response, you will be graded largely on the quality of your analysis. Due Saturday, December 4. (30% of final grade)
Choose one book from the list at the end of the syllabus for the critical analysis paper, or you may propose an alternate book for professor approval.
There are two main components to the critical response — summary and analysis. Both components must be included but the weight is on the second component, analysis. Please incorporate lectures and other relevant course material where appropriate.
Summary section:
The summary should comprise no more than 30%-40% of your paper and should give an overview of the text. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate that you understand what you read and how it fits together with what you have learned elsewhere. Give the reader a sense of the content of the text and the main idea(s) the writer is trying to get across. In other words, what are the author’s main ideas and arguments?
Analysis section:
The second part is where you provide your own “critical” reflections. In this section, you should go beyond summarizing the text and interact with the material using your own insights and questions. This is where you are able to offer your own theological contributions. It is perfectly acceptable to reveal your own opinions, but frame them in a solid, thoughtful way that gives depth and direction to your insights.
In this section, think about the historical, missional, pastoral, or philosophical implications of the text, and organize your thoughts into a constructive discussion. A good approach to this is to think in terms of positive and negative. What is good about the approach or contribution? What are questions or critiques that should be addressed? What are fruitful contributions? What are likely dangers?
Feel free to use other resources where relevant, but remember that the key is to show your personal, thoughtful contribution and involvement with the material. Obviously space is limited, so rather than trying to fit everything into this small space, feel free to pick a few particular points to develop.
As you write, keep in mind the following things:
Because this is a critical analysis, you are not expected to analyze the entire text. Rather, pick 1-3 key points and analyze those in the context of the summary you have provided of the text.
The critical response is not a book report. It is a critique in which you engage with the content in an analytical manner. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented in the text? Can you back up your critique or link it with other texts or information you have received in the class? Remember, the stress here is on analysis.
With regard to citations, the critical responses are not as formal as research papers. Since the critical responses are focused on one or two sources, you do not have to use footnotes. If it is one source, you can write the page number in the body of the text like this (14). If there are two books then you will want to write, for example, (Karkkainen, 24) so the source is clearly identifiable.
Books for Critical Analysis Paper:
Jewish-Christian Relations:
Braaten, Carl E. and Robert W. Jews and Christians: People of God. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003.
Frymer-Kensky, Tikva et al., eds. Christianity in Jewish Terms. Boulder: Westview Press, 2000. (Select any 200 pages)
Kinzer, Mark. Israel’s Messiah and the People of God: A Vision for Messianic Jewish Covenant Fidelity. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011.
Levine, Amy-Jill. The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus. New York: HarperOne, 2007.
Sacks, Jonathan. To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility. New York: Schocken Books, 2005.
Soulen, R. Kendall. The God of Israel and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996.
Torrance, Thomas. The Mediation of Christ. Colorado Springs: Helmers and Howard, 1992.
Wyschogrod, Michael. Abraham’s Promise: Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations. Edited by R. Kendall Soulen. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004. (Select any 200 pages)
Ecclesiology, Vocation & Missiology:
Guder, Darrell L. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
Newbigin, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.
Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium. New York: Harmony, 1999.
Keller, Timothy. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work. New York: Dutton, 2012.
Biblical Studies:
Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ. New York: New Press, 2012.
Eisenbaum, Pamela. Paul Was Not a Christian. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.
Wright, Christopher J.H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: IVP, 2006.
Zetterholm, Magnus. Approaches to Paul: A Student’s Guide to Recent Scholarship. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009.
Theologies of Religions:
D’Costa, G. Christianity and World Religions: Disputed Questions in the Theology of Religions. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
D’Costa, G. et. al. Only One Way?: Three Christian Responses to the Uniqueness of Christ in a Religiously Pluralist World. Norwich: SCM, 2011.
Kärkkäinen, V.-M. An Introduction to the Theology of Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Knitter, Paul F. Introducing Theologies of Religions. Orbis, 2007.
Prothero, Stephen. God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World. HarperOne, 2008.
Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions. New York: HarperOne, 1991.
Special Topics:
Volf, Miroslav. Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.
Munayer, Salim J. and Lisa Loden (eds.) The Land Cries Out: Theology of the Land in the Israeli-Palestinian Context. Eugene: Cascade, 2012.
