Category: Religion and Theology

Differences of scholarly research on the events that took place at Masada in 73 CE.
(5-7 double-spaced pages; Times New Roman, size 12 font)
Topic: The siege and fall of Masada in 73 CE provides us with an almost unparalleled opportunity to draw on both literary and archaeological information to understand one of the best-known events in ancient Jewish history. In 5-7 double-spaced pages(Times New Roman, size 12 font), analyze the following two readings in light of the below instructions.
Yigael Yadin, Masada: Herod’s Fortress and the Zealots’ Last Stand. Translated by Moshe Pearlman; New York: Random House, 1966.
Yadin, Masada (1).pdf
*Important: The file contains excerpts from different parts of Yadin’s book, and as such, the flow is sometimes interrupted. Even so, you should be able to follow the flow and logic of his argumentation. Read the following pages: pp. 54, 96-100, 193-201, 209-37. Note that pages 209-25 (the long section on the Roman camps) may be skimmed.
Shaye Cohen, “Masada: Literary Tradition, Archaeological Remains, and the Credibility of Josephus,” Journal of Jewish Studies 33 (1982): 385-405.
Cohen, Masada, Literary Tradition, Archaeological Remains, and the Credibility of Josephus_rotated.pdf
The assignment: Scholars often disagree about how to interpret evidence. Although this may seem obvious, it is not so easy to master two divergent points of view and present a fair case for both. With this paper you will try to weigh differing and at times contradictory analyses of historical evidence. Write a detailed account of the dispute encountered in the readings (listed above and provided on Canvas). It is up to you to decide how best to organize your essay. Do not write as if I already know the contents of the readings and the subject of the debate. The goal is to distill and analyze the main points related to the debate at hand (do not summarize or recount the readings at length). When relevant, you should not shy away from discussing nitty-gritty details (such as the nature and location of the discovery of skeletal remains). Explain the problem and present the essential evidence at stake. Make sure that you understand what positions are held, and at what specific point(s) the writers agree and disagree. Observe the particular patterns in the discussion, such as:
– who wrote first/second, and the effect of the statement/response (are they talking exactly about the same thing)?
– what is their approach and the logic of their argument?
– what evidence do they use and what evidence do they omit?
– do they categorize the evidence in the same manner?
– what is considered decisive by each writer?
Do not choose sides. For this paper, I am more concerned that you show a detailed and fair understanding of each position. It is sometimes said that one cannot begin a fair rebuttal of any position until one can present that position in terms that its own advocate would accept as accurate. Apply your critical thinking to the way(s) in which the writers develop their cases. In addition to the fulfillment of the above instructions, your paper will be graded on the basis of the following criteria: coherent organization, and clear, grammatical writing that is free of spelling errors.
Warning: You may encounter in these readings names of places and people as well as technical terms and foreign words that are unfamiliar to you. The fact that you do not know these will represent initial barriers to understanding the readings, but this is very much part of the point to this paper. Your job is to read for the structure of thinking, to follow the flow of an argument, and then to figure out each category of information and how it fits into the larger purpose of the reading. The significance of most of the evidence can be figured out this way. You should look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Most other technical information (such as references to other scholars’ articles or books and foreign words) can be figured out from context. Despite such features regularly found in scholarly literature, it should still be possible to follow the reasoning of the reading. these two links are the readings you are differentiating in this essay: https://yu.instructure.com/courses/66632/files/3899564?verifier=b3t1KUvV3DFBUh5o0gv90mIbuzlhO1g8u2j2tL7A&wrap=1 and https://yu.instructure.com/courses/66632/files/3899564?verifier=b3t1KUvV3DFBUh5o0gv90mIbuzlhO1g8u2j2tL7A&wrap=1

Writing is part of the process of organizing and communicating your thoughts. A basic series of steps can help you write a solid paper. 
Part I 
Determine which theme, paragraph from the reading, or point in a lecture interests you most, and note in which of the four major parts that occurred. 
Find passages from the readings for that part of the course which discuss your favorite theme/topic. 
Determine an underlying or related theme that is theologically connected to your favorite theme from step 1.  
Find passages from a different one of the four major parts that describe that second theme. 
Write down all the points of connection between the passages/theme from step 2 and from step 4. You should shoot for three major points of connection. 
Articulate what those connection points from step 5 have to do with each other. Use this to make a claim about the relationship between step 2 and step 4. 
Formulate a specific thesis. 
Outline your argument (likely already organized in step 5). 
Write the paper, using quotations, citations, and the thesis and argument you have developed. 
Everything to this point is “factual” given the readings and the long history of Christian discussion of this material. You should have shown the integration of two major themes in the course in part I. 
Part II 
Formulate your own response to the integration you articulated above. You may agree with it and add arguments or disagree with it and consider critical arguments.  
Formulate a specific thesis of the form “I agree that…” or “I disagree that…” Include a “because” clause. This is how you will integrate your own understandings of God, yourself, and the world with the material in the course. 
Outline the argument to support your position. 
Consider a counterargument (i.e. what a reasonable person who disagrees with you would say.” 
Respond to the counterargument. 

3 page paper (double spaced). Using Scripture, you will choose one element of the theology represented in Pilgrim’s Progress, demonstrating a clear and sound understanding of the text, defending or critiquing its artistic representation, indicating why you think this topic and discussion is relevant to the life of the evangelical church today.
Rubrics:
Knowledge of Pilgrim’s Progress
• Aptly chosen texts to support your theological emphasis
Theology
• Clearly articulated theological topic, demonstrating doctrinal awareness
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeBiblical Warrant
• Well-chosen biblical references in support of your chosen doctrine
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRelevance to Church Life
• Well-described concrete situation of evangelical church life today (avoiding abstractions and generalities).

You will complete a 1,800 word critical evaluation of Harold A. Netland’s Christianity &
Religious Diversity: Clarifying Christian Commitments in a Globalizing Age. Your book critique
should include the following parts:
·     
A title
page and footnotes in current Turabian formatting with at least 5 footnotes
or citations to the book
·     
An introduction
·     
A summary
of the book and its contents
·     
A critical
evaluation section in which you evaluate the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the book using supportive evidence from your analysis of
the book
·      A conclusion giving the book’s value in its
larger academic context
·     
A bibliographic entry in
current Turabian formatting at the end of your assignment

Compare and contrast Catholicism and Protestant Christianity, considering various aspects such as (but certainly not all of these!) beliefs, ritual, leadership structures, authority sources, approaches to sacred texts, and attitudes toward gender and the LGBTQ+ community. Analyze how these differences influence religious practices, social dynamics within each tradition, and interactions with broader society. Additionally, discuss the historical contexts that have shaped the development of Catholicism and Protestantism, and examine how these traditions continue to evolve in response to contemporary challenges and cultural shifts.
In this essay you will carefully select your main points of comparison (I would suggest no more than three). You’ll want to tell a story that acknowledges the diversity of Christianity and its traditions.
A thesis statement can be your most helpful tool in writing an outline and a research essay. It functions as a signpost, reminding yourself and your readers of your primary task in the essay. Each supporting point that you develop in your essay should reflect your thesis, so ask yourself, how does this idea I’m discussing highlight or prove what I’ve argued in my thesis statement. Finally, thesis statements don’t have to be static as you’re writing—they might change or develop as you write, and that’s okay. But by the end of your essay writing your thesis statement should direct everything you’ve written, and vice versa.
Writing a research essay gives us the opportunity to dive into an idea or a topic that we find really interesting. The idea of writing a research essay can feel intimidating to many students, but I know that you can rise to the challenge! We have spent some time in this course preparing for this assignment, from the weekly writing tips to the essay outline assignment, and now, also having spent more time studying some of the different world religions, we are set to tackle the research essay. The teaching team always enjoys reading your essays because we can see firsthand all the effort that has gone into the research and the writing. We look forward to reading yours.  
In this assignment you will research and write an essay based on one of the essay topics. Your task is to take one of these questions and use it as a springboard for developing your own thesis that you will explore in your essay. As a research essay, you will need to locate your own appropriate sources in order to develop and support your thesis. Your essay will be assessed for both content and style (see grading rubric).
Requirements
2500 words (8-10 pages)
Double-spaced, 12 pt font
Consistent use of MLA 
Bibliography
Title page with course number, instructor, your name, student number, and date submitted
About Sources
As this is a university class, your research will need to be collected from appropriate academic sources. This includes:
Books
Peer-reviewed Journal
Sacred Literature (e.g New Testament, Buddhist Sutras, Daodejing)
Data from a census or public survey
You’ll notice what’s missing from this list: Wikipedia, websites, and blogs. These sources are excellent in their own right (I would argue that Wikipedia can be very useful when you’re trying to choose an essay topic and you want a brief summary of a particular issue or historical event), but they are not appropriate for an academic research essay. Books and journal articles are peer-reviewed, which means experts in the field assess them often offer feedback to the author, who then revises and edits their work. It’s about maintaining a level of scholarly integrity, and it’s a world you enter into when you write a university essay.
There are a few types of sources that sometimes work for a university essay, and if you find something from the following list please email me directly and we’ll see if it’s a good fit:
Documentaries
Online articles from a religious organization
Interviews (recorded, not conducted yourself)
You must have at least four academic sources and one of these four sources can be from our class reading list. That said, I encourage you to use more than four, as you want to write an essay with well-rounded research.
Citing Your Sources
In a research essay you are going to have a lot of in-text citations! What are in-text citations? In the case of this class (because we follow either MLA or APA guidelines) they are the parenthetical citations you include anytime you want to indicate that an idea isn’t your own. For example, at the end of this sentence you’ll find a parenthetical citation (LaGrone, 38). In this citation, LaGrone is the last name of the author and 38 is the page number from where the idea was taken (there won’t be a page number for some sources, and in this case you would just use the author’s name). The citation gives enough information for the reader to find the full listing of the source in your bibliography.
You are expected to cite your sources in two different situations. The first is when you directly quote an author’s writing (most people are familiar with this one). The second is when you’ve paraphrased an author’s words into your own words (most people aren’t familiar with this one). This means you will have many citations on each page of your essay. You will be collecting research on ideas and events that you haven’t personally experienced or done original investigations into, which means much of your essay will be written—in your own words—based on the work of someone else. Citing your sources is just about giving some credit.
Due on Jul 20, 2024 10:00 PM
Rubric Name: Research Essay Rubric
Print
Criteria
Excellent to Exceptional
Very Good
Reasonably Good
Minimally Acceptable to Acceptable
No Submission
Criterion Score
Analysis
40 points
A fully developed thesis or argument with excellent use of detailed supporting points.
30 points
Attempt made at a developed thesis or argument. Effective use of detailed supporting points.
20 points
Thesis or argument is not fully developed. Ineffective use of supporting points and lacking detailed examples.
10 points
Thesis or argument is lacking important points and is not supported
0 points
Score of Analysis,
/ 40
Organization
25 points
Very well organized with clearly presented material. Very well structured discussion that flows smoothly throughout the essay. Essay has clearly defined introduction and conclusion.
18.75 points
Well organized essay, with a structured discussion. Argument usually easy to follow.
12.5 points
Essay not organized according to an introduction, thesis, supporting points, and conclusion. Very little structure to the writing of the essay. Argument difficult to follow.
6.25 points
Essay is not organized, lacking coherent structure. Argument difficult to follow.
0 points
Score of Organization,
/ 25
Style
15 points
Very well written with very few or no grammatical or spelling errors.
11.25 points
Generally well written with some grammatical and spelling errors.
7.5 points
Written with some grammatical and spelling errors.
3.75 points
Many grammatical and spelling errors.
0 points
Score of Style,
/ 15
Referencing
10 points
Sources are cited using the MLA or APA style guideline. Sources are excellent and support thesis throughout essay. Bibliography follows style guidelines.
7.5 points
Sources are cited using the MLA or APA style guideline Sources are strong. Bibliography follows style guidelines with one or two errors.
5 points
Sources are cited, but do not follow the MLA or APA style guideline Sources are on topic but not strong. Bibliography does not follow style guidelines or is missing entirely.
2.5 points
No sources cited and/or do not follow the MLA or APA style guideline. Bibliography does not follow style guidelines or is missing entirely.
0 points
Score of Referencing,
/ 10
Presentation
10 points
A very well-balanced presentation of complex ideas. Writing is thoughtful and critically constructed.
7.5 points
A well-balanced presentation of complex ideas but room for some improvement. Writing is thoughtful at times but could be more critical of the material.
5 points
Elements of a balanced presentation of ideas but with room for improvement.
2.5 points
Presentation is weak with room for improvement.
0 points
Score of Presentation,
/ 10

Research Question: How do different Christian denominations understand the purpose and function of the Lord’s supper, and what are the implications of these interpretations for their worship practices?
Thesis Statement: Communion is regarded differently by different Christian denominations,
with believers in certain traditions seeing it as a mere symbolic remembrance
up to the belief in a literal transubstantiation that results in different
worship practices and rituals across these borders.

you will write about the seven elements of religion. it doent matter about the pages numbers as long as you have 2,100. I will send the intructions. make sure you cite your work 

Explain the three schools of Buddhism. How did they arise and why? Do you see a parallels between the 3 schools of Buddhism and the Classical and Bhakti traditions in Hinduism?

Submit a 1-2 page Big Questions Summary of Hinduism.  As a result of this assignment and watching all the videos assigned to this week’s module, you should now understand how Hinduism views the nature of reality and the essential objective truth claims that form its foundation.
Consider that you have been asked to complete a FAQ section on Hinduism, and these are the questions you have to answer.  Be sure to use APA formatting in your paper.  Your paper should include a title page, the content (type the question and then answer it beginning on the next line down), and a works cited page for any resources cited in the paper.  Please include at least three reliable sources.  
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style.  The OWL website can be accessed here: 
Purdue Online Writing Lab
In the summary, you will provide the answers to the following:
(1) List the main beliefs about the nature of the divine and the nature of man.
(2) List the main religious practices.
(3) If there is/are authoritative text(s), what is it/are they?  How did the text(s) come into existence?
(4) According to this religion, what is the origin of man?
(5) According to this religion, what meaning, purpose, and value is there to life, if any?
(6) According to this religion, what should we do with our lives on the earth?
(7) According to this religion, what is the destiny of man, that is, what will happen to man after physical death on the earth?
(8) If we had it, what evidence could give us reason to believe that this religion has reality, correct?  If we had it, what evidence could give us reason to believe that this religion does not have reality, correct? 

Writing Assignment for Week Eight
Attached Files:
Score Card Rubric for Effectively Written College-level Essays.60 point scale.rev.doc (36.5 KB)
in a minimum of 500 words propose an activity that you would recommend for “What You Can Do” to improve interfaith understanding for a specific individual, group or organization.