Jesus Homework

You need to be good at religious.

Part 1 – Definition

Please give a short definition for each term. You get full credit if you give at least two significant facts about each.

1. Jesus (historical) –

2. Jesus (American) –

3. Jesus (Thomas Jefferson, enlightenment) –

4. Jesus (19th century, evangelical) –

5. Jesus (early 20th century, masculine) –

6. Jesus (mid-20th century, celebrity) –

7. Jesus (Mormon) –

8. Jesus (African American/Black) –

9. Jesus (American Jewish) –

10. Jesus (American Hindu) –

11. Jesus (American Buddhist) –

12. Jesus (Forest Lawn, Hubert Eaton) –

13. Jesus (Calvinist) –

14. American religion –

Part 2 – Short Answer (Choose three)

1. What are the arguments for and against America being a Christian nation?

2. What is the basic cycle by which Jesus has been adopted outside the Christian mainstream to become increasingly popular in America?

3. How does the continuing power of traditional Calvinism explain Jesus’s continuing authority?

4. What is the difference between Jesus’s resurrections and reincarnations in American Jesus?

5. What is the difference between historical Jesus and Jesus in America?

Part 3 – Short Essay(s)

Write a significant argument and not simply a restatement of the facts.

Write one longer essay(800 words) comparing and contrasting at least four of the versions of Jesus we have encountered in this class or two shorter essays(each 400 words) each comparing at least two of the versions of Jesus we have encountered in this class (no fewer than four total). Your choices should come from the historical Jesus and/or numbers 3-13 in Part 1 of this exam (listed below). As long as you show your understanding of the material and make an interpretive argument, you have a significant amount of freedom. You can argue for why you find one version of Jesus most compelling or most troubling, why different versions actually support each other, why different versions actually contradict each other, why one version of Jesus is particularly strong or weak from a particular perspective, etc. Don’t just deal in generalities, but show that you have been engaging the material and can understand it in detail. Use these details to build into a larger, persuasive claim/argument. Remember, an argument is something that takes complex evidence into account and includes your own assessment, values, and opinions. An obvious statement that is difficult to contradict like “Different people have had different views about Jesus” is not an argument.

Jesus (historical); Jesus (Thomas Jefferson, enlightenment); Jesus (19th century, evangelical);

Jesus (early 20th century, masculine); Jesus (mid-20th century, celebrity); Jesus (Mormon);

Jesus (African American/Black); Jesus (American Jewish); Jesus (American Hindu);

Jesus (American Buddhist); Jesus (Forest Lawn, Hubert Eaton); Jesus (Calvinist)