New BYU/CES Religious Curriculum

[creekster]

Anyone know if IKEA delivers to the gibbon's head because I might be here awhile and could use a futon.

Sorry, I am told that my mind is much too small to take on a boarder.

[Uncle Ted]

4. The Eternal Family: A study of the central role of the family in the plan of salvation as taught in the scriptures and the words of modem prophets

This might be good. I am sure they will use the family proclamation as a foundation document and make all the women in the class feel guilty that they are going to be held accountable before God that they are not home nurturing their children instead of preparing for a career. The guilt will most likely get them to drop out and free up some space so more men can attend BYU-Utah.

I wonder if the 1950's family/sociology class that '71 took would count for this?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Most of the faculty was against it, but it carried anyway?? That doesn't bode well for those that hope some structural changes will be made to allow BYU's FB program to get to the next level.

Sorry, that was a mischaracterization on my part. Most of the "ancient scripture" faculty were against that. That is one department within the college of religion. I assume they were outvoted.

[smokymountainrain]

Sorry, that was a mischaracterization on my part. Most of the "ancient scripture" faculty were against that. That is one department within the college of religion. I assume they were outvoted.

Okay, that makes a bit more sense. kinda funny, tbh.

[Jeff Lebowski]

it was bragworthy to tell others that you were able to get a spot in Susan Easton Black's Church History class. Now students wont know that thrill.

I took a religion course from Hugh Nibley.

[byu71]

Sorry, that was a mischaracterization on my part. Most of the "ancient scripture" faculty were against that. That is one department within the college of religion. I assume they were outvoted.

thanks for the clarification. I feel better now.

[Moliere]

This doesn't seem like a good step for the religion department, but then again it's not like the old curriculum was that great. I also found it odd that I could take a college level class on the Book of Mormon from an accounting professor. That department has been jacked up for a long time and now they are just formalizing it.

And a whole class on the eternal family? Maybe they could just rename it Patriarchal Homophobia 101.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This doesn't seem like a good step for the religion department, but then again it's not like the old curriculum was that great. I also found it odd that I could take a college level class on the Book of Mormon from an accounting professor. That department has been jacked up for a long time and now they are just formalizing it.

And a whole class on the eternal family? Maybe they could just rename it Patriarchal Homophobia 101.

Yeah, I am not sure it will make a huge difference. But I certainly understand and sympathize with the angst.

[Northwestcoug]

Personally, I find this new curriculum appalling. It will result in the further decay of scriptural literacy–already a significant problem among the Saints. Scripture study in the Church has now become nothing more than completely decontextualized proof-texting. There is, practically speaking, no further institutional support by the Church for the actual study of scripture–as opposed to Church doctrine, devotion and daily application.

Prooftexting. That's rich, coming from Hamblin and his entourage.

it was bragworthy to tell others that you were able to get a spot in Susan Easton Black's Church History class. Now students wont know that thrill.

One of my church history professors openly disdained Black, at one point telling us some of the things she was saying in her class 'simply not true'. I had taken her class right before his. At the time, I loved what she was sharing with us. Hell, I took more notes in her class than I did in any other class. Now with the benefit of hindsight (and the new lds.org essays!), the other professor was proven right.

I took a religion course from Hugh Nibley.

I sat two chairs away from him in gospel doctrine class, back when he and I were in the same Provo ward

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Sorry, that was a mischaracterization on my part. Most of the "ancient scripture" faculty were against that. That is one department within the college of religion. I assume they were outvoted.

Any idea if Ludlow is in that group?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Prooftexting. That's rich, coming from Hamblin and his entourage.

Yeah, I thought that was funny too.

[creekster]

Yeah, I am not sure it will make a huge difference. But I certainly understand and sympathize with the angst.

I only took one religion class at BYU and have little to rely on here. But I think it might make a big difference because it will make it much harder for an instructor to go off-piste, so to speak, and dig into the text if the text isn't the basis for the course. For example, if you are teaching the Old testament you can dive into whatever you want to in that text and still be on topic, in general. But that becomes much more difficult if you are teaching under these new topics.

[clackamascoug]

I'm reiterating my question "what is an eternal family?" Maybe I should take the online course and find out.

[YOhio]

I support any effort to make sure church stuff is less boring. Doubt this magic new curriculum will work, though.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Interesting response:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithpr...cal-tradition/

"this curriculum shift is further proof that Mormonism is a priestly, not a scriptural, religion, meaning that authority is found in those wearing the mantle of authority rather than those found in the scriptural text. Instead of the notion of continued revelation destabilizing contemporary authority through the prospect of possible fallibility and future revision—an impulse mostly found in a liberal periphery of the LDS tradition—the concept has actually been interpreted in a way that solidifies the very concept of contemporary authority. Read through this particular hermeneutical vein, Mormonism’s open canon centralizes authority not in the scriptural texts but the bodies of current leaders: it is not so much important what the scriptures say, but what current Church leaders tell us those scriptures mean, and how those fungible texts can serve as springboards or creative evidence for modern arguments."