ALLIANCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Alliance Graduate School of Mission
IC 725 Christian Witness Among Buddhists
Online Class
Instructor: Stephen Bailey Ph.D.
Office Telephone: (845) 353-2020, ext. 6967
E-mail: Stephen.Bailey@nyack.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course follows a study of the major religious traditions of the world from five vantage points:
1. the historical origins and sociological context of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism;
2. the philosophical assumptions and their resultant theological systems;
3. the existential experience of practicing these two streams of Buddhism;
4. their encounter with Christian faith and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ;
5. methodology in Christian witness among Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists.
COURSE LEARNING GOALS
1. Students will interact with the history, social context and practice of the two primary Buddhist’s
traditions through reading, power point notes, a temple visit and online discussion with other
students and the professor.
2. Students will seek to gain an insider’s perspective on these Buddhist traditions by reading from
their sacred writings and considering their sacred practices and rituals.
3. Students will explore some of the folk religious dimensions of Buddhism through reading,
discussion with the professor and the power point slides.
4. Students will learn principles of engaging Buddhists with a Christian witness to the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
5. Information Literacy Goal: Students will evaluate information and its sources critically, and
incorporate selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
COURSE CORRELATION
MI 831 is fitted into the ministry phase of the CHURCH, PERSON AND MINISTRY PHASES of the
ATS Ministry Formational Model.
REQUIRED TEXT
Lim, David and Steve Spaulding, eds.2003. SHARING JESUS IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD. Pasadena,
CA: William Carey Publishers. ISBN 0878085068. Chapters 3, 6, and 8.
Lim, David and Steve Spaulding, eds. 2005. SHARING JESUS HOLISTICALLY WITH THE
BUDDHIST WORLD. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Publishers. ISBN 0-87808-508-4. Read
Chapters 3, 5, and 9.
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Lim, David, Steve Spaulding and Paul De Neui, eds. 2005. SHARING JESUS EFFECTIVELY IN THE
BUDDHIST WORLD. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Publishers. ISBN 0878085092. Read
Chapters 3, 5 and 11.
REQUIREMENTS/GRADING
1.
Online Work: The instructor expects that students in this course will thoroughly engage all
the online material including carefully reading and considering all the power point
presentations, interacting with all the discussion session questions, doing all the assigned
reading and when possible watching assigned videos and /or visiting Buddhist temples in
your area. This requirement will be counted as % of the grade.
2.
Interviews. In place of one of the online reading in Units 5 and 6 (or if you prefer Unit 7) a
student may choose to conduct two ethnographic interviews with a Buddhist monk at their
temple or a practicing Asian Buddhist (1st generation immigrant). A suggested format for the
interview is attached to the syllabus. Students will hand in their interview notes and a two
page reflection paper (double spaced) stating what the student learned about communicating
the gospel to a Buddhist as they did the interview. The purpose of the interview is not to
actually share the gospel (although this may happen) but to ask questions, observe and learn
through the interview.
3.
Video Tape. Students may watch two educational video tapes (that the student has not seem
previously) on Theravada and / or Mahayana Buddhism in place of the reading in Unit 6 or 7.
Pay close attention to social descriptions that serve as clues for communication with this
group and the role of power in the religion. You will hand in a two page reflection paper on
each video. Below are some recommended videos for you to consider.
4.
Reflection Papers on articles in Text Books - Students will write one to two page reviews
on each of the chapters listed above for each of the text books. You should briefly summarize
the articles main argument/s and then interact with it/them. Raise any questions you have that
have come up in the reading. Please use the formatting rules outlined in the Turabian
Summary which is online for you to download under Shared Documents.
5.
Online Reading - Each student will send the professor an email indicating how much of the
online reading s/he completed at the end of the semester.
6.
Research Paper – Each student will do a 15 page (including the Works Cited page) research
paper on the Theravada or Mahayana Buddhism as practiced by a particular people group in
Asia.
a. The paper should describe the unique understanding and practice of Buddhism among the
people group studied. It should review various methods that have been used to share the
gospel with these people and it should present ideas for improving the communication of
the gospel among this group in the future. Be sure to show your knowledge of
contextualization for communication style, form and meaning.
b. The paper should cite at least 10 academic sources (five of these may be web-based
sources). Please use the formatting rules outlined in the Turabian Summary which is
online for you to download under Shared Documents.
GRADING
1. Online Work & Reading
30%
2
2. Reading Reflection Papers
5. Research Paper
30 %
40%
GRADING SCALE
Grades are assigned based on your competency in performing the assignments in this syllabus.
A (4.0) 93-100
A- (3.7) 90-92
B+ (3.3) 88-89
B (3.0) 83-87
B- (2.7) 80-82
C+ (2.3) 78-79
C (2.0) 73-77
C- (1.7) 70-72
D+ (1.3) 68-69
D (1.0) 63-67
D- (0.7) 60-62
F (0.0) Below 60
DUE DATES AND LATE WORK
The course begins on January 15th and ends on April 30th. You will have to complete all the work for each
Unit within ten days. After that the online program will not allow you access to the Unit. This means that
you must complete the reading, the papers, and the online discussion sessions within the ten days allotted
for each Unit (see the Calendar for start and end dates). Work will not be accepted after the ten days
unless you have some kind of emergency that you discuss with the professor via email and gain approval
to turn it in late.
COURSE CALENDAR
Unit 1 Introduction to the Buddhist World
Unit 2 The Life of the Buddha
Unit 3 The Teachings of the Buddha: Dharma
Unit 4 The History of Buddhism in SE and East Asia
Unit 5 Buddhist Scriptures
Unit 6 Theravada Buddhism
Unit 7 Mahayana Buddhism
Unit 8 Festivals and Rituals and Folk Religion
Unit 9 Contextualization
Unit 10 Communicating Christ Among Buddhists
Unit 11 Contextualizing the Gospel For Buddhists
GENERAL TEXTS ON WORLD RELIGIONS
Bach, Marcus. 1961. HAD YOU BEEN BORN IN ANOTHER FAITH. Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice-Hall.
Berry, Thomas. 1996. RELIGIONS OF INDIA: HINDUISM, YOGA, BUDDHISM.
New York: Columbia University.
Danielou, S.J., Jean. 1964. INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT RELIGIONS. Notre Dame.
Fides Press.
Nigosian, S.A. 1990. WORLD FAITHS. New York: St. Martin’s.
Ross, Nancy W. 1966. THREE WAYS OF ASIAN WISDOM: HINDUISM, BUDDHISM
AND ZEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE WEST. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Smart, Ninian. 1966. WORLD RELIGIONS: A DIALOGUE. Baltimore: Penguin.
Smart, Ninian. 1998. THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Huston Smith. 1991. THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS, Revised. San Francisco: Harper-Collins.
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BUDDHISM
Conze, Edward. 1993. A SHORT HISTORY OF BUDDHISM. Oneworld Oxford Press.
Harvey, Peter. 1990. AN INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM: TEACHINGS, HISTORY AND
PRACTICES. Cambridge University Press. [Highly Recommended]
Rahula, Sri Walpola. WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT. Haw Trai Foundation Bangkok, Thailand.
(A) SACRED TEXTS
Conze, Edward (ed). 1959. BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES. New York: Penguin.
THE SUTRA OF HUI NENG. Hong Kong: Buddhist Book Distributor Press.
Warren, Henry C. (ed). 1926. BUDDHIST WRITINGS: THE BUDDHA, THE DOCTRINE,
THE ORDER. New York: Reynolds.
(B) GENERAL TEXTS ON THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Carter, John Ross and George Bond, (eds). 1982. THE THREE-FOLD REFUGE IN THE
THERAVADA TRADITION. Chambersburg, PA: Anima Books.
Coleman, James W. 2001. THE NEW BUDDHISM : THE WESTERN TRANSFORMATION
OF AN ANCIENT TRADITION. New York: Oxford.
De Bary, William T. (ed). 1972. THE BUDDHIST TRADITION IN INDIA, CHINA AND
JAPAN. New York: Random House.
Ishii, Yoneo. 1986. SANGHA, STATE AND SOCIETY: THAI BUDDHISM IN HISTORY.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii.
(C) GENERAL TEXTS ON MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
Lester, Robert C. 1987. BUDDHISM: THE PATH TO NIRVANA. San Francisco: Harper and
Row.
Richardson, E. Allen. 1985. EAST COMES WEST: ASIAN RELIGIONS AND CULTURE IN
NORH AMERICA. New York: Pilgrim.
Suzuki, Beatrice L. 1963. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM: A BRIEF OUTLINE. New York:
Collier Books.
(D) GENERAL TEXTS ON ZEN BUDDHISM
Dumoulin, Heinrich, S.J. 1965. A HISTORY OF ZEN BUDDHISM. New York: McGrawHill.
Pollack, David. 1985. ZEN PEOMS AND THE FIVE MOUNTAINS. New York: Crossroads.
Smith, Forrest (ed). 1993. PURE-LAND ZEN ZEN PURE-LAND. Second Edition. Bronx:
Translation Committee of the United States and Canada.
Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. ZEN AND JAPANESE CULTURE. New York: Pantheon.
Watts, Alan W. 1965. THE WAY OF ZEN. New York: Random House.
(E) GENERAL TEXTS ON TANTRIC BUDDHISM
Lerning, Ferdinand D. 1978. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUDDHIST TANTRIC SYSTEMS.
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
(F) GENERAL TEXTS ON TIBETAN BUDDHISM
Bell, Sir Charles. 1931. THE RELIGION OF TIBET. Oxford: Clarendon.
Das, Lama Surya. 1977. AWAKENING THE BUDDHA WITHIN. New York: BantamDoubleday.
Sopa, Geshe Lhundup and Jeffrey Hopkins. 1976. PRACTICE AND THEORY OF TIBETAN
BUDDHISM. New York: Grove Press.
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Waddell, L. Austine. 1972. TIBETAN BUDDHISM. New York: Dover.
(G) TEXTS THAT INCLUDE METHODS OF CHRISTIAN ENGAGEMENT
Cobb, John B. 1982. BEYOND DIALOGUE: TOWARD A MUTUAL TRANSFORMATION
OF CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Davis, John R. 1993. POLIES APART? CONTEXTUALIZING THE GOSPEL. Bangkok, Thailand:
Kanok Bannasan OMF Publishers.
Fernando, Antony. 1981. BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY: THEIR INNER AFFINITY.
Colombo, Sir Lanka: Eccumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue.
Lim, David and Steve Spaulding, eds. 2003. SHARING JESUS IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD.
Pasadena, CA: William Carey Publishers.
2005. SHARING JESUS HOLISTICALLY WITH THE BUDDHIST WORLD. Pasadena, CA:
William Carey Publishers.
Lim, David, Steve Spaulding and Paul De Neui, eds. 2005. SHARING JESUS EFFECTIVELY IN THE
BUDDHIST WORLD. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Publishers.
King, Winston Lee. 1962. BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY: SOME BRIDGES OF
UNDERSTANDING. Philadelphia: Westminster.
Latourette, Kenneth S. 1956. INTRODUCING BUDDHISM. New York: Friendship.
LCWE. 1980. CHRISTIAN WITNESS TO BUDDHISTS. Wheaton: LCWE.
Shin, Hong-Shik. 1989. PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH PLANTING AS ILLUSTRATED IN THAI
THERAVADA BUDDHIST CONTEXT. Bangkok, Thailand: Kanok Bannasan OMF Publishers.
Tsering, Marku. 1993. SHARING CHRIST IN THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST WORLD.
Revised Edition. Upper Darby, PA: Tibet Press.
Weerasingha, Tissa. 1989. THE CROSS AND THE BO TREE: COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL TO
BUDDHISTS. Taiwan: Asia Theological Association.
For an excellent online list of list of books on Buddhism go to http://www.buddhanet.net/elearning/history/b_books.htm
ATS LIBRARY VIDEOS FOR REVIEW
Buddhism
Religions of the World: Buddhism, Schlessinger Media
Walking with Buddha, Films for the Humanities and Sciences
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Ethnographic Interview
Reminders:
a) This is information gathering – avoid critique of their answers or debate
b) The lead questions are just to get you started – spring off of these to help you better
understand of the people and the religion
c) Pray before you go – your contact is not merely social; our enemy has a vested interest in
this person and in keeping you from understanding and loving them and their world
d) Honor their culture from the beginning – be aware of gender issues; purity issues; social
rules of engagement
Introduction: I am taking a university level course on world religion. Part of our learning
assignment is to go beyond books and speak personally with followers of
__________. I want to know more about you and your religion. If you are in
agreement, I would be interested in asking you some questions to help my
understanding.
1) Personal Information
* Name, Age (estimate; not necessary to ask), Gender, Cultural background, Marital Status,
Occupation, General living situation
2) Introduction to the Religion
a) What does one have to do to become a ___________________?
b) Please tell me about the land which you have come from. What are your earliest memories of
practicing your religion?
c) If American born – how were you introduced to your religion? Conversion
experience?
3) Religious Practice
a) What are the most important things to know about __________________?
b) What practices do you observe? When? How? With Whom?
c) What are the most difficult practices living in America?
d) If you were to describe your religion to an American who knew nothing about it, what
would you say?
e) What misconceptions do Americans have about your religion that you would like to
change?
f) What misconceptions do religious followers of ___________ have of Christians that
you have found different?
g) Has anyone from your religious group converted to another religion? How did that
happen? How did that feel? What was the attitude of the people to this person?
What happened afterwards?
Conclusion: Thank you for this time that you have given me.
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