How the Bible Became Holy

For several years, I have included a historical simulation as the final exercise of my undergraduate class, “How the Bible Became Holy.”  This year I will do the same.  The guidelines for the simulation are below.  They are similar to previous renditions.

Also as I’ve done in the past, I invite you to join us for live tweeting of the simulation.  It will take place on Monday, December 16, starting around 2:45 PM ET, and will probably last about 90 minutes. I will use the hashtag: #htbbh2019.  The tweets will be displayed in the classroom in real time and in the past students have really enjoyed watching scholars from across the world dip into their conversations.  So even if you can only attend briefly, please do – it should be great fun.

 

BACKGROUND

We are sometime in the fourth century CE in Constantinople.  The Roman emperor, a devout Christian (and also a practical ruler), spurred by the bishops in his court and concerned about both growing Christian diversity and his own eternal salvation, has recently convened a series of synods to hash out “orthodox” Christian theology.  They have not gone particularly well.  While some bishops were able to develop creeds that they could live with, other participants left angry and alienated.  Chastened by the limited success of these synods, he has decided to address an issue that he hopes will be significantly easier to resolve: the confusing state of “scripture” within the Church.  Does the Church need a canon, and if so, what should be in it?  Primarily of interest to the bishops is whether, should it be decided that a canon is desirable, any parts of the Hebrew Bible should be included.

You have been summoned to participate in this Synod.  Representatives of the competing parties will attend; the emperor expects you all to arrive at an agreement.  Representatives of the Jewish community have also been invited to participate.

[N.B.  This Synod is a historical fantasy.  There was no Synod convened at this time to canonize the Christian Bible.  If there was, Jews would not have been invited and some of the other participants would have been long dead.   This is pretend.]

PARTICIPANTS

The Emperor

The Bishops within the Royal Court

Marcionites

Montanists

Gnostics

Rabbis

PROCEDURE AND SCHEDULE

December 3

You will meet with your groups today and organize yourselves.  Read through these instructions carefully, particularly how the simulation will play out and be scored.  Begin dividing your research, both for your own position and that of your opponents (a few resources, to get you started, are at the end of this handout.  To get a feel for Christian canonization, you should all read the following short texts, available on OCRA:

3. Eusebius, Church History, 3.24-25
4. Athanasius, Selection from Letter 39
5. Harry Gamble, “The Canon of the New Testament”

You may want to get started on your group assignment, your “victory objectives.”  This should be a list of three to five goals (outcomes of the Synod) that align with your role.  Each objective should be assigned points; the sum of all the points should be 100.  At the end of the Synod the groups will be scored based on these objectives in order to determine who won.

December 5

 We will spend this class in group work on (1) the victory objectives and (2) your opening speech, as a group.

Assignment Due, December 6, 11:59 PM:  Each group will submit their victory objectives (one file per group) in the appropriate place on Canvas.

Assignment Due, December 13, 11:59 PM:  This is an individual speech due on Canvas.  This is the opening speech that you, in character, would deliver at the Synod.  This is individual, not group, work, and your group presentation might well differ.  It should run about five pages and is worth 10% of your course grade.

THE SYNOD

 Our simulation will take place on Monday, December 16, 2-5 PM.  The location will be announced.

Procedure

 

1. Each group will denote a representative to deliver its opening statement. The statement should run 5-7 minutes, no less.  Each statement will be followed by about 5 minutes of questioning;
2. After the opening statements, groups will meet/negotiate for about 30 minutes;
3. A second round of statements (which can be shorter than the first), each followed by Q&A period;
4. A shorter round of negotiations (10 minutes);
5. A vote to determine if the Rabbis will get to vote (the Rabbis themselves do not vote);
6. Each group or “team” of groups gets to make a proposal;
7. Vote on the proposals (following the rules in [5]; whether Rabbis vote or not depends on the outcome at that stage);
8. Calculation of winner, followed by general discussion.

 

FOLLOW-UP

 

You have two short assignments due on December 17, at 11:59 PM; each should be about two pages.  One is an assessment of the simulation: how did it go?  What did you learn from it?

The second document is a self-assessment.  Remember that this has no impact on your grade.  This exercise is an opportunity for you to consider your own learning in this course and how it might help you in the future.

1. What is the most important insight that you will take away from this course?  Why is it important to you?
2. What skills have you learned or improved in this course?  What helped you to develop those skills?
3. Learning is often a process of self-discovery, sometimes in unanticipated ways.  Did you discover anything about yourself this semester?
4. If you could advise a new student in this course about how to succeed in this course, what would you say?