Early Christian Theology Essay

Description:
You will choose one of the prompts below. Your first task will be to read the primary text––at least 3 times. This will allow you to internalize its content, plot (if there is a narrative component), and the important thematic dimensions of the text. You will then draft a summary of the text in your chosen prompt in 3-4 pages (i.e., no less than 3, no more than 4). This is more difficult than it sounds. It will be your job to find the kernel elements of your text and synthesize them in a meaningful way in this part of the essay. It will mean working carefully to balance what you include. This is why reading your text carefully will be so important.

In the concluding paragraph of your first section, you will highlight an important theme, concept, motif, or idea that, in your reading, makes sense of the text as a whole. This will be your interpretive thesis that will guide the next section (not this assignment) of the essay. An example of an interpretive thesis is as follows, for the book Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss: "While the continuous stream of words Sam-I-Am appears at first to be meaningless images to facilitate rhyme schemes, his strategy in wearing down his interlocutor is premised on the notion that simply trying the ham and eggs will be enough to convince him that they are delicious."
Prompts (CHOOSE ONE):

1.) Please consider how the concept of identity as a Christian––confirmation of one"s belief––is essential to the characterization of the martyrs in The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. Please read this alongside the portrayal of Polycarp in The Martyrdom of Polycarp.

2.) Please consider how the body becomes a location for demonstrating spiritual holiness in the Life of Antony. Please read this alongside the portrayal of Simeon Stylites in Theodore of Chyrrus" Life.

3.) Please consider how Clement of Alexandria portrays Greek learning and the insights of Greek philosophers and poets as it relates to God"s revelation in the Bible and in the person of Jesus. Please read this alongside Basil the Great"s words to young Christian students in the passage from the Letter to Young Men on the Proper Use of Greek Literature.