Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Hill Book (Class of 2025) 
    
2021-2022 Hill Book (Class of 2025) [ARCHIVED HILL BOOK]

RST 100/123 - Demons, Devils and Satans: Monsters of Religion (Core/First-Year Seminar)

Three or Four Credits
Offered Periodically

Monotheistic traditions maintain that God is both all-powerful and just. Yet, they simultaneously speak of demons, devils, and satans - characters who threaten both God and His control over the universe. How can such an obvious contradiction stand? This course will examine the narratives and images of demonic characters, by looking at scriptural texts, interpretive materials and folklore. In our investigation, we will address such questions as: Who or what is considered Evil? How does evil exist in a world in which God is good? Is there a universal concept of Satan? Do demons and the demonic straddle traditional lines or are they tradition-specific? In other words, does each tradition create the demon most appropriate for it? What are these characters good for? What can they tell us about how each tradition conceives of itself and its place in the human-God relationship?

Prerequisite(s)/Restriction(s): RST 123 is a First-Year Seminar and open to First-Year Students only.
General Education Attribute(s): RST 100, for 3-credits, fulfills the Religious Studies Cornerstone.
RST 123, for 4-credits, fulfills the First-Year Seminar and Religious Studies Cornerstone
Note: Formerly offered as REL 100/123 (F.2019). Students may not take both RST 100/123 & REL 100/123.