essay

imagination and creativity to develop a paper (or other project) for this course.

I encourage you to think broadly about possible paper topics and need not limit

yourself strictly to the Old Testament, since the wider issue of violence in the media

is part of the course. Try to find something of lasting interest and significance to you.

CENSORING PSALMS: LITURGY OF THE HOURS

Following the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), the Church revised the Liturgy of

the Hour (aka Divine Office). In this ancient tradition, Christian monks have prayed

all of the psalms on a regular basis. In the modern revision, certain psalms and parts

of psalms were omitted from the Liturgy of the Hours so that monks no longer pray

all of the psalms. Specifically, three psalms are entirely omitted: Psalm 58; 83; 109.

Parts of nineteen other psalms (one verse or several verses) are also omitted: 5:10;

21:8-12; 28:4-5; 31:17-18; 35:3a, 4-8, 20-21, 24-26; 40:14-15; 56:6b-7; 54:5; 55:15;

59:5-8, 11-15; 63:9-11; 69:22-28; 79:6-7, 12; 110:6; 137:7-9; 139:19-22; 140:9-11;

141:10. Note that these verse numbers are according to the NRSV. In the NAB, the

verse numbers will often be off by one verse (-1, that is, because NRSV does not

number psalm headings as verses, but NAB does).

Another church council has been called and the subject of Scripture is being

discussed again. Like Vatican II, Vatican III involves Catholic bishops and

representatives from non-Catholic traditions. Some bishops want to retain or even

expand the censorship of Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, while others want to

return to the older tradition of praying all the Psalms without any censorship.

You have the opportunity to address your bishop on this issue. You have ten

minutes (about 5 pages) to state your case for or against censoring Psalms in the

Liturgy of the Hours.

CENSORING SCRIPTURE: THE LECTIONARY

At the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), the bishops of the Catholic Church

decided that the riches of Scripture should be made more fully available to

laypersons through a revision of the lectionary. Since Vatican II, many more biblical

passages from both Testaments appear in the lectionary and are read in church.

However, the Old Testament material is still limited and unsystematic (OT passages

are selected to ‘fit’ with the gospel readings, so the OT is highly fragmented in the

lectionary). Passages that are ‘problematic’ for various reasons are omitted for that

reason.

Another church council has been called and the subject of Scripture is being

discussed again. Like Vatican II, Vatican III involves Catholic bishops and

representatives from non-Catholic traditions. Some bishops want to retain or even

expand the omissions of OT passages in the lectionary. For example, the Easter Vigil

includes Genesis 22 and Exodus 14, and some would like to remove them. Other

‘problematic’ passages are not included in the lectionary (most of the flood story,

almost all of Joshua, Ezekiel 16; 23, etc.).

You have the opportunity to address your bishop (or the committee revising the

lectionary) about the proposed exclusion of a specific passage (e.g., Genesis 22;

Exodus 14) or the inclusion of a specific ‘problematic’ passage (e.g., Ezekiel 16). You

may choose the passage and whether you are arguing for excluding something

presently in the lectionary or including something currently missing from it.

BOOK BANNING

A group of concerned and pious parents has moved to ban several books from the

library at the high school (or elementary school) that your child attends (or that you

attend) for their unedifying content.

You may imagine something more specific based on actual cases. For example, Huckleberry Finn is

often banned in the US (for use of “the n-word” among other things), The Catcher and the Rye

(Holden Caulfield is a corrupting influence on teenagers), various plays of Shakespeare (for violence,

sex, and in Merchant of Venice, unflattering depiction of Shylock the Jew), the Harry Potter series

(occult/Satanic and anti-family themes), Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (explicit

rape and sexual abuse).

Some of the parents want to add the Bible to the list because of its sexual and violent

themes and unedifying depictions of God and heroes. This proposal has fractured

the parents. Some want to ban the other books, but not the Bible. Some want to ban

the Bible but not the other books. And still others want to ban both the Bible and the

other books.

You have 10 minutes to address a school board on this topic. It would be helpful to

focus your remarks on a specific topic and to narrow the scope to the scenario

accordingly. For example, you may be addressing the question of whether the Bible

should be removed from the school library. Or you might focus on whether some

other book should be removed (your choice of book, but select one that has actually

been banned), but not address the Bible at all.

You can find many lists of banned books online. For example:

http://www.banned-books.com/bblista-i.html

http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/nation/082297nation-list.html

http://www.abffe.com/bbw-booklist-detailed.htm

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/index.cfm

(links to left include lists of books and ‘statistics’ with info about most common

reasons for challenging a book, who challenges a book, etc.)

Note also this news editorial about a bowdlerized version of Huckleberry Finn that

replaces every instance of “the n-word” with “slave”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/books/07huck.html Is bowlderization a

reasonable solution to censorship?

BOOK BANNING: CATHOLIC INDEX

Between the Council of Trent and Vatican II (from 1559 to 1966), the Catholic

Church periodically published the “Index of Prohibited Books” (Index Librorum

Prohibitorum), often referred to simply as “the Index.” It included several now

classic works of fiction and non-fiction. Although the Index was abolished, it

survives in the modern Catholic tradition of some books being published with a

“Nihil Obstat” or “Imprimatur.” These designations mean that a Church censor has

found nothing damaging to faith or morals in the work (nihil obstat=nothing stands

in the way) or that it may be publish (imprimatur=let it be ppublished). These

indications are not an endorsement of the book, only an indication of what is NOT in

the book.

At a new Church council (Vatican III), some bishops are proposing that the Index be

revived and the Church seek to prohibit Catholics from reading certain books (or

movies, etc—a contemporary version would likely consider all media). You have the

opportunity to address your bishop about whether the Index is a good or bad idea,

or whether some other proposal might be better than the Index.

NOTE: The USCCB has online reviews of movies and television with a view

specifically to their moral content: http://www.usccb.org/movies/ Not an Index,

but something sort of similar. You might write a paper offering a more detailed

review (agreeing or disagreeing with the one online) or evaluate the criteria and

rating system that the reviewers use (e.g., propose emendations):

http://www.usccb.org/movies/criteria.shtml

CHILDREN’S BIBLE: COMPOSING

A small publisher is compiling a children’s Bible and has asked you if you would be

interested in contributing to the volume. You have agreed to retell a biblical story

for the money that the publisher is offering, but the publisher specifically asks you

to select a biblical passage that is “problematic” due to its violent or sexual content.

To collect your paycheck, you must deliver two things to the publisher: (1) your

retelling of a “problematic” story and (2) a short explanation of why you told the

story in the way that you did so that the editor can explain the rationale to the

editorial board overseeing the project.

CHILDREN’S BIBLE: CRITIQUING

A friend of yours wants a children’s Bible appropriate for his/her child (in late

elementary or junior high school). This friend has asked you to examine several

children’s Bibles to recommend one that strikes a balance between accurately

representing Scripture, but not reproducing the mature content of Scripture (sex

and violence, problematic images of God). Write an email detailing the results of

your research (what Bibles you looked at and how you evaluated them) and your

recommendation (and rationale for your recommendation).

GENESIS 22

Your son (or daughter) has come home upset after hearing Genesis 21 read in

church (or school). [Or he may be old enough to have read it on his own.] What do

you tell your child about this disturbing story and what it says about God and Godfearing

and faithful parents (like yourself).

JUDGES 11

Your daughter (or son) has come home upset after hearing Judges 11:29-40 read in

church (or school). [Or she may be old enough to have read it on her own.] What do

you tell your child about this disturbing story and what it says about God and Godfearing

and faithful parents (like yourself).

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Among your circle of friends, there has been an incident of intimate partner

violence. You are friends with a couple named Romeo and Juliet, and you met both

of them at the same time as a couple. In the course of an argument, Romeo hit Juliet.

She is shocked and he is apologetic. It has never happened before and Romeo insists

that it will never happen again.

In this situation what do you say to either of your friends, or how do you navigate

the dual friendship (or do you drop one of them)? Consider this variant: you have

been friends with Romeo since you were kids; you’ve only known Juliet for the few

months they were dating. Or, you are related to one of them.

Variant: Juliet hit Romeo, or they have both hit each other.

You might compose the journal of your experience of being connected to this

relationship, or write if from the perspective of Romeo or Juliet.

Or: how might you construct a campus campaign to raise awareness during Teen

Dating Violence Awareness Month (February)?

Or: you are a consultant for CUA. You have been hired to provide an expert opinion

about how the university could create a model program for prevention of dating

violence. Based on the evidence, what would you recommend?

RAPE

One of your friends (Juliet) has accused another of your friends (Romeo) of rape.

You have known them both for as long as you have been in college, and you are all in

the same circle of friends. They have never been an “item,” just friends.

In this situation what do you say to either of your friends, or how do you navigate

the dual friendship (or do you drop one of them)? Consider this variant: you have

been friends with Romeo since you were kids; you’ve only know Juliet since coming

to college. Or, you are related to one of them.

You might compose the journal of your experience of being connected to these two

people, or write if from the perspective of Romeo or Juliet.

Or: how might you construct a campus campaign to raise awareness during Sexual

Assault Awareness Month (April)?

Or: you are a consultant for CUA. You have been hired to provide an expert opinion

about how the university could create a model program for prevention of sexual

assault. Based on the evidence, what would you recommend?

ATHEIST MORAL CRITIQUE OF BIBLE

Several atheist (and deists) have cited the violence in the Old Testament as proof

that the OT is not inspired by God, but merely a human document. This argument is

used to argue either for atheism or at least against traditional Christianity (and

Judaism). Find an example of such an argument (a recent famous one is Richard

Dawkin’s The God Delusion (2006, see chap. 7).

How would you respond to Dawkin’s argument? Note that you might critique his

position and defend Scripture or elaborate and reinforce his argument.

Alternative: Take the side of the atheist to argue against St. Augustine or others who

uphold the Bible as edifying and sacred literature.

WAR

Imagine you are a recruiting officer for a branch of the US military. How would you

motivate young people to enlist? You might imagine the challenges of specific

populations (students at a religious university that may see military service as

contrary to religious teachings about peace and forgiveness). Or you might imagine

constructing a wider advertizing campaign. What would that campaign look like? Or

what would you say given the chance to address the students at the religious

university? How might you handle a conversation with a potential recruit with

ethical misgivings about becoming a soldier who may have to kill other people.

Alternative: write from the perspective of the potential recruit or (concerned) friend

of the recruit.

MEDIA ANALYSIS

For any of the above topics (among many other possibilities), you could examine

how the media presents a given form of violence. You will need a definition of the

violence (homicide, rape, etc) and a defined corpus of media to analyze. The study

could combine both quantitative (counting incidents) and qualitative (analysis of

details) aspects in light of other similar studies and information on the effects of

media. Or you could examine two samples of media (from different time periods, for

example) for comparison. Or compare biblical violence to how it is represented in

movies made of the biblical story.