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Revisiting the Reformation

The Holy Land and the Old and New Testaments

Castles, Cathedrals, and the Canon

*Note: Not all of these trips are offered every year. For more detailed information including the trips being offered this year please visit http://www2.gcc.edu/international/.

Revisiting the Reformation

The basics: This is a course lead by the religion department faculty, Dr. James Bibza and Dr. Paul Schaefer. It can be taken in place of RELI 392, and it takes you on a two week journey to many sites throughout Europe.

Course description: This course will take you on a trip through Europe in 15 days to revisit the major sites of our reformation heritage. This trip will begin in London with a walking tour. In addition to the tour of London, we will pay a visit to Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St. Paul's cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey. After leaving London, we will journey to Oxford, Stratford, and Canterbury. Following visits to the sites in these towns, we will cross the English Channel to Paris. While in Paris, we will have a chance to see many popular sites including a stop at the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. From Paris, we will head to Geneva via Dijon. In Geneva we will specifically visit the Reformation Memorial. While we are in Switzerland, we will journey to Lucerne, Mt. Pilatus, and Zurich. From Switzerland, we will travel into Innsbruck Austria to see the Goldenes Dachl as well as several other sites. Our journey will culminate in Germany were we will spend our last four days paying visits to Munich, Rothenburg, Dachau, Worms, Heidelberg.

This course will include many sites related to the Reformation as well as several other interesting and famous sites located in Europe.

A list of some of the sites visited: Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Nelson's Column, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Ivy-draped Oxford, Shakespeare's home, the cathedral in Canterbury, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre Museum, Reformation Memorial, Löwendenkmal (Lion Monument), Mt. Pilatus, Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof), Triumphbogen, the twin copper domes in Munich, Heidelberg's palace and famous wine barrel.

Pictures from the May 2005 trip:

The Holy Land of the Old and New Testaments

The basics: This course is lead by Religion Department faculty members Dr. James Bibza and Dr. Gary Smith. It can be taken in place of RELI 390, and it takes you on a two week journey through Israel.

Course description: This course will allow you to get up close to many of the famous Biblical sites located in Israel. Each day of the trip will center around a specific theme and the related Biblical passages. This trip not only requires several assignments during the trip, but it also involves readings and quizzes before the trip and a paper on the archeological sites visited after the trip. Some of the themes covered while on the trip will be Jesus' ministry in lower Galilee and around the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem: the City of David, the Jewish life under the Herrods, Hebrew life under the patriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets, and Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The course covers many passages throughout the Bible. There will also be a little bit of free time while on the trip to allow you to venture out to sight-see.

In addition to Bible readings, the course also uses the texts The Land and the Book: An Introduction to the World of Bible and Jesus and the Land. Also. Please note that due to safety issues in Israel, we are not sure when another trip to Israel will be offered. However, we hope that this will happen soon.

A list of some of the sites visited: Bet Alpha, Maayan Harod National Park, Bethsaida, Hazor, the Old City, Bethlehem, Masada, Temple Mount, Dome of hte Rock, and Pool of Bethesda.

Pictures from the May 1999 trip:

Castles, Cathedrals, and the Canon

The basics: The actual title of this course is The History and Literature of the Bible, and it is taught by Dr. George V. Campbell. This course can be taken in place of RELI 390 or HUMA 102, and it takes you on a two week journey through London, England, York England, and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Course description: The course will take advantage of resources available in the United Kingdom which deal with the history of the transmission of the Bible from its original documents to English translations. This will include viewing ancient Old Testament, New Testament, Septuagint, Vulgate and Guttenberg Bible manuscripts, medieval illuminated Bible manuscripts, artifacts from the ancient near East contemporary with the Old Testament, and artifacts from the Roman world of the New Testament period. The course will also focus on the history of the English Bible. This will include history and manuscripts relating to John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and the King James Version of the Bible, and perhaps an interview with Oxford University’s Dr. Alister McGrath, author of In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible. We will visit the British Museum and Library, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court, Oxford, York, and sites in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. The course will also focus on the literature of the Bible, emphasizing the conventions of the various Biblical genres and the literary artistry and structures of numerous Biblical books.

The course will involve visits to many course-related sites, as well as ample time for other things of interest such as the Tower of London, the London Theater, even playing golf at St. Andrews, Scotland, world’s oldest golf course.

A list of some of the sites visited: Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, Hampton Court, Palace of Henry VIII, British Museum, New British Library, Windsor Castle, Runnymede, Westminster Abbey, Jerusalem Chamber, Oxford, Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, John Knox House, Palace of the Holy Rood, Stirling Castle; Church of the Holy Rood, William Wallace Monument.

Pictures from the May 2006 trip: