This course focuses on the letters of Paul, the oldest documents within the Christian Testament. Written to diverse audiences in the context of the Roman Empire and diaspora Judaism, they are still used today to debate ethical and political action. We’ll look at 1) the Pauline epistles in their first-century context, and their earliest interpretations; …
View course details “The Letters of Paul: Archaeologies and Theologies–Not for credit”

Johann Sebastian Bach not only composed his two famous passions but he also created large scale oratorios for Christmas, Easter, and ascension day over a span of little more than ten years. This particularly prolific period came at a later point in the composer’s career and coincides with Bach’s increasing interest in and consumption of …
View course details “Bach’s Passions and Oratorios: The Life of Christ from a Composer’s Perspective–Not for credit”

This course will explore the views and practices of British-American theologian, revivalist, and missionary Jonathan Edwards on race and slavery in the contexts of the “vast Americas” in general and of colonial New England in particular, showing the growth of African slavery and the slave trade, biblical and theological justifications for them, and evolving racial …
View course details “Jonathan Edwards, Race, and Slavery–Not for credit”

This course will study the relation between faith in God and the capacities of human reason.  The main topics will be the relation between faith in God and morality, religious experience, the problem of evil, the nature of faith, the traditional proofs for the existence of God, miracles and science, immortality, and religious pluralism. In …
View course details “Faith and Reason–Non-credit”

Discover the vital role of the arts in times of precarity, examining artistic practices born amidst crises. Awaken yourself to the prophetic witness of the arts, asking why so many people turn to the arts during times of struggle. Together we’ll explore the lives and work of artists such as Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, the …
View course details “Art in a Time of Crisis”

Christianity is often painted as the enemy of women’s liberation but is this an accurate reading of the past and the present? With that question in mind, unpack the development of the women’s movement from the late-18th century to the present day. Consider the role of Christian faith in the formation of feminist ideology and …
View course details “The Past, Present, and Future of Feminism”

with Dan Nighswander; Author, Believers Church Bible Commentary on 1 Corinthians The New Testament letters from Paul to the churches in Corinth disclose a community tested by conflicts. Though almost two millennia old, their issues are still current in (some) churches today—power, status, money, sex, worship, and spirituality. We will explore excerpts from 1 Corinthians …
View course details “1 Corinthians: Community and Conflict”

This class  will provide students with an introduction to intersectionality as a tool for social analysis and critical theological reflection, as a way to inform liberative praxis in various ministry and community contexts. We will engage questions and discussions of race, class, gender, and sexuality as they are treated theologically, emphasizing works from U.S. scholars …
View course details “Intersectionality & Justice”

Kings, Queens, Reformers and Immigrants: In this course we will explore the history of the Reformation that swept England in the 16th Century and of the Episcopal Church that emerged in North America among the English colonists and their neighbors. However, since neither the English Reformation nor the Episcopal Church developed in a vacuum, we …
View course details “Church History: Reformation Roots, Episcopal Church”

This course studies the ways the Bible has impacted Anglicanism as well as how the Bible has been interpreted and shaped by Anglicans from the English Reformation to the present day. It presupposes that a dialogue between community and text occurs in all scriptural communities of faith. Both the Bible and the church are powerful …
View course details “The Anglican Bible: Scriptural Conversation & Formation”