Living in modern nation-states, intensified by globalization, our personal lives and relationships and everyday activities are unavoidably embedded in the complex realities of societal racial disparities and tensions, but in ways often unrecognized and unaddressed. How should we engage Christianly with the historical, political, economic, and cultural factors that condition and either restrict or expand …
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Christianity & World Cultures: A History of Contextualization
Taking each of the five continents in turn, this course looks at the significant missional achievements of their Christian pioneers (both cross-cultural missionaries and local communities of believers) to embody Christian faith and practice in their cultural contexts. The course focuses on each continent’s unique cultural embodiments (such as texts, liturgies, visual arts, architecture, institutions, …
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Learning to Think Ethically with the Christian Tradition
To some extent the history of Christian ethics the history of interpretation of biblical ethical teaching. An increasingly ‘moral’ reading of Scripture emerged with the privileging of the plain (or double literal) sense during the late medieval period. As one considers the bible was looked to in Franciscan moral theology in particular then one becomes …
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Augustine & the Problem of Pelagius
Augustine of Hippo was involved in many debates over his lifetime. He took on Manichees, Donatists, versions of Arianism, and even some aspects of the Platonism of his day. But the most famous controversy associated with this most famous theologian (excepting only the gospel writers and Paul) is the Pelagian controversy, in which Augustine tackled …
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The Gospel, Discipleship, & Cultural Engagement
Today’s moral and social challenges are complex, and our social discourse is often contentious. Explore how artifacts (such as hip-hop and architecture) enriches our understanding of God’s grace, culture and human flourishing, and in turn, shapes our responses to these challenges. Learn about the narrative arc of Scripture that encompasses not only our personal salvation …
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The Spirituality of Paul
This course will examine the nature of Paul’s spirituality—the transformative, lived experience of participating in Christ by the power of God’s Spirit—as it applies to believing communities, individual believers, and ministers in Paul’s own day and in the life of the contemporary church. The class will combine close reading of selected passages and themes with …
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Women in the New Testament & Early Church
This course will examine women’s lives in the New Testament and the wider Greco-Roman world (including Second Temple Judaism) by studying the biblical text, literary sources, and archaeological evidence. This course extends the discussion into the second through fifth centuries of the early Church, addressing women’s participation in the intellectual, liturgical, ascetic, and monastic arenas. …
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The Bible, Slavery, & the American Civil War
This class surveys the history of the Bible in the United States from the War for Independence through the Civil War. It is a case study designed to sharpen awareness of how intellectual assumptions, cultural conventions, engrained interests, and spiritual motives shaped the understanding and application of Scripture. Special emphases are how Scripture was enlisted …
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Intergenerational Wholeness for Asian Americans
Integrative Approaches to Christian Spiritual and Mental Health Formation Is migration a form of trauma? How does the migration experience of the first generation continue to affect the second and third generation family members? How do these formative social conditions challenge our Christian practices of spiritual formation, discipleship, and leadership for the Asian American faith …
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ngaging the Community: Empowering Leaders to Embrace God’s Mission in Local Contexts
Jesus intentionally connected with all sorts of outsiders as part of his mission. How can we, as followers of Jesus, have the confidence to do the same in 2023? This course, designed specifically for lay leaders and deacons, will provide participants with the inspiration, tools, and practice necessary to confidently engage with people in your …
View course details “ngaging the Community: Empowering Leaders to Embrace God’s Mission in Local Contexts”