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RE110 - Introduction to Biblical
Thought
RE316 - Jesus and the Early Church
RE 315 - Interpreting Paul
RE340 - Church in Information
RE410 - Gender and Leadership
in Church
I also serve as one of several:
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Students
learn to read the Bible on three levels, paying attention to the story
in the text, the story behind the text (its history) and the story in
front of the text (how readers interpret the text). We focus on texts
that deal with the origins of the world and humanity, the human predicament,
and its future.
Students
are invited to participate in the quest for the historical Jesus, exploring
questions such as: Who was Jesus of Nazareth? What was he like? What
did he say and do that caused the authorities to execute him? What did
he say and do that caused his followers to declare that he was the Christ,
the Word of God made flesh? Why is Jesus of Nazareth important to us?
Paul, the
apostle to the Gentiles, was and is one of the most influential and
controversial figures in the history of Christianity. About half of
the New Testament writings are by or about Paul. His letters are the
earliest surviving records of the Christian church, and form the basis
of much contemporary Christian theology and ethics. Paul's letters continue
to be invoked in debates about the role of women, marriage and divorce,
sexual ethics, gay/lesbian unions, civil authority, attitudes to Jews
and to pagans, and many other issues.
We will
explore three issues that emerged in early in the church's history and
that continue to be sources of debate and controversy for contemporary
Christian churches. These are (1) the nature of Jesus Christ and his
relationship with God; (2) appropriate roles for women and men in the
church, and (3) the internal and external relationships of Christians
with each other and with non-Christians. 
This special
topics course is an exploration of the ways in which the Greco-Roman
gender system has shaped Western Christian attitudes toward women and
men, gender and sexuality, and religious leadership for two millennia.