Key themes are ideas, inventions, and systems of interaction. The virtue of hope motivates service as the Christian response to a constantly changing world. It explores questions about Christian faith and practice that arise from modern developments in philosophy and science. Key themes are authority, reason, personal meaning, ethics,and love as the Christian response to God's creation and humankind. This course introduces the processes and practices of Christian formation, as reflected throughout the history of the Christian Church.
Christian life is formed by distinctive beliefs, practices, attitudes and virtues.
Every student, regardless of religious background, will engage texts, written and non-written, ancient and modern, that foster these characteristics of the Christian life. This course explores the formative role that Christian Scriptures perform within the community of believers. It seeks to introduce students to the literature and theology of both Old and New Testaments and to provide them with the necessary skills to make responsible use of Scripture as the church's principal authority in nurturing a Christian's faith and witness. Attention will be given to major formative events and key persons in the history of the church that have helped to shape what Christians believe and how they live.