This course is a seminar in which students read and discuss the work of Bultmann, Barth, Brunner and the Niebuhrs as these writers sought reforms within liberal Protestantism. Starting with Christian faith and ethical theory, students examine critical issues in urban society. They explore how the church speaks to problems such as poverty, welfare, AIDS, teen violence and the need for social reform. This seminar offers students the opportunity to read widely in the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr, taking a close look at the principles of love, power, and justice as important themes for today's world. Students examine foundations of Christian ethics in light of current cultural diversity and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Attention is given to the role of the church in creating a new vision and possibility for society.
This course is a study in the development of Christian ethics with emphasis upon the ways in which the decision-making process of the church is shaped both by theology and by human and social sciences. A seminar which studies the foundations of clergy ethics in American culture and which attends to issues of clergy conduct and character in contemporary church and society. The need for responsible decision-making about life and death in the area of biomedical ethics forms the approach for this course as students analyze principles by which to address some of the life and death issues facing individuals, families, and society. This course addresses Jewish-Christian relationships, paying attention to such matters as interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures, the diversity of Judaism, Jewish rituals and customs, the State of Israel, the Middle East and holocaust studies. Students learn about selected world religions and the way of life each offers.