An examination of selections from the Gospel according to Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Infancy Gospel of James, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and other apocryphal gospels and apocryphal acts of the apostles. The course shows how most modern questions and pressures relate to antecedents from this highly formative period. The lives and writings of the chief reformers are examined in their historical and cultural contexts, and relationships to common twentieth-century issues are emphasized. It involves the student in a dialogue with those issues and principles in their contemporary and ecumenical aspects, especially in view of the unanimous subscription to these confessions by Canadian Lutheranism. A critical study of the genesis, development, and structure of Luther's theology.
Emphasis is placed on the twentieth century.
Contemporary problems in religious ethics and their impact on individual and collective decision-making in the areas of personal and social issues. An examination of the nature and function of religious language that leads to religious awareness. Attention is focused on various views regarding the nature of humanity and the human psyche. Special attention is given to the nature and function of parables. An examination of the relationship between ecology and religion from Christian and non-Christian perspectives.