Spring 2025 Semester

Description: The book of Ecclesiastes stands as one of the most enigmatic books of the Old Testament. It has a reputation for being “philosophical” and difficult to follow. It has several passages that are well-known (“to everything there is a season,” “a three-fold chord is not easily broken,” “fear God and keep his commandments”), but the book as a whole is not studied very often. The aim of this class is to study the whole book of Ecclesiastes so that we may understand God’s message for us as Christians. This includes a focus on understanding the content of the book as well as its theology. Additionally, students will be introduced to several of the most important issues surrounding the academic study of Ecclesiastes in the field of biblical scholarship.

Syllabus forthcoming

Description: What is gender? This is a question that is easy to ask, but quite difficult to answer. Some want to say what gender ought to be, usually in the form of context-free norms and prescriptions. Others want to say what gender is, usually in a descriptive mode. On their own, these tasks are limited, but taken together, and handled properly, they can generate a fruitful theology of gender. Is gender a matter of social norms or embodied realities? What difference does a Christian analysis make? Can we find gender in the Bible, or in the early Church? And what we are to do with the ordinary gendered experiences all of us have? Christians must have robustly theological answers to such questions, aware both of their descriptive tasks and of their normative commitments. This class provides opportunity and guidance for working through these issues, equipping students to arrive at their own answers, hopefully in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and through Holy Scripture. 

Syllabus

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