2008 Summer Courses for Weeks 1-2

Paul Stevens
Professor Emeritus of Marketplace Theology and Leadership, Regent College. BA, BD (McMaster University), DMin (Fuller).

Paul’s primary
focus in teaching
and writing is
equipping the
whole people
of God for
leadership.
Among his
many books are
The Other Six
Days, Liberating
the Laity and
Disciplines of
the Hungry Heart.

Taking Your Soul to Work

This course will explore the integration of spirituality and work (business, trades, professions, volunteer service and public service). In contrast with the dualistic approach (the upper level for the contemplative and the lower for the person engaging in a societal occupation) and the compartmentalization of Sunday from Monday, a fully biblical spiritual theology will be discovered as both applied and practical. The course will consider various approaches to integration, and the rich and diverse traditions of spirituality in the history of the people of God, especially the “mixed life.” Further, issues raised in the workplace—worklife balance, success, ethics, failure, drivenness, ambition and creativity—will be seen as opportunities to become a deeper person and to grow in faith, thus demonstrating that the journey inward and the journey outward are interdependent.

APPL/SPIR 560: June 30-July 11, 1:15-3:45 pm
2 or 3 graduate credit hours.

Christopher Stanley
Professor of Theology, St. Bonaventure University. BS (University of Virginia), MCS (Regent College), PhD (Duke).

Chris is working on his fifth book about ethnic conflict in the churches of Paul.

“I appreciated Chris’s attitude, openness, and approachability.”

The Social World of Paul

The world in which the apostle Paul lived and worked was very different from our own. Some of the differences are fairly obvious: Paul was a powerless subject of a transnational empire, not a citizen of a democracy, and the people around him worshiped many different gods, not a single almighty deity. Others are less apparent: the pervasive influence of Greek cultural values; the close link between religion and government; the rigid hierarchy that separated the wealthy elites from the rest of the population; the acceptability of slavery. Still others lie buried beneath the surface, operating at the level of cultural presuppositions: the image of a flat world covered by a starry dome; the idea that some people are inherently better than others; the view of women as “incomplete men.” Occasionally some of these differences bubble to the surface in one of Paul’s letters, but most of the time they are simply taken for granted. This course will explore some of the major elements of the social world that lies behind Paul’s letters and evaluate its influence on Paul, his audiences and his letters.

BIBL 545: June 30-July 11, 1 8:30-11:00 am
2 or 3 graduate credit hours

Download the course information sheet in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format (142 kb)

Bruce Waltke
Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies, Regent College. Professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary. BA (Houghton College), ThM, ThD (Dallas Theological Seminary), PhD (Harvard).

Bruce is a member of the Committee responsible for Today’s New International Version. He is author of Finding the Will of God and commentaries on Micah, Genesis and Proverbs and Psalms.

The Psalms

This course on the Book of Psalms aims to edify the student by exegeting selected psalms. The course will also provide the student with background information to guide the student into a lifetime of enriching their appreciation of the Psalms and, for some, to use the Psalms to edify others. The background information will focus on various methods of interpreting the Psalms.

BIBL 627: June 30-July 11, 8:30-11:00 am
2 or 3 graduate credit hours

Keith Bodner
Professor of Religious Studies, Atlantic Baptist University. BA (University of Manitoba), MCS (Regent College), PhD (University of Aberdeen), PhD (University of Manchester).

Keith is the author of David Observed: A King in the Eyes of His Court.

“This guy is a definite genius. Have him back.”

The King and His Court: David’s Inner Circle in 1 & 2 Samuel

The endlessly fascinating and absorbing story of David has long held the imaginative attention of Western culture. The shepherd boy who becomes a warrior-king combines the earthy qualities of physical beauty with soaring lyrics of spirituality. During this course we will acquaint ourselves with the material about David’s life recorded in the books of Samuel and Kings. We will also explore the royal court: from his earliest anointing in 1 Samuel 16 until his deathbed discourse in 1 Kings 2, David is surrounded by a remarkable cast of supporting characters—an ensemble whose varying perspectives on him create some of the complexity of this intriguing figure. The discussions in this course will be structured and centred around a close reading of the text and the attendant secondary literature, with the expectation that participants will be prepared to bring the results of their reading and inquiries to a “seminar-style” environment. The various assignments will include reflection papers, visual exegesis and a paper on one of the key (minor) characters in the ensemble of Samuel-Kings.

BIBL 617: June 30-July 11, 1:15-3:45 pm
2 or 3 graduate credit hours

Paul Williams
David J. Brown Family Associate Professor of Marketplace Theology and Leadership, Regent College. MA, MSc (Oxford), MCS (Regent College).

Paul is one of our new faculty members. He worked in economic consulting for several years before undertaking theological training at Regent and then returned to the marketplace, working as an economic advisor for major international corporations and government agencies.

Christianity and the Political Economy of Capitalism

This course aims to explore the relationship between
Christianity and capitalism. It will consider capitalism
both as an economic system and as arguably the
dominant ideology of our age. The course is designed
to meet four major objectives for students:

1. To develop a deeper understanding of capitalist
   economic thought and its historical and ideological
   origins in both the Enlightenment and
   the Christian faith;
2. To appreciate how compelling the logic of capitalism
   is even in the face of the widespread criticism
   that has been directed at it in recent times;
3. To explore the ways in which capitalism functions
   ideologically in modern culture and as
   such seeks to colonize and influence all areas of
   culture, beyond the commercial realm, including
   the church, the family and the polity;
4. To consider and develop what a transformative
   engagement of the gospel with modern capitalism
   might be.

INDS 583: June 30-July 11, 8:30-11:00 am
2 or 3 graduate credit hours

Joanne Gerber
Literary Arts Consultant, Saskatchewan Arts Board. BA (Carleton University), MA Cand. (Canadian Theological Seminary).

Joanne is the author of In the Misleading Absence of Light.

“Joanne both inspired and trained us in the craft of writing. She was well organized and her feedback was concise and helpful.”

Writing Redemptive Fiction

In this course we will explore together the philosophical and practical dimensions of writing fiction redemptively. Through informal lectures and personal reflection, we will consider the challenges of creating faithful novels and short stories with material from life. Through instruction, reading and writing exercises, and guided workshop sessions, we will discover how the elements of the craft work together to create vivid and memorable stories. After each writer has presented one short piece-in-progress for group critique, we will learn how to revise and prepare a manuscript for submission, then how the editing and publishing process works. Throughout, we will be invited to deepen our commitment to this calling, by finding the themes that stir us, the stories that compel us and the approaches that best serve our creative process.

INDS 571: June 30-July 11, 1:15-3:45 pm 2 or 3 graduate credit hours Maximum Enrollment: 24 students. Refer to Fine Print / Limited Enrollment

Karen Mulder
Visiting Professor of Art History, College of William & Mary. BA (Boston University), MA (Yale), PhD (University of Virginia).

Karen received her PhD in architectural history from the University of Virginia and has studied contemporary liturgical art at Yale University as a Menil Scholar of Visual Arts.

From Tabernacle to 21st Century: Church as Liturgical Machine

Even Le Corbusier, who coined the statement that a house is “a machine for living in,” contributed to several church projects—notably, Ronchamp’s Notre Dame du Haut, one of the most significant examples of 20th-century architecture. In fact, contemporary architects continue to compete for major church commissions, tempted by solving the problems of liturgical structures regardless of their personal convictions. This succinct survey not only traces the historical developments of church architecture, from Constantine’s basilica in Rome to Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church or Rafael Moneo’s Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles, but shows how the design of such “liturgical machines” parallels prevailing architectural styles or emergent doctrinal trends. Each example will be examined as an ensemble of artistic, architectural and scriptural symbols—as a liturgical machine, in essence, in which all the parts work together to promote the worship experience—or not.

INDS 586: June 30-July 11, 8:30-11:00 am
2 or 3 graduate credit hours

Cherith Fee Nordling
Visiting Assistant Professor, Wheaton. BA (Wheaton), MA (College of Notre Dame), MCS (Regent College), PhD (St. Andrews).

Cherith has taught theology and worship at Calvin College before going to Wheaton. Her heart is in the Church, particularly in the encouragement of future lay and clergy leaders.

“Cherith is a wonderful person, very enthusiastic, passionate and authentic. We need more teachers like her today.”

Holy and Wholly Embodied: The Incarnation and Why It Matters Every Day

The good news that has changed the course of creation and human history is defined by the entire life of Jesus of Nazareth as the Incarnate Son of God and the second Adam of a new race of human beings. This good news extends far beyond the salvation of souls or “going to heaven.” Rather, Jesus’ ongoing human life at the right hand of the Father redefines what it means to be permanently, radically human, now and eternally, guaranteed by the Spirit’s presence in our lives. Given this reality, our course seeks to ask about the implications for us as male and female followers of Jesus. By examining the initial challenges to Jesus’ Incarnation in the early centuries of the Church, we will ask whether much has changed; are those concerns still ours, and if so, how do they affect our calling as men and women who are to live our future humanity in the present as we await our final restoration?

THEO 546: June 30-July 11, 1:15-3:45 pm
2 or 3 graduate credit hours