DESCRIPTION: An examination of several major areas in philosophy of religion:
the rationality of Christian belief, arguments for the existence of God, the
evidential value of religious experience, the relationship between Christianity
and science, the nature of the human person, life after death, and the role of
God in the justification of ethics.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Knowledge: to introduce students to some
of the major intellectual problems facing Christian believers and to some of
the strategies that have been used to address them. Skills: to improve
student's skills in reasoning about their faith and in academic writing.
Attitudes: to promote confidence in the student's own abilities to address
intellectual problems as well as sympathetic appreciation for scholars who have
struggled with difficult issues and have arrived at conclusions different from
those of the student.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The issues that we deal with in class will also be issues of concern for many church members; this will be an opportunity for students to begin to prepare to address them.
COURSE FORMAT: Mostly lecture; some small group discussion. The class will
meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions.
REQUIRED READING:
Murphy, Nancey. Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell, 1990.
Ruse, Michael. Can a Darwinian Be a Christian? Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
Stroll, Avrum. Did My Genes Make Me Do It? Oxford: One World, 2004.