Prof. Amy Lindeman Allen, Assistant Professor of New Testament, is offering an innovative course about the Bible in contemporary moral debate. “Biblical values” has become a catch phrase in today’s political and social world, and Prof. Lindeman Allen’s new course will study its 21st century application, its meaning(s), and its connection to diverse interpretations and application of the Bible to life in the United States of America today. More broadly, course will consider the application of biblical texts to contemporary moral issues, with particular attention to the ethical consequences of individual interpretations.
Prof. Lindeman Allen explained that, “Often when people argue about ‘what the Bible says,’ they’re not really arguing about the text of the Bible, they’re arguing about how they interpret the Bible. This course is about identifying those interpretations and encouraging thoughtful conversation about the role of the Bible in today’s world across differences.” To do that, the course will engage contemporary media portrayals of “biblical values” across a variety of topics, including: gender, sexuality, marriage, racism, ethnocentrism, eco-justice, poverty, violence, and war. Students will be encouraged to connect to news and social media messaging that is relevant to them and to practice engaging, thoughtful, respectful conversation about it.
This course will be offered online in an asynchronous format (involving an optional 2 hour zoom discussion and office hours each Saturday). The schedule of the course is as follows:
May 11 – Students will gain access to online lectures and other course material
May 16 – Deadline for course registration
May 23 – First course meeting
June 13 – Last course meeting
June 20 – Final course assignments due
To sign up for M747 – “Biblical Values”: The Bible in Contemporary Moral Debate, please contact the Registrar, Matt Schlimgen, at mschlimgen@cts.edu or 317-931-2382.
