Adult Classes - Spring II Courses

February 13 – March 20

Parlor Class

APPROPRIATE USE OF LANGUAGE IN POLITICAL SPEECH

Led by David Halleen

Ronald Thiemann, retired Dean of the Divinity School at Harvard, suggests that the Protestant civil religion which provided the grounds for a common public morality in the United States since its inception up until World War II no longer exists. Religious and moral pluralism are now distinguishing characteristics of our nation. This cultural evolution produces many questions concerning the appropriate role of religious belief in public political discourse. Should religion be involved in the process of public policy? If so, how should religion be involved? What restrictions, if any, should be placed on the involvement of religious beliefs? Robert Wuthnow, Director of the Princeton University Center for the Study of Religion and Chair of the Department of Sociology, states, “Most observers, in fact, argue that our society would be diminished if religion were not a part of our public values, but there is also disagreement about what its role should be.” It is vital for our particular culture at this particular time to find the appropriate moral balance for the involvement of religious belief in public political discourse. Maybe the key to discovering this balance will come from an exploration of the broad spectrum of current contemporary theories. Certainly it will deepen our understanding of the present debate.

Room 101

WISDOM LITERATURE: ECCLESIASTES AND JOB

Led by Ben Dorr

How does the wisdom literature of the Old Testament present God?  What makes it “wise”?  How does it compare to the spiritual wisdom of our day?