COURSES

BRDGS 105T: Introduction to Ethical Reasoning

Spring 2023, 2025; Fall 2023, 2024
Everyone has their own way of defining and doing ethical reasoning! It is good to be a part of the conversation in which all of these ethical stances are in play. It is crucial to cultivate, understand, and express how one defines and lives out their own ethical “stance.” This class will help you begin to understand the way in which the Christian tradition defines and models ethics. No matter what background you come from, you can use this foundation as a launchpad for answering the questions about the good life and good treatment of others using your own thoughts, actions, and words.

HONR 154-01: Will We Find Faith in Media?

Fall 2021
This is an original course that I developed which considers how religious traditions develop alongside the influence of popular culture, which transmit the different values and perspectives of the different world religions in the visuals we watch, the music we listen to, the comic books we read, the social media we create, and even the video games that we play. This course gives students opportunities to examine the interplay of media, pop culture, and religion, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this interplay in society, through personal and group assignments related to reading Material, movies, video games, and more interactive media.

UCOR 141-02: Biblical and Historical Perspectives

Spring 2021
I taught this course during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This course used readings, lectures, sacred texts, presentations, films and games to develop an understanding of the overarching story, structure and main themes of the Bible. This approach also cultivated a deeper knowledge of key biblical texts, their historical, social and religious contexts, and an exploration of their contemporary relevance. The course did not presume any previous familiarity with the biblical writings.

UCOR 143: Global and Cultural Perspectives

Fall 2018, 2020; Summer 2023
This course is an undergraduate survey of world religions, designed to acquaint undergraduate students with a variety of religious characteristics of various areas of the world. We will use readings, lectures, sacred texts, presentations, and films to promote interest and highlight religious themes, but these are not intended as exhaustive religious surveys. Students will learn what they need to do to hear and be heard in a world that asks them to “stand up, speak up, but speak wisely.”

THEO 101-01: Introduction to Christian Theology

Fall 2025; Spring 2026
I proposed and developed this original class, which introduces students to theology and its history of getting God’s help to understand God. Using Daniel Migliore's Faith Seeking Understanding and films related to the key theological topics of each week, students will learn (1) the key vocabulary and concepts of Christian theology, (2) the habits of thinking theologically and integratively about the content of Christian faith, and (3) the relevancy of theology in the modern world.

THEO 142: Theological Views of the Person

Fall 2018, 2023

“What does it mean to be human in relation to oneself, God (Divine), other human beings, and the world?" This is the question that we will think, read, watch, and talk through in each class session, which involves a brief lecture and group discussions of the Readings for each day. Our class readings, discussions, and activities are designed to give students material for presenting their Personal View of the Self, which will be combined with others in another presentation, the Group View of the Self.

THEO 143: Religions of the World

Summer 2024, 2025; Fall 2024, 2025

This course makes undergraduate students conversational about a variety of global religious characteristics, using readings, pre-recorded lessons, and films to promote interest and highlight religious themes. Students will grow in their abilities to 1) Think in systematic and integrative ways about the vocabulary and concepts of world religions and global/cultural perspectives, 2) Use theological resources to connect with one's personal beliefs/ viewpoints and engage new ideas, and 3) better present and explain their own ideas in a way that is informed by – yet also distinct from – the insights of important academic, religious/spiritual, and cultural voices that they consult on a regular basis.

THEO 152-02: Theological Ethics

THEO 216-01: Religion, Media, and Pop-Culture