Course Duration (or End Date): 5/19/09

Instructor(s): Dr. Karl Krueger

Course Description:

Religion in Northeast USA explores the development of the American churchscape north of the Potomac and east of the Mississippi Rivers in the 20th century.  It examines migration experiences to the United States, immigrant spirituality, and the development of the ethnic parish in Orthodox, atholic, and Protestant communities. (STM/DMin-level; requires prior theological master’s degree)

Course Duration (or End Date): 5/16/09

Instructor(s): Ralph Quere

Course Description:

The Book of Concord is one of the treasure maps of the Lutheran Church. It tells where the Lutheran reformers stood regarding the gospel of Christ and how they reclaimed that treasure for the church they loved. This collection of confessions has become our church's basic explanation of the good news of justification by faith alone. These Lutheran confessions will be studied textually and topically. Beginning with a quick, first reading of the documents in chronological order will give the student a sense of the content of each and their development during the initial half-century of the Reformation. Starting with the ecumenical creeds gives input from the early church and shows the roots of the theology of Luther's catechisms. Next the Augsburg Confession (AC)-recognized by all of the Lutheran Churches worldwide-will be read, followed by the rest of the  confessional writings, which are seen as "commentaries" on the "Augustana" (i.e. the AC). Then the more in-depth study of the major topics will be aided by text books, lecture notes, and on-line discussions.

Course Duration (or End Date): 5/16/09

Instructor(s): Paul Chung

Course Description:

In this course we will examine the theology of Martin Luther in light of Buddhist-Christian dialogue. What Christianity and Buddhism have in common is their profound understanding of suffering (or dukkha), albeit each with a different approach to the solution. The issue of suffering in Buddhism is an integral part of shaping the uniqueness of Buddhist spirituality. In Christian tradition, Martin Luther turned to the suffering of God on the cross in contrast to the theology of glory. The crucified God as the foundation and criticism of Christian theology may encourage exploration of the theology of the cross, especially after Auschwitz, with postmodern attention to the others. This aspect retains important implication for our ministry that is becoming more relevant to multicultural and interfaith life setting. Relating Luther to a Buddhist wisdom mutually enriches both traditions, enabling a reciprocal recognition, actualizing solidarity with the poor in other religions.