Wake Forest University School of Divinity
Wake Forest University School of Divinity (WFUSD) has been a leader in the interdisciplinary approach to theological education. Guided by the university motto, Pro Humanitate (“For Humanity”) and the theological vision of serving the wider world, WFUSD has made strenuous efforts to create an ideal learning environment for the education of future religious leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The school currently offers several dual degree programs (MDiv/JD, MDiv/MA in Bioethics, MDiv/MA in Counseling, MDiv/MA in Education, MDiv/MA in Sustainability) and is always looking for ways to broaden and enrich the experience of student learning. In this regard, the school’s new project, “Moving Science to the Forefront of Theological Education,” marks an important step forward in reshaping the core academic curriculum at WFUSD, as it seeks to promote a more informed and fruitful dialogue between science and religion. For this project, WFUSD faculty from three areas, bible, history, and theological ethics, will offer revised and new courses in collaboration with scientists. In addition, the project will create opportunities for public engagement beyond the classroom. WFUSD is truly excited to partner with AAAS for the shared goals of this project.
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Resources:
Christian History
Through this introductory course, taught by Bill J. Leonard at Wake Forest School of Divinity, students will: Become familiar with the basic developments in Christian history from the 17th century to the beginning of the 21st century. This includes an examination of Post Reformation Protestantism, Roman Catholicism from the Council of Trent through Vatican Council…
- Course Categories: Church History
- Science Topics: History & Philosophy of Science, Physics and Cosmos
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Christian History
- Tags: Church History, Christian History, Theological debates, physics
Foundations of Christian Ethics
Course Description This course, taught by Kevin Jung at Wake Forest School of Divinity, is a survey of major themes, topics, and methods of contemporary Christian ethics. During the survey, we will explore how a particular method may shape one’s ethical analysis and evaluation with respect to various ethical issues, both practical and theoretical. Particular…
- Course Categories: Ethics, General Theology
- Science Topics: Life Sciences, Neuroscience, Brain, & Mind
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Foundations of Christian Ethics
- Tags: evolution, Christian Ethics, human nature, moral psychology, neuroscience, theology, science and religion, brain and mind, mainline protestant, life sciences
God and the Cosmos
Course Description When did it all begin? How vast is it? Why is it expanding? Will it ever end? What is our place in it? These big questions about the nature of the cosmos have been around as far as the history of human beings goes, and both science and religion have been proposing cosmological…
- Course Categories: General Theology
- Science Topics: Physics and Cosmos
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: God and the Cosmos
- Tags: mainline protestant, physics and cosmos, theology, cosmology, cosmogony, cosmos, astronomy, field trips, science and religion
Myth and Scripture: Genesis 1–11
Course Description This seminar, taught by Neal Walls at Wake Forest School of Divinity, explores ancient Near Eastern myths of creation; Genesis 1–11 as an ancient Israelite text; Genesis 1–11 in the history of interpretation as scripture; and Genesis 1–11 in relation to contemporary evolutionary biology, geology, creationism, and theology.
- Course Categories: Biblical Studies, General Theology
- Science Topics: Physics and Cosmos
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Myth and Scripture: Genesis 1–11
- Tags: evolution, creationism, Darwinism, cosmogony, Genesis, animal ethics, science and religion, mainline protestant, biblical studies, myth and scripture
Neuroethics
Course Description This course, taught by Kevin Jung at Wake Forest School of Divinity, introduces students to central philosophical and ethical issues in neuroethics. In this course we explore two main areas of neuroethics: the neuroscience of ethics and the ethics of neuroscience. The neuroscience of ethics re-examines traditional philosophical ideas and issues through the…
- Course Categories: Ethics
- Science Topics: Neuroscience, Brain, & Mind
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Neuroethics
- Tags: ethics, morality, brain and mind, mainline protestant, neuroethics, neurotechnology, neuroscience, philosophy, transhumanism
Philosophy of Human Nature
Course Description The nature of the human person is a hotly debated subject among scientists, philosophers, and theologians. As science and technology advance, they seem to raise more questions than they answer about the nature of the human person. This course, taught by Kevin Jung at Wake Forest School of Divinity, probes the question of…
- Course Categories: General Theology
- Science Topics: History & Philosophy of Science, Neuroscience, Brain, & Mind
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Philosophy of Human Nature
- Tags: evolution, human nature, neuroscience, philosophy, transhumanism, mainline protestant, consciousness, personal identity
Salvation and Evolution: The Scopes Trial, 1925 and Beyond
Course Description This one-credit course, taught by Bill J. Leonard at Wake Forest School of Divinity, explores the history of the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial as it occurred in Dayton, Tennessee, in the summer of 1925. The trial took place after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) convinced Dayton public school teacher, John Scopes, to…
- Course Categories: Church History, General Theology
- Science Topics: History & Philosophy of Science, Life Sciences, Physics and Cosmos
- Seminaries: Wake Forest University School of Divinity
- Ecclesial Families: Mainline Protestant
- Syllabus: Salvation and Evolution: The Scopes Trial, 1925 and Beyond
- Tags: history of science, Darwinism, Church & Society, evolution, Scopes Trial, creationism
