Social Ethics (SOC)
SOC 621NE
Old Testament Prophets’ Cry for Justice
Credits: 3
This course examines the Old Testament prophets and their call for social justice. It offers opportunity for an in-depth examination of the prophets’ exhortations and teachings on God’s justice for the Israelite community. Particular attention is given to the Minor Prophets, including Amos, Hosea, and Micah. Reflection on this prophetic literature provides an opportunity to delineate the significance of the prophetic cry for justice for the Church today. This course is cross-listed as BIB 621NE. [Offered on demand]
SOC 623NE
Social Policy, Leadership and Community Development
Credits: 3
Creating social justice requires leadership skills and an understanding of the nature of the development of systems change. This course focuses on the history of social change movements, the development of social policy, and the role of the church in promoting justice in society. Students learn to recognize the roles of power and relational dynamics in the development of systemic struggles that ultimately lead to social policy and societal change. Students will have the opportunity to organize and implement a project that utilizes their leadership skills in the area of social justice in a local or larger community setting.
SOC 624NE
Social Justice and Spirituality
Credits: 3
This course is a study of the intersection of faith and social justice and relationship of the first two great commandments. Students will study relevant spiritual writings that include application to social justice and peacemaking. Included are readings by Henri Nouwen, Dorothy Day, Gustavo Gutierrez, Teresa of Avila, and others. The disciplines including prayer, simplicity, confession, and worship will be studied in relation to the Christian call to mission and creating social justice. Students will explore practical ways to live out the call of Jesus to worship God and love their neighbor. This course is cross-listed as PSF 624NE.
SOC 625NE
Foundations in Social and Theological Ethics
Credits: 3
This course is an introduction to the basic themes in Christian theology as they relate to contemporary social issues and public policy. The course provides a Christian global perspective that relates theology and ethics to ministry and service in the public realm. Topics include a survey of existing justice and moral theories that relate to cultural analysis and ministerial practice. Areas that will be explored include power, government, war, wealth and poverty, gender, and diversity. The goal is to provide students with both theological and ministerial tools to address important social issues in their churches, community, and larger society.
SOC 642NE
Jesus and the Poor: Biblical Perspectives on Economic Justice
Credits: 3
Howard Thurman’s question, “What, then, is the word of the religion of Jesus to those who stand with their backs against the wall?” is a perennial one. This course begins in the New Testament with a study of Jesus’ relationship with the poor and his sayings regarding poverty, wealth, and discipleship. Topics also include exegeses on key biblical passages regarding economic justice in both the Old and New Testament and an examination of contemporary successes and failures of the local and global Christian church to end economic oppression. The course explores the implications for applying a biblical ethic of justice to individual Christian discipleship and corporate church witness. This course is cross-listed as BIB 642NE.
SOC 649NE
Contemporary Ethical Issues
Credits: 3
This course is designed to help those in, or entering, ministry to understand better their own ethical perspective and apply it to significant ethical questions facing society today. Issues to be covered include: approaches to ethical decision-making (both general and explicitly Christian), bioethical issues (reproductive technology, genetic screening, and physician-assisted suicide), social issues (pornography, sexual harassment), and business issues (job discrimination, capitalism). This course is cross-listed as MIN 649NE. [Offered on demand]
SOC 650NE
Bioethics and Ministry in the 21st Century
Credits: 3
Human cloning is very near. Healthcare rationing is an increasing reality. Comfort care for the dying increasingly hastens death. This course is designed to help those currently in, or entering, ministry to understand better their own ethical perspective (their own general approach to ethical decision-making) and how this perspective applies to bioethical tensions such as those mentioned above. Students will have the opportunity to prepare and present a detailed analysis of an ethical issue they perceive to be of particular social significance. This course is especially recommended for hospital chaplains. This course is cross-listed as MIN 650NE.
SOC 651NE
Women in Leadership: Historical and Biblical Perspectives
Credits: 3
This course explores the lives and roles of women throughout church history. It examines the historical and social contexts of various women leaders identified as having an impact on theology, biblical interpretation, cultural influence, and social justice. Individual women’s lives will be discussed in terms of their response to God’s call, their commitment to leadership development, and their contributions to the overall Christian church. The course provides an analysis of the strategies and resources women in various times and cultures have used to have their voices “heard.” Students will be able to identify the diverse global views of church leaders toward women’s roles as this course examines the support, obstacles, and beliefs of the historical church. The final course section focuses on the current status of women in the church and reflection on global challenges for women in the 21st century. This course is cross-listed as HST 651NE.
SOC 655NE
Gender Violence and Reconciliation
Credits: 3
This course addresses gender violence from a global, structural, and Christian theological perspective. Gender violence is defined in legal, psychological and spiritual language that provides a description of the problem and a framework for addressing this important issue. The course will provide an analysis of current theories, practices, and leadership strategies. Topics include gender violence as an international human rights issue, the responsibility of the church in its prophetic role to provide a response, and exploring the possibilities of creative responses with the goal of gender reconciliation. The objective is to develop leaders who help create a cultural and theological shift that recognizes the dignity and equality of both women and men.
SOC 660NE
The Ethics of War and Peace
Credits: 3
This course surveys the development of Christian theological and ethical perspectives on just war theory and pacifism from the biblical period to the present day. Attention will be given to the crusades, the two world wars, and the unconventional warfare in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Students will examine the perspectives of their own denomination or faith group and apply their findings to one of the above wars. Finally, students will examine the meaning of conscientious objection and grounds for its approval in the military. Consideration will be given throughout the course to the formation of personal conscience in light of Christian traditions and in the context of responsible citizenship. [Offered on demand]
SOC 695NE
Independent Study in Social Ethics
Credits: 1—3
Under the guidance of a professor, the student pursues independent research in a specific social ethics topic. [Prerequisite: advisor and instructor approval required and a GPA of 3.0]
SOC 699NE
M.A. Thesis in Social Ethics
Credits: 3
This course is a research option for M.A. students in the field of social ethics. Students wishing to pursue thesis work must file a written petition with academic services formally requesting this degree completion method prior to registering for the course. (Students who have not completed the thesis project by the end of the semester will automatically be registered for RES 799NE-Continuation of Registration for Master’s Thesis, and charged a $250 fee every subsequent semester until the completion of the master’s thesis.)
SOC 723NE
Theology and Political Action: Reading Luther, Bonhoeffer, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Credits: 3
Theological questions concerning the role of church and state, Christian ethics and public policy, and the intersection of Christian spirituality and civic values are perennial questions that every generation within their own social, cultural, and political context need to address. This course examines Martin Luther's theology of the cross as a framework for addressing his two kingdoms paradigm, and subsequent understanding of the boundaries of temporal authority and church. Luther's construct is instrumental in the development of Bonhoeffer's Christology, his insistence on solidarity with the oppressed, and resistance to social and political evil. Martin Luther King, Jr. is deeply influenced by both Luther and Bonhoeffer, and further develops concepts that include strategies of active nonviolent resistance, the beloved community, and Christian reconciliation. These themes related to the role of church and state will be explored with an emphasis on application for the 21st century church. This course is cross-listed as THE 723NE.
SOC 735NE
Social Policy Conference
Credits: 3
This course provides students with an opportunity to put into practice their knowledge, and skills as a social change practitioner. Students will identify one topic that has spiritual, social and communal relevance for those who have been socially, economically, and/or politically marginalized. Subjects for study may include any contemporary social concern. Students will become a task force that studies the identified subject, plans a strategy to create social change and then works together to implement this change. They will work to create change in social policy on both a local and State level. Their expertise and practice strategies will be presented at the BT Roberts Symposium that takes place biennially in the spring semester.