2019-20 Registration for this Course Opens on February 11.

 
 
 

(If you would like to enroll in this class but cannot attend at the posted time, please contact us.  We may be able to open an additional section.)

Problems Registering?    Click here    for help

Beginning Drawing Materials:

  • Sketch book: Strathmore 9 x 12 inch
  • Charcoal pencils (two of each): soft, medium, hard
  • white chalk pencil (or white chalk pencil)
  • compressed charcoal (a couple pieces)
  • vine charcoal
  • kneaded eraser
  • rubber eraser
  • pencil sharpener
  • ruler
  • cloth sham
  • large newsprint paper pad (18 x 24 in)
  • Large thick drawing pad (18 x 24 in Canson or Strathmore)
  • large drawing board (with clips for hold your paper)

Marriage, Love, and Sexuality: A Cultural Crossroads

Christian Studies

he further that our secular culture goes on its path, the less resemblance it bears to its Christian roots. With this divergence, radically new definitions of marriage, love, sexuality, etc. have become possible. AT BEST, we Christians now live in a strange world where we are using the same words as the rest of our culture, but speaking different languages. AT WORST, we have lost the Christian meaning altogether and no longer understand the basic precepts of our faith.

In this course, we’ll examine how the definitions of the words marriage, love, sex, and gender have changed in the United States over the past 200 years and then we’ll broaden the discussion to include both ancient Christian (specifically Orthodox Christian) contexts and modern scientific findings. We’ll then consider the unifying themes behind the two worldviews – joyful, self-sacrificing love and the pursuit of pleasure, for Christianity and the secular culture, respectively. The first half concludes by explaining why the pursuit of pleasure eventually backfires and why true joy and deep meaning are only possible with self-sacrifice.

The second half of the course examines various specific topics (e.g. hook-up culture, gay marriage, celibacy, etc.) in light of the terms and issues discussed in the first half.

Materials will be provided by the Instructor.