What is more central to Christian practice and belief than our creedal phrase for this week, “the forgiveness of sins”?

Do we have too many churches? The debate is on!

We're sticking with "the communion of the saints," to continue understanding what happened to the Church throughout history. This week, we're taking it all the way up to the year 2020!

Should the Protestant Reformation have occurred? That is our question for today! A Protestant theologian and a Catholic theologian try to persuade us of their respective visions.

Our church history bootcamp continues, picking up in the year 1500 with the so-called “Protestant Reformation.” What were they reforming, and what were they protesting? How can the church have unity when it is so divided, and truly become a “communion of saints” together?

We continue with the creedal phrase, “the holy catholic church,” with an incisive whirlwind tour through 1,000 years of church history by friend of the class and GFU alum Fr. Stephen Kenyon, a Catholic priest in a parish near Medford, OR. Listen to learn about how themes of UNITY, EVANGELISM, and MONASTICISM were expressed in the medieval Church.

What is the Church, exactly? Is the Church corrupted by money? Should ministers be paid? Should anyone profit off of working at a Christian institution of any kind? Would Jesus have approved of our churches? What is “low church” and “high church”? Dr. Joseph Clair, our Monday lecturer, along with Pastor Lydia and Dr. Garcia are back as panelists to tackle these questions—and, as always, much more.

Do you believe in the Church? Should we believe in the Church? Dr. Joseph Clair asks us to consider the meaning of “church,” thinking about the metaphors this element of Christian faith requires and what gifts we have received from the “Early Church” (roughly 100-500 AD). This is the first in a four-part series we’re calling our “Church History Bootcamp,” which will narrate what happened after the New Testament and why the Church is what it is today.

How active is the Holy Spirit in our world today? What should Christians expect—in terms of gifts, miracles, and even people being raised from the dead? Our two course directors Dr. Leah Payne and Dr. Brian Doak clash on this topic!

Finally: the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit! Dr. Sarita Edwards gives us a whirlwind tour of some Holy Spirit basics, teaching us where the Holy Spirit appears in Scripture and how we might think of the work of the Spirit today.

Hell: Will it be eternal conscious torment, or will God eventually redeem everyone somehow? All Christians must affirm the words of the Creed, believe that Jesus will come and be the judge. Sin and punishment are very real and have serious consequences in the Christian vision. But what will that look like, exactly? Dr. Joseph Clair and Dr. Brian Doak duke it out in this week’s debate.

“…and he will come to judge the living and the dead.” Despite being a massively frequent biblical theme, God’s judgment sometimes gets little airplay in Christian circles today. Why? And what does judgment entail and require? What does it look like in the Bible? Dr. Doak takes us through several scenes of Judgment, from the book of Genesis through the New Testament.

“Jesus saves”—yes, but how? Today we have a DEBATE, between Dr. Javier Garcia and Dr. Nijay Gupta on the question of “atonement.” How does God become “at one” with humanity? How can Jesus save us? Dr. Garcia promotes an idea called “penal substitution,” and Dr. Gupta promotes a “participatory” model that leads to “theosis.”

Today we’re talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection by thinking about ATONEMENT: All Christians must agree that Jesus reconciles us to God; but how did Jesus reconcile us to God, exactly? Dr. Garcia talks about three major models for thinking about this question.

Jesus rose again—does it matter? What is God’s problem with death? Are we trying too hard to figure theology out? And what about people who have been treated horribly in colonial situations in order to “spread the Gospel”?

Death, be not proud—Christ is risen! Dr. Nijay Gupta talks about four serious implications of the resurrection.

Our panel convenes to discuss the creedal phrase “crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.” We reflect on Jesus’ betrayal by Judas and numerous other things. Dr. Gupta recommends a song.

Jesus not only suffers—he also dies. Why does he have to die, though? Why would God allow his only Son to be tortured and abused in such a way? Dr. Melissa Ramos takes us on a journey into God’s love, as strong as death…

We’re back with a new format for this spring—DEBATE! Dr. Brian Doak and Pastor Dominic Done take up two different approaches to the problem of evil and duke it out: Is the problem of suffering more like a school or a battle? Is suffering primarily for teaching us lessons, or primarily to be fought against?

We’re back for the spring, continuing our lectures through the Apostles’ Creed! This week Dr. Brian Doak takes on the phrase, “…suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Did Jesus really have to suffer? How should Christians think about suffering—indeed, the larger “problem of evil”—in the world today in light of our profession that God is “good” but also “all powerful”?