Denver Seminary

Here is a preview of the Philosophy courses I (Doug Groothuis) will be teaching this fall at Denver Seminary. I have taught Defending Christian Faith and Religious Pluralism many times, and always enjoy the challenge of these deep subjects. Dynamics of Faith and Doubt has been taught in the past by Dr. Grounds and most recently by Terry Smith. I am teaching it for the first time, but am rooting it in books that have ministered to me for many years. Doubt is often the problem that Christians are afraid to confront, but doubts wisely addressed can and should make for a deeper, richer faith.

Dynamics of Faith and Doubt (PR 590-EV) will be offered in the fall term of 2009 on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:20 for two credit hours. This popular, two-hour elective explores the nature of the Christian's faith (assenting to gospel truth and trusting in and living for God) in relation to the struggles of doubting the truth of Christianity. Our aim is to strengthen each student's faith-giving him or her a deeply biblical understanding of the spiritual life, as well as offering creative coping strategies for dealing with doubt in oneself and in others. Our primary guides will be the writings Francis Schaeffer (True Spirituality), C.S. Lewis (The Screwtape Letters), and Os Guinness (God in the Dark).

Defending Christian Faith (PR 501-01) will be offered on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30-10:45 for three credit hours. We seek to learn how to defend the Christian worldview as true, rational, and pertinent in an increasingly pluralistic and globalized world. To accomplish this biblical task, we will investigate the biblical justification for apologetics, the nature of truth, arguments for God's existence, the reliability of the Bible, and the deity of Christ, as well as the relationship of Christianity to science and other religions.

Religious Pluralism (PR 601) will be offered Thursdays from 1:00-3:45 for three credit hours. This class will acquaint students with several world religions and develop a logically sound, factually legitimate, and biblically faithful approach to the challenge of modern religious pluralism. This involves developing an understanding of the present condition of religious pluralism, the nature of religious truth claims, the relationship between conflicting religious truth claims, the uniqueness and exclusivity of Jesus Christ, and the imperative of Christian mission in a religiously plural world.

For more information on these courses or the Philosophy of Religion programs at Denver Seminary, please follow these links:

• Academic information, including class schedules and degree program worksheets
• Course descriptions as found in the Academic Catalog
• MDiv with a concentration in Philosophy of Religion
• MA with a major in Philosophy of Religion