Knowledge of the physical universe was extremely limited when Jesus of Nazareth lived and died and, as his believers believed, rose from the dead. Beliefs about him developed into formal doctrines in the next 4 centuries. Knowledge of the physical universe today is, by comparison, torrential. What these two bodies of knowledge have to say to each other is a discourse that is long overdue for those who have an interest in each. The course doesn’t promise that a satisfactory integration will be arrived at but only that a greater degree of integration will be attempted. The effort is not motivated by apologetics but by the need for a wholeness if and to the extent that it can be achieved. This is the challenge. The style of the classes will be a discussion of readings, lectures, interaction between the two lecturers, and the participation of the class.

This course will embrace at least three of the General Learning goals elaborated by the Graduate Liberal Studies enterprise: a) what gives ultimate meaning to human life; b) where is human life heading?; c) how are human beings related to nature and creation as a whole?