STM courses are designed for students enrolled in advanced level degree programs (STM, ThM, DMin, or PhD). Students enrolled in first-level masters degree programs may register for STM courses with the permission of the instructor. Pastors may audit STM courses with the permission of the instructor.

To register as a student or as an auditor, please use the Registration form or the Auditor form found on the Registrar's page. Registration forms are generally available late March (for summer and fall terms) and late October (for Jan and spring terms).

STM courses are scheduled to be offered as follows:

   
JANUARY TERM 2012 - Now available for registration from the Registrar's page
6.108 Gnosticism & Early Christianity
An introduction to Gnosticism(s), which emerged around the time of Christianity and Neoplatonism, and developed and intertwined with the two until being excluded by both as a heresy.  Selected readings of primary texts (in English).  Topics and literary corpora include: The Nag Hammadi Library, the Ante-Nicene Fathers, anti-Gnostic early Christian writers, and the Gospel of John.
 Briant Bohleke
 
6.211 Pentecostalism    POSTED 4-8-11 - change from previously announced course
This course will engage participants in study of Pentecostalism as an historical movement of importance to religious and political life around the world, and to the growth and shape of the church, in either the American, or in a global context. Through investigation of the development and structure of Pentecostalism, students will study how religious experiences emerge out of, articulate, and react to social and political contexts. Maria Erling 
 
SPRING SEMESTER 2012
6.105 Second Temple Judaism
An introduction to the Palestinian Jewish context in which Jesus lived and out of which Christianity arose.  Selected readings of primary texts (in English). Topics and literary corpora include: The Maccabean Revolt, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, and the Jewish War against the Romans.
Brooks Schramm
 
 
SUMMER 2012
6.208 Augustine and Rome
May 17-31, 2012
This course takes us to Rome to experience the world Augustine of Hippo writes about in his “City of God” – the main text for the study. We will learn about the early horizons of Christian experience and the roots of Christian theology with both Augustine and the “eternal city” that for centuries has symbolized Christianity. We will witness different layers of Christian experience and expression through guided visits to ancient Roman sites and Christian pilgrimage sites, with excursions (e.g., Ostia Antica). With Augustine, we wish to appreciate what is involved in being a citizen in the “city of God” in this world and beyond, and how we might experience and express that today. The seminar takes place in Rome; or, as an alternative, as an Independent Study with a Cohort Group with discussions online and two campus meetings. 
Kirsi Stjerna/ Brooks Schramm

6.308 Sharing our Lives   POSTED 9-19-11 - change from previously announced course
June 11-16, 2012
This course utilizes the theory and practice of educational biography and religious education to examine the lives of religious educators and their contributions to Christian religious education. In addition, students will compare and contrast these lives with their own educational biographies and theologies of religious education.
Nelson Strobert
 
 
FALL SEMESTER 2012
6.209 Reformation Studies: New Methods and Hermeneutics
This course enters the international world of Reformation and Luther studies. The newest of sources and approaches are explored, as well as selected classics are perused, to facilitate cutting-edge study and interpretation of the reformers and their theologies, Renaissance/Reformation history and materials, and other pertinent themes, such as gender and women in the early modern world. Special attention will be given to the present direction of Luther studies and the global discussions around Finnish Luther research, with its ramifications in the areas of spirituality and ecumenical work. The course is recommended for all students in the STM program and particularly those considering further work in history or theology. (Interested qualified students may be invited to the annual conference of the Sixteenth Century Society.)
Kirsi Stjerna
 
 
JANUARY TERM 2013
6.109 Law in the Ancient Near Eastern
The laws and codes for a range of human conduct set down in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy resonate the rights and obligations of citizens of neighboring societies such as the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Egyptians, and the people of Ugarit.  Selected readings of primary and some secondary texts (in English).  The thrust of the course is to discover to what extent Hebrew laws parallel regulations in other cultures and how and why they have been adapted to a unique, monotheistic culture.
Briant Bohleke
 
 

 
SPRING SEMESTER 2013
6.110 The Book of Acts, the Early Church, and the Church Today
The book of Acts provides a remarkable picture of the issues the early Church faced as it grew in its understanding of Jesus Christ and in its self-understanding as a community engaged in the mission of declaring and living the Gospel. This survey course of Acts will provide both an opportunity to discover the history of the early Church and to reflect on how it might inform our understanding of the Church today.
Mark Vitalis Hoffman
 
 
SUMMER TERM 2013
6.306 The Church Year in the Presence of Christ
All too often, the observance of the church year tries to function as a time machine, taking us back to “when Christ was alive.”  While often a powerful teaching tool, this effort is in conflict not only with the Resurrection, but also against the fundamental evangelical tenet that God always comes to us, when and where we are.  This course will not only serve as a survey of the history and practice of the Church Year, but will investigate that practice through a concentration on the abiding presence of the Crucified and Resurrected Christ in and through his disciples.
Mark Oldenburg
 
6.210 Sin & the Human Condition:  The Seven Deadly Sins
Using the seven deadly sins as a basic structure, this course surveys a variety of ways in which the concept of human sinfulness has been articulated in the course of Christian history.  Students will reflect critically on how the different doctrines of sin have influenced our understanding of both the person and work of Jesus Christ, as well as the relationships between God, humanity and creation.
Kristin Johnston Largen