Social Science

A study of global issues and challenges such as crime, pollution, war, poverty, drug addiction and racial tensions, with a focus on researching the historical roots and modern implications of an issue.

Religion as an effort to make sense of a chaotic world and to shape it into something predictable and manageable, has been around in many and widely varied forms since the earliest times in human history. This course is intended to help students explore human religiosity by engaging with current religious traditions, in terms of their histories, cultural contexts, and varied expressions, all with the goal of developing the ability to understand, engage, and effectively carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a highly diverse and constantly changing world.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the fundamental issues of philosophy through the study of its basic terminology and concepts, as well as the philosophers, philosophical movements, and problems that have shaped the Western world. It also serves as an introduction to critical thinking and philosophical reflection. Time will be given to the philosophical development of a personal worldview, examining how various factors affect one's views of the major academic disciplines and their application to contemporary issues and science.

This course will survey modern worldviews through the lenses of history, philosophy, religion, and popular culture over the centuries and evaluate their impact on the modern Christian worldview using the primary lens of Scripture for critical evaluation. Students will examine the nature and function of belief structures, then build a personal worldview from a biblical foundation.

This course is designed as an introduction to ethical thought and its application to contemporary decision-making. Examination of issues such as those involved in reproduction, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, genetic engineering, biomedical research, divorce, homosexuality, LGBT, capital punishment, civil disobedience, war, social justice, and the environment may be explored. The desired outcome is for students to demonstrate critical thinking about such issues and to develop skills to articulate positions about moral and social problems from their own personal worldviews.