The Cosmic Arch-Epic

[each student must begin with and pass this course to move on]
Resources: Wright: Surprised by Hope—Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church/The Day the Revolution Began—Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion, The High Book of the Grail

The Holy Scriptures

The Eschatology of the Eternal Kingdom
Resources: The Four Gospels & Acts (selections), I Corinthians 15 (with Sapir: The Body), Thessalonians/I John 2, II Peter 3, Revelation (selections);
The Lutheran Bible Companion (2 vols.), Wright: The New Testament in Its World/The Resurrection of the Son of God, Stephenson: Eschatology

Protestant–Catholic Tradition

From Golden Ages to Wesleyan Holiness & German Pietism
Resources: Book of Concord (1580), Chemnitz: “Justification” (from his Loci)/The Lord’s Supper/The Two Natures of Christ, Beauty of Holiness—The Caroline Divines and Their Writings, Love’s Redeeming Work—The Anglican Quest for Holiness, Moorman: The Anglican Spiritual Tradition, Krauth: The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Elert: The Structure of Lutheranism, Preus: The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism (2 vols.), Scaer: Christology/Law and Gospel, Stephenson: The Lord’s Supper, Herl: Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism

Sacred Art, Architecture, Music and its Theology
Resources: Veith: State of the Arts, Stroik: The Church Building as a Sacred Place—Beauty, Transcendence and the Eternal, McNamara: Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy, Churches Conservation Trust Lunchtime Lectures video series (selections), Esolen: Real Music—A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church
(This course will also look at several of the notable churches and their related history in Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.)

Christianity in History, Philosophy & Literature

The Reformation Wars
Resources: Swiss Wars at Kappel, The Schmalkaldic Wars, Dano-Swedish Union Wars, French Wars of Religion, The Thirty Years’ War, The English Civil Wars, Moorman: A History of the Church in England, Giertz: By Faith Alone, Cromwell (1970), Dumas: The Three Musketeers

Dawn of Modern Philosophy
Resources: Pelikan: Reformation of Church and Dogma {1300-1700}, Hägglund: History of Theology, Copleston: Modern Philosophy (vols. IV/V), Lewis: The Pilgrim’s Regress/The Abolition of Man/”Learning in War Time”, Swift: Gulliver’s Travels

Contemporary Literature
Resources: Shakespeare: The Tempest, Cervantes: Don Quixote, Dickens: Great Expectations/Nicholas Nickelby, Austen: Sense and Sensibility, Bronte: Wuthering Heights, Stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Burnett: Secret Garden, Leroux: The Phantom of the Opera (with the 2004 film adaptation), Crichton: State of Fear

The Cosmic Arch-Epic

[each student must begin with and pass this course to move on]
Resources: Tolkien: “On Fairy Stories”, The Silmarillion, Beren and Lúthien, The Children of Húrin, The Fall of Gondolin, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings; Ch. Tolkien: History of Middle-Earth (select volumes), Shippey: The Road to Middle-Earth, Wood: The Gospel According to Tolkien

The Holy Scriptures

The Apocalypse of Jesus
Resources: Genesis, Daniel/Nahum, Ezekiel, Isaiah (40-66), Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi, Mark (plus ‘Olivet Discourse’ from Matthew/Luke), John (selections), Romans, Philippians, Galatians, Colossians, Ephesians, Hebrews (selections), Jude, Revelation;
The Lutheran Bible Companion (2 vols.), Wright: The New Testament in Its World, Luther: Lectures in Genesis, Rehwinkel: The Flood—In the Light of the Bible, Geology & Archaeology, Marquardt: “Luther & Theosis”, Farrer: Triple Victory/Sts. Matthew & Mark/A Rebirth of Images—The Making of St. John’s Apocalypse

Protestant–Catholic Tradition

The Nature of Anfechtungen
Resources: Stephenson: “Let Your Holy Angel Be with Me” (Luther’s Angelology), Donne: Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions/Death’s Duel, Love’s Redeeming Work—The Anglican Quest for Holiness, Gurnall: The Christian in Complete Armor, Kleinig: Grace Upon Grace—Spirituality for Today (selections), Radke: “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit—I Cor. 12-14″, Lewis: The Screwtape Letters, Bunyan: The Holy War, Dickens: A Christmas Carol, Moller: Dear Soul—A Manual for the Rightful Art of Dying, Gerhard: Handbook of Consolations

Cosmic Battles
Resources: Luther: “Against the Heavenly Prophets”, Fisk: Broken, Ristau: My First Exorcism—What the Devil Taught a Lutheran Pastor about Counter-cultural Spirituality, Blumhardt: Battle with the Powers of Darkness, LiBrizzi: The Nelly Butler Hauntings—A Documentary History/Dark Woods, Chill Waters—Ghost Tales from Down East Maine

Christianity in History, Philosophy & Literature

Pax Britannica Dawns, Unionism & Empire,
Columbia Comes of Age
Resources: Chadwick: The Victorian Church, Bonomi: Under the Cope of Heaven—Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America, Wood: The American Revolution—A History, Finke & Stark: The Churching of America, 1776-2005/Irving: A History of New York selections; with the article “Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus”, The Last of the Mohicans (1992), April Morning (1988), Johnny Tremain (1957), Ferling: Almost a Miracle—The American Victory in the War of Independence, The Patriot (2000), Cecere: General Peter Muhlenberg—A Virginia Officer of the Continental Line, Dallison: Hope Restored—The American Revolution and the Founding of New Brunswick, Koontz/Fisk: A Brief History of Power (select episodes), Leithart: Between Babel and Beast, Williamson: The History of the State of Maine, Taylor: Liberty Men and Great Proprietors—The Revolutionary Settlement on the Maine Frontier {1760-1820}, Dekker: French & Indian Wars in Maine, Ellis: A Ruinous and Unhappy War—New England and the War of 1812, Greenburg: The Court-Martial of Paul Revere—A Son of Liberty and America’s Forgotten Military Disaster, Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities, The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934; 1982, based on sequel novel, Eldorado)

The Enlightenment in Practice: Deconstruction to Neo-Gnosticism
Resources: Pelikan: Christian Doctrine and Modern Culture {Since 1700}, Hägglund: History of Theology, Copleston: Modern Philosophy (vols. VI-IX), Scruton: The Soul of the World/The Face of God

Cosmic Battlefields
Resources: Stoker: Dracula, Lewis: The Cosmic Trilogy, Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress (Parts I & II), Williams: War in Heaven, Milton: Paradise Lost/Regained (with Lewis: A Preface to ‘Paradise Lost’), Poe: Greatest Works (selections), Irving: The Sketch Book (selections)

The Cosmic Arch-Epic

[each student must begin with and pass this course to move on]
Resources: Lewis: “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to Be Said”/The Chronicles of Narnia, Sayers: The Mind of the Maker, Veith: Imagination Redeemed/Reading Between the Lines, Esolen: Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, Godawa: Hollywood Worldviews

The Holy Scriptures

Understanding the Word in its Original Languages & Context
Resources: Hebrew & Greek Interlinears;
Primers/Syntaxes/Theological Dictionaries to the Biblical Languages, Preus: The Inspiration of Scripture, Farrer: The Glass of Vision, Bird: Unveiling Mercy (plus additional essays and select videos from The Old Testament in 40 Minutes series), Tverberg: Rabbi Jesus trilogy

Protestant–Catholic Tradition

Orthodox Lutherans & Continuing Anglicans Today
Resources: Krauth: The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Sasse: Here We Stand/The Lonely Way (2 vols.), Love’s Redeeming Work—The Anglican Quest for Holiness, GAFCON: “The Jerusalem Declaration” (2008), Marquart: Anatomy of an Explosion/Church Growth as Mission Paradigm, Kolb/Arand: The Genius of Luther’s Theology—A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church, Woodford: Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession?, Bramwell: Come In, We are Closed, Wolfmeuller: Why Has American Christianity Failed?, Bonhoeffer: Sanctorum Communio—A Theological Study of the Sociology of the Church/The Cost of Discipleship, Radke: “The Implications of the Corporeal Nature in the Holy Communion”, Koontz: “A Lutheran Response to Tyranny” (video series, with The Magdeburg Confession), Chadwick: The Mind of the Oxford Movement, Griffith: Grace and Incarnation—The Oxford Movement’s Shaping of the Character of Modern Anglicanism

Christianity in History, Philosophy & Literature

Against Marxism & Fascism
Resources: The Twilight Zone: “The Obsolete Man”, Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities, Veith: Modern Fascism, Tinker: That Hideous Strength—A Deeper Look at How the West Was Lost, Bonhoeffer: various letters and writings, Spencer: A Religion of Peace?—Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t

The Christian in Contemporary American Community
Resources: Luther: LW 44 thru 47 (selections)/“The Freedom of a Christian”, Lewis: “On Living in an Atomic Age” (with The Magician’s Twin)/”The Necessity of Chivalry”/The Weight of Glory & Other Addresses/The Four Loves, Fisk/Koontz: A Brief History of Power (selections), Veith: Postmodern Times/Post-Christian/Loving God with All Your Mind/God at Work, Bonhoeffer: Spiritual Care/Life Together/Ethics, Guinness: Prophetic Untimeliness/Fool’s Talk, Chesterton: Heresies, Kolb: Speaking the Gospel Today—A Theology for Evangelism, De Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Esolen: Out of the Ashes/Nostalgia—Going Home in a Homeless World/Sex and the Unreal City—The Demolition of the Western Mind, Dreher: Live Not by Lies, Metaxes: Letter to the American Church, Sophocles: Antigone, O’Connor: The Complete Stories, Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Patterns (1956)

History & Literature of Maine
Resources: Gratwick: Hidden History of Maine; “The History of the Republic of Madawaska” (related to the bloodless Aroostook War), Chamberlain: Blood & Fire at Gettysburg/The Passing of the Armies/”20th Maine Monument Address”, Wallace: Soul of the Lion, Pullen: Joshua Chamberlain, Blaine: Twenty Years of Congress, Muzzey: James G. Blaine, CE Hamlin: The Life and Times of Hannibal Hamlin, Rich: We Took to the Woods, MacDonald: The Little Island, Hawthorne: House of the Seven Gables, Thoreau: Walden, Stowe: The Pearl of Orr’s Island/Oldtown Folks/Agnes of Sorrento, Longfellow: Poems & Other Writings, Jewett: Country of the Pointed Firs, E.B. White: Charlotte’s Web, King: ‘Salem’s Lot, Carousel (1956)

Dissertation

10K-word Research Paper/Two-class Presentation (student’s choice)

Free Electives x3

The student may choose courses from any of the Levels I-VI that they have not yet taken. Alternatively, the student may choose from the below list (subject to teacher availability).
Biblical Hebrew I/II
Biblical Greek I/II
Theological Latin
Theological German
The History of the Church in Britain (either a survey or a specific period is a appropriate; other European countries will be considered if there is a suitable connection to Maine history)
Non-Fiction of C.S. Lewis (God in the Dock, Christian Reflections, Present Concerns, A Grief Observed, An Experiment in Criticism, Letters to Malcolm, Surprised by Joy, The World’s Last Night and Other Essays, Studies in Words, Of Other Worlds, Image and Imagination, Selected Literary Essays)
Works of Shakespeare (to be worked out with student)
Fiction of Charles Dickens (to be worked out with student)
Fiction of Charles Williams
Fiction of G.K. Chesterton
American Fiction (Irving: The Sketch Book/A History of New York selections; with the article “Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus”, O. Henry: 101 Stories, Alexander: The Chronicles of Prydain, Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Rand: The Fountainhead, O’Connor: Wise Blood/The Violent Bear it Away/The Complete Stories, L’Amour: How the West Was Won/The Daybreakers, Grey: Riders of the Purple Sage, Kinsella: Shoeless Joe, King: The Stand)
The Classic Star Wars Saga
The Harry Potter cycle
Christianity at the Cinema: Golden Age (High Noon, The Gunfighter, The Searchers, Ox-bow Incident, Pollyanna, Treasure of Sierra Madre, King Creole, The Fountainhead, The Hustler, The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood)
Christianity at the Cinema: Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life, You Can’t Take it With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Meet John Doe, State of the Union, sections of Capra’s autobiography)
Christianity at the Cinema: Hitchcock (I Confess, Rear Window, Saboteur, Vertigo, Lifeboat, The Birds, select episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents)
Christianity at the Cinema: Modern (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, The Natural, Field of Dreams, Eight Men Out, The Majestic, The Matrix, TRON: Legacy, Speed Racer, Indy/Raiders-Crusade, Hook)
Christianity at the Cinema: Disney Fairy Tales (Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast-1991, Ratatouille, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella-2015)
Christianity at the Cinema: Westerns (Tombstone, True Grit, 3:10 to Yuma, Winchester ’73, Seraphim Falls, Sgt. Rutledge, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Fastest Gun Alive, Shane, The Shootist, Good Day for a Hanging, Pale Rider)
Christianity at the Cinema: The Infinity War Saga (selections from the MCU)
Christianity at the Cinema: Adapting the Faith (DeMille’s King of Kings, Ten Commandments, The Nativity Story, King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth, The Passion of the Christ, The Chosen, Ben-Hur, The Robe, Risen, A.D., Paul Apostle of Christ, Solomon Kane, Sergeant York, God’s Not Dead)
Poetry I/II (Shakespeare, Donne, Herbert, Frost, Dickinson)
Woodcraft (in-person only with retired carpenter/contractor; may be taken multiple times)