Luke Johnson

Argues that theology can respond faithfully to the living God only by paying due attention to human bodily experience Scripture points to the human body and lived experience as the preeminent arena of God's continuing revelation in the world, says Luke Timothy Johnson. Attentively discerning the manifestations of God's Spirit in and through the body is essential for theology to recover its nature as an inductive art rather than- as traditionally...

"For me, Paul has always been the most difficult and therefore also most delightful advocate and interpreter of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the human experience of God's transforming power through Christ. In Paul's letters, above all I have found the quality of mind and the depth of conviction that could arouse in me both excitement and passion. And it is Paul's letters, above all, that show how important and difficult is life together in the church."-...

A selection of sermons or homilies preached over a fifty-year period explicitly linked to the church's liturgical year-thus, In Season. The sermons exemplify how engagement with lectionary texts, the church's cycle of worship, and the circumstances of contemporary believers, can all be brought into lively conversation.

Is discipleship about personal sanctification or social reform? Believers are divided on a question central to Christian identity: what does it mean to follow Jesus? For centuries, imitating Christ meant the pursuit of holiness, conforming the self to Jesus through self-sacrifice in order to join him in eternal life. But some Christians today consider this model to be self-centered. Instead, they say, true disciples ought to imitate Jesus in confronting...

For most of the last 2,000 years, questions about the figure of Jesus have begun with the Gospels, but the Gospels themselves raise puzzling questions about both Jesus and the religious movement within which these narratives were produced. Is it possible to shape a single picture from the various accounts of his life given us by these Gospels? This far-ranging course examines not only the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John familiar...

Benedictine monasticism played a foundational role in the shaping of medieval Christianity, and it continues to thrive today. Take a deep look at Benedict of Nursia's Rule for Monks; its principles of obedience and humility and detailed prescriptions for monastic life, promoting monasteries as centers of both Christian discipleship and learning.

This lecture uncovers the remarkable cultural riches of the Orthodox tradition. First, see how a 9th-century Byzantine mission established Christianity in Russia and Ukraine. Then, delve into the compelling Orthodox rituals of worship, Orthodoxy's deeply integral monastic tradition, and its distinct form of contemplative mysticism, known as "Hesychasm."

The Crusades to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims represented deep ambiguities in Christian identity. Grasp the nature of these conquests as combined religious mission, popular movement, and political calculation. Then study the four most critical Crusades; their objectives, varied outcomes, and ultimate failure in both political and religious terms.

It's easy to forget that philosophy means "love of wisdom," not "love of thinking." In addition to the philosophy that tells you how to think well, the field also provides guidance on how to live well, solid advice on how to be a good father or friend, or how to grow old gracefully or to know what true happiness is. Greek and Roman thinkers such as Marcus Tullius Cicero, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Dio Chrysostom, and Plutarch of Chaeronea...

For nearly 2,000 years, the Christian faith has remained at or near the center of Western moral debate and conceptions of human identity, just action, and ultimate meaning. How did this happen? Find out in these 36 illuminating lectures that tell the phenomenal story of Christianity's first 1,500 years, in all its remarkable diversity and complex dimension. In the company of Professor Johnson, you'll follow the dramatic trajectory of Christianity...