IB Course Descriptions - Lexington Theological Seminary

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IB Course Descriptions

IB 551 – Ethical Forms

This course in theological ethics will focus moral frameworks as tools for making moral judgments. The course will begin by focusing on the role of scripture, tradition, reason and experience in ethical decision making and will then move to an exploration of different frameworks and sources such as Natural Law, Virtue ethics, Narrative ethics, Responsibility/American Empirical Theology and ethics, and feminist and liberationist approaches.

Prerequisite: None

Credit: 1.0 (Offered Online or during On-Campus Intensives)
Instructor: Dr. Kristel Clayville

IB 552 – God and Science: Intro Biomedical Ethics

This course in theological ethics will focus on biomedical ethics (sometimes called bioethics). Students will be introduced to methods within bioethics as tools for making moral judgments. The course will begin by focusing on a description of bioethics and then turn to a case study that focus on 1) access to healthcare and 2) life at its beginnings.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0 (Offered Online or during On-Campus Intensives)
Instructor: Dr. Kristel Clayville

IB 553 – Social Ethics

This course introduces the theory and method of Social Ethics and considers how the issues and applications of social ethics influence both the local church and the wider society. Using case studies to examine specific theoretical and practical issues, we will exercise our own ideas and applications of social ethics. The aim, of course, is neither to answer every question nor to justify particular stances but, rather, to learn to ask relevant questions, to understand how ethical decisions correspond to theological belief, to communicate clearly one’s own ethical values, and to expand understandings of diverse worldviews. Students will be encouraged to develop their analytical and critical thinking skills, to reflect on their own processes of ethical reflection, and to communicate their ideas in articulate ways

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0
Instructor: Dr. Christy Newton

IB 554 – Living the Catholic Experience: Ethics and Social Justice

The Catholic tradition of “Social Justice” has been called the Church’s best kept secret. This course begins to reveal why. Examining a historical overview, we trace the developments in the Church’s teachings that yielded the seven principles of social justice. The principles are a guide for anyone (Catholic or not) seeking to build a better world for all. The social teachings are constitutive and integral to Gospel living and are intended for all to live out. The class investigates the local application of the seven principles of Catholic social justice in Kentucky and for the global environment. Here is a demonstration of the concrete—not abstract– nature of the social principles.

The main sources of thought on social justice are Scripture, Papal Encyclicals, and official Catholic teachings. The course brings the seven principles to life through stories of those who are known for living their lives justly. In addition, we are mindful of the heroic but hidden every- day lives around us. To do this, the students will be asked to reflect on and share their own lived experiences and observations of living justly–be it a social movement, community engagement, observations and/or personal involvement.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0
Instructor: Dr. Jean Soto

IB 555 – An Introduction to Faith Rooted Anti-Racism

This course will provide an introductory survey of faith-rooted approaches to anti-racism, and anti-racist community practices. It will explore practical approaches to resisting racism, and to communication, accountability and listening across difference to create a more just church in a just society through systemic analysis coupled with contextual learning and dynamic interaction. Race, justice, identity formation, power, and intersectionality will be considered alongside tools to address racism, and other forms of oppression to increase equity and meaningful social change.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Dr. Yvonne Gilmore

IB 556 – Ethical Leadership in Extraordinary Times

This is a two-week, (0.5 credit), course. Christian leaders today are facing extraordinary situations in public life that call for leaders within the church to provide ethical responses to address the plethora of injustices which plague our society. Such extraordinary situations include, but are not limited to, the impact of COVID-19; Gasoline shortages due to the War in Ukraine; voter suppression laws; food shortages; climate change; mass shootings; immigration; issues of race, class, and gender, as well as the current politicization on gun control laws. (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/04/15/americans-views-of-the-problems-facing-the-nation). We are living in a time which requires, more than ever, the moral voices from faith leaders. Disengagement can no longer be an option. The moral imperative is church leaders can no longer afford to rely on traditions which uses statements such as “we are in the world but not of the world.” These types of phrases represent the types of theological misinterpretations that offer reasons to disengage and ignore the suffering of people and injustices that surround our everyday lives. We as clergy and faith leaders cannot allow our words, actions, or deeds to cause collateral damage. This course seeks to explore these dynamics through case studies, personal narratives, spirituality, and traditions which inform our decision making. It seeks to explore our inner world as well as the outer world and offer theological and moral frameworks toward ethical based leadership.

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis

IB 569 – Technology as a New Form of Sacred

There is no denying that technology shapes and structures life in the twenty-first century in radically determinative ways. From the ubiquitous presence of mobile devices to the overarching mechanisms of surveillance capitalism, technology is a powerful and all-pervasive force that in many ways constitutes a new form of the sacred. Like the god of classical theism, technology is seemingly omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. Yet, what is technology? Is it simply an array of objects that we have in our homes and workplaces that make our lives easier? Or is it something else—something beyond these objects that is more encompassing? This question is taken up in the first week of the course with reference to twentieth- and twenty-first century philosophers of technology to argue that technology refers not simply to tools but to a paradigm, or an all-encompassing way of seeing and in habiting the world. The second week of the course considers how Christians might draw upon philosophical and theological resources to respond to this “technocratic paradigm.”

Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Dr. Michael Grigoni

IB 570 – Globalization and the Local Church

Although many people in local churches today find it difficult to define globalization, there is no doubt that the processes of globalization affect each one of our lives. Globalization is complex, fragmented, and contradictorily-understood, but ultimately, globalization is about local and global relationships. This course challenges students to reflect critically upon the ethical and spiritual ramifications of globalization and to consider practical ways to respond to it within the life of local congregations. Through readings, discussion forums, online presentations, and a writing project, we will develop and apply understandings of the relationship between globalization and the daily life of faith.