Humanities • Philosophy and Religion

J217 BUDDHISM FOR BEGINNERS

OLLI program: Wilmington Course location: Arsht Hall, Wilmington Tuesday 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Dates of class: 2/8/2022 - 5/10/2022 Instructor: Yvette Rudnitzky Number of class sessions: 13 • Price for course: $70 Course format: Discussion, Lecture

This class is designed for beginners interested in the basic teaching of the historical Buddha, and will include in each class time a seated meditation period of 20 to 30 minutes plus time for questions and answer at the end.

J205 HOW JESUS BECAME GOD

OLLI program: Wilmington Course location: Arsht Hall, Wilmington Wednesday 10:45 a.m. - noon Dates of class: 2/9/2022 - 5/11/2022 Instructor: Chuck Miller Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 30 Price for course: $70 Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based

How did a rejected Jewish preacher who ended up on the wrong side of the law and was executed by those in power come to be thought of as God? This two-semester course examines the historical realities, myths and impact of the experience of Jesus.

J221 INTRODUCTION TO JESUS SEMINAR *

OLLI program: OLLI Online Course location: UD OLLI Online (virtual) Friday 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Dates of class: 2/11/2022 - 4/29/2022 • Class limit: 15 Instructor: John Holden Number of class sessions: 11 • Price for course: $50 Course format: Discussion Technological requirements for optimal viewing: Any screen with audio and video Required text: The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? by Funk, Hoover and The Jesus Seminar (ISBN: 978-0-06063040-9).

The Jesus Seminar offers a probing, penetrating, and deeply spiritual journey into the heart of the gospels, addressing many of the issues that are commonplace among Catholic, Protestant and Jewish scholars. It offers a means for the secularized post-Christian world to discover its roots in the Gospel and Bible. The Five Gospels textbook gives answers to questions such as: Did Jesus claim to be the Messiah, or did Jesus promise to return and usher in a new age?

J222 IN HIS IMAGE *

OLLI program: Kent/Sussex Course location: Trinity Faith Education Bldg., Lewes Tuesday 10:45 a.m. - noon Dates of class: 4/5/2022 - 5/3/2022 • Class limit: 12 Instructor: Toni Worsham Number of class sessions: 5 • Price for course: $25 Course format: Discussion

The Book of Genesis states that we are made “in the image and likeness of God.” Exactly what does that mean? This course will explore the uniqueness of being human and how we might better fulfill our purpose. Through discussion and insights from scholars, we will hopefully increase our abilities to be fully human with the joie de vivre that promises.

J207 JESUS AND HIS JEWISH INFLUENCES

OLLI program: Wilmington Course location: Arsht Hall, Wilmington Tuesday 10:45 a.m. - noon Dates of class: 2/8/2022 - 5/10/2022 • Class limit: 30 Instructor: Chuck Miller Number of class sessions: 13 • Price for course: $70 Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based

The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of how Jesus’ teachings and views were shaped by his Jewish background and context. We draw on various sources including the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo of Alexandria, Flavius Josephus and the New Testament.

J216 MISSES IN SCRIPTURE

OLLI program: Kent/Sussex Course location: Ocean View Town Hall, Ocean View Monday 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Dates of class: 4/4/2022 - 5/2/2022 • Class limit: 40 Instructor: Anna Berger Number of class sessions: 5 • Price for course: $25 Course format: Discussion

This lecture series continues surveys of Old Testament women who, with their femininity, broke social mores, spoke prophecy, deceived husbands and even lied while serving God! Explore the historical, literary and religious meaning of Scripture by examining Ruth, Tobit, Esther and more. Discussion includes applicability to modern life. No text, no prerequisites, Bible needed.

J214 A NEW EARTH BY ECKHART TOLLE *

OLLI program: OLLI Online Course location: UD OLLI Online (virtual) Monday 10:45 a.m. - noon Dates of class: 2/7/2022 - 3/7/2022 • Class limit: 12 Instructor: Deborah Brown Number of class sessions: 5 • Price for course: $25 Course format: Discussion Technological requirements for optimal viewing: Any screen with audio and video Required text: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (ISBN: 978-0 452-28996-3)

Eckhart Tolle is a modern-day spiritual philosopher who has a very specific way of looking at our purpose in this life. A New Earth helps us awaken to that purpose.

J218 A PHILOSOPHY OF WALKING *

OLLI program: Wilmington Course location: Arsht Hall, Wilmington Wednesday 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Dates of class: 2/9/2022 - 5/11/2022 • Class limit: 50 Instructor: James Moser Number of class sessions: 13 • Price for course: $70 Course format: Discussion, Lecture Required text: A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros, ISBN: 978-1-7816-8270-8.

This is a participatory exploration course. In class we virtually explore the imagery and thought of Frederic Gros through dramatic reading, imagination and discussion. Outside of class we engage these ideas through actually walking each day and exploring what walking means in our lives. We will also examine, in more depth, various “walking” philosophers introduced by Gros.

J219 CHRISTIAN MORALITY IN CONTEXT: REFORMATION TO MODERN TIMES

OLLI program: OLLI Online Course location: UD OLLI Online (virtual) Wednesday 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Dates of class: 2/9/2022 - 3/9/2022 Instructor: Joseph Theranger Number of class sessions: 5 • Price for course: $25 Course format: Lecture Technological requirements for optimal viewing: Any screen with audio and video

The third and final of a three-part series of courses, this course examines the impact of geography, history, culture, philosophy, language and people on the development of Christian morality. The first two courses examined the time period beginning with Genesis to the beginning of the Reformation. In this course we will review the time period of the Reformation to modern times.

J212 SUFI STORIES *

OLLI program: OLLI Online Course location: UD OLLI Online (virtual) Thursday 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Dates of class: 2/10/2022 - 4/28/2022 • Class limit: 15 Instructor: Claire Brown Number of class sessions: 11 • Price for course: $50 Course format: Discussion Technological requirements for optimal viewing: Any screen with audio and video Required text: Any book of stories translated by Idries Shah and/or any book of poems by Rumi translated by Coleman Barks.

Learn about a different way of looking at the world. Explore Sufism and its philosophy to be “in the world but not of it.” Based on love, not intellect or asceticism, Sufism is recognized worldwide as a mystical spiritual tradition. Sufis teach through tales and poems. So, we will read aloud and discuss short Sufi stories and poems as a way into this tradition. Participants should obtain one or more of the following suggested books: Delicious Laughter by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, ISBN: 0-9618916-1-0; Open Secret by Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, ISBN:0-939660-06-7; The Dermis Probe by Idries Shah, ISBN: 0-86304-045-4; Wisdom of the Idiots by Idries Shah, ISBN:0-86304-046-2; The Way of the Sufi by Idries Shah, ISBN:0-525-47261-4.

J220 THE UNIVERSAL CHRIST: EVERYTHING IS SACRED *

OLLI program: OLLI Online Course location: UD OLLI Online (virtual) Tuesday 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Dates of class: 2/8/2022 - 4/26/2022 • Class limit: 24 Instructors: Christine Loveland, Jennifer O’Brien Number of class sessions: 11 • Price for course: $50 Course format: Discussion Technological requirements for optimal viewing: Any screen with audio and video Required text: The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr (ISBN: 978-1-5247-6209-4)

This course will span across a full year’s worth of reading, action and contemplation (spring and fall 2022 courses). Participants are encouraged to buy both The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe by Richard Rohr as well as the companion book Every Thing is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ by Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland. This course is highly participatory based on weekly readings/reflection.