6 minute read
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION
THE UNIVERSAL CHRIST BY RICHARD ROHR**
UD OLLI Online (J243–06)
Monday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/5/2024–4/22/2024
Instructor: Deborah Brown
Number of class sessions: 11 • Class limit: 20
Course format: Discussion
Tech requirements: Audio and video—with monitor or screen of 12” or more
Required text: The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr, 978-1-52476209-4
Together we explore what Father Richard Rohr of the Center for Action and Contemplation wants us to know about the Christ mystery (which the instructor considers the Christ energy). As he says in the first chapter, Christ is not Jesus’ last name. He says the first Christ came when the universe was created. Jesus was the second Christ born into a “Christ-soaked world.” The third is the ongoing creation, which the instructor considers our evolution.
BUDDHISM 102... NOT FOR BEGINNERS*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J253–01)
Tuesday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/6/2024–5/7/2024
Instructor: Yvette Rudnitzky
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 15
Course format: Discussion
Required text: Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, Ayya Khema, ISBN–0861710525
This semester’s class is designed to review, renew and deepen our understanding of the basic teachings of Buddhism. Each week we go through a chapter in the book by Ayya Khema, an ordained nun and wonderful teacher. Class is interactive and, to fully appreciate the teachings, it is best to have a copy of the book handy. Each class ends with a half-hour sitting in mediation.
CARE OF THE SOUL*
UD OLLI Online (J249–06)
Thursday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/8/2024–4/25/2024
Instructor: Claire Brown
Number of class sessions: 11 • Class limit: 15
Course format: Discussion
Required text: Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore, ISBN0–06–016597-9
Expand your horizons by exploring an uncommon viewpoint: read Care of the Soul. This nonreligious guide gives us paths to cultivating depth and sacredness in everyday life. Thomas Moore proposes a way of life that is not a self-improvement project, but a way of sensing sacredness in ordinary things. He encourages looking at reality in a more expansive way, and uses ancient stories to guide us. We discuss his musings to broaden our perspectives.
FORGIVENESS BENEFITS THE FORGIVER*
UD OLLI Online (J245–06)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 4/3/2024–5/1/2024
Instructor: Eileen Donnelly
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 25
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Required text: Forgive for Good, Dr. Fred Luskin ISBN 978-0062517210
In this course class participants learn and discuss what forgiveness is, is not, and the barriers. We explore how we benefit physically, emotionally and mentally from practicing forgiveness. Class participants are asked to read the book, Forgive for Good, by Dr. Fred Luskin. This book, stories, short videos and an article written by the instructor illustrate concepts and provide opportunities for reflection and class discussion.
LET’S TALK ABOUT DREAMS*
UD OLLI Online (J257–06)
Wednesday 2:30–3:45 p.m.
2/7/2024–3/6/2024
Instructors: Gary Soulsman, Jo-Ann Baca
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 12
Course format: Discussion
Dreams are a fascinating way to explore what’s happening in our inner and outer world. Since the time of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, they’ve been seen as an important aspect of modern psychology. In our class, after some basic theory and background, facilitators use a well-tested method for community sharing of dreams. And we look for how dreams help us understand our lives. We ask that everyone keep their video monitors on, and that you enter into sharing with a sense of openness.
SACRED STAINED GLASS: SEE & STUDY
Wyoming Church, Dover (J255–01)
Thursday 2:30–3:45 p.m.
2/8/2024–3/7/2024
Instructor: Patricia Thompson
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 30
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Active
Join us for immersion in the history, beauty and purposes of sacred stained glass, then view it in person. On an optional class tour day, we visit select Delaware churches’ stained glass, some perhaps dating to the 1700s. We plan to enjoy food and fellowship at a central Delaware restaurant on that day.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICES: A SAMPLER*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J259–01)
Monday 12:45–2 p.m.
2/5/2024–3/4/2024
Instructor: Susan Flook
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 25
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Each week we explore several spiritual practices from different cultures and traditions. A few examples include forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) from Japan, the sun dance ritual of indigenous North Americans and Taizé rhythmic chanting from France. The emphasis is on practices that promote wellbeing and positive growth in ourselves and our communities.
THE ETHICS OF STAR TREK
Wyoming Church, Dover (J256–01)
Class limit: 30
UD OLLI Online (J256–06)
Class limit: unlimited
Thursday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/8/2024–4/25/2024
Instructors: Susan Watkins, Larry Watkins
Number of class sessions: 11
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
For more than 60 years, Star Trek has fascinated millions of fans and gained new fans daily. But, the shows are more than entertainment. The complex moral dilemmas present a way of looking at ourselves in the past, present and future. This class explores the ethics of the first three series through the eyes of the world’s great philosophers. Questions about good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, power and corruption are explored. Buckle your seatbelt and let’s go where no man has gone before.
THE NEW TESTAMENT, PART 2
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J239–01)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/7/2024–5/8/2024
Instructor: Chuck Miller
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 45
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based
The New Testament from a historical perspective, bracketing questions of belief and theological truth to acquire a historically rich grounding for our understanding of the fundamental documents. The course addresses significant questions as to who wrote these books, under what circumstances and for what audience; what they say, what they mean and their accuracy. This is the second half of a two-semester course, covering the final 12 of the 24 lectures.
THE OLD TESTAMENT, PART 2
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J237–01)
Wednesday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/7/2024–5/8/2024
Instructor: Chuck Miller
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 30
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based
Professor Amy-Jill Levine uses a storyteller approach to teaching history. Her Great Courses lectures offer an introduction to the history, literature and religion of ancient Israel and early Judaism presented in the collection of texts called the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible and the Tanakh. This is the second of a two-semester course, covering the final 12 of the 24 lectures.
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: MUST WE BE WICKED?, PART 2*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J254–01)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/7/2024–5/8/2024
Instructor: James Moser
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based What is evil? Why do humans do evil? We pursue a richly rewarding encounter with dynamic inquiries into Western civilization’s greatest thinking on this ancient and timely subject. We probe how humans have conceived of evil, how we’ve grappled with it and how we’ve opposed it. And, not least, we continually hold out the question, “Where can we find hope?”
ZEN, PART 1
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (J258–01)
Tuesday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/6/2024–5/7/2024
Instructor: John Steffney
Number of class sessions: 13 • Class limit: 25
Course format: Lecture
A religious, philosophical and psychological approach to one of the most unique resolutions to the human condition. Some topics to be covered: nothingness, no-mind, koan, the great doubt block and non-duality.
