Learning is an important part of Christian stewardship. You have been given a mind, and God desires that we grow in our understanding of him and his gospel. Growing as a Christian thinker begins with studying the Bible and then theology, church history, and other related disciplines. But it’s also beneficial to study disciplines such as world history, philosophy, and political theory.
Reformed Christians especially should recognize the connectedness of knowledge. Thorough learning in any discipline can never occur in a silo. To grow as a systematic theologian, you must also develop your understanding of church history. To deepen your appreciation for Scripture, you must have a grasp of its cultural context.
An increasing number of educational institutions are posting courses online, and though they are not taught from Christian conviction, they nevertheless can challenge Reformed thinkers and help them to see things in a new light. OpenCulture curates a list of free online courses (1,700 and counting!). Coursemarks also maintains a giant master list of 4,881 open courses from elite institutions, such as Stanford, MIT, Columbia, and Harvard. If you’re on our website, chances are you listen to podcasts. So add a few courses to your playlist and widen your base of knowledge. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
History
- Ancient Greek History – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Audio – Free iTunes Video – Course Materials – Donald Kagan, Yale
- Ancient Israel – Free Online Video & Resources – Free Online Video – Daniel Fleming, NYU
- The Roman World – Free iTunes Video – Rhiannon Evans, La Trobe University
- Early Modern England: Politics, Religion & Society under the Tudors and Stuarts – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free iTunes Audio – Course Materials – Keith E. Wrightson, Yale
- Early Modern Germany – Free iTunes Audio – David Wetzel, UC Berkeley
- European Civilization from Renaissance to Present – Free iTunes Audio – Carla Hesse, UC Berkeley
- European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present –Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Audio – Thomas Laqueur, UC Berkeley
- Rethinking the Black Liberation Movement – Free Online Video – Abdul Alkalimat, University of Illinois
Philosophy
- Philosophy for Beginners – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video & Audio – Marianne Talbot, Oxford
- A Romp Through the Philosophy of Mind – Free iTunes Audio –Free Online Audio – Marianne Talbot, Oxford
- Ancient and Medieval Philosophy – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – David O’Connor, Notre Dame
- Philosophy of Religion – Free iTunes Audio – Free Audio Online – T. J. Mawson, Oxford
Political Science, International Relations, and Law
- History of Political Theory – Free iTunes Audio – Wendy Brown, UC Berkeley
- The Moral Foundations of Politics – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free iTunes Audio – Course Materials – Ian Shapiro, Yale
