DCM: Missing the Message?

for those interested in the class i'm teaching in the next month, the following is the description:

150 08 DCM: Missing the Message? Sometimes the message presented isn't the one that's heard. At times this is because of how the message is presented; other times, a person's own thoughts and ideas get in the way of understanding. This can be seen, for instance, in discussions about faith: some Christians (mostly those who'd call themselves postmodern) would argue that how one lives is a lot more important than what one believes. Yet, the Reformed view seems to argue that what one believes is most important. Or does it? The class will look not only at the Reformed message (and how it is presented) but will also cover a number of other areas in which there is potential misunderstanding of the message, such as: education, media, sociology, languages, statistics, psychology, and technology. A variety of formal and informal assignments will be given, with an emphasis on dialogue and participation. The assignments and class sessions themselves will be looked at in terms of how a message can best be heard and remembered. Lastly, the “message” of this course will be given from the perspective of a member of a monastic community in Amsterdam's Red Light District, highlighting further what can affect how the message is given and heard. B. Heyink. 8:30 a.m. to noon.

and for those interested in the textbook (including potential students who can't yet contact me via my calvin address - bdh2 - due to my being unable to access it), we are reading:
- Cornelius Plantinga, Engaging God's World (Eerdmans, 2002) -this is the standard text for DCM, and
- Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution (Zondervan, 2006).