Course Overview

Sexual Ethics (3 Credits)

This course will be helpful for you as a:

• Christian Leader
• Minister
• Youth minister
• Marriage Minister
• Women's Minister
• Chaplain Minister
• House Church Minister 
• Home Minister
• Restorative Justice Minister
• Matchmaking Minister
• Other Ministry Roles

Overview

This course provides an overview of a biblical and theological approach to questions of marriage, sexuality, and gender. This includes questions of marriage and singleness, bioethical questions surrounding procreation, contraception, and assisted reproductive technologies, and questions surrounding sexual and gender identities. These matters are engaged from both an intellectual and pastoral standpoint with the goal of understanding both Scripture and our contemporary culture so that we can better minister in the present cultural moment.

Outcomes

1. Understand our life stories of:

• Singleness 
• Marriage
• Family
• Sexuality 

And how they are meant to put the Gospel story of Jesus on display

2. Recognize how the biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation shape singleness, marriage, family, and sexuality

3. Be equipped to understand how to navigate difficult conversations around sex, bioethics, and LGBT+ people

Resources
All content for this course is found in the lectures. 

Required Assignments

1. View all online lectures and read all articles on each topic. Active engagement with course materials prior to attempting the quiz is required for each unit. If a resource is provided in multiple formats, simply choose whichever format best supports your learning. CLI’s system tracks your viewing history to determine meaningful engagement. Make sure you are logged into your student account when viewing or downloading the materials.

2. Take the online quiz for each unit. You will have 75 minutes to answer 20 multiple-choice questions for each quiz. Each quiz covers the readings and video lectures for that unit. Once a quiz has started, you must finish it, and you cannot retake it. 

Please Note: Effective September 1, this course will transition to a single-quiz-attempt format to align with standard CLI course metrics. If you are currently enrolled and intend to utilize a second attempt on any upcoming quizzes, please complete them prior to September 1.

3. At the end of the course, you will be invited to complete a brief Course Feedback Survey. Your feedback helps CLI evaluate the course and identify opportunities for improvement.

Course Forum

Each course forum is located near the beginning of the course, immediately before the first course-content section. The forum allows students to post course-related questions and comments for other currently enrolled students to view and discuss. You can also search previous posts to see whether your question or topic has already been addressed. 

The forum is intended primarily for peer discussion and may not receive an immediate response. Questions or concerns requiring timely assistance should be directed to the Help Desk at helpdesk@christianleaders.net.

Grading Scale

A  93-100%   A- 90-92%   B+ 87-89%   B  83-86%   B- 80-82%   C+ 77-79%   C  73-76%   C- 70-72%   D+ 67-69%   D  63-66%   D- 60-62%   F  0-59%

Students' final grade is based on the average of all required quizzes and assignments. Each graded activity is weighted equally unless otherwise stated. The single lowest quiz score will be excluded from the overall grade.

Your average for the course must be at least 60%. Otherwise, you will fail the class and will receive no credit.

Deadline

You have 180 days to finish the course. If you have not received a final grade for the course before your enrollment ends, you will be automatically unenrolled, you will receive an “Administrative Withdrawal” for the course on your transcript, and all coursework will be removed. You will have to start over and take the class again to receive credit.

To avoid potential administrative delays or additional fees, please complete all assignments at least three weeks before your enrollment end date.

If you believe you qualify for a two-week extension, as outlined in our Catalog policies, please contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@christianleaders.net as soon as possible, ideally at least three weeks before your enrollment end date.

Note: This class was formerly called Sexuality and God's Story.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that some of Professor Branson Parler's teachings may not line up entirely with CLI's or your views. CLI strives to bring you professors who have expertise in a subject, but sometimes there are differences in beliefs/opinions/teachings that CLI and/or some students might not agree with. This is a touchy subject area for many, and can involve great pain and struggle to address. Dr. Branson Parler has much helpful insight to offer in this topic of Sexual Ethics, even though there may be areas that CLI or a student may disagree with his particular position/teaching.