DESCRIPTION:

A survey of the major developments in theology since the Protestant Reformation, with emphases on English Puritanism, Protestant Orthodoxy, Pietism, Wesleyanism, and the dialogue with Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought from Schleiermacher through Barth, Bultmann, and Vatican II.

This course introduces the student to a significant body of theological and historical data as a means to acquiring a broader perspective on one's own faith as well as a more sympathetic appreciation for the catholic and apostolic church of which the student is a part. Moreover, through intensive work in primary source readings, the student should acquire an improved facility in the analysis of theological arguments and the ability to articulate the meaning of the Christian faith in its historical development, both of which skills will carry over into the student's reading, understanding, and exposition of Scripture itself.

Class will meet twice weekly in two-hour sessions for four hours of lecture per week, with occasional discussion sessions devoted to student papers as assigned (below).

Hägglund, Bengt. History of Theology. Concordia, 1968.

Lessing, Gotthold. Lessing's Theological Writings. Henry Chadwick, ed. Stanford, 1956.

Packet of photocopied readings, available from bookstore. (This packet includes major excerpts from the Westminster Assembly, James Arminius, John Wesley, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, and the Second Vatican Council.)

Web-based articles on recent theological trends, available through www.fuller.edu/library/.

Cross, F. L. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. Oxford, 1997.

Douglas, J. D. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Paternoster Press, 1978.

González, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought. Vols. 2-3. Abingdon, 1987.

Muller, Richard A. Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms. Baker, 1985.

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology. Westminster, 1983.

Seeberg, Reinhold. The History of Doctrines. Baker, 1979.

1. Assigned readings, to be completed as preparation for lectures.

2. Three short papers on primary source readings.

3. Comprehensive final examination.

None.

Meets MDiv core requirement in Church History "c" (CHC).

Yes.