DESCRIPTION:

This course provides an overview of the Christian beliefs about Christ, the Spirit, and the Christian experience of salvation. These topics will be considered in the context of a trinitarian theology articulated in a systematic framework, in dialogue with contemporary ecumenical and contextual/intercultural perspectives.

The students will be encouraged to develop an ability to think theologically by examining the studied issues in light of what the Bible and others have said about them, and to give their own answers to the implicit questions.

The class will meet twice weekly, in four-hour sessions, for five weeks, for lectures and discussions.

Green, J. B. and M. D. Baker. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Grenz, S. J. Theology for the Community of God. Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 243-460.

Kärkkäinen, V.-M. Pneumatology. The Holy Spirit in International, Ecumenical, and Historical Perspectives. Baker Academic, 2002.

____________. One with God: Salvation as Deification and Justification. Liturgical Press, 2004.

Shults, F. L. & Sandage, S. J. The Faces of Forgiveness. Baker, 2003.
OR Blue, K. Authority to Heal. InterVarsity Press, 1987.

Choose one contextual/intercultural/interreligious text from below or of your choice (150 pp.):

Barr, W. R. Constructive Christian Theology in the Worldwide Church. Eerdmans, 1997.

Comblin, J. The Holy Spirit and Liberation. Orbis, 1989.

Cone, J. H. A Black Theology of Liberation. 2nd ed. Orbis, 1986.

Parsons, S. F., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology. Cambridge, 2002.

Ramachandra, V. The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm. Paternoster, 1996.

Tiessen, Terrance L. Who Can Be Saved?: Reassessing Salvation in Christ and World Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Yong, A. Beyond the Impasse: Toward a Pneumatological Theology of Religions. Baker, 2003.

Kärkkäinen, V.-M. An Introduction to the Theology of Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2003.

Küster, Volker. The Many Faces of Jesus. An Intercultural Christology. Orbis, 2001.

Moltmann, Jürgen. The Spirit of Life: A Universal Affirmation. Fortress, 1992.

Pannenberg, W. Systematic Theology. Vol. 2. Eerdmans, 1991.

Pinnock, C. A Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit. InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Pope-Levison, P. and J. R. Levison. Jesus in Global Contexts. Westminster, 1992.

Schwartz, H. Christology. Eerdmans, 1998 (especially recommended).

1. About 1,200 pages of required reading.

2. Three reading responses, three pages each.

3. A research paper, 10 pages.

4. Take-home final exam; topics will be given at the beginning of the course.