DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to enable students to enter into the theological ethos of the Presbyterian tradition. Reformed theology, culture, and tradition will be studied in its historical context and applied to the contemporary church. Special attention will be given to the Reformed confessions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete CH549 will demonstrate a basic knowledge of the theology and beliefs of the Reformed tradition, and particularly of the theology and history of the confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). They will also be more able to understand and articulate doctrinal statements, including a complete personal statement of faith of the sort required for candidacy and ordination in the PC(USA). Beyond this, they will also learn to interpret the contemporary significance of the Reformed tradition and to evaluate theological and ministerial issues in the light of Reformed theology and the Presbyterian confessions.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The Book of Confessions has at least two functions within the Presbyterian church. First, together with the Book of Order, it comprises the constitution, which governs the church's life and mission. More importantly, however, it serves as a touchstone for the church's theology, which in turn is the basis for the life and mission of the church. As students prepare for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA), this course will allow them to explore its theological foundation as well as their own relationship to it.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet twice weekly for ten weeks. Sessions include lectures, discussion of readings, case studies, and small-group exercises. It is extremely desirable that students read all of the Book of Confessions--Study Edition prior to the first class! Those with questions about course requirements or format should contact the instructor (jthomps@fuller.edu); a recent syllabus, to be fully updated by 15 Sept 2008, is available at http://www.fuller.edu/sot/faculty/thompson_john/CH549syllabus.pdf

REQUIRED READING:

Book of Confessions -- Study Edition. Westminster/John Knox, 1999. [450 pp. assigned]

The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Part I, Book of Confessions. The Office of the General Assembly, 1991. (This is the usual edition without annotations that is to be used during the final examination. Also available at http://www.pcusa.org/oga/publications/boc.pdf)

Small, Joseph D., ed. Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2005. [225 pp. assigned]

And one or more of the following:

Calvin, J. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Westminster (2 vols.), 1960 or Eerdmans (1 vol.), 1994; or The Comprehensive Calvin Collection. CD-ROM. Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1988.

Donnelly, J. P.; F. A. James III; and J. C. McClelland, eds. The Peter Martyr Reader. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1999.

McKee, Elsie Anne, ed. John Calvin: Writings on Pastoral Piety. Paulist Press, 2002.

McKim, D. K, ed. The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Selected Theological Statements of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assemblies (1956-1998). Presbyterian Distribution Service, 1999.