DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide a resource for Christian thought, life, and ministry by examining Christian beliefs about the identity of Jesus Christ, his redemptive death, and the fundamental questions of justification, sanctification, election, grace, and the life of faith.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students completing this course will have examined the topics noted in the Description in light of classical and contemporary thought. (2) They will have reviewed different interpretations of Scripture and its application to these topics. (3) They will have been encouraged to develop a method for identifying and addressing theological questions and to think for themselves. (4) They will have completed assignments which stress the importance of precise writing, logical expression, and the value of preserving written records. (5) They will have been challenged by the cross-cultural component of the course, which includes writing a book report on a book chosen from a list of non-Western writers. (6) They will have been challenged to think about beliefs and practices so as to provide a basis for Christian life and ministry.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Students are encouraged to think for themselves theologically on fundamental issues of Christian life and ministry as they affect their own tradition and other traditions.

COURSE FORMAT: Lectures and discussion. The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions. The syllabus and additional teaching material are available to registered students on the Fuller Portico. Guest faculty will discuss questions of ethnic and cultural diversity.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE MATERIAL:

Brown, C. That You May Believe: Miracles and Faith--Then and Now. Eerdmans, 1985. Reprint, Wipf & Stock, 1998.

------. Jesus in European Protestant Thought, 1778-1860. Fuller Seminary Press, 2008.

------. "Person of Christ." In G. W. Bromiley, ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 3 (1986): 781-801.

------. "Trinity and Incarnation: In Search of Contemporary Orthodoxy." Ex Auditu 7 (1991): 83-100.

------. "Historical Jesus, Quest of." In Joel B. Green, Scott McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, eds. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. InterVarsity Press, 1992, pp. 326-341.

------. "Christology and the Quest of the Historical Jesus." In D. Lewis and A. McGrath, eds., Doing Theology for the People of God. InterVarsity Press, 1996, pp. 67-86.

Brown, C., ed. The New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 4 vols. Rev. ed. Zondervan, 1986.

Carroll, J. T. & J. B. Green et al. The Death of Jesus in Early Christianity. Hendrickson, 1995.

Dunn, J. D. G. Christology in the Making. 2nd ed. Eerdmans, 1996.

Evans, Craig A. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospel. InterVarsity Press, 2006.

Martin, R. P. & B. J. Dodd, eds. Where Christology Began: Essays on Philippians 2. WJK, 1998.

Meier, J. P. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. 2 vols. Doubleday, 1991, 1994, 2001.

Meyer, M. & C. Hughes, eds. Jesus Then & Now: Images of Jesus in History and Christology. Trinity, 2001.

Montague, G. T. The Holy Spirit: Growth of a Biblical Tradition. Paulist Press, 1976.

Newman, Carey C., ed. Jesus and the Restoration of Israel: A Critical Assessment of N.T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God. InterVarsity Press, 1999.

Schaff, P. The Creeds of Christendom. 3 vols. 1877. Reprint, Baker, 1983.

Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide. Fortress, 1998.