Spring 2010/Pasadena
ST819/519
Brown

ST819/519: CONTEMPORARY CHRISTOLOGY I: EUROPEAN TRENDS. Colin Brown.


DESCRIPTION:

This doctoral seminar is open to a limited number of advanced master's level students. It is based on a critical examination of writings on christology by leading European Protestant theologians. Attention will be paid to method and orientation.

COURSE FORMAT:
The course will meet weekly for a two-hour session. There will be 3 main segments: (1) The shaping of christology from Schweitzer to Bultmann (led by Dr. Brown); (2) Systematic Theology: Pannenberg and Moltmann; (3) Emerging christology: Hengel and Theissen. The first section will be led by Dr. Brown. After that, members will introduce selected passages from the text(s) for the week, identifying issues, methods, and orientation (20 minutes), followed by discussion.

REQUIRED READING (SELECTED SECTIONS FROM THE FOLLOWING):
Bartsch, Hans W. Kerygma and Myth. 2 vols. London: S.P.C.K., 1972.

Bousset, Wilhelm. Kyrios Christus [1913]. Nashville: Abingdon, 1970.

Braaten, Carl E., and Roy A. Harrisville, eds. The Historical Jesus and the Kerygmatic Christ. Nashville: Abingdon, 1964.

Hengel, Martin. The Charismatic Leader and his Followers. New York: Crossroad, 1981.

_________. Studies in Early Christology. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1970.

Moltmann, Jürgen. The Crucified God. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1974.

_________. The Trinity and the Kingdom. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1981.

_________. The Way of Jesus Christ. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Basic Questions in Theology. Vol. 1. London: SCM Press, 1970.

_________. Jesus--God and Man. London: SCM Press, 1968.

_________. Systematic Theology, 2. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.

Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus [1906]. Reprint. Edited by James M. Robinson. Macmillan, 1968.

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

Theissen, Gerd, and Dagmar Winter, The Quest for the Plausible Jesus: The Question of Criteria. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.

REFERENCE AND BACKGROUND READING
Brown, Colin. "Trinity and Incarnation: In Search of Contemporary Orthodoxy." Ex Auditu 7 (1991): 83-100.

Cooper, John W. Panentheism: The Other God of the Philosophers. Baker, 2006.

Deines, Roland. "Martin Hengel: A Life in the Service of Christology." Tyndale Bulletin 58/1 (2007): 25-42.

Evans, Craig, ed. Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus. Routledge, 2008.

Ford, David F., ed. with Rachel Muers, The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology since 1918. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.

Livingston, James C., and Francis Schüssler Fiorenza. Modern Christian Thought. Vol. 2. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.

McKim, Donald K., ed. Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters. 2nd ed. InterVarsity Press, 2007.

Moltmann, Jürgen. A Broad Place: An Autobiography, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: In addition to class presentations and participation, a 25-page paper for ST819 and a 15-page paper for ST519 to be presented at the end of the quarter.

PREREQUISITES: For master's level students: written permission of the instructor.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (Posted January 2010)