DESCRIPTION: This doctoral seminar, open to a limited number of advanced master's level students, is designed to study theological anthropology, the doctrine and understanding of human beings in Christian perspective, from a philosophical and theological perspective, including relevant biblical and historical, as well as scientific views. The focus will be on the meaning and significance of the image of God in Christian tradition, including the complex questions of identity and "self," as well as in the dualist and physicalist accounts of human being. The cultural and "global" conditioning of these issues will be discussed in relation to Feminist and Islamic views. Co-taught by a philosopher and systematic theologian, this seminar offers an interdisciplinary approach.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Because one of the most hotly debated issues--not only in philosophy and theology but also in science, psychology, and current culture--is the question of the nature, destiny, and "composition" of human beings, every Christian philosopher and theologian needs an in-depth and wide investigation of these issues.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will have demonstrated their ability to (1) identify key philosophical and theological views of the human being and human nature in Christian tradition; (2) analyze critically and assess different and competing accounts of human nature in contemporary interdisciplinary conversation; (3) offer a reasoned response to current proposals in light of tradition and current intellectual milieu; and (4) begin to formulate their own understanding of a Christian view of human beings as God's image.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet once a week for a three-hour session for student presentations and critical discussion. Immediately after registration, the student must contact the professors for the syllabus and pre-seminar assignments (nmurphy@fuller.edu or vmk@fuller.edu).

REQUIRED READING: Selections from the following texts:

Green, Joel. Body, Soul, and Human Life. Baker, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-84227-539-9; 182 pgs; 24.00.

Grenz, S. The Social God and Relational Self: A Relational Theology of the Image of God. Westminster John Knox, 2007. ISBN: 9780664232382. $50.00.

Ipgrave, Michael, and David Marshall, eds. Humanity: Texts and Contexts--Christian and Muslim Perspectives. Georgetown University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-58901-716-0; 148 pgs.; $24.95.

Martin, Raymond, and John Barresi. The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self: An Intellectual History of Personal Identity. Columbia University Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-231-13745-4; 345 pgs.; $25.00.

Murphy, Nancey. Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0-521-67676-2; 147 pgs.; $26.99.

Murphy, Nancey, and Warren Brown. Did My Neruons Make Me Do It? Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-19-956823-9; 308 pgs.; 29.75.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Anthropology in Theological Perspective. Westminster Press, 1985. ISBN: 0-664-21399-5; 532 pgs.; $60.00.

Course Reader:

Kelsey, David H. Eccentric Existence: A Theological Anthropology. 2 vols. Westminster John Knox, 2009.

Moltmann, J. God in Creation. Fortress Press, 1993, chs. 9, 10.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Systematic Theology. Vol. 1. Eerdmans, 1992, ch. 8.

Fisher, Christopher. Human Significance in Theology and the Natural Sciences: An Ecumenical Perspective with Reference to Pannenberg, Rahner, and Zizioulas. Pickwick, 2010. ISBN: 9781606080535. 351 pp. $40.00

Gonzales, M. A. Created in God's Image: An Introduction to Feminist Theological Anthropology. Orbis, 2007. ISBN: 157075697X. $24.00.

Graff, A. O'Hara, ed. In the Embrace of God: Feminist Approaches to Theological Anthropology. Orbis, 1995. ISBN: 1597520284. $26.00.

Green, Joel, ed. In Search of the Soul. 2nd ed. Wipf & Stock, 2010. ISBN: 9781608994731; 196 pgs; $23).

Hopkins, Dwight, A. Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion. Fortress, 2005. ISBN: 9780800637576 $22.00.

Jeeves. M., and Brown, W. S. Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion. Templeton Foundation Press, 2009. ISBN: 59947-147-7. $14.75. (Highly recommended for science background.)

Kapolyo, J. M. The Human Condition: Christian Perspectives through African Eyes. InterVarsity Press, 2005. ISBN: 0830833021. $39.95.

Keller, K. From the Broken Web: Sexism, Separation, and Self. Beacon Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780807067437. $23.00.

McFadyen, A. Call to Personhood: A Christian Theory of the Individual in Social Relationships. Cambridge University Press, 1990. 340 pp. ISBN: 9780521409292. $38.99.

Murphy, N., and Brown, B. S., eds. Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature. Fortress, 1998. ISBN: 9780800631413. $23.00.

Niebuhr, R. The Nature and Destiny of Man, A Christian Interpretation. 2 vols. Westminster John Knox, 1996 [1964]. ISBN: 0664257097. $50.00.

Shults, F. LeRon. Reforming Theological Anthropology: After the Philosophical Turn to Relationality. Eerdmans, 2003. ISBN: 9780802848871. $35.00.