Winter 2015/Pasadena
HT504
Kärkkäinen
HT504: MODERN THEOLOGY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT (4 Units: 167 hours). Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
DESCRIPTION: HT504 is a survey of systematic and philosophical theology that focuses especially on the articulation of Christian doctrine in the modern world. The course reflects the historic Christian church’s development of eschatology in its dialogue with its opponents and with its cultural context, including the current global diversity and plurality. It also considers recent constructive theologies, including theologies of liberation, public theology, and contextual theology. Related topics and themes to be addressed may include the development and articulation of the Christian doctrine of the four last things (death, judgment, heaven, and hell), the intermediate state, so-called “contextual” theologies, and the place of theology in contemporary public life; the relation of Christian theology to other religious traditions may also be included in this consideration.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT504 will demonstrate: (1) a basic critical theological knowledge of the conceptual and normative dimensions of Christian eschatology, and of recent constructive theologies (e.g. theologies of liberation, public theology, and contextual theology); (2) a basic competence in interpreting historic and contemporary perorations of these doctrines and an ability to evaluate these theological issues and their historical and contemporary development; and (3) a critical and sympathetic appreciation for the breadth, unity, and diversity of the Christian church.
COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.
REQUIRED READING: Selections from the following texts [1, 100 pages].
ELECTRONIC COURSE READER (Moodle) contains two kinds of materials:
a. Historical Texts on Eschatology [100 pp.]
J.N.D. Kelly, “Ch. XCVI. The Christian Hope” in Early Christian Doctrines, rev. ed. (Harper One, 1978), pp. 459-99.
T. Aquinas, “Treatise on the Resurrection,” Questions 69-86 in Supplement to the Third Part of Summa Theologica (available online in English in various translations; e.g., http://www.newadvent.org/summa/5.htm )
J. Calvin, “Ch. 25: Of Last Resurrection” in Institutes of Christian Religion, book 3 (pp. 2259-2276 in the version available at www.ccel.org , tr. H. Beveridge).
b. Contemporary Texts on Theology and Eschatology (max. 300 pp):
V.-M. Kärkkäinen, “Theologies of Religions” in Global Dictionary of Theology, ed. W. Dyrness and V.-M. Kärkkäinen (intervarsity Press, 2008), pp. 745-753.
_____. “Introduction,” in Christ and Reconciliation. A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, vol. 1. Eerdmans, 2013 (pp. 1-32)
R. E. Olson, “Karl Barth Drops a Bombshell on the Theologian’s Playground” in The Journey of Modern Theology. From Reconstuction to Deconstruction (InterVarsity Press, 2013), pp.301-325.
_____. “Theologians Look to the Future with Hope” [on J. Moltmann and W. Pannenberg] in The Journey of Modern Theology, pp. 421-501.
_____. “Evangelical Theology Comes of Age and Wrestles with Modernity” in The Journey of Modern Theology, pp. 591-614.
Polkinghorne, J. The God of Hope and the End of the World. Yale University Press, 2002; chs. 1 and 2
H. Schwarz, “The Quest for Liberation (Liberation Theologies)” and “Liberating the Other Half of Humanity (Feminist Theology)” in Theology in a Global Context. The Last Two Hundred Years (Eerdmans, 2005), pp. 472-486 and 487-499 respectively.
_____. “Voices Out of Africa” and “Theology with an Asian Face” in Theology in a Global Context, pp. 500-509 and 510-516 respectively.
2. R. Plantinga, T. Thompson, M. Lundberg, An Introduction to Christian Theology . Cambridge University Press, 2010 (max. 335 pp.).ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $32.99 [652 pp.] This book serves as the integrative text in all four common HST courses (both historical and systematic theology options).
3. Schwartz, H. Eschatology. Eerdmans, 2000. ISBN: 978-0802847331, Pub Price $35.00 [150 selected pp.].
4. SPECIAL FOCUS ON “CONTEXTUAL,” INTERCULTURAL, INTERRELIGIOUS, OR SCIENCE-RELIGION THEME (choose relevant sections, max. 200 pages)
Barr, W. Constructive Christian Theology in the Worldwide Church. Eerdmans, 1997. ISBN: 978-0802841438, Pub. Price $10.50 [553 pp.]. ***OUT OF PRINT.
Coleman, Monica A. Making a Way out of No Way: A Womanist Theology. Fortress Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0800662936, Pub. Price $21.00.
Cone, J.H. A Black Theology of Liberation. 2nd ed. Orbis, 1986. ISBN: 978-0883446850, Pub. Price $22.00 [200 pp.].
Chung, S. W., ed. Christ the One and Only. Baker, 2005. ISBN: 978-0801028540, Pub. Price $28.00 [272 pp.].
D’Costa, Gavin. Christianity and World Religions: Disputed Questions in the Theology of Religions. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. ISBN: 978-1405176736, Pub. Price $37.95 [248 pp.]
Ellis, G.F.R., ed. The Far-future Universe: Eschatology from a Cosmic Perspective. Templeton Foundation Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-1890151904, Pub. Price: $39.95 [408 pp.].
Evans, J. We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology. Fortress, 1993. ISBN: 978-0800626723, Pub. Price $20.00 [192 pp.].
González, J. Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective. Abingdon, 1990. ISBN: 978-0687230679, Pub. Price $20.00 [184 pp.].
Lee, Sang Hyun. From a Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology. Fortress, 2010. ISBN: 978-0800696689, Pub. Price $20.00 [200 pp.].
Life After Death in World Religions, ed. Harold Coward. OrbisBooks, 1997. ISBN: 978-1570751196, Pub. Price $18.00 [131 pp.].
McDermott, Gerald R., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology. Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-0199335992, Pub. Price $55.00 [available online through FTS’s library].
Parratt, J. Reinventing Christianity: African Theology Today. Eerdmans, 1995. ISBN: 978-0802841131, Pub. Price $21.00 [228 pp.].
Parsons, S.F., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-0521663809, Pub. Price $30.99 [188 pp.].
Polkinghorne, J. & Welker, M, ed. The End of the World and the Ends of God: Science and Theology on Eschatology. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2000. ISBN: 978-1563383120, Pub. Price $49.50 [320 pp.].
Quinn, Philipp and Kevin Meeker, eds. The Philosophical Challenge of Religious Diversity. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0195121551, Pub. Price $41.24 [256 pp.].
Russell, R.J. Cosmology: From Alpha to Omega: The Creative Mutual Interaction of Theology and Science. Fortress, 2008. ISBN: 978-0800662738, Pub. Price $30.00 [352 pp.].
Vanhoozer, Kevin J., ed. Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0521793957, Pub. Price $32.99 [312 pp.].
Walls, Jerry, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0199735884, Pub. Price $55.00 [455 pp.] (available online through FTS’s library)
Ward, P. Religion and Community. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0198752592, Pub. Price $40.00 [376 pp.].
Wilkinson, D. Christian Eschatology and the Physical Universe. T&T Clark Continuum, 2010. ISBN-10: 0567045463, Pub. Price: $39.95 [256 pp.].
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. The Mighty and the Almighty: An Essay in Political Theology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-1107673809, Pub. Price $29.99 [181 pp.].
Yong, A. Beyond the Impasse: Toward a Pneumatological Theology of Religions. Baker, 2003. ISBN: 978-0801026126, Pub. Price $39.98 [208 pp.].
RECOMMENDED READING: Focus on Eschatology (Syllabus contains number of works on other topics relevant to the course):
Bauckham, R. & Hart, T. Hope Against Hope: Christian Eschatology at the Turn of the Millennium. Eerdmans, 1999. ISBN: 978-0802843913, Pub. Price $20.00 [247 pp.].
Bloesch, D. The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory. ISBN: 978-0830827572, Pub. Price $20.00 [336 pp.].
Clouse, R.G., ed. The Meaning of Millennium: Four Views. InterVarsity Press, 1977. ISBN: 978-0877847946, Pub. Price $17.00 [224 pp.].
Fudge, E.W. & Peterson, R.A. Two Views of Hell. InterVarsity Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0830822553, Pub. Price $17.00 [228 pp.].
Grenz, S.J. The Millennial Maze. InterVarsity Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0830817573, Pub. Price $18.00 [239 pp.].
Moltmann, J. The Coming of God: Christian Eschatology. Augsburg Books, 2004. ISBN: 978-0800636661, Pub. Price $25.00 [selections] [412 pp.]
Pannenberg, W. Systematic Theology. Vol. 3. Eerdmans, 2009. ISBN: 978-0802864567, Pub. Price $55.00 [eschatology]. [729 pp.].
Parry, Robin, and Chris Partridge, eds. Universal Salvation: The Current Debate. Eerdmans, 2004. ISBN: 978-0802827640, Pub. Price $28.00 [319 pp.].
Walls, Jerry. Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy. Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0195340723, Pub. Price $24.99 [272 pp.].
_________. Hell: The Logic of Damnation. University of Notre Dame Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-0268010966, Pub. Price $19.00 [182 pp.].
_________. Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199732296, Pub. Price $35.00 [232 pp.].
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
1,100 pages of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcome # 1, 3] [73 hours].
Two quizzes (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome # 1, 2]. [10 hours].
Three 1,000-word critical response essays (30%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome # 2]. [24 hours]
A research essay on an assigned topic [2,000-2,500 words] (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2, 3]. [24–30 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH3 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets STC in the 144 MDiv Program.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.