DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide a foundation for Christian thought, life, and ministry by examining Christian beliefs about revelation, reason, and faith; the nature and authority of Scripture; the existence of God and the way we think about divine attributes; the Holy Trinity; creation and providence; human beings as the image of God; the fall and sin.

The purpose of the course to assist students to think for themselves theologically by developing a method which seeks to identify the issues, examine what others have said about them, reexamine the teaching of Scripture, and give their own answers.

The method of teaching together with the assignments is designed to enable students to develop their own theology in a form which may serve as a basis for their faith, their Christian walk, and their future teaching.

Lectures and discussion two double periods per week.

Course Syllabus.

There is no set textbook. Students are encouraged to read widely from a variety of primary and secondary texts. Selected key works will be placed on reserve in the reading room of McAlister Library. Further details of literature on particular topics are given in the required course syllabus which may be purchased in the Fuller Bookstore. The following general works contain material relevant to the course:

Brown, C. Christianity and Western Thought, I, From the Ancient World to the Age of Enlightenment. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990.

________. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 4 Vols. Revised edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.

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

Clines, D. J. A. "The Image of God in Man," Tyndale Bulletin 19 (1968): 53-103.

Ferguson, S. B. and Wright, D. F., eds. New Dictionary of Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988.

Jewett, Paul K. with Marguerite Shuster. Who We Are: Our Dignity as Human. A Neo-Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Schaff, P. The Creeds of Christendom, 3 Vols. 1877, reprint edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 and later reprints.

Van Till, Howard J., et. al., Portraits of Creation: Biblical and Scientific Perspectives on the World's Formation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.

Wink, Walter. The Powers. 3 vols., Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1984-92.

A written paper and submission of notes, with critical response. Students completing their Systematic Theology courses may choose to write a Credo in lieu of these assignments.

None.

Meets M.Div. core requirement in Systematic Theology "a" (STA).