Fall 2020/Fuller Online

HT501

Rosner

HT501: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION (4 Units: 160 hours). Jennifer M. Rosner.

DESCRIPTION: HT501 is a survey of systematic and philosophical theology that focuses especially on the doctrine of God, The Trinity, Christology (comprising the person and work of Christ), and the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. The course reflects the historic Christian church's development of trinitarian and Christological theology and creeds in its dialogue with its opponents and with its cultural context. Related topics and themes to be addressed may include the development and articulation of the Christian doctrine of God including the divine perfections and nature, as well as the doctrine of the Trinity; the development and articulation of the person and work of Christ; and Pneumatology, the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT501 will demonstrate: (1) a basic critical theological knowledge of the conceptual and normative dimensions of the doctrines of God and Christ as those and other selected doctrines emerged in the early church and developed to this day; (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.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: HT501 introduces students to a basic historical and theological knowledge of the doctrines of God and Christ (inter alia) as these doctrines and associated practices developed especially in the early church, with an eye to developing skills in interpretation and critical appreciation; it thereby seeks to implement the SOT PLO, “Students will have demonstrated capacities for historically informed theological and ethical reflection.”

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1,050 pages total

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction.

Eerdmans, 2019. ISBN: 0802874657. Pub. Price $60.00 [250 pp. assigned].

Soulen, R. Kendall. The Divine Name(s) and the Holy Trinity: Distinguishing the Voices. WJK, 2011. ISBN: 978-0664234140, Pub. Price $35.00. [200 pp.].

Torrance, Thomas F. The Mediation of Christ. Helmers & Howard, 1992. ISBN: 978-0939443505, Pub. Price $17.95. [144 pp.].

Yong, Amos. The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology Baker, 2005. ISBN: 0801027705. Pub. Price $32.00. [150 pp.].

Additional readings available in eReserves (includes material from Athanasius, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, J. Kameron Carter, Paula Fredriksen, Jacquelyn Grant and others) [400 pp.].