Summer 2015/Fuller Online

HT501

Oden

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

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 know-ledge 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.

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: 1,100 pp. total.

Bediako, Kwame. Jesus and the Gospel in Africa. Orbis, 2004. ISBN: 978-1570755422,
Pub. Price $22.00 [103 pp. assigned].

Chan, Simon. Grassroots Asian Theology: Thinking the Faith from the Ground Up. IVP Academic, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830840489, Pub. Price $22.00. [107 pp. assigned].

Coakley, Sarah God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay ‘On the Trinity.’ Cambridge University Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-0521558266, Pub. Price $29.99 [344 pp. assigned].

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $34.99 [1-46; 77-146; 227-312 = 200 pp. assigned].

Additional readings provided via Moodle/Internet. These will include sections from Patrick Oden, The Transformative Church, Fortress Press, 2015 [190 pp. assigned] and relevant primary source readings [160 pp. assigned].

RECOMMENDED READING:

Bonino, J. M., and R. R. Barr. Faces of Jesus: Latin American Christologies. Wipf & Stock, 2002. ISBN: 978-1592440979, Pub. Price: $22.00.

Comblin, Jose. The Holy Spirit and Liberation. Wipf & Stock, 2004. ISBN: 978-1592445622, Pub. Price: $26.00.

Moltmann, Jürgen. The Trinity and the Kingdom: The Doctrine of God. Fortress Press, 1993. ISBN: 978-0800628253, Pub. Price $23.00.

———. The Way of Jesus Christ. Fortress, 1992. ISBN: 978-0800628260, Pub. Price: $26.00.

———. The Spirit of Life. Fortress, 1992. ISBN: 978-0800634247, Pub. Price: $25.00.

Cone, James. God of the Oppressed. Orbis, 1997. ISBN: 978-1570751585, Pub. Price $20.00.

Crisp, Oliver D. Revisioning Christology: Theology in the Reformed Tradition. Ashgate, 2011. ISBN: 978-1409430046, Pub. Price $28.00.

———. ed. A Reader in Contemporary Philosophical Theology. T&T Clark, 2009. ISBN: 978-0567031464, Pub. Price $44.95.

——— and Sanders, Fred eds. Advancing Trinitarian Theology, Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics, eds. Zondervan Academic, 2014. ISBN: 978-0310517092, Pub. Price $22.99.

——— and ——— eds. Christology Ancient and Modern: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics. Zondervan Academic, 2013. ISBN: 978-0310514961, Pub. Price $22.99.

Dyrness, William A., and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, eds. Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church. IVP Academic, 2008. ISBN: 978-0830824540, Pub Price: $50.00.

Hanson, R.P.C. The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318-381.

Baker Academic, 2006. ISBN: 978-0801031465, Pub. Price: $60.00.

Johnson, Elizabeth. Quest for the Living God. Reprint Edition. Bloomsbury Academic, 2011. ISBN: 978-1441174628, Pub Price: 25.95.

Kärkkäinen, V-M. Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective. Baker, 2002. ISBN: 978-0801024481, Pub. Price: $26.00.

———. Christology: A Global Introduction. Baker, 2003. ISBN: 978-0801026218, Pub. Price: $28.00.

———. The Trinity : Global Perspectives.Westminster John Knox Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0664228903, Pub. Price: $30.00.

———. Christ and Reconciliation: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, vol. 1. Eerdmans, 2013. ISBN: 978-0802868534, Pub. Price $40.00.

———. Trinity and Revelation: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, volume 2. Eerdmans, 2014. ISBN: 978-0802868541, Pub. Price $40.00.

Oden, Patrick. It’s a Dance: Moving with the Holy Spirit. Barclay, 2007. ISBN: 978-1594980121, Pub. Price: $20.00.

———. The Transformative Church: New Ecclesial Models and the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann. Fortress Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-1451474701, Pub. Price: $69.00.

Parsons, S.F., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-0521663274, Pub. Price $99.00.

Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Jesus--God and Man, second edition. Westminster John Knox, 1977. ISBN: 978-0664244682, Pub. Price: $30.00.

———. Systematic Theology. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 3 vols. Eerdmans, 1991-1998.

Pinnock, Clark. Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit. IVP, 1999. ISBN: 978-0830815906, Pub. Price: $24.00.

Welker, Michael. God the Spirit. Fortress Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0800627669, Pub. Price: $24.00.

Wood, Laurence W. Theology as History and Hermeneutics: A Post-Critical Conversation with

Contemporary Theology. Emeth Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0975543559, Pub. Price: $30.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. In preparation for each topic, reading of required material (1,100 pages). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-3.] [72 hours].

2. Weekly Moodle assignments interacting with required reading, fellow students and other posted material for each topic (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [46 hours total: 14 hours for watching/listening to weekly material and 32 hours for posts/replies].

3. One research paper (3,000 words) (30%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-3] [28 hours].

4. Two multiple choice quizzes covering key figures, terms, and themes (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-2] [4 hours].

5. One final annotated Credo, stating your informed perspective on the theological issues raised in this course (1,500 words) (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-3] [10 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH1 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets the STA requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.