DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to enable students to enter into the theological ethos of the Presbyterian tradition. Reformed theology, culture, and tradition will be studied in its historical context and applied to the contemporary church. Special attention will be given to the Reformed confessions.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Besides being an integral part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church, the Book of Confessions serves as a touchstone for the church's theology, which in turn is the basis for the life and mission of the church. As students prepare for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA), this course will allow them to explore its theological foundation as well as their own relationship to it.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete CH549 will demonstrate a basic knowledge of the theology and beliefs of the Reformed tradition, and particularly of the theology and history of the confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). They will also be more able to understand and articulate doctrinal statements, including a complete personal statement of faith of the sort required for candidacy and ordination in the PC(USA). Beyond this, they will also learn to interpret the contemporary significance of the Reformed tradition and to evaluate theological and ministerial issues in the light of Reformed theology and the Presbyterian confessions.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with Fuller's academic calendar. The first week will be a "reading-only" week in which students read all of the Book of Confessions--Study Edition. Each week thereafter, students and the instructor will interact with the material and each other through journaling, threaded discussions, live Internet "chats," and web-based research. Lectures for each lesson will be available online.

REQUIRED READING:

Book of Confessions -- Study Edition. Westminster/John Knox, 1999.

The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Part I, Book of Confessions. The Office of the General Assembly, 1991. (Also available at http://www.pcusa.org/oga/publications/boc.pdf)

Small, Joseph D., ed. Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2005.

And one or more of the following:

Calvin, J. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Westminster (2 vols.), 1960 or Eerdmans (1 vol.), 1994; or The Comprehensive Calvin Collection. CD-ROM. Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1988.

Donnelly, J. P., F. A. James III & J. C. McClelland, eds. The Peter Martyr Reader. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1999.

Leith, John & W. S. Johnson, eds. Reformed Reader I: Classical Beginnings, 1519-1799. WJK, 1994.

McKee, Elsie Anne, ed. John Calvin: Writings on Pastoral Piety. Paulist Press, 2002.

Selected Theological Statements of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assemblies (1956-1998). Presbyterian Distribution Service, 1999.