DESCRIPTION:

This course is designed to provide a theological understanding of Christian beliefs about Christ, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. Topics include biblical and historical developments of Christological and pneumatological traditions, their contemporary and contextual/intercultural varieties, various approaches to election, atonement, salvation, forgiveness, healing, Spirit-baptism, as well reconciliation of communities. An evangelical theology will be constructed in dialogue with ecumenical and intercultural perspectives, and in light of the church's mission to other religions.

An essential part of preparation for Christian ministry is to learn to think theologically through issues of faith and ministry.

Students completing this course will have demonstrated (1) a basic understanding of issues in their traditional and contemporary expressions; (2) an ability to reflect theologically upon the topics for this course; (3) skills towards developing one's own theology in critical dialogue with various views; (4) an acquaintance with a range of cultural and contextual matters that shape our understanding of theological issues; (5) an appreciation of ecumenical and cultural diversity.

The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with Fuller's academic calendar. Each week, students and the instructor will interact with the material and each other through journaling, threaded discussions, presentations, and web-based research. Lectures for each lesson will be available online.

Green, J. B., and M. D. Baker. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Grenz, S. J. Theology for the Community of God. Eerdmans, 2000, pp. 243-460.

Kärkkäinen, V.-M. Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in International, Ecumenical, and Historical Perspectives. Baker Academic, 2002.

__________. Christology: A Global Introduction. Baker Academic, 2003.

__________. One with God: Salvation as Deification and Justification. Liturgical Press, 2004

Shults, F. L., and Sandage, S. J. The Faces of Forgiveness. Baker, 2003.
OR Blue, K. Authority to Heal. InterVarsity Press, 1987.

Choose one contextual/intercultural/interreligious text from below or of your choice (200 pp.):

Comblin, J. The Holy Spirit and Liberation. Orbis, 1989.

Cone, J. H. A Black Theology of Liberation. 2nd ed. Orbis, 1986.

Imbach, J. Three Faces of Jesus: How Jews, Christians and Muslims See Him. Templegate, 1993

Kärkkäinen, V.-M. An Introduction to the Theology of Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2003.

Küster, Volker. The Many Faces of Jesus. An Intercultural Christology. Orbis, 2001.

Parsons, S. F., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Ramachandra, V. The Recovery of Mission: Beyond the Pluralist Paradigm. Paternoster, 1996.

Serretti, M., ed. The Uniqueness and Universality of Jesus Christ: In Dialogue with the Religions. Eerdmans, 2004.

Summer, G. The First and the Last: The Claims of Jesus Christ and the Claims of Other Religious Traditions. Eerdmans, 2004.

Tiessen, Terrance L. Who Can Be Saved?: Reassessing Salvation in Christ and World Religions. InterVarsity Press, 2004 (substitutes also for either Shults or Blue above).

Yong, A. Beyond the Impasse: Toward a Pneumatological Theology of Religions. Baker, 2003.

1. Weekly threaded discussions (25%) and journaling (10%)

2. 1,200 pages of required reading and reading responses, 10 pages (25%)

3. A research paper of 10 pages (40%)