ST502

Deddo

FTX

Spring 2009

DESCRIPTION:

In this course we will consider again the question, Who is the Triune God whom we worship and believe?  This time we will approach this question a little more from the angle of the person and work of the Son incarnate in Jesus Christ in relation to the Spirit and the Father  We will consider the biblical foundations and a number of issues and questions which have been raised and wrestled with throughout history and down into our own time.  We will attempt to discern how best to understand and communicate the truth and reality of God active and revealed in the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ and his life of obedience, death, resurrection, ascension, and eternal mediation lived out in the power of the Spirit.  We will then consider the significance of our redemption: our faith, justification, and sanctification in the grace of God through Christ and in the Spirit.

COURSE GOALS/LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Students completing this course: 1)Will have examined the topics noted in the description in the light of Scripture, in the light of its expressions in the relevant ecumenical creeds, and in contemporary contexts; 2)Will have gained familiarity with the challenge of theological method and the important interplay of cultural-historical context; 3)Will be prepared to critically engage a variety of formulations of the theological topics under consideration; and 4)Will begin to critically evaluate competing theological formulations and bring to articulation a faithful presentation of key theological themes that will inform their own ministry, preaching, teaching and personal lives as members of the Body of Christ in its local and global expressions.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:

God has given himself to us in Jesus Christ that we might live by faith in him in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Nurturing our faith so that it grows in understanding is a vital dimension of our obedience.  Theological study is a vital, critical and disciplined form of faith seeking understanding so that we might love and worship God more completely; think, speak, teach and preach more faithfully with others; enter into a more joyful and faithful obedience; and might enjoy a fellowship with other believers, past and present, through consideration of their understanding of the Word of God given to us for our salvation.  In this course we aim to do all this in terms of our faithful understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ and our reception of and participation in it by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

COURSE FORMAT:

Lecture and class discussion.  This course will meet as a four weekend intensive.  (32 total contact hours).

REQUIRED READING:

Barth, Karl.  Dogmatics in Outline. (Chapters 10-19), Harper & Row, 1959

Beilby, James and Paul Eddy, editors.  The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views.  IV Press, 2006.

Oden, Thomas.  The Word of Life, Systematic Theology.  Vol. 2.  Harper Collins, 1992.

Torrance, Thomas.  The Mediation of Christ.  Helmers & Howard, 1992.

Choose 160 pages of required reading from one or two texts  by Leonardo Boff, Elizabeth Johnson, Veli-Matti Karkainnen, C. Norman Kraus, Jose Miguez-Bonino, Edward Schillebeeckx, Kathryn Tanner, and/or Patricia Wilson-Kastner. (see attached list).

An additional 100 pages of reading from a longer list of recommended texts.            

ASSIGNMENTS:

Completion of 1150 pages of required reading accounted for in a reading  journal (40%); participation in class discussions (10%), completion of two short reflection assignments (10%), and a final take-home exam (40%).

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:

Meets M.Div. core requirement in Systematic Theology “B” (STB); M.A.: CH/TH requirement;

                MACL: Sys Theology core requirement

FINAL EXAMINATION:   Yes.                                                                                                                                     (01/09)

                                     This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification (Revised 1/09)