Winter 2004/Pasadena
ST501
Brown
ST501: SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY I: THEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY. Colin Brown.
DESCRIPTION:
- This course is designed to provide a resource for Christian
thought, life, and ministry by examining Christian beliefs about revelation,
reason, and faith; the nature and authority of Scripture; the existence of God
and the way we think about divine attributes; the Holy Trinity; creation and
providence; human beings as the image of God; the fall and sin.
RELEVANCE FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND MINISTRY:
- The purpose of the course is to assist students to think for
themselves theologically by developing a method which seeks to identify the
issues, examine what others have said about them, reexamine the teaching of
Scripture, and give their own answers.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The class meets twice weekly for lectures and discussion.
REQUIRED READING:
- Course Syllabus.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- There is no set textbook. Students are encouraged to read widely
from a variety of primary and secondary texts. Selected works will be placed on
the reserve shelf of McAlister Library. Further details of literature on
particular topics are given in the required Course Syllabus, available from the
Fuller Bookstore. The following general works contain material relevant to the
course:
- Brown, C. Christianity and Western Thought, Vol. 1: From
the Ancient World to the Age of Enlightenment. InterVarsity Press, 1990.
- _______. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology.
4 vols. Zondervan, 1986.
- _______. "Trinity and Incarnation: In Search of Contemporary Orthodoxy."
Ex Auditu 7 (1991): 83-100.
- Clines, D. J. A. "Humanity as the Image of God in Man." In On the Way to
the Postmodern. Sheffield Academic Press, 1998, 2:447-97.
- Cooper, John W. Body, Soul and Life Everlasting. Eerdmans, 2000.
- Ferguson, S. B. and Wright, D. F., eds. New Dictionary of Theology.
InterVarsity Press, 1988.
- Jewett, Paul K. with Marguerite Shuster. Who We Are: Our Dignity as
Human. A Neo-Evangelical Theology. Eerdmans, 1996.
- Lane, Anthony N.S., ed. The Unseen World: Christian Reflections on
Angels, Demons and the Heavenly Realm. Baker, 1996.
- Moreland, J. P. & S. B. Rae. Body & Soul: Human Nature & the
Crisis in Ethics. InterVarsity, 2000.
- Schaff, P. The Creeds of Christendom. 3 vols. 1877, reprint ed.
Baker, 1983 and later reprints.
- Swinburne, Richard. The Evolution of the Soul. Rev. ed. Clarendon
Press, 1977.
- _________. Providence and the Problem of Evil. Clarendon Press,
1998.
- Van Till, Howard J., et. al., Portraits of Creation: Biblical and
Scientific Perspectives on the World's Formation. Eerdmans, 1990.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Midterm essay. Submission of course notes at the end of the
quarter. The notes are to include coverage of topics treated in the course,
critical comments on 3 topics chosen by the student, and a 6-page report on a
book dealing with ethnic and cultural issues. Titles for the book report are
listed in the syllabus. Students completing their Systematic Theology courses
may choose to write a Credo in lieu of these assignments.
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets M.Div. core requirement in Systematic
Theology "a" (STA).
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.