DESCRIPTION:

This course is a study in biblical theology that focuses on the contribution of George Eldon Ladd, who was professor of New Testament at Fuller for 30 years (1950-80). It was originally offered as part of the celebration of the jubilee anniversary of the seminary, not merely to honor Ladd's memory, but to enrich the current generation of students by acquainting them with his work. Ladd became best known for his study of eschatology and especially the Kingdom of God, and this theme will be central to the course. We will look not only at Ladd's writing on this and other subjects, but attempt to put his contribution in context by examining his own pilgrimage from fundamentalism to a more open evangelicalism. An attempt will also be made to assess the considerable impact of Ladd on evangelical scholarship as well as the ongoing vitality of Ladd's perspective today.

It is of utmost importance for ministry to be founded upon a solid, exegetically rooted biblical theology. Ladd's call to scholarship was always in the service of the church. He knew that its ministers had to be able to understand the Bible rightly and to use the Bible responsibly.

The course will consist of lectures and discussion of the assigned reading. Class meetings will be held twice weekly for two-hour sessions.

Ladd, G. E. Crucial Questions about the Kingdom of God. Wipf and Stock reprint.

________. The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture. Eerdmans, 1975.

________. The Presence of the Future: The Eschatology of Biblical Realism. Eerdmans, 1974.

Marsden, G. Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Eerdmans, 1991.

Course reader.

A book review (7 pages) and a term paper on an assigned subject but with some choice (20 pages).

NS500.

Meets M. Div. core requirement in New Testament Theology (NTT).

No.