Fall 2005/Pasadena
ST501
Brown
ST501: SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 1: THEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY. Colin Brown.
(School of Psychology Second-year Students Only).
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.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students completing this course will
have examined the topics noted in the Description in light of classical and
contemporary thought. (2) They will have reviewed different
interpretations of Scripture and its application to these topics. (3) They will
have been encouraged to develop a method for identifying and addressing
theological questions and to think for themselves. (4) They will have completed
assignments which stress the importance of precise writing, logical expression,
and the value of preserving written records. (5) They will have been challenged
by the cross-cultural component of the course which includes writing a book
report on a book chosen from a list of non-western writers.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Students are encouraged to think for themselves
theologically on fundamental issues of Christian life and ministry as they
affect their own tradition and other traditions.
COURSE FORMAT: The class meets weekly for three-hour sessions 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 reserve in 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: Submission of course notes and an essay. 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: Permission of advisor -- second-year School of Psychology
students.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Systematic Theology
"a" (STA).
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.