Winter 2006/Pasadena
TC500
Drane

TC500: THEOLOGY AND CULTURE. John Drane.

DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to contemporary culture and the challenges and opportunities it presents in relation to effective Christian ministry and mission.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (a) understand the nature of cultural change in Western societies; (b) reflect on methodological issues raised by various Christian attitudes to culture; (c) develop appropriate apologetic tools for contextualizing faith in postmodern culture, with particular reference to the rise of New Spirituality.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Christians need to know how to contextualize the Gospel in new circumstances while remaining faithful to the inherited tradition. This course offers theological reflection on that task, together with practical tools for doing it.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet weekly for three-hour sessions and will generally have an interactive format incorporating plenaries, presentations, discussions, and other forms of experiential interaction.

REQUIRED READING:

: Drane, John. Cultural Change and Biblical Faith. Paternoster Press, 2000.; Drane, John. Do Christians Know How to be Spiritual? The Rise of New Spirituality and the Mission of the Church. Darton, Longman & Todd, 2005.; Lynch, Gordon. Understanding Theology and Popular Culture. Routledge, 2005.; Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture [1951]. HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.

RECOMMENDED READING:

: Anderson, Walter Truett. The Next Enlightenment. St. Martins Press, 2003.; Chidester, David. Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture. University of California Press, 2005.; Detweiler, Craig and Barry Taylor. A Matrix of Meanings. Baker Academic, 2003.; Drane, John. The McDonaldization of the Church. Smyth & Helwys, 2001.; Mazur, E. and K. McCarthy. God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture. Routledge, 2001.

ASSIGNMENTS: Attendance: Students who miss more than three class meetings will not receive a passing grade. Written work: (a) a personal course journal, including two book reviews; (b) a project offering theological insights into an aspect of culture chosen by the student and given advance approval in writing by the professor. This may be in any medium (written, visual, dramatic, digital, etc.). Both pieces must be completed to obtain a grade, and each counts for 50% of the final grade.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Required course for the MA in Theology (Theology and Arts format); may meet requirements in the Concentration in Worship, Theology, and the Arts in the MDiv and in the MA in Worship, Theology, and the Arts.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.