Winter 2007/Pasadena
Five-week Intensive: Feb. 5-March 9
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.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will

  1. understand the nature of cultural change in Western societies;

  2. reflect on methodological issues raised by various Christian attitudes to culture;

  3. develop appropriate apologetic tools for contextualizing faith in postmodern culture, with particular reference to the rise of New Spirituality.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Christians in the West 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 twice weekly for three-hour sessions for five weeks. Classes will generally have an interactive format incorporating plenaries, presentations, discussions, and other forms of experiential interaction.

REQUIRED READING:
Anderson, Ray S. An Emergent Theology of Emerging Churches. InterVarsity Press, 2006.

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.

Murray, Stuart. Post-Christendom. Paternoster 2004.

Niebuhr, H. Richard. Christ and Culture [1951]. HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.

Ritzer, George. McDonaldization: The Reader. 2nd ed. Pine Forge, 2006.

RECOMMENDED READING:
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.

Oswalt, Conrad. Secular Steeples. Trinity Press International, 2003.

ASSIGNMENTS:

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.