Spring 2007/Pasadena
Three-weekend Intensive
DP503
Fries
DP503: REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA STANDARDS AND CREEDS. Paul R. Fries.
DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to enable students to gain a critical
understanding of the meaning and use of the Standards of the Reformed Church in
America (RCA) through an examination of their historic and social contexts, a
careful consideration of their intended meanings, an assessment of their
normative, didactic and devotional use in the church, and a process of
reflection on their meaning for church and ministry today.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: The student will be expected to demonstrate an
understanding of the historic contexts in which the creeds and confessions of
the RCA developed and a thorough knowledge of their contents; knowledge of the
role of the confessions in the governance of the churches of Reformed
tradition; awareness of the place and use of the confessions in the life of the
RCA and its congregations; sensitivity to the pastoral and ecumenical
significance of these documents; a realization of the meaning of confessional
subscription as an ordination requirement of the RCA. At the conclusion of the
course, the student will have acquired the ability to orient his/her ministry
(preaching, teaching, pastoral care, governance, mission, and leadership)
through the use of the confessions.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Ministers of Word and Sacrament entering ministry in
the RCA are required to formally subscribe to the confessions of the RCA and to
preach the doctrines of the Heidelberg Catechism over a four-year period. The
confessions thus become standards by which the unity of the church is
expressed; resources and norms for the preaching, teaching, practice, and
mission of the church; theological foundations for ethical decisions; and
material for ecumenical engagement.
COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet three weekends (3 hrs. on Friday evenings;
7 hrs. on Saturdays).
REQUIRED READING:
- Bierma, Lyle, ed. An Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism.
Baker Academic, 2005 (pp. 11-113).
- Fries, Paul R. Course Reader: Essays on Church, Confessing &
Confessions (pp. 1-150).
- McKim, Donald. Introducing the Reformed Faith. Westminster John
Knox, 2001 (pp. 1-248).
- Brownson, James. The Promise of Baptism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2006 (pp. 1-214).
- REQUIRED SOURCE MATERIAL:
- The Bible.
- Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions. CRC Publications (123
pp.).
- "The Belhar Confession," RCA Webpage/About Us/Beliefs/Belhar (2 pp.).
- The Liturgies and Book of Church Order in the RCA.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Rohls, Jan. Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to
Barmen. Westminster John Knox, 1998.
- Meeter, Daniel. Meeting Each Other in Doctrine, Liturgy, and
Government. Eerdmans, 1993.
- Osterhaven, Eugene. The Spirit of the Reformed Tradition. Eerdmans,
1970, (c)1971.
- Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Westminster,
1960.
- Plantinga, Cornelius. A Place to Stand. CRC Publications,
1979.
ASSIGNMENTS: (1) Before the first class meeting, read the assigned pages in
Bierma and the entire books by McKim and Brownson and write a 2-3 page summary
of each (30%). (2) During the period the class meets, read essays by Fries
(assignments made the first weekend); write a 1-2 page essay titled: "What
confessional subscription means to me" (10%); research the positions of the
Arminians and their opponents at the Synod of Dort in preparation for a
"debate" to be held the third weekend, and submit a paper summarizing your
findings (20%). (3) After the class, submit a 3-4 page reflection on "the place
of the creeds and confessions in the ministry I envision" (10%), and an 8-10
page response to the question: "Shall the RCA adopt the Belhar Confession as
its fourth confession?" (30%).
PREREQUISITES: None, however, work in systematic theology and church history
is desirable.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Meets RCA Certificate of Fitness
requirement.
FINAL EXAMINATION: No.