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.