Fall 2007/Pasadena
TH832A/TH522
Thompson

TH832A/B/TH522: SEMINAR IN REFORMED THEOLOGY: THE DOCTRINES OF CREATION
AND FALL IN EARLY REFORMED THEOLOGY. John Thompson.


DESCRIPTION: This is doctoral seminar (for which PhD/ThM students register fall and winter, TH832A and TH832B), open in the fall to a limited number of advanced master's students (TH522). This seminar will look at two important loci in the history of theology: the doctrines of creation and fall, which include questions of the image of God, theological anthropology, and the doctrine of sin (and its implied redemption). The seminar will focus on selected Reformed writers of the sixteenth century, drawing on Zwingli, Bullinger, Calvin, Musculus, Bucer, and Vermigli--with some non-Reformed predecessors and contemporaries added for comparison. The course should be of interest to students in history, theology, and exegesis, insofar as we will be reading and comparing both systematic and exegetical works.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will gain an increased knowledge of Reformed theology and greater competence in interpreting the Reformation and its legacy in the context of the larger Christian church, including greater facility in evaluating theological issues and a critical and sympathetic appreciation for the breadth, unity and diversity of the Christian church.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Protestants have typically invoked the Reformation motto of sola scriptura as if the phrase were self-explanatory, despite the clear disagreements among the many sixteenth-century advocates for a return to Holy Scripture as the only reliable authority in matters of faith and religion. Yet the Reformation manifested both continuity and discontinuity with patristic and medieval theology, and it left its own legacy of concord and discord among its descendants. This seminar examines how key theological themes emerged from exegetical and pastoral tasks, as well as how those same themes were part of a culture that also shaped those exegetical and pastoral tasks. For those who seek to serve as ministers of the Word of God in the diverse church and pluralistic culture of the twenty-first century, it is crucial to grasp the continuities and discontinuities between the ideals and legacy of the Reformation and the task of the interpreter and expositor today.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar, 3 hours weekly to discuss readings and issues, with a 1/2-hour Latin tutorial.

REQUIRED READING: Most 16th c. texts below are out of print but can be downloaded in digital form from databases available at www.fuller.edu/library/. Texts designated by Short Title Catalogue (STC) number are available via Early English Books Online (EEBO). Other texts are available via the Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts (DLCPT). Students may wish to obtain Calvin in hard copy.

Calvin, John. Genesis. Reprint ed. Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1992.

_________. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols. Westminster John Knox, 1960.

Bullinger, Heinrich. Decades. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2006.
STC 4056 (English 1577); 4076 (Latin).

Heppe, Heinrich. Reformed Dogmatics. o.p.

Musculus, Wolfgang. Common places of Christian religion. London, 1578. STC 18309.

_________. In Mosis Genesim . . . Commentarii. Basel, 1554. DLCPT.

Vermigli, Peter Martyr. In Primvm Librvm Mosis, . . . Commentarii. Zurich, 1569. DLCPT.

_________. The Common Places. London, 1583. STC 24666 (English); 24668 (Latin).

Zwingli, Huldreich. Farrago Annotationum In Genesim. Zurich, 1545. DLCPT.

RECOMMENDED READING list available in syllabus online at http://www.fuller.edu/sot/faculty/thompson_john.

ASSIGNMENTS: (1) Class participation & assigned reading of 1500 pp. for MA students, 2000 pp. for PhD students. (2) Written response to readings, completed before each class (TH832A/522). (3) Final exam, take-home essay (TH832A/522). (4) Research paper, optional for divinity students but required for grad students (TH832B). (5) Critical book review, grad students only (TH832A). (6) Latin tutorials.

PREREQUISITES: For master's level students: CHB (or equivalent) and permission of instructor; Latin is desirable but not required.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes: take-home essay.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (7/07)