Summer 2009/Pasadena
Two-week intensive: July 6-17
TC529
Bruner

TC529: TOPICS IN THEOLOGY & LITERATURE: G.K. CHESTERTON & C.S. LEWIS. Michael Bruner.


DESCRIPTION: This course will examine selected writings from Chesterton and Lewis as well as portions of their respective biographies. This course will specifically examine what a theology of joy looks like through the lens of the twentieth century's two most thoughtful exponents of Christian joy: G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students taking this course will learn basic literary hermeneutical approaches for reading theology and literature, with an eye toward incorporating the ideas presented in class into their own practice of ministry and scholarship. Designed with an aim to helping ministers recover a sense of joy in their approaches to ministry, we will discuss how joy relates to both the task of apologetics and the question of aesthetics. The skills developed in this class will be relevant to other interdisciplinary studies and will aid the pastor, teacher, preacher, artist, and caregiver in developing (or recovering) a theology of joy.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Joy is an essential quality of the Christian life. As such, it must be cultivated in any healthy approach to ministry, teaching, and care-giving. As students read and respond to the texts and lectures, they will develop not only a deeper appreciation for the function and place of joy in their own lives of faith, but they will also develop a more informed and dynamic approach to incorporating joy into their various ministries. The fact that the center of joy for Chesterton and Lewis lay in the person and work of Jesus Christ will also give students a clearer sense of how their approaches to ministry must firmly and finally be a witness to Christ in the world.

COURSE FORMAT: Meeting daily for two weeks for four-hour session of lecture, reading, and discussion.

REQUIRED READING: (please buy the specified edition so that we are all literally on the same page)

Chesterton, G.K. The Everlasting Man. Ignatius Press, 1993. [276 pp.]

_________. The Man Who was Thursday. Ignatius Press, 2004. [289 pp.]

_________. Orthodoxy (Annotated Version). Reformation Press, 2002. [236 pp.]

Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man. HarperCollins, 2001. (paperback)

_________. The Great Divorce. HarperOne, 2001. (Bus cover) [160 pp.]

_________. Reflection on the Psalms. Harvest, 1995. (Angel w/ guitar cover) [168 pp.]

_________. Surprised by Joy. Harvest Books, 1998. (Special Centenary Edition) [190 pp.]

Ward, Masie. A Biography of G.K. Chesterton. Sheed & Ward, 1945.

Course Reader. (Selected readings from The Riddle of Joy: G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis [Eerdmans]; Mere Humanity: G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, And J. R. R. Tolkien on the Human Condition [B&H Publishing Group]; and other selected essays TBD.)

RECOMMENDED READING:
Chesterton, G.K. Collected Works. Volumes 1, 2, and 6. Ignatius Press, 1999, etc.

Hooper, Walter. C.S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life & Works. HarperCollins, 1996.

Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves. Harcourt, Brace, 1960.

ASSIGNMENTS: Attendance is required. Participation in discussion is expected. Two-page daily reflections (40%) on the readings assigned and one 8-10 page paper (60%). Daily reflection papers will be submitted at the end of each class period. The final paper is due July 29.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Meets the MACL in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (6/09)