DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to enable students to enter into the theological ethos of the Presbyterian tradition. Reformed theology, culture, and tradition will be studied in its historical context and applied to the contemporary church. Special attention will be given to the Reformed confessions.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The Book of Confessions has at least two functions within the Presbyterian church. First, together with the Book of Order, it comprises the constitution, which governs the church's life and mission. Second and more importantly, it is a touchstone for the church's theology, which in turn is the basis for the life and mission of the church. Students preparing for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA) need to be both familiar with and appreciative of their creedal tradition in order to discern their own calling within the Reformed tradition and the PC(USA) in particular, as well as to be formed by the wisdom (and aware of the mistakes) of the church's past.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete CH549 will be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge of the theology and beliefs of the Reformed tradition, particularly the theology and history of the confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). They will also be able to understand and articulate doctrinal statements, including their own personal statement of faith of the sort required for candidacy and ordination in the PC(USA). Beyond this, they will be able to interpret the contemporary and pastoral significance of the Reformed tradition and to evaluate theological and ministerial issues in the light of Reformed theology and the Presbyterian confessions.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet twice weekly for ten weeks. Sessions include lectures, discussion of readings, case studies, and small-group exercises. It is extremely desirable that students read all of the Book of Confessions--Study Edition prior to the first class! Those with questions about course requirements or format should contact the instructor (jthomps@fuller.edu); a recent syllabus (to be fully updated by 15 Dec 2010) is available at http://documents.fuller.edu/sot/faculty/thompson_john/CH549syllabus.pdf.
REQUIRED READING:

Book of Confessions--Study Edition. Westminster John Knox, 1999. ISBN 978-0664500122, $19.95. [340 pp. assigned]

The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Part I, Book of Confessions. The Office of the General Assembly, 1991. (This is the usual edition without annotations, which must be used during the final examination). Also available at http://oga.pcusa.org/publications/boc.pdf.

Allen, R. Michael. Reformed Theology. T.& T. Clark, 2010. ISBN 978-0567034304, $29.95. [179 pp. assigned]

Small, Joseph D., ed. Conversations with the Confessions: Dialogue in the Reformed Tradition. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0664502485, $29.95. [225 pp. assigned]

And one or more of the following:

Calvin, J. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Westminster (2 vols.), 1960 or Eerdmans (1 vol.), 1994; or The Comprehensive Calvin Collection. CD-ROM. Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1988.

Donnelly, J. P.; F. A. James III; and J. C. McClelland, eds. The Peter Martyr Reader. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0943549750, $24.95.

McKee, Elsie Anne, ed. John Calvin: Writings on Pastoral Piety. Paulist Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0809140466, $26.95.

McKim, D. K, ed. The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0521016728, $32.99.

Selected Theological Statements of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assemblies (1956-1998). Presbyterian Distribution Service, 1999. ISBN 7042098010, $12.95.