Winter 2019/Pasadena

HT502

Thompson

HT502: THE CHURCH'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH, HUMANITY, AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 160 hours). John L. Thompson.

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DESCRIPTION: HT502 is a survey largely of medieval and Reformation history and theology that focuses especially on the doctrines that received their crucial shape for Protestant Christians during this period. Among these are the doctrine of the church (including the authority and office of the ministry, sacraments, the place of councils, and the role of the laity), the doctrine of scripture (including the place of tradition), theological anthropology (including human nature as created and fallen, and original sin), and the doctrine of the Christian life (including the entire order of salvation—election, calling, faith, justification, sanctification, and final glory). Key figures to be studied include Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT502 will demonstrate: (1) a basic historical and theological knowledge of the doctrines of the church, humanity, and the Christian life as those and other selected doctrines emerged especially in the medieval and Reformation church and developed to this day, (2) a basic competence in interpreting this history and theology and an ability to evaluate these theological issues and their historical development; and (3) a critical and sympathetic appreciation for the breadth, unity, and diversity of the Christian church.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: ~1000 pages required.

Hillerbrand, Hans J., ed. The Protestant Reformation. Revised ed., Harper Perennial, 2009. ISBN: 978-0061148477, Pub. Price $16.99 [214 pp. assigned]. Not yet available as an e-book.

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $37.99 [150 pp. assigned]. Also available on Kindle or Google Play.

Pine-Coffin, R. S., trans. Saint Augustine: Confessions. Penguin Classics, 1961. ISBN: 978-0140441147, Pub. Price $10.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [175 pp. assigned].

Available on Canvas or eReserves: [~450 pages]

Cyprian of Carthage, “On the Unity of the Church,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers 5:421-29.

Cecil M. Robeck, “Canon, Regulae Fidei, and Continuing Revelation in the Early Church, in Church, Word, and Spirit, ed. James E. Bradley and Richard A. Muller (Eerdmans, 1987), 65-91.

Charles J. Scalise, “Exegetical Warrants for Religious Persecution: Augustine Vs. The Donatists,” Review and Expositor 93 (1996): 497-506.

Pelagius, “Letter to Demetrias,” in J. Patout Burns, ed., Theological Anthropology (Fortress, 1981), 39-55.

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 2; q. 12, aa. 12-13; qq. 23, 25, 92, 98, 99; II-II, q. 2, a. 9; q. 4, aa. 3-4; q. 5, aa. 2-3; and III-supplement, q. 39. English edition is that of the Fathers of the English Dominican Province, The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas (London, 1912-1925).

Heiko A. Oberman, ed., Forerunners of the Reformation (o.p.; Fortress, 1981), selections.

Meister Eckhart, “The Eternal Birth” & “The Castle of the Soul,” in Meister Eckhart, ed. Franz Pfeiffer, trans. C. de B. Evans (London: John M. Watkins, 1924), 20-25, 35-38, altered.

Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, §§52-63, ed. Grace Warrack (London, 1901), 122-59, altered.

Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (Philadelphia, 1860), 233-36.

John H. Yoder, “Reformed Versus Anabaptist Social Strategies: An Inadequate Typology,” TSF Bulletin 8/5 (May-June 1985): 2-7.

Richard J. Mouw, “Abandoning the Typology: A Reformed Assist,” TSF Bulletin 8/5 (May-June 1985): 7-10.

Huldreich Zwingli, “An Account of [His] Faith” (1530), in Latin Works of Zwingli 2:33-61 (excerpts).

Sadoleto’s Letter to Geneva & Calvin’s Reply to Sadoleto, in Selected Works of John Calvin: Tracts and Letters, trans. Henry Beveridge (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1844), 1:3-68.

Jeffrey R. Watt, “Reconciliation and the Confession of Sins: The Evidence from the Consistory in Calvin’s Geneva,” in Calvin and Luther: The Continuing Relationship, ed. R. Ward Holder (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), 105-120.

Bartolomé de Las Casas, The Tears of the Indians (London, 1656), excerpts.

John L. Thompson, “Silent Prophetesses? Unraveling Theory and Practice in 1 Corinthians 11,” chapter six in Reading the Bible with the Dead: What You Can Learn from the History of Exegesis that You Can’t Learn from Exegesis Alone (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 113-35.

Decrees of the Council of Trent on Justification. Edition is that of Henry Beveridge, in Selected Works of John Calvin: Tracts, vol. 3 (reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983), 92-107.

“The Regensburg Agreement (1541), Article 5,” and “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” [1999], in Justification by Faith in Catholic-Protestant Dialogue, ed. Anthony N. S. Lane (T&T Clark, 2006), 233-259.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Cross, F. L. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd Edition. Oxford, 2005. ISBN: 978-0192802903, Pub. Price $215.00.

Hendrix, Scott H. Recultivating the Vineyard: The Reformation Agendas of Christianization. Westminster John Knox, 2004. ISBN 978-0664227135, Pub. Price $30.00.

Muller, Richard A. Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms. Baker, 2006. ISBN 978-0801020643, Pub. Price $34.00.

Payton, James R. Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings. IVP Academic, 2010. ISBN: 978-0830838806, Pub. Price $23.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Assigned readings of 996 pp. (assessed through discussion posts, essays, and exams), to be completed as preparation for lectures and classroom/online discussion. [This assignment is related to Learning Outcome #1] [66 hours].
2. Weekly directed learning activities (DLAs): View/audit screencast/podcast resources (~90 minutes per week), then interact by formulating and posting a doctrinal or pastoral position statement or question (per weekly instructions) based on the material (=20% of grade). [These assignments are related to Learning Outcomes #2 and 3.] [20 hours].
3. Three directed essays (1800 words each) on assigned topics, drawing on primary source readings (=45% of grade). [These assignments are related to Learning Outcomes #2 and 3.] [30 hours].
4. Comprehensive final examination, objective and short essay (=35% of grade). [This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes #1, 2, and 3] [14 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH2 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MAT Programs (Fall 2015). Option to meet the TH2 requirement in the 80 MATM and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the CHB requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.