PH516
Murphy
PH516: PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY. Nancey Murphy.
DESCRIPTION:
- The thought-worlds in which Christianity has found itself through
the centuries have had important effects on our understanding and practice of
the Christian faith. This course will familiarize students with some of these
different ways of thinking, through study of representative philosophers,
scientists, and theologians from antiquity to the present--e.g., Plato,
Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Copernicus, Locke, Kant, Schleiermacher, Quine,
Austin.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- Two ongoing needs of church leaders are the ability to distinguish
the essential from the accidental in church life, and to find ways to express
the faith authentically in new contexts. By learning to recognize the
influences (for good or ill) of philosophical, scientific, and other factors in
the church's teaching from past centuries, students should acquire skills for
recognizing such factors at work in the present and learn to make judicious use
of them.
COURSE FORMAT:
- Lectures with occasional small-group discussions. The class will
meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions.
REQUIRED READING:
- Allen, Diogenes. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. John
Knox, 1985.
- Matson, Wallace. A New History of Philosophy. 2 vols. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1987.
- Murphy, Nancey. Beyond Liberalism & Fundamentalism. Trinity,
1996.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Murphy, Nancey. Anglo-American Postmodernists. Westview,
1997.
- Seech, Zachary. Writing Philosophy Papers. Wadsworth, 1993.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Midterm and final exam (essay style).
- One paper (8-10 pgs., due on the last day of class); students will do
research on a theologian of their choice, identifying how his or her theology
has been shaped by philosophy.
PREREQUISITES:
- It is strongly recommended that students have completed 48
quarter-hours before enrolling for this course. (Not recommended for
students having difficulty with English.)
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets M.Div. core requirement in Philosophical Theology
(PHIL).
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- Yes.