ST554/854
McClendon
ST554/854: THE GOSPEL IN CULTURE. James McClendon.
DESCRIPTION:
- Alongside its ethics and doctrine, Christian
theology must address culture, because to be good news the gospel must
do so. Constantly interacting with its culture, the church's gospel must
constantly be restated truly to be itself. Theology of culture studies this
necessary interaction; it makes sense of gospel-and-culture in order to correct
the church's current version of the gospel in faithfulness to Jesus Christ. The
present seminar explores this theological task. Its chosen example is American
culture today--including its political, religious, scientific, and artistic
(visual arts, literature, music including jazz) dimensions.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- This course is offered to advanced students who have done some work
on the relevance of culture to ministry, that is, on a theology of culture. For
them it provides an opportunity to explore at term's length issues they already
confront in ministry, not by teaching techniques but by studying the underlying
theological problems.
COURSE FORMAT:
- Here advanced theological students are given an opportunity to
recognize the role of culture in the formation of theology. This will include,
beside the usual weekly seminar meetings, some museum-going and group
music-listening.
REQUIRED READING (about 900 pages total assigned):
- Goldberg, Michael. Why Should Jews Survive? Looking Past the
Holocaust toward a Jewish Future. Oxford University Press, 1995.
- Percy, Walker. The Moviegoer. Fawcett Columbine, 1996.
- Tillich, Paul. Theology of Culture. Oxford University Press, 1959.
- Yoder, John H. For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public.
Eerdmans, 1997.
- Also a Course Reader for some hard-to-buy chapters on our theme.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Begbie, Jeremy. Voicing Creation's Praise: Towards a Theology of
the Arts. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991.
- Lewis, R. W. B. The American Adam: Innocence, Tragedy, and Tradition in
the Nineteenth Century. University of Chicago Press, 1955.
- McClendon, James. Ethics & Doctrine, Systematic Theology Vols. 1
& II. Abingdon, 1986-94.
- Noll, Mark A. et al., eds. Eerdmans' Handbook to Christianity in
America. Eerdmans, 1983. (OP.)
- Woodbridge, John D., Mark A. Noll and Nathan O. Hatch. The Gospel in
America: Themes in the Story of America's Evangelicals. Zondervan, 1979.
(OP.)
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Attend all sessions weekly, prepared for well-informed discussion
of the assigned readings. A midterm examination will check progress in the
seminar. By term's end submit a paper of 3,000 to 3,500 words, or for
doctoral students, a paper written to CATS standards, on an
individually-assigned topic closely related to the main seminar task.
PREREQUISITES:
- For master's level students, permission of the instructor, based
upon advanced M.Div. or M.A. standing as determined by your FTS
advisor.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Elective.
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- None.