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Introduction to Christian Theology Fall 2009, Thursday 8:30 - 11:30, Room 2085

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Introduction to Christian Theology Fall 2009, Thursday 8:30 - 11:30, Room 2085 Religious Studies 3603 Introduction to Christian Theology Fall 2009, Thursday 8:30 - 11:30, Room 2085 Dr. Craig A. Carter Phone: 416-226-6620 ext. 6732, Office: 2099 E-mail: [email protected] Website : www.tyndale.ca~ccarter Commuter Hotline: 416-226-6629 ext. 2187 Class cancellations due to inclement weather or illness of the instructor will be announced on the commuter hotline and the website www.tyndale.ca Mailboxes: Your papers and other assignments will be returned via your mailboxes. A mailbox directory is posted beside the mailboxes. (Always retain a copy of any paper you submit to a professor.) Office Hours: Use the sign-up sheets on the bulletin board next to my door or e-mail me to make an appointment. “Many things can be meant by the word ‘God.’ For this reason there are many kinds of theologies. There is no man who does not have his own god or gods as the object of his highest desire and trust, or as the basis of his deepest loyalty and commitment. There is no one who is not to this extent also a theologian.” (Karl Barth, Evangelical Theology: An Introduction , p. 4) COURSE DESCRIPTION This course introduces the central doctrines of historic Christianity, as summarized in the Apostles’ Creed, as an introduction to the Christian theology. The biblical basis, historical development, and systematic expression of basic Christian doctrines will be explored. The goal of the discipline of theology is to learn how to speak of God truthfully and responsibly. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. To provide students with an introduction to the central beliefs of historic Christianity. 2. To introduce students to some of the exegetical, historical and philosophical questions and issues related to basic Christian doctrines. 3. To help students to become more proficient in the skills of written communication and in the analysis of ancient texts. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS (available in the Tyndale Bookstore) Erickson, Millard J. Introducing Christian Doctrine, 2nd edition, edited by L. Arnold Hustad (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2001). Hart, David Bentley. Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies (Yale University Press, 2009). COURSE EVALUATION Attendance: Attendance at every class is required and absences will be recorded. Two unexcused absences during the term are allowed to cover unusual situations that may arise. Although no marks are earned merely for attending, each unexcused absence over two will result in the lowering of the final grade by 1%. Punctuality is expected and being late for class may be considered equivalent to missing class. It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet each week for both the first half and the second half of class. Students who must miss a class for an unavoidable reason must communicate the reason to the professor by e-mail or voice-mail, prior to the class if at all possible. If the reason is not considered sufficient to miss a class, the absence will be considered unexcused. Normally, absences are excused only in cases where the student had no choice in missing the class, such as attending a funeral, being sick in bed or going to a medical test or specialist appointment in which you had no choice as to the date or time. Non-emergency doctor/dentist appointments, vacations, work schedules, etc. should not be scheduled in conflict with classes and absences resulting from them usually are not excused. Mid-term Exam: (15%) This purpose of this 75 minute exam on Oct. 8 is to prepare you for the final exam and help you determine the best way to study for it. It will consist of true/false questions, definition/short answer questions and one essay question. By having it early in the course, you will be able to assess whether the level of studying you are doing is adequate before getting too far behind. More information on how to study will be given in class. Book Review Paper: (35%) A 10-12 page (2500-3000 word) paper on Atheist Delusions is due at the beginning of class on November 5. If you hand it in the due date after missing class, it will be late. If you hand it in later that day after having attended class, it will be considered on time. Late papers will lose 3% for being one day late and an additional 1% for each additional week day late. Also, I do not put comments on late papers. If you have a valid reason for being late, contact me in advance for a possible extension. Papers cannot be accepted after the final day of exams except by successful appeal to the Academic Standards Committee. This is not a critical book review. Spend about 70-75% of your paper summarizing the contents of the book. The final 25-30% of it should discuss a two or three significant things that you learned from the book. Your mark will depend on how well you comprehend the ideas taught in the book and the incisiveness of your response. Follow the traditional (or Chicago Style or Turabian) form for footnotes, bibliography and so on. You may do one footnote for Atheist Delusions and then put page references in brackets thereafter. Final Exam : (50%) This three-hour exam, to be scheduled in Exam Week by the Registration Office, will be on Erickson and the lectures. It will consist of true-false questions, definitions/short answer questions and essay questions. Key terms will be defined throughout the semester in class. A list of essay questions will be made available in class, from which the exam questions will be drawn COURSE OUTLINE: Please Note: The readings for each week are to be done prior to that week. Bring any questions you have on the readings to class and I will try to answer them. Date Lecture Topic Assigned Readings Sept. 17 Course Introduction The Apostles’ Creed 1. Doing Theology Sept. 24 2. Revelation Erickson, ch. 4-8 (41-84= 44) Oct. 1 3. The Nature of God Erickson, ch. 9-12 (85-118= 34) The Nicene Creed. Oct. 8 Mid-term Exam None – study for exam Oct. 15 4. Creation and Providence Erickson, ch. 13-17 (119-162= 43) Oct. 22 5. Humanity Erickson, ch. 18-20 (163-186= 24) Oct. 29 6. Sin Erickson, ch. 21-23 (187-214= 28) Nov. 5 Book review due at beginning of class Erickson, ch. 24-26 (215-242= 28) 7. The Person of Jesus Christ The Definition of Chalcedon Nov. 12 8. The Work of Christ Erickson, ch. 27-28 (243-268= 25) Nov. 19 9. The Holy Spirit and Salvation Erickson, ch. 29-35 (269-338= 69) Nov. 26 10. The Church Erickson, ch. 36-28 (339-372= 34) The Barmen Declaration Dec. 3 11. Last Things Erickson, ch. 39-42 (371-416= 46) Course Evaluation SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY The following works are either famous classics of the Christian tradition or works that are particularly useful to students beginning the study of Christian theology at the university level. The latter are marked with an asterisk (*). The Tyndale library contains a fine collection of books, journals, and on-line resources. A couple of web pages that list useful resources are: http://www.theologywebsite.com/ - a website with many useful links http://www.ccel.org/ - a collection of public domain theological classics Systematic Theologies: Aquinas, Thomas. Summae Theologica. 5 vols., translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Benzinger Bros., 1981. A major classic by the most important theologian for the Roman Catholic Church and an important theologian for Protestantism as well. Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics, G. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance (eds.) (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1956-76). The greatest theological work since Calvin, very long and complex. Beginners should use the Index volume to find relevant passages. Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology, 4th edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939,1941). Scholastic, Reformed, somewhat dated. Bloesch, Donald. Essentials of Evangelical Theology , 2 vols. (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978). Moderate Evangelical, contemporary.* Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. 2 vols., Library of Christian Classics, ed. by J. T. McNeill, trans. by F. L. Battles (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960). One of the great classics of Christian theology and still very readable even though it was first published in the 1500’s. Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker). Conservative Evangelical, contemporary.* Grenz, Stanley. Theology For the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000). Moderate Evangelical, contemporary. Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979. Conservative Protestant, Old Princeton theology, first published in 1871-3, very influential in American evangelicalism. Hodgson, Peter and Robert H. King, editors. Christian Theology: An Introduction to Its Traditions and Tasks, newly updated edition (Minneapolis: Augsberg Fortress, 1994). Liberal Protestant, contemporary. Leith, John H. Basic Christian Doctrine (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993). Reformed, contemporary.* McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3rd edition (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). Evangelical Anglican, contemporary.* McClendon, William Jr.. Systematic Theology, 3 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1986, 1994, 2000). Written from a radical Reformation or Baptist perspective. The three volumes are titled Ethics, Doctrine and Witness respectively. Miligore, Daniel. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991). Moderately Reformed, contemporary.* Moody, Dale. The Word of Truth: A Summary of Christian Doctrine Based On Biblical Revelation. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981). Baptist, Arminian, contemporary. * Oden, Thomas. Systematic Theology, 3 vols. (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987, 1989, 1992). Wesleyan, contemporary, makes extensive use of patristic resources.* Pannenberg, Wolfart. Systematic Theology (3 vols.) translated by Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991-98). Williams, J.
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