Content

This unit will introduce the content and tasks of Christian theology by engaging a range of representations of Christianity in contemporary intellectual and popular cultures, especially but not exclusively in Australia. These will include objections to Christianity, non-Christian explorations of Christianity, assessments of Christianity by other religions, and secular appropriations of the Christian legacy. Engagement with these different sources will provide an opportunity to assess the particular challenges currently posed to Christian belief and therefore to explore the role of theology in responding to those challenges. This will contextualise the introduction to the tasks and disciplines of Christian theology but it will also draw attention to historical links with the birth of Christian theology in the religiously and philosophically diverse world of antiquity.

Unit code: CT1019P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Describe various contemporary discussions of Christianity

2.

Identify key developments in the emergence of Christian theology

3.

Summarise the strengths and weakness of one major, contemporary non-Christian representation of Christianity

4.

Explain the role of theology and its intellectual vision in responding to contemporary representations and/or appropriations of Christianity

Pedagogy

engagement with online learning materials, tasks and tutorial discussions

Indicative Bibliography

  • Blainey, Geoffrey. A Short History of Christianity. Melbourne: Penguin, 2011.
  • Caroll, John. The Existential Jesus. Melbourne: Scribe, 2007.
  • Caroll, John. The Western Dreaming. Pymble: Harper Collins, 2001.
  • De Botton, Alain. Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. New York: Vintage, 2012.
  • Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. London: Bantam, 2006.
  • Ford, David. The Future of Christian Theology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
  • Gonzalez, Justo L., and Zaida Maldonado Perez. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002.
  • Higton, Mike. Christian Doctrine. London: SCM, 2006.
  • Jenson, Peter. The Future of Jesus. Sydney: ABC Books, 2005.
  • Maddox, Marion. God Under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australian Politics. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2005.
  • McGrath, Alister E. Theology: The Basics. 3rd edn. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
  • Russell, Bertrand. Why I am Not a Christian. London: Routledge, 2004.
  • Tacey, David. The Spirituality Revolution: The Emergence of Contemporary Spirituality. Sydney: Harper Collins, 2003.
  • Woodhead, Linda. Christianity: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Forum

Online Participation

0 10.0
Essay

1500 word essay on a theological engagement with contemporary representations and/or appropriations of Christianity

0 45.0
Essay

800 word essay on the origins and tasks of Christian theology

0 20.0
Book Review

1000 word book review of a key non-Christian account of Christianity

0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2014

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 13:22:52 +1100