Content

Students will be introduced to the foundational concepts for the study of theology. This will be achieved by examining and engaging in processes in which belief is formed. Students will examine Christian faith and beliefs in their historical context. Engaging with various theological contexts, this unit will address how Christian doctrinal claims have often emerged out of the refusal to believe something or someone. Through engaging with critical theological traditions, students will examine how Christians have practised their belief as integral to discipleship. This unit will also address the process of discernment of Christian beliefs as essential to the ongoing theological task.

Unit code: CT1123Z

Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Proposing College: St Barnabas College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Outline the basic course concepts, themes and topics in, and varieties of, historical Christian theology at an introductory level.

2.

Examine the significant positions and debates about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit from which the early creeds emerged.

3.

Investigate the cultural and historical contexts of, and influences on, the development of theological beliefs and terminology in particular examples.

4.

Describe the sources, and the integrated and intersecting nature, of theological beliefs and concepts in at least one representative early Church text.

5.

Outline the various implications and significance of the study of Christian theology for liturgy, homiletics, evangelism and mission, and ecclesiastical governance and good order.

6.

Pedagogy

Lectures, tutorials, class discussions

Indicative Bibliography

• Athanasius, On the Incarnation, with an Introduction by C. S Lewis, translated and introduction by John Behr, New York: St Vladimir’s Press, 2011.

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Discipleship. in Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works Volume. 4. Trans., Geoffrey B. Kelley and John D. Godsey. Ed., Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss. Mineappolis, MI: Fortress Press, 2003.

• Shusaku Endo. Silence. Foreword., Martin Scorsese. Trans., William Johnson. New York: Picador, 2016.

• Stanley Hauerwas and William W. Willimon. Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony. 25th Anniversary Edition. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2014.

• Jennifer McBride. Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel. Minneapolis, MI: Fortress Press, 2017.

• Christopher Morse. Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Disbelief. 2nd Ed. London and New York: T&T Clark, 2009.

• Howard Thurman. Jesus and the Disinherited. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2012.

• Graham Ward. Unbelievable: Why We Believe and Why We Don’t. London: I.B. Tauris, 2014.

• _________. The Politics of Discipleship: Becoming Postmaterial Citizens. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.

• Natalie K. Watson. Feminist Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Oral Presentation - Oral presentation 750 15.0
Skeleton Argument - Formulating a Skeleton Argument 1000 30.0
Essay - Major Essay 2250 55.0

Variant 2

Oral Presentation - Oral presentation 750 15.0
Essay - Essay 1000 30.0
Essay - Major Essay 2250 55.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 15 Nov, 2024

Unit record last updated: 2024-11-15 12:19:24 +1100