The Triune God (CT3012Y)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit assumes the central importance of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Christian Church and undertakes an exploration of the reasons – biblical, theological and patristic – for this high status. It will include an estimate of the weight of its biblical foundations and christological presuppositions against the Jewish insistence that God is one. Through influential theologians and key conciliar statements, the unit traces the major land¬marks in the develop¬ment of the doctrine in both the Greek and Latin parts of the church. It also investigates a range of contemporary exposition of the doctrine in theologians of different traditions and concludes with a study of the trinitarian bearing on some other doctrines and contemporary issues.

Unit code: CT3012Y

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

examine the way biblical material is typically used as support for the Christian doctrine of God as the Holy Trinity
2.

identify and explain both the unity and the main differences in the Latin and Greek patristic traditions, including the later church-dividing matter of the Filioque;
3.

demonstrate a critical appreciation of various influential writers on the Trinity in the last one hundred years, incorporating Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant theologians,

4.

Evaluate the ways in which the doctrine of the Trinity has influenced developments in Christian spirituality, liturgy, praxis or inter-religious dialogue.

Unit sequence

This unit is generally available as an elective unit in all undergraduate awards.

Pre-requisites: CT1003Y Beginning With Jesus (or equivalent)
Co-requisites: nil

Pedagogy

Weekly inter-active lectures and tutorials, using pre-circulated notes (for lectures; 2 hrs) and assigned reading for tutorials; 1 hr).

Indicative Bibliography

  • Emery, G. & Levering, M. The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity. Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • Grenz, Stanley Rediscovering the Triune God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004.
  • Holmes, S. The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2012.
  • Hunt, Anne. Trinity. Collegeville, Maryknoll NY:Orbis, 2005.
  • Johnson, Elizabeth A. She Who Is. New York: Crossroad, 1994.
  • Kärkkäinen, V-M. The Trinity: Global Perspectives. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007.
  • Kasper, Walter, The God of Jesus Christ, New York: Crossroad, 1988.
  • LaCugna, Catherine M. God For Us. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1991.
  • Moltmann, Jűrgen, The Trinity and the Kingdom of God. London: SCM, 1981
  • O’Collins, Gerald. The Tripersonal God: Understanding and Interpreting the Trinity. New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1999.
  • Toom, T. Classical Trinitarian Theology: A Textbook. London: T & T Clark, 2007.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Early exercise

 1000 20.0
Book Review 1500 30.0
Essay 2500 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 27 Sep, 2019

Unit record last updated: 2021-06-07 08:43:49 +1000