TS101: Syllabus Page 6
TS101M: Syllabus, Mod O Robert V. Rakestraw
Fall 2002 Bethel Seminary St. Paul
Mondays, Oct 7 - Dec 9, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Office: A210, 651-6386166
Saturday, Nov 9, 8:00 - 12:00 a.m. fax: 651-638-6002
e-mail:
website: http://www.bethel.edu/~rakrob
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY I
Course Description
A discussion of the nature and methods of systematic theology as it compares with other fields of thought, an investigation of the being and works of the Triune God, a study of the character of God's self-disclosure in nature and the Bible, and an inquiry into the nature and activities of angels and demons.
Learning Outcomes When you successfully complete this course you should:
1. Comprehend and be able to explain the basic biblical teachings about the nature and task of theology, the being and works of God, the meaning and means of divine revelation, and the cosmic dimensions of spiritual warfare.
2. Understand and appreciate some of the most important evangelical interpretations, systems and theories in the areas of theological truth studied;
3. Know how to state and engage some of the major non-evangelical views prevalent today regarding the areas of theology studied;
4. Have the theological foundation for preparing a series of interesting and helpful sermons or lessons for a local church audience on the topics studied; e.g., "Who Decides the Church's Theology, and How?" "The Practical Significance of Biblical Inerrancy." "Does God Ever Change?" "The Trinity and Daily Living."
5. Know where to turn in Scripture in order to evangelize, disciple, and counsel people in need with regard to the subject matter, and be able to guide them in the application of the pertinent Scriptures to their lives;
6. Be motivated to think and live theologically, i.e., to sense more and more the value and indispensability of theological insights and patterns of reasoning in the activities of life, and to cultivate and utilize increasingly the art and science of theology in your daily thinking, living, and ministry;
7. Be aware of the personal spiritual growth in your life that leads to greater usefulness in the service of God and people.
Required Textbooks. On 2-Hour Library Reserve.
Coppedge, Allan. Portraits of God: A Biblical Theology of Holiness. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2001. ISBN: 0-8308-1560-0.
McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction, Third Edition. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001. ISBN: 0-631-22528-5.
McKim, Donald K. Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996. ISBN 0-664-25511-6
The Bible. Bring a good English translation to class every day. You are also encouraged to bring your Hebrew and Greek testaments if you can use them.
Supplementary Textbooks (recommended but not required). On 2-Hour Library Reserve.
Boyd, Gregory A. and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002. ISBN 0-8010-2276-2.
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology, 2nd edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998. ISBN 0801021820
House, H. Wayne. Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. ISBN 0-310-41661-2
Additional Books on 2-Hour Library Reserve.
Barr, William R., ed. Constructive Christian Theology in the Worldwide Church. Grand Rapids: Eardmans, 1997.
Basinger, David and Randall Basinger, eds. Predestination and Free Will. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1986.
Beilby, James K. and Paul R. Eddy, eds. Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001.
Bloesch, Donald G. God the Almighty. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995.
Carson, D.A. and John D. Woodbridge, eds. Scripture and Truth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.
Carter, Charles W., ed. A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology. 2 volumes. Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury, 1983.
Charry, Ellen T., ed. Inquiring After God. Malden: MA: Blackwell, 2001.
Clark, Kelly James. Return to Reason. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.
Cooper-Lewter, Nicholas, and Henry H. Mitchell. Soul Theology: The Heart of American Black Culture. Nashville: Abingdon, 1986.
Dockery, David S., ed. New Dimensions in Evangelical Thought: Essays in Honor of Millard J. Erickson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.
Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
Grenz, Stanley J. Theology for the Community of God. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.
Gunton, Colin E. The Promise of Trinitarian Theology, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997.
Kreeft, Peter and Ronald K. Tacelli. Handbook of Christian Apologetics. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1994.
LaCugna, Catherine Mowry. God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.
Lewis, Gordon R. and Bruce A. Demarest. Integrative Theology. Three volumes. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987, 1990, 1994.
McGrath, Alister E., ed., The Christian Theology Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1995.
Moreland, J. P. and Kai Nielson. Does God Exist? Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990.
Noll, Stephen F. Angels of Light, Powers of Darkness. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.
Plantinga, Alvin C. God, Freedom, and Evil. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
Shults, F. LeRon. “Sharing in the Divine Nature.” Awaiting publication in On Being a Christian, ed. Todd Speidell. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002.
Spencer, Aida Besancon, and William David Spencer, eds. The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
Thorsen, Donald A. D. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.
Woodbridge, John D. and Thomas E. McComiskey, eds. Doing Theology in Today’s World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.
Youngblood, Ronald F., ed. The Genesis Debate: Persistent Questions about Creation and the Flood. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
Course Requirements
Attendance.
I expect you to be present for every class, except when illness or some other serious reason prevents attendance. According to the current catalog one unexcused absence is allowed without penalty. More than this will lower your final grade. When you are absent it is your responsibility to learn the material covered in class and to obtain any assignments, notes, or handouts.
Class Participation.
I encourage you to contribute orally by means of pertinent questions, answers to my questions, and thoughtful involvement in class discussion. Your participation will help both you and others to learn the material, and may help nudge your grade into the next bracket if you are on the borderline.
Required Readings:
Read the assigned pages in Christian Theology and Portraits of God according to the schedule of classes. You will report on your readings three times during the course. You will report on what you have read, not what you intend to read. Also, these pages are to be read with careful, concentrated attention, not scanned. Your report on completed readings will be a statement that you have read the indicated pages in this manner. Simply list the percentage of the total material read for that third of the course. Do not give me the percentage from each book, but one percentage for everything read.
Suggested Readings:
Readings marked “S” on the assignment schedule are not required, but are suggested. These will be helpful for those who wish to think beyond the basic required readings. If you do read these, or read part of them, let me know on your reading report. In cases of “borderline” grades (e.g., between a C+ and a B-) these may help boost your grade.
Theological Letters/Position Papers
· Write three “theological letters” or “position papers.” These letters/papers will be between 1500 and 2000 words in length (6-8 pages, double spaced with about 250 words per page). Each letter is a way of explaining your views on a given topic to someone with a concern. A position paper, rather than addressing a particular person, is a statement of what you believe and why with regard to the same concern. On the schedule of classes and assignments due, I use the term “letter” to refer to either a letter or a paper.
· All students will do letter #1. Then select two of the other three letters, and hand them in on the due dates indicated.
· You may write some of the assignments as letters and some as position papers. In either case, the substance of your assignment (perhaps 90% or more of what you hand in) is the same. The basic difference is in your introduction, conclusion, and transitions between points.
· Whether you write letters or papers, research your topics well, concerning both the positions you disagree with as well as your own. In each letter/paper refer to (a) your required textbooks, where these are relevant, (b) your professor’s classroom presentation on the topic, and (c) at least four additional books or articles on the topic with no more than one from the internet. (If the suggested readings are relevant to the topic, they may be used as some of the four additional items.) Be sure to cite accurately any materials you refer to or ideas you use. You may use either end notes (following Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers, sixth edition) or documentation in parentheses in the body of your paper (following The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, fourth edition) or some other standard documentation system (such as the MLA format).
· Some of you may find the word limit frustrating. You have so much to say and so little space to do it. Please do not exceed the word limit in the body of your paper, but you may use one or both of the following methods for including additional arguments and supporting materials. You may use end notes with explanatory content, or your may use one or more appendixes to develop some ideas further. I don’t promise to read everything in your end notes or appendixes. The body of your letter or paper should present cogently the key ideas and arguments. But I will peruse your supplementary materials, and probably read much of them, unless they are inordinately long.
· Indicate the total number of words in your assignment. Your software probably has a way to determine that automatically. If not, give an estimate. I don’t expect you to count every word.
Theological Notebook: Compile a notebook on your theological pilgrimage throughout the course and hand it in on the last day of class. The notebook is to be a kind of running commentary or journal of what you are learning throughout the course, including your personal spiritual growth as well as your intellectual development. Include such things as insights from the readings, the scriptures, your discussion group, class sessions, web sites, and your own constructive theological proposals. Include your questions and struggles as well.
Your notebook should be at least nine typed pages when you hand it in. Date your entries and have at least one entry per week. About one page per week is what I expect.
Your Choice: Choose one of the following:
· A fourth theological letter or position paper. If you choose this option you will hand in all four letters on the due dates indicated. You may choose the topic as given in this syllabus, or create your own hypothetical scenario for a question you wish to answer.
· Reading and Critique. Read at least 80 pages on some topic of your choice, and then grapple with the ideas presented. Choose journal articles or portions of a book or books. You may read one writer, or two or three writers, but not more than three. Your critique should be about 1200 words, with about half (no more) given to summary of the readings and half to your evaluation (presenting significant strengths and weaknesses) of the readings. This assignment is due on the date of the theological letter you skip.
· Web Critiques. Investigate two theological web sites. Some are listed in the textbook on pages 589-592 and some are listed on my web site, under “Ethics Web Links” (There are links here to helpful theology sites).
a. Write a 1200 page word critique of the sites (about 600 words for each). In your critique of each site, summarize what the site contains, present one or more strengths of the site, and one or more weaknesses. Comment on some specifics in the site as well as general impressions.
b. Note: A “strength” is not necessarily something you agree with, but an aspect of the site that may prove valuable for gathering information or for learning about a particular perspective. A “weakness” is some feature that is not done as well as it could be. (Try to comment on more than what the site does not deal with.) This assignment is due on the date of the theological letter you skip.
Grading Procedure
Your final grade will be based on:
Three Letters/Papers = 60%
Your Choice Project = 20%
Required Readings = 10%
Theological Notebook = 10%
Grading Scale:
A+ 98-100 / B+ 9192 / C+ 8384 / D+ 7576A 9597 / B 8790 / C 7982 / D 7274 / F 0-69
A 9394 / B 8586 / C 7778 / D 7071
Late Papers: 3% will be deducted from the final grade of your paper for the first day that the paper is late. After that, 1% per day will be deducted. The only acceptable excuse for late work is an emergency of some kind. A busy schedule is not sufficient reason.
Please Note: No late papers will be a accepted after one week, unless you have made prior arrangement with me.