Theology Survey II - TH 502 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Jacksonville Dr. Alan Myatt Spring 2010

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1 Theology Survey II - TH 502 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Jacksonville Dr. Alan Myatt Spring 2010 Schedule: Feb 26&27, March 26&27, April 30&May 1. Fridays from 6:30-9:30pm; Saturdays from 8:30am 4:30pm. Course Description: This course is the continuation of Theology Survey I and presupposes TH 501 as its background. Through this course students will continue to develop skills necessary to evaluate differing theological options, arrive at their own conclusions, and apply them in life and ministry. Specific issues covered will include the Person and work of Jesus Christ in securing salvation, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in applying salvation, the Church, and the consummation of salvation in things to come. Objectives - The course has various objectives which are intended to develop basic competence in the area of systematic theology and to specifically contribute to the fulfilling of the mission of GCTS as expressed in the six articles of the GCTS mission statement ( ). Upon completing this course, students will: 1) have a mastery of the basics of the doctrines covered. 2) be able to apply the methods of theological studies in the critical analysis of various theological positions. Students will learn to think critically in the task of doing theology. 3) develop their own positions in relation to each doctrine studied and be capable of articulating and defending them biblically. The ability to articulate, defend and apply sound doctrine in the life of the church is a basic biblical qualification for the ministry. Students are expected to own their doctrinal convictions, having arrived at them through the process of personal reflection and study. 4) integrate the materials and methods of theology with the specific body of knowledge and skills of their projected area of ministerial practice. Whether their anticipated ministry is in the pastoral, counseling, discipleship, teaching, or other areas, systematic theology provides students the essential foundation for proper theory. Since all practice is the practice of some theory or other, there is no proper practice without proper theory first. 5) apply the study of theology to the development of their experiential knowledge of God. While systematic theology is an academic discipline, it is by no means only that. Knowledge about God should lead to a deeper knowledge of God. 6) relate the doctrines studied to the development of a philosophy of ministry that contributes to the Christian mission in church and society. This objective for the course will be realized as the student carries the knowledge gained in this course to the study of other disciplines in the seminary curriculum. In addition, service in and to the Church presupposes that the student understands the doctrinal standards of the tradition where he or she will likely serve. This is especially the case for those seeking ordination. One objective of the course is to help the student prepare for future ordination or other doctrinal examinations that may be required for Church or missionary service.

2 Requirements: The objectives will be met by the completion of the following measurable requirements: 1. Class attendance and participation in classroom discussions and other activities. A record of class attendance will be submitted to the registrar s office. 2. Completion of required reading and accompanying assignments as follows. Due dates for the assignments will be found on the accompanying assignment check list. a) Each student shall choose a major systematic theology text and read the chapters that cover the doctrines scheduled for classroom discussion. In keeping with the objective of helping students to prepare for eventual ordination or other exams for ministry service, students are encouraged to choose a text consistent with the doctrinal standards of the denomination or organization where they are likely to serve.* A list of possible texts is provided, but the student may also choose another, with the professor s approval. Students will be required to submit a reading report on the dates given below. A form will be provided for this purpose. A complete reading report will include at least 200 pages of readings each time. If the text chosen has fewer than this for the doctrines in view, the student may supplement with readings from another text in order to make up the difference. Please note that readings from the other required books, discussed below, will NOT count towards fulfilling this requirement. Also, the assignment is not complete until the student has read all of the relevant section of the selected theology text pertaining to the doctrines to be studied in class, even if this goes well beyond the 200 page minimum. 10% of final grade. b) Students will read James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door 4 th ed. Intervarsity Press, and be prepared to discuss the book. A reading report will be submitted. 5% of final grade. c) Students will read one work on a major doctrine and write a paper (10 pp max), integrating the doctrine studied with their projected area of ministerial practice. For example, M. Div. students may discuss how the doctrine might be applied in preaching or other areas of pastoral ministry. The paper should interact with the specific book read and show how it is relevant to the ministry issues under consideration. 25% of final grade. Choose one from the following options: Anthony A. Hoekema. Saved by Grace. (Eerdmans, 1994). Bruce Demarest. The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation. (Crossway Books, 1997). Robert Letham. The Work of Christ. (InterVarsity Press, 1993). Graham A. Cole. He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. (Crossway Books, 2007). Sinclair B. Ferguson. The Holy Spirit. (InterVarsity Press, 1996). Robert Letham. The Work of Christ. (InterVarsity Press, 1993).

3 R. K. McGregor Wright. No Place for Sovereignty: What's Wrong With Freewill Theism. (InterVarsity Press, 1996). Anthony A. Hoekema. The Bible and the Future. (Eerdmans, 1994). Millard J. Erickson. A Basic Guide to Eschatology : Making Sense of the Millennium. (Baker Books, 1998). Edmund P. Clowney. The Church. (InterVarsity Press, 1995) John S. Hammett. Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology (Kregel Publications, 2005) d) Students will read one work that presents arguments for various contrasting and opposing positions about a specific doctrine. Students will prepare a paper of pages, double spaced, stating and defending their own view of the controversy in question against competing positions 30% of final grade. Students should not choose an issue on which that they have already done significant work. (i.e., if you have written a paper on a specific topic for another course, then choose something new for this one). Students may choose one from the following texts: The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views. James Beilby and Paul R. Eddy, eds. (InterVarsity Press, 2006). Perspectives on Election: Five Views. Chad Brand, ed. (B&H Publishing Group, 2006). Five Views on Sanctification. Melvin E. Dieter, Anthony A. Hoekema, Stanley M. Horton, and J. Robertson McQuilkin (Zondervan, 1996). Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification. Donald L. Alexander, ed. (InterVarsity Press, 1988). Perspectives On Spirit Baptism: Five Views. Chad Brand, ed. (Broadman & Holman, 2004). Four Views on Eternal Security. J. Matthew Pinson, ed. (Zondervan, 2002) Understanding Four Views on Baptism. John H. Armstrong, ed. (Zondervan, 2007) The Lord s Supper: Five Views. Gordon T. Smith, ed. (InterVarsity Press, 2008). Understanding Four Views on the Lord s Supper. John H. Armstrong, ed. (Zondervan, 2007). Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity. Chad Brand and R. Stanton Norman, eds. (Broadman & Holman, 2004). Who Runs the Church?: 4 Views on Church Government. Steven B. Cowan, ed. (Zondervan, 2004). Two Views on Women in Ministry, Linda L. Belleville, ed. (Zondervan, 2005).

4 Four Views on Hell. William Crockett, ed. (Zondervan, 1997). Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond. Darrell L. Bock, ed. (Zondervan, 1999). e) additional resources such as articles and videos as indicated by the professor may also be utilized as a basis for class discussions. 3. Completion of two tests; a mid-term and a final. Each test is worth 15% of the final grade. The tests will be administered on-line via CAMS. Additional details will be discussed in class. 4. In addition to the assigned readings, students are asked to acquire H. Wayne House, Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine (Zondervan, 1992) and Stanley J Grenz, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (InterVarsity Press, 1999). Please bring these, along with your Bible, to each class for reference purposes. These books will also be helpful in preparing for the two exams. Please note that all written assignments and reading reports should be submitted by means of upload to the CAMS student portal. Please submit papers in MS-Word format. No pdfs please! Hard-copies will not be accepted. Grading: Assignments will be given a point value on a 100 point scale. Points are earned from a starting point of zero, not taken off from a starting point of 100. Final grades will be calculated according to the above percentages weighted for each assignment and letter grades will be applied with cutoffs as follows: A+ 98, A 94, A- 90, B+ 87, B 84, B- 80, C+ 77, C 74, C- 70, D+ 67, D 63, D- 60, F below 60. Extra Credit Students whose final average is below a B+ may submit an extra credit book review of 5 pages with the possibility of adding ½ letter grade (5 points max) to the final average. While a grade of A- or above may not be achieved by means of extra credit and must be earned outright, extra credit may be useful for helping, for example, to improve a C to a B- or a B- to a B+. Books for review may be chosen from the books on the reading list that were not used for other assignments. Course outline: I. Introduction: Theology and World View The Person and Work of Jesus Christ Christ s Divinity and Incarnation The Life of Christ/The Jesus of History The Atonement The Resurrection II. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit The Person of the Holy Spirit Concepts of Salvation Union With Christ and Election The New Birth - Justification

5 Growth in Christ - Sanctification Spirit Baptism - The Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit III. The Church The Nature of the Church Leadership in the Church - Ordination and Women in ministry Baptism The Church in the World The Consumation of Salvation The Kingdom of God Death and Eternity The Return of Christ and the Millenium SUGGESTED SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY TEXTS Anglican/Evangelical Alister McGrath. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 4 th ed. (Blackwell, 2007). 568 pp. Baptist/Evangelical Millard Erickson. Christian Theology, 2 nd ed. (Baker, 1998) pp. (also available in electronic edition at Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest. Integrative Theology. (Zondervan, 1996). James Leo Garrett. Systematic Theology: Biblical Historical and Evangelical. 3 rd ed., 2 vols. (Bibal Press, 2007). Daniel L. Akin, ed. A Theology for the Church. (Broadman & Holman, 2007). 979 pp. Dispensational Charles Swindoll and Rob. Zuck, eds. Understanding Christian Theology. (Thomas Nelson, 2003) pp. Evangelical/Ecumenical/Methodist Thomas C. Oden. Systematic Theology. 3 vols. (Hendrickson, 2006) 1561 pp. (electronic edition available for immediate download at Lutheran John Theodore Mueller. Christian Dogmatics. (Concordia Publishing House, 2003). 665 pp. Pentecostal/Charismatic J. Rodman Williams. Renewal Theology, 3 vols. (Zondervan, 1988) pp. Stanely M. Horton, ed., Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective. (Logion Press, 1994). 704 pp. Guy P. Duffield and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. (Foursquare Media, 1983). 630 pp. (out of print, but available in electronic format from

6 Presbyterian/Reformed Robert Reymond. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith. 2 nd ed. (Thomas Nelson, 1998) 1252 pp. (An excellent book, but more difficult text. Best for students with prior background in theology and philosophy). Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. (Eerdmans, 1938, reprint 1996). (A good introduction, though not up to date.) James Montgomery Boice. Foundations of the Christian Faith (InterVarsity Press, 1986). 740 pp. (an excellent introduction for the beginning student, also available in e-book format from Weslyan/Holiness/Nazarene/Methodist J. Kenneth Grider. A Wesleyan-Holiness Theology. (Beacon Hill Press, 1994). 592 pp. H. Ray Dunning. Grace, Faith & Holiness: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology (Beacon Hill Press, 1988). 672 pp. Anthologies for supplemental reading Alister E. McGrath, ed. The Christian Theology Reader, 3 rd ed., (Wiley-Blackwell, 2006). 792 pp. Millard Erickson, ed. Readings in Christian Theology. 3 vols. (Baker - out of print but generally available on amazon.com) Robert H. King and Peter C. Hodgson, eds. Readings in Christian Theology. (Augsburg Fortress Press, 1985), 432 pages * Students who are unable to identify a specific tradition where they might serve or be ordained may choose any text representative of the Evangelical tradition. The texts by Lewis and Demarest, Millard Erickson, and Thomas Oden are highly recommended.

7 Assignment Check List TH502 Spring 2010 Dr. Alan Myatt This sheet is provided for your convenience. It is not to be turned in. Name: Assignment Due Date Date Submitted Reading report 1 Feb. 26 Reading report - Sire March 13 Reading report 2 March 26 Integration paper April 10 Mid-Term Exam April Reading report 3 April 30 Final Exam May 22 June 1 Doctrinal position paper June 1 Extra Credit June 1 Some rules of engagement: 1. Late work: Officially the penalty for late work is a reduction of one letter grade per week. In practice, 1 point will be deducted from the final grade of each assignment for each day of tardiness. Any deviation must be pre-approved by the professor. Generally, extensions are granted only in cases of emergencies or other situations beyond your control. An assignment is late if it is not available for grading at 9am on the morning after the due date. The time stamp in CAMS noting the date and time of upload will be the official measure of tardiness. 2. All written assignments, including reading reports, must be submitted by up-load to CAMS (If the CAMS system goes down, will be accepted, but only as a last resort). The extra credit should be submitted by . Please us MS-Word for all assignments. Abode.pdf files and hard copies will not be accepted. USE YOUR gordonconwell.edu ADDRESS FOR ALL COMMUNICATION. CHECK YOUR GCTS BOX EVERY DAY. 3. An assignment is not considered turned-in until you have confirmed that it has been successfully uploaded. If you have a technical problem send a message to the helpdesk and notify me as well. 4. The two exams must be taken on CAMS. You must also have a proctor for the exams. A form for the proctor will be available for you to download. Be sure to follow the instructions exactly. 5. DO NOT delete any of your work until after you receive your final grade! Files occasionally get lost and the professor may need to ask you to resend something. 6. Follow instructions carefully for each assignment. Credit will not be given for writing a paper on a subject other than what has been approved, no matter how brilliant it is. 7. Be extremely careful not to commit plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in an automatic failing grade and a visit with the GCTS judiciary committee to discuss your future at the seminary. Be careful about conducting research on the internet. If you copy from a

8 document, paste it in between quotation marks and copy the url next to it. Then when you write your paper you will have no trouble determining what is quoted and from where. See the guidelines here for more on how to prevent plagiarism: 8. Bring the Charts of Christian Theology and the Pocket Dictionary to class each week, along with the Bible of your choice. Be prepared to participate in class discussion. 9. Do ask questions. Remember, there are no dumb questions. We are all here to learn together.