Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University

Transcription

1 Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University THS 672: Systematic Theology II -- Redemption Accomplished and Consummated Instructor: Brian Cooper, Ph.D. Term: Spring 2019 Credit: 3 hours Time: Wednesdays, 2:30-5:10 p.m., January 9 th April 3 th, Location: Fosmark Centre, Room 232. I. Course Description A study of the Christian doctrines of the work of Jesus Christ, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the Last Things. We will begin with some brief reflections on the importance of good theological thinking and on the methods and tools that help us to do this task well. We will then seek to put these principles and tools into practice as we examine the Bible s teaching concerning the Bible s story of redemption. II. Learning Outcomes By the conclusion of this course, a student should be able to: 1. describe the nature of theology, its role and importance in the life of the individual Christian and of the church as a whole; 2. synopsize the main points of the classic Christian doctrines of Christ (focusing particularly on His work), Salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Church and the Last Things, together with their biblical basis; 3. explain important theological issues which arise in relation to these doctrines, together with significant historical and contemporary contextual perspectives on those issues and key biblical concepts which apply to them; 4. develop methodological principles and practical techniques for answering theological questions and developing systems of theology in an Evangelical Christian framework; 5. apply these principles and techniques in his/her own personal doctrinal reflection and efforts at theological problem-solving; 6. cultivate and implement practical ways in which good Christian theological understanding of these issues may impact the church's life and ministry. III. Course Textbooks 1. Donald G. Bloesch, The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Donald G. Bloesch, The Holy Spirit: Works and Gifts. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015.

2 THS 672 Spring 2019 page 2 4. J. Richard Middleton, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, McGrath, Alister E., ed. The Christian Theology Reader (5 th ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, PLEASE NOTE: The two textbooks by Bloesch are included in the library that comes with the Logos Bible software package. IV. Recommended Texts (Buy these if you have extra money to spend on books) 1. McKim, Donald K. Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology (2 nd ed). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, Or another equivalent one-volume systematic theology. V. Course Assignments 1. Reading: All three texts are required reading throughout the duration of the course, as assigned. There will also be some short readings each week, for the purposes of class and group discussions. The course requires approximately 1000 pages of text readings plus further research for the paper. Much of your learning in this course will depend upon careful, disciplined reading of assigned texts. Two two-page summary/reviews, one for Bloesch s The Holy Spirit and one for Middleton s A New Heaven and a New Earth, should be submitted at the end of the term, Wednesday, April 10th, Value: 20%. 2. Short Essay: The purpose of this assignment is to give the student an opportunity for an extended engagement with the Baker/Green text, Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, especially in light of the methodological issues raised in class. A general rule is that it should be two thirds summary and one third critical evaluation. It should be 8-10 pages in length (no longer) and typed using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced on 8.5x 11 paper. This assignment is due Wednesday, February 13th, Value: 30%. 3. Research Paper: Students will produce a research paper of not less than 15 and not more than 20 pages in length. It is to be typed using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced. All supporting documentation and bibliography should be done in accordance with Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, 9th ed. The paper should demonstrate a clear understanding of the doctrine under discussion. It should also seek to establish, by weight of evidence from the Scriptures and secondary sources, a thesis statement in relation to the doctrine under discussion. This assignment is due Wednesday, April 3 rd, Value: 40%. 4. Class Attendance & Participation: Because Christian theological reflection is a discipline in which we engage in isolation, I will expect you not only to show up for class but also to contribute to class discussions. Value: 10%.

3 VI. Grading Scale Assignment weight (%) Book Reviews...20% Short Essay...30% Research Paper...40% Class participation...10% Total:...100% Late Assignments will be penalized as follows: Reduction by 5% of assignment value for each (working) day after due date. (Assignments due at class time are considered late after the end of the class period). Late or incomplete reading is evaluated qualitatively. No late assignments will be accepted after April 20. VII. Important Notes/Policies Letter Grade A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CF Percentage Below 70 Grade Point Do your reading BEFORE you come to class. I will come expecting that you have read the assigned pages beforehand. If you don t, you ll look foolish when I ask you questions. I love interaction and think that people learn better when more than one person talks. Note that I will not be distributing hard copies of course notes in class. They will be posted on the course website, allowing you to download and access them in hard or soft copy as you choose. I recommend that you download notes and bring them along to class, as this will make it easier to follow lectures and add your own notes as we go. A. Submitting Papers Electronically Assignments may be submitted electronically. I have two requests which will help me to handle your materials easily and not lose them: (1) Please use document attachments linked to s, rather than pasting your material into the message. (The format is less likely to be corrupted, and the item is easier to file.) Attach your documents as MS Word files, or if you are not using Word, as files that will convert easily and neatly to Word. (Examples would include WordPerfect or.rtf rich text format files.) (2) Before you attach your file, please save it ( save as ) using the following format: last name initial assignment name.doc. So, for example, Joe Kowalski s first paper would be kowalski-j-paper 1.doc, and his reading report would be kowalski-j-reading report.doc. This makes it much easier for me to track your papers. As you can imagine, if I get 20 papers all called research paper.doc it is more likely that some will be misplaced.

4 THS 672 Spring 2019 page 8 Course Outline and Reading Schedule January 9 Introductory Matters; Why the Cross? Conceptualizing the Significance of Atonement Language Reading: Rutledge, Introduction, Chapters 1-4; McGrath, 6.8; 6.9; 6.10; 6.24; 6.26; 6.35 January 16 Blood, Lamb, Sacrifice, Ransom. Biblical Atonement Motifs Part 1 Reading: Rutledge, chapters 5-7; McGrath, 5.13; 5.28; 5.32; 6.23; 6.28; 6.33 January 23 Victor and Substitute: Biblical Atonement Motifs Part 2 Reading: Rutledge, chapters 8, 9, 11; Bloesch, The Church, chapter 3 January 30 Whatever Happened to the Spirit? Part 1: Biblical & Historical Perspectives Reading: Bloesch, The Holy Spirit, chapters 3-6; McGrath, 3.7; 3.8; 3.15; 3.16 February 6 Whatever Happened to the Spirit? Part 2: Challenges from Without & Within Reading: Bloesch, The Holy Spirit, chapters 7-9 February 13 Whatever Happened to the Spirit? Part 3: Theological Perspectives Reading: Bloesch, The Holy Spirit, chapters 1-2, February 20 READING WEEK; NO CLASS March 6 Spotless Bride or Hospital for Sinners? The Church As It Is (or Should Be) Reading: Bloesch, The Church, chapters 1-2, 7-8; McGrath, 7.2; 7.3 March 13 The Church and the World Reading: Bloesch, The Church, chapters 4-6; McGrath, 7.6; 7.24; Schleitheim Confession of Faith March 20 The Mission of the Church Reading: Bloesch, The Church, chapters March 27 What is the Future Hope of Christians? Historical Perspectives Reading: Middleton, Part 1; McGrath, 10.1; 10.6; 10.11; 10.18; April 3 What is the Future Hope of Christians? Biblical, Theological, and Missional Perspectives. Reading: Middleton, Part 4&5

5 THS 672 Spring 2019 Page 5 Supplement: Important Academic Notes from ACTS Web Support Student Portal All students at TWU have a TWUPass username and password. This is determined at the time of an online application or can be managed through the computing services help desk or the link on the student portal. Your student account is also available through this student portal and is vital for communication about grades, account statements, lost passwords, sign-up instructions, etc. If you do not know your account or password, there is a link at the login area called I forgot my password. When you click on that link, you will be walked through the process of retrieving your account information. All ACTS courses are supported with web pages through the TWU Moodle system ( I will use the course web page to post any course notes and other materials which I wish to distribute to the class. (For example, an essay you need to read for the class will be posted on the web page for you to download.) You will want to check the page periodically to watch for updates and announcements. You should have received information on the TWU virtual campus and Moodle system with your class registration materials. If you do not have an appropriate password, are unfamiliar with the system, or are having trouble making it work, please do not come to faculty for assistance, as I am not equipped to help you with in this area. You can get basic information from the Registrar s office and can get more detailed help from the esupport people who specialize in such things. They can be reached at esupport@twu.ca, or (toll free at ). Campus Closure In the event of deteriorating weather conditions or other emergency situations, every effort will be made to communicate information regarding the cancellation of classes to the following radio stations: CKNW (980 AM), CKWX (1130 AM), STAR FM (107.1 FM), PRAISE (106.5 FM) and KARI (550 AM). As well, an announcement will be placed on the University s campus closure notification message box ( ) and on the front page of the University s website ( also see for more details). An initial announcement regarding the status of the campus and cancellation of classes will be made at 6:00 a.m. and will cover all classes that begin before 1:00 p.m. A second announcement pertaining to classes that begin between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. will be made at 11:00 a.m. A third announcement pertaining to classes that begin after 5:00 p.m. will be made at 3:00 p.m. Paper Formatting Students need to adhere to Turabian Notes (Bibliography) format except in counselling courses, for which APA format is used, and in CanIL courses.

6 THS 672 Spring 2019 page 8 Students are strongly encouraged to use EndNote Basic/Web (available through the library home page - lower left) as their bibliographical manager and as a tool for formatting bibliographies. It is free. The link to EndNote from the library home page provides detailed instructions. Students will need to be aware that it is necessary to clean up most bibliographies generated by this program. Students are encouraged to view the documents on the following websites for format samples: or In EndNote Basic/Web the available formatting styles are those of Turabian Bibliography, and APA 6th edition. For Turabian, there are two formats Notes (Bibliography) and Reference List (a short format citation style). ACTS uses the Notes (Bibliography) format, not Reference List. Counselling students are expected to purchase the APA Publications Manual. More information may be found at the following website: For free online programs that will enable students to create properly formatted bibliography citations, they should go to ( Chicago stands for Turabian ) or CANIL students can locate this on the CANIL intranet, under the student side. More information is given to incoming students in the fall. Please check with your professor to find out which style he/she recommends you use!! Course Evaluations Course evaluations are important for improving teaching outcomes, faculty professional development, and the student learning context. Completion of course evaluations is, therefore, considered to be a course expectation. Professors will schedule time for students to fill out online course evaluations (20-30 minutes) on their personal laptops or a collegium computer during the last scheduled class of the semester. Students who are absent that day or who are otherwise unable to complete the online course evaluation during the last class will be expected to make every effort to do so by the last day of exams. Information about how to access online evaluation forms will be provided to the faculty and students prior to the last week of classes by the ACTS Administration. Research Ethics Please note that all research projects involving human participants undertaken by members of the TWU university community (including projects done by ACTS students to satisfy course or degree requirements) MUST be approved by the Trinity Western University Research Ethics Board. Information and forms may be found at Those needing additional clarification may contact the ACTS Academic Dean s office. Please allow at least three (3) weeks from the date of submission for a review of the application. Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism at TWU

7 THS 672 Spring 2019 Page 7 Christian scholars at TWU regard academic integrity to be a core value. Students are invited into this scholarly culture and are required to abide by the principles of sound academic scholarship. This means that all members of the TWU academic community must avoid all forms of plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict policy on plagiarism (see academic calendar , pp ). Further details on this subject are contained in the ACTS Student Handbook in section The handbook is available online on the ACTS webpage ( at the following link: Learning what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it is the student s responsibility. An excellent resource in this regard has been prepared by TWU Librarian William Badke and is freely available for download (PPT file) or can be viewed in flash (self-running) tutorials of different lengths: (14 minute flash tutorial) (8 minute flash tutorial) Equity of Access Students with disabilities who need assistance are encouraged to contact the Equity of Access Office upon admission to TWU to discuss their specific needs. All disabilities must be recently documented by an appropriately certified professional and such documentation should include a statement regarding the educational impact of the disability along with recommended accommodations. Within the first two weeks of the semester, students must meet with their professors to agree on accommodations appropriate to each class. Students should follow the steps detailed by the Equity of Access Office outlined on the TWU website at