TH 628 Contemporary Theology Fall Semester 2017 Tuesdays: 8:30 am-12:15 pm INSTRUCTOR: Randal D. Rauser, PhD Phone: 780-431-4428 Email: randal.rauser@taylor-edu.ca DESCRIPTION: A consideration of theological movements of the twentieth century including neo-orthodoxy, evangelicalism, process theology, post-vatican II Roman Catholic theology, and modern luminaries like Moltmann and others. (3 credits) OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, the student should 1. understand the basic trends, issues and individuals that have shaped theology in the last two hundred years. 2. understand the challenges and promises of evangelical theology within the greater Christian landscape. 3. appreciate the challenges to ongoing theological reflection. 4. serve the church through a careful ongoing assessment of theology for one s own cultural context. TEXTBOOKS: Braaten, Carl and Robert Jenson, eds. A Map of Twentieth Century Theology. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1995. Grenz, Stanley J. and Roger Olson. 20 th Century Theology: God and the World in a Transitional Age. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992. Placher, William, ed. Essentials of Christian Theology. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. Placher, William. Narratives of a Vulnerable God: Christ, Theology and Scripture. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. Rauser, Randal. Finding God in the Shack. Colorado Springs, CO: Biblica, 2009. [Available for purchase from Dr. Rauser for $10.] 1
REQUIREMENTS: 1. Class Participation It is important to attend regularly, arrive on time, and to be actively engaged in the discussion of topics. This is especially true as this is a seminar class which depends on active student participation in the discussion and debate of topics. 2. Text Readings (1100 pp.) 55 hours 3. Theologian Seminar Paper Compose and present a research paper on a particular theologian or theological movement (topics to be chosen in consultation with the instructor). The paper should provide a brief historical theological background to the individual or movement, a summary of the theology, and a critical response to it. A handout of one page should be provided for other students which briefly summarizes the content of the paper and includes discussion questions. Be sure to interact with primary source readings in the paper. The paper should be written in SBL format with footnotes and bibliography. (3000-4000 words) (Reading time: 30-35 minutes + discussion: 15-20 minutes) Possible Due Dates: Oct 3, 10, 24 18 hours 4. Theology Topic Presentation Sign up to present on one of the chapters of Essentials of Christian Theology. The presentation will be given in class and should provide a summary of the content of the chapter which engages with other sources relevant to the topic (minimum six academic journal articles and/or books). A 1-2 page handout should be provided for every student which includes a bibliography of academic sources used in the research for the presentation. You will be graded on the content, clarity, and form of your presentation. Feel free to use pedagogical aids (e.g. PowerPoint) as appropriate. (Presentation time: 25 minutes + discussion: 10 minutes) Possible Due Dates: Nov 14, 21, 28 10 hours 5. Finding God in the Shack Book Review Provide a critical interaction with Rauser s analysis. Did you think he addressed criticisms of The Shack? Did he present viable objections? Did he miss any additional concerns or virtues of the book? (1000 words) Due Date: Dec 5 7 hours Total: 90 hours 2
EVALUATION: Class Participation 20% Theologian Paper 40% Theologian Seminar Presentation 5% Theology Topic Presentation 25% Book Review 10% NOTE: assignments automatically receive a 5% penalty for every day that they are late. Assignments late more than one week will receive 0%. Extensions will not be granted for time-management issues. All assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class on the day they are due. HOW TO SUBMIT AN ASSIGNMENT: Assignments should be emailed to randal.rauser@taylor-edu.ca by 11:59 pm on the day they are due to ensure you do not receive a late penalty. Do not submit a hard copy. When you email your assignment it is recommended that you request a read receipt to ensure that your assignment has been received. You are responsible to ensure that the assignment is received. FINAL REMARKS: Research Language. You should employ acceptable research language for your paper which is not too informal yet reads inclusively. Avoid the use of gender specific language (e.g., Do not refer to man generically or to mankind, men, he ; rather use humankind, humanity, person, etc.) Plagiarism. Academic honesty and integrity is essential to the academic enterprise and the Seminary community. All written work submitted must be your own. Guidelines for Research Writing defines plagiarism as the failure to give credit where credit is due: To plagiarize is to give the impression that you have written something original which in fact you have borrowed from another without acknowledging that other person's work (Guidelines for Research Writing, 2003, Rev 1.2; p. 11). If you borrow ideas or distinctive phrases, or include direct quotations in your written assignments, you must acknowledge your source(s) properly by in-text citation or footnote. It is also wrong to copy another person s work or to submit an assignment previously handed in for credit in another course. Students guilty of plagiarism may receive a grade of zero for the assignment and may be brought to the attention of the Seminary s Academic Committee. Course Withdrawal Policy. After the period for which tuition refunds are available, a W will be placed on the transcript of a student who withdraws from any course. Beyond those dates, an F will be recorded on the student s transcript. 3
Formatting. All studies and papers should be typed and formatted according to the Society of Biblical Literature writing style as outlined in the Seminary s Guidelines for Research Writing in Religion & Theology (SBL). For the full stylesheet, please refer to Patrick H. Alexander, et al., ed., The SBL Handbook of Style: For Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies (Grand Rapids: Hendrickson, 2014) which is in Reading Room. COURSE OUTLINE WITH READINGS: DATE TOPIC READINGS MODERN THEOLOGY Sept 5 The Enlightenment and Kant; Grenz and Olson, 9-62. Classical Liberalism and Schleiermacher Sept 12 Neo-Orthodoxy: Barth and Brunner Grenz and Olson, 63-86; 99-112. Sept 19 Neo-Liberalism: Bultmann, Bonhoeffer, and Tillich; Grenz and Olson, 86-99; 114-30; 145-69. Secular Theology Sept 26 Process Theology Grenz and Olson, 130-44. Oct 3 Eschatological Theology: Grenz and Olson, 170-99. Pannenberg and Moltmann Oct 10 Post-Vatican II Catholic Theology; Liberation Theology Grenz and Olson, 237-270. Grenz and Olson, 200-36. Oct 17 Modular Week (No Class) No Reading Oct 24 Evangelical, Postliberal, and Grenz and Olson, 271-315. Postconservative Theology CONTEMPORARY DEBATES Oct 31 Making God Vulnerable Placher, Vulnerable God, xiii-83. Nov 7 Making the Church Vulnerable Placher, Vulnerable God, 87-183. Nov 14 Revelation, God, Providence Placher, Essentials, chapters 1-3 Nov 21 Sin, Jesus, Church Placher, Essentials, chapters 4-6 Nov 28 Ethics, Other Religions, Placher, Essentials, chapters Dec 5 Eschatology Discussion of Finding God in the Shack 7-9 Rauser 4
Bibliography There is a very useful bibliography of modern theology in Grenz and Olson, 20 th Century Theology, 371-85. Hence, I have simply included a few important supplementary survey resources as well as a few introductory books of more recent developments. Barth, Karl. Protestant Theology in the Nineteenth Century: Its Background and History. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002. Berkhof, Hendrikus. Two Hundred Years of Theology: report of a personal journey. Trans. John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989. Braaten Carl F. and Robert W. Jenson, eds. A Map of Twentieth Century Theology: Readings from Karl Barth to Radical Pluralism. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Ford, David F. ed. The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century. 2 nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997. Grenz, Stanley. Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology in a Post-Theological Era. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000. Grenz, Stanley and Ed Leroy Miller. Fortress Introduction to Contemporary Theologies. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1998. Macquarrie, John. Twentieth-Century Religious Thought: The Frontiers of Philosophy and Theology, 1900-1960. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Ormerod, Neil. Introducing Contemporary Theologies: The What and the Who of Theology Today. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997. Phillips, Timothy R. and Dennis L. Okholm, eds. The Nature of Confession: Evangelicals and Postliberals in Conversation. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1996. Ramm, Bernard. A Handbook of Contemporary Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1966. Reymond, Robert. Introductory Studies in Contemporary Theology. Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1968. Richardson, W. Mark and Wesley J. Wildman, eds. Religion and Science: History, Method, Dialogue. New York: Routledge, 1996. Smith, David L. A Handbook of Contemporary Theology: Tracing Trends and Discerning Directions in Today s Theological Landscape. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000. 5
Smith, James K.A. Introducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-Secular Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004. Thompson, John. Modern Trinitarian Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Ward, Graham, ed. The Postmodern God: A Theological Reader. Blackwell Readings in Modern Theology. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997. 6