COURSE SYLLABUS TH 502 Theology Survey II Patrick T. Smith, Course Instructor Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Jacksonville Campus Spring Semester 2013 Friday-Saturday, February 15-16; Friday-Saturday, March 22-23; Friday-Saturday, April 26-27 Phone: 978-646-4120 Email: ptsmith@gcts.edu Course Description This course is a study of the person and work of Christ, predestination, conversion, justification, sanctification, and the work of the Holy Spirit; perseverance; the nature and mission of the church; the sacraments; eschatology. Required Course Textbooks Erickson, Millard J. Introducing Christian Doctrine, Second Edition, edited by L. Arnold Hustad. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic Books, 2001. ISBN: 0-8010-2250-9 Tennent, Timothy C. Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church is Influencing the Way we Think About and Discuss Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. ISBN: 0-310-27511-3 Thielicke, Helmut. A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1962. ISBN: 0-8028-1198-1 Learning Outcomes The student who successfully completes this course should have the ability: 1. To understand the importance and necessity of doctrine for Christian life and community. 2. To effectively read, understand, learn from and engage texts in theological studies. 3. To appreciate afresh the art of scripture meditation on key biblical passages that pertain to the doctrines of the person and work of Christ, predestination, conversion, justification, sanctification, and the work of the Holy Spirit; perseverance; the nature and mission of the church; the sacraments; eschatology. 4. To have a deeper appreciation for theology as it relates to preparation for ministry in the context of the local church, parachurch ministries and the broader contemporary culture. 1
Course Requirements 1. Assigned Readings some of the reading material is covered in class. However, there are elements that will not be brought out in class but are still essential to gaining an understanding of the material and successfully completing the course. Therefore, the reading provides a rich and necessary component of the learning experience. a. Textbook Reading- The students will be responsible for reading the assigned sections of the course textbooks by the assigned dates stated below. b. Reading Handouts students are also responsible for reading all handouts, essays, and articles reserved by the instructor. c. Additional Readings students are to read an additional 200 pages from standard theological texts suitable for a seminary context. (If you re not sure about appropriateness of the readings please consult the course instructor). NOTE: This additional reading should be done this semester and not reading from a prior semester or something you ve read in-depth before. The library has a number of works that can be consulted to complete this part of the course requirements. Students are to indicate in writing how much of the assigned reading was completed. This is to be turned in by the last day of the third session, April 27, 2013. 2. Class Attendance/ Participation Students are required to attend and participate in all class sessions for the entire meeting times. This is imperative for a class of this format. The instructor will carefully monitor the in-class participation of each student and this will factor into the student s final grade. 3. Group Discussion Question Papers Each student is to prepare a written paper that answers the discussion questions listed below for each session. The response should not simply be a recapitulation of exactly what Erickson says in his text. The papers should be more integrative in that you should reflect somewhat on how the doctrine in question is importance for the Christian life and ministry. These assignments don t need to include an introduction and all of the other elements that often go into a paper. They are for the purpose of our class and group discussion. February 15-16: For the first session each student is to prepare responses to the study questions on the pages stated below. See below on the top of page 3 the requirements for the written portion of the assignment. Erickson, p. 223 answer the first three study questions Erickson, p. 243 answer the first three study questions March 22-23 & April 26-27 We will divide the class into small groups during the first session on February 15th. The Instructor will then assign the questions that students will need to write up responses in 2
preparation for the next meeting. The group will then divide those questions amongst the members with each being responsible for their area. Each student is to submit their portions of the work at the end of the sessions on the Saturdays that we cover the material. The papers will be collected on Saturday after class. But they should be completed before coming into the weekend sessions, again, since these assignments will serve as the basis of our class discussions. The entire assignment should be no more than 5 pages. The papers are to be typed, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, double-spaced, neatly formatted, and free of any spelling and grammatical errors. 4. Final Exam each student enrolled in the course for credit is to take a final comprehensive examination over the material covered in the course. It will be an on-line exam taken through Sakai. Course Grading The student s grade will be determined as follows: Participation/Attendance/Group Papers 30% Reading Report 10% Final Exam 60% Grade Achievement Quality Points A 100-96 Work of exceptional quality 4.00 A- 95-93 3.70 B+ 92-90 3.30 B 89-86 Work of commendable quality 3.00 B- 85-83 2.70 C+ 82-80 2.30 C 79-76 Work of acceptable but minimal quality 2.00 C- 75-73 1.70 D+ 72-70 1.30 D 69-66 Substandard and barely passing work 1.00 D- 65-63 0.70 F 62-below Failure 0.00 Grading Rubric: After all the requirements of the course have been completed, the instructor will use the following rubric for the assignment of grades, based on the overall performance of the class. The grades assigned will represent the instructor s interpretation of the following standard: A = Outstanding mastery of the subject: excellence is evident in preparation for and attendance in class sessions; unusual ability to retain, analyze and synthesize the material; with a positive attitude making productive contributions to the learning community in the classroom. 3
B = Superior mastery of the subject: sincere effort in preparation for and attendance in class sessions; ability to master the essential aspects of the material; with a mostly consistent attitude in making contributions to the learning community in the classroom. C = Basic mastery of the subject: inconsistent effort in preparation for and attendance in class sessions; engagement with the material but difficulty in grasping some of its aspects; with occasional contributions to the learning community in the classroom. D = Inadequate mastery of the subject. F = Failure: course must be repeated. Warning on Plagiarism: Helpful guidelines on plagiarism can be found on the Indiana University website http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/plagarism.html. This document has the official recognition of the Gordon-Conwell faculty and provides very helpful tools to guide you as you prepare for your assignments. If a student is caught plagiarizing, the student will receive the consequences of this act according to the process established by the seminary. Intellectual Property Rights: To protect the professor s intellectual property rights with regard to classroom content, students are asked to refrain from audio and video recording of classes, as well as audio, video, and written publication (including internet posting and broadcasting) or live transmission of classroom proceedings. Course Schedule February 15-16, 2013 Background Reading: Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, Parts 7-8, pp. 215-268 Tennent, Theology in the Context, Chapters 1, 4-5 Session 1: Person and Work of Christ (Part 1) Session 2: Person and Work of Christ (Part 2) 4
March 22-23, 2013 Background Reading: Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, Parts 9-10, pp. 269-338 Tennent, Theology in the Context, Chapters 6-7 Session 3: Doctrine of Salvation (Part 1) Session 4: Doctrine of Salvation (Part 2)/ The Work of the Holy Spirit April 26-27, 2013 Background Reading: Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, Parts11-12, pp. 339-415 Tennent, Theology in the Context, Chapters 8-10 Thielicke, A Little Exercise Session 5: The Work of the Holy Spirit/ The Doctrine of the Church Session 6: The Doctrine of the Church/ The Doctrine of Last Things SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Representative Systematic Theologies 1 Aquinas, St. Thomas. The Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Five volumes. English Dominicans, translators. Ave Maria Press, 1948. (Medieval Scholastic) Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley and others. Four volumes. T. & T. Clark, 1956 75. (Neo-Orthodox) Bavink, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. Four volumes. Baker Academic, 2003 08. (Dutch Reformed) Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. New edition containing the full text of Systematic Theology and the original Introductory Volume to Systematic Theology. Eerdmans, 1996.(Reformed)* Bloesch, Donald G. Essentials of Evangelical Theology. Hendrickson, 2005. (Evangelical)* Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion (The Library of Christian Classics, vols. XX XXI). Ed. by John T. McNeill. Trans. by Ford Lewis Battles. Westminster Press, 1950. (Reformed)* 1 (* = Introductory. I am indebted to Professor Peter Anders for the categorization scheme.) 5
Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology. Eight Volumes. Dallas Seminary Press, 1947. Abridged edition. Ed. by John F. Walvoord, Donald K. Campbell, and Roy B. Zuck. 1988. (Dispensational) Chan, Simon. Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life. IVP, 1998. (Protestant Spiritual)* Christian Dogmatics. Two volumes. Edited by Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson. Fortress Press, 1984. (Lutheran) Christian Theology: An Introduction to its Traditions and Tasks. Edited by Peter C. Hodgson and Robert H. King. Fortress Press, 1994. (Protestant Liberal)* Finney, Charles G. Finney s Lectures on Systematic Theology. Edited by J. H. Fairchild. Eerdmans, 1953. Reprint of 1878 edition. (Revivalist) The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth. Edited by R. A. Torrey and A. C. Dixon. Baker Books (re-issue), 2003. (Christian Fundamentalist)* Grenz, Stanley J. A Theology for the Community of God. Broadman/Holman, 1994. (Neo- Evangelical)* Heppe, Heinrich. Reformed Dogmatics: Set Out and Illustrated from the Sources. Foreword by Karl Barth. Rev. and ed. by Ernst Bizer. Trans. by G. T. Thomson. Baker, 1978. (Reformed Scholastic) Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. 3 volumes. n.p.: Charles Scribner, 1871; reprint, Eerdmans, 1952. (Old Princeton Reformed) Horton, Stanley M. Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective. Logion Press, 1994. (Pentecostal) Kuyper, Abraham. Principles of Sacred Theology. Baker, 1980. (Dutch Reformed) McGrath, Alister. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Blackwell, 1996. (Evangelical)* Miley, John. Systematic Theology. 3 vols., Hendriksen, 1989 (reprint). (Arminian) Oden, Thomas C. John Wesley s Scriptural Christianity: A Plain Exposition of His Teaching on Christian Doctrine. Zondervan, 1994. (Wesleyan) Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Systematic Theology. Three volumes. Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Eerdmans, 1991. (Protestant Liberal) Preus, Robert. The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism. Concordia, 1972. (Lutheran Scholastic) 6
Rahner, Karl. Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity. Translated by William V. Dych. Crossroad Publishing, 1995. (Roman Catholic)* Reconstructing Christian Theology. Edited by Rebecca S. Chopp and Mark Lewis Taylor. Fortress Press, 1994. (Revisionist) Schleiermacher, Friedrich. The Christian Faith. English Translation from the Second German Ed. Edited by H. R. Mackintosh and J. S. Stewart. T. & T. Clark, 1989. (Classical Protestant Liberal) Shedd, William G. T. Dogmatic Theology. Third edition. Edited by Alan W. Gomes. Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003. (Reformed) Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives. Two volumes. Edited by Francis Schüssler Fiorenza and John P. Galvin. Fortress Press, 1991. (Roman Catholic) Tillich, Paul. Systematic Theology. Three Volumes. University of Chicago Press, 1951, 1957, 1963. (Neo-Orthodox) 7