At the end of this course you will:
- Obtain a basic knowledge of theological sources and topics and learn to employ the hermeneutical method of theological reflection;
- obtain the basic and transferable skills of critical thinking in the form of class discussion, writing, and, group presentations;
- evaluate and interpret classic and modern theological concepts and positions;
- analyze the logic and presuppositions of theological positions to formulate an informed view based upon the course material;
- enhance the basic skills of speaking, writing, and reading about theological texts in English.
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Introduction to the sources, topics, and methods of Christian Theology
Fundamental Theology offers an introduction to the presuppositions of Christian Theology as an academic discipline. What is theology? What are its topics and methods? How does it contribute to the rationality and credibility of Christianity? In public debates about the proper place of religion in society, the threat of violence, fundamentalism, and secularism will inevitably surface. These debates often dissolve into stereotypes and marginalization. What is often neglected is how most people (religious or not) are on a search for meaning in life, and the explanations they have grown up with are not sufficiently satisfying on this quest.
Many Christians acknowledge that their faith is based on a variety of foundational sources: divine revelation, the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the ideas and testimonies of believers over the past millennia. But today, the authority of those foundations are not accepted by many people in society. How can the Christian faith still be plausible in an apparently irreligious and increasingly pluralistic society? What is the task of academic theology in the university to address this issue in conversation with other academic disciplines?
In this class, students will be introduced to the foundational sources and the hermeneutical method of Christian Theology, particularly the notions of divine revelation, Scripture, faith, and tradition. Students will engage with questions about the relation between revelation and reason, tradition and Scripture, philosophy and theology, faith and knowledge. This class introduces the core presuppositions of Christian theism to gain a more informed perspective about how the propositions of Christian doctrine can be presented and hang together in a coherent way. The central questions explored in this class are: 1) Does God exist?; 2) Does God speak?; 3) What is faith?; 4) Does Theology belong in the University?
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