Starting in January, I will be teaching an Essentials of Theology class. I wanted to invite you to follow along and even participate here as the weekly class themes will provide direction for blog posts.
We will be using 2 books and each week we will put them in conversation. The first book is Essentials of Christian Theology (Kindle $17) and the second is Introduction to Christian Theology: Contemporary North American Perspectives. There are a couple of PDFs later in the reading that I will provide links to when it is time.
This is going to be a fun format. Each section in the Essentials book provides two authors’ perspective. We will then place that material in conversation with a third (and different) perspective to both challenge and round out the dialogue.
The content will be electric so I wanted to invite you join in and give your theological reflection some zip in the new year! Consider picking up the books and following along as we explore some of the big themes of the faith. You will also be able to listen to MP3s of the lecture portion of class each Tuesday.
January 9 – January 15
What Are We Doing Here? The Task of Theology
Reading: Essentials – How Do We Know What to Believe? p. 1-50
Lecture: Informed and Formed by the Faith
Conversation: Intro – Badham chpt. 1
January 16 – January 22
God
Reading: Essentials – What Do We Mean by “God” p. 51-92
Lecture: 5 Gods That People Worship
Conversation: Intro – Williamson chpt. 3
January 23 – January 29
Human
Reading: Essentials – Is God in Charge? p. 93-132
Lecture: Located and Active Agents
Conversation: Intro – Brock chpt. 13
January 30 – February 5
Jesus
Reading: Essentials – How Does Jesus Make a Difference? p. 183-220
Lecture: Jesus in not Superman
Conversation: Intro – Cone chpt. 14
February 6 – February 12
Spirit
Reading: “Spirit” chpt. 6 in Constructive Theology pdf.
Lecture: The Power of Pentecost and Perichoresis
Conversation: Intro – Keller chpt. 16
February 13 – February 19
The Evangelical Tradition
Reading: Intro – Pinnock chpt. 6
February 20 – February 26
Sin
Reading: Essentials – What’s Wrong With Us? p. 133-182
Lecture: Competing Desires
Conversation: Intro – Townes chpt. 15
February 27 – March 5
Church
Reading: Essentials – Why Bother With Church? p. 221- 256
Lecture: Ecclesiology and Environment
Conversation: Intro – Oden chpt. 5
March 6 – March 12
Christian Life
Reading: Essentials – How Should We Live? p. 257-296
Lecture: Character and Habitus for the 21st Century
Conversation: Intro – Hauerwas chpt. 8
March 13 – March 19
Context: Colonialism and Consumerism
Reading: Woodley “Missiology” pdf.
Lecture: Conscripted Into A Better Story
Conversation: Intro – Isasi-Diaz chpt. 17
March 20 – March 26
Other Religions
Reading: Essentials – What About Them? p. 297-326
Lecture: Are All Religions Paths Up the Same Mountain?
Conversation: Intro – Hick chpt. 2
March 27 – April 2
The Good News
Reading: Elaine Graham – “Between a Rock & a Hard Place” pdf.
Lecture: The Evangel – Good News for the Poor?
Conversation: Intro – Jeanrond chpt. 10
April 3 – April 9
Eschatology
Reading: Essentials – Where Are We Going? p. 327-365
Lecture: The End of The End
Conversation: Intro – Taylor chpt. 18
April 10 – April 16
Putting It All Together
Reading: Intro – Devaney pdf.
Lecture: The World Wide Web of Christian Practice
Conversation: Weaving a Web of Meaning
April 17 – April 23
Constructing A Christian
Reading: Intro – Buckley chpt. 7
Lecture: Dancing Our Prayers
Conversation: The Body and Embodied Practice
April 24 – April 30
Parousia
December 23, 2016 at 2:41 pm
😊
Shawn Andrews
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