RT5315: Theology on the Edge: Christian Thought in a Changing World

School Religion
Department Code SHARE
Module Code RT5315
External Subject Code 100795
Number of Credits 20
Level L6
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Roy Kearsley
Semester Double Semester
Academic Year 2014/5

Outline Description of Module

This module seeks to bring out the living and biographical character of theological ideas in Christian thinking and shows how modern writers and movements have concerned themselves with issues of commanding relevance in their time. In the traditional agenda this has included such topics as: the purpose and destiny of human lives and community, the grounds for meaning in the universe and humanity and redemption. In contemporary times it also faces in the direction of such concerns as peace, justice, liberation, ecology, ethnic and feminist perspectives, non-western contexts, power and postmodernism

On completion of the module a student should be able to

a)    expound and critically evaluate some key significant developments in Christian Theology;

b)    relate key Christian thinkers or theological movements to the modern story of theology and to contemporary global settings;

c)     demonstrate an ability to analyze and evaluate selected modern key Christian thinkers or theologies;

d)    compare competing alternative Christian theologies and bring similar ideas together;

(e)   select appropriate fields for focused theological exploration, plan the projects accordingly, collect bibliography and present findings in an orderly way for discussion

How the module will be delivered

The module will be primarily taught through lectures, PowerPoint, facilitated group discussion and e-learning together with occasional reflections on a variety of alternative media including film, art and poetry. In addition to tutor led material, students will be expected to critically engage and evaluate a number of key primary and secondary theological texts and prepare materials for teacher initiated discussion. Students will also be expected to engage in small group enquiry and feedback. The module will be supported by material on Learning Central.

Skills that will be practised and developed

Academic:

  • critical analysis of key theological texts and ideas
  • constructing coherent arguments supported by relevant evidence
  • independent research
  • oral, visual and written presentation
  • explain an unfamiliar text using contemporary methodology and re-contextualising in their own world.  

Subject-specific:

  • engagement with central themes of contemporary theology
  • critical analysis of key texts
  • competence in critiquing the relationship of theology and context 
  • empathetically identify with the concerns of another culture
  • demonstrate a critical awareness of how contextual differences shape contemporary theology

Generic:

  • Critically explain and evaluate ideas and their exponents
  • Communicate ideas, someone else’s or their own, with clarity organisation of time and resources
  • independent study
  • critical evaluation of texts and ideas

Employment-related:

·       All traditional intellectual skills such as critical analysis and evaluation of evidence together with modelling and solving problems.

·       Key skills such as informal oral communication and clear written communication.

·       Familiarity with a PC-computer and the production of documents.

·       The discipline and capacity to improve performance individually and with a group.

·       The ability to work collegially in enquiry and negotiation of perceptions.

.       Personal attributes such as self-reliance and adaptability in a chosen project.

How the module will be assessed

Students will be expected to submit 1 x 2000 word assignment (50%) and complete a 90 mins examination (50%)

The written assignment develops the student’s ability to engage in a detailed and critical discussion of a major theologian or theological movement.

A formative essay plan can be submitted in January for individual tutor comment. The completed essay is then formally submitted for summative assessment by the agreed end of year deadline.

Summative assessment(evaluating student performance) consists of

(a) A written assignment of no more than 2000 words (50% of final mark).

       (b) A 90 minutes examination (50% of final mark).

In the examination, candidates select two questions from a choice of twelve

The potential for reassessment in this module

Reassessment is be determined according to University Regulations but may include the possibility of submitting a revised essay of no more than 2000 words and/ or a re-sit examination in the summer vacation.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Exam - Spring Semester 50 Theology On The Edge: Christian Thought In A Changing World 1.5
Written Assessment 50 Coursework N/A

Syllabus content

The module will normally include some or all of the following:

1 Background and introduction, including classical philosophy, the impact of 18th century western thought, Kant and Hegel

2.The 19th century rise and influence of the ‘liberal’ Christian theology of Schleiermacher, Ritschl and Harnack focusing on Christian    ‘experience’ of God, community and history.

3. The legacy of the ‘century of war’

a) The radical criticism of ‘liberalism’ by Karl Barth

b) The theological response of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

4.         The work and influence of Jürgen Moltmann, the social Trinity, political theology, the ‘suffering God’, ‘messianic’ church & the kingdom of God.

5.         Liberation theologies:

            (a) Liberation theology and especially its emergence in Latin America and its links to Europe both as cause and effect

            (b) ‘Feminist’ theologies, exploring the most radical and critical versions, mainstream  approaches and some conservative forms.

            (c) Black and Womanist Theologies

6.         Late 20th century movements

            (a) African Theologies with a review of the ‘neo-colonial’ setting for African theological development, the reaction to western Christianity and some specific examples of African Christianity at work especially Kwame Bediako.

            (b) Asian Theologies, in particular looking at the special challenges facing various parts of that continent and its own shaping of liberation themes and the fresh appraisal of the subject of oppression, pain and suffering in the world.

            (c) Process Theology and its engagement with the problem of evil, looking to the dynamic nature of the universe and of God.

            (d) Theology and Postmodernism, visiting positive and negative responses to the decline of the ‘modern’ world and the rise of the  ‘postmodern’.

            (e) Catholic Theology: the 19th century, early 20th century and the impact of the 2nd Vatican Council and its aftermath.

            (f) Eastern Orthodoxy, seeking to highlight what makes eastern orthodoxy both attractive and distinct from western forms of church.

            (g) Critical Evangelicalism, tracking the positive and negative reactions of evangelicals to later 20th and early 21st century theological trends.

            (h) Eco-theology, as an emergent stream of theological responses to climate change

Essential Reading and Resource List

Indicative Reading and Resource List:

A more detailed reading list for each topic is provided in the annual Module Handbook but an indicative list for an Introduction to the module as a whole is as follows:

Ford, David and Higton Mike with Zahl, Simeon The Modern Theologians Reader  Oxford, Wiley Blackwell, 2012

Muers, Rachel and Higton, Mike  Modern Theology: A Critical Introduction Abingdon / New York, Routledge, 2012

Farhadian, Charles E,  Introducing World Christianity Oxford, Wiley Blackwell,  2012

Muers, Rachel, Ford, David (eds.)* The Modern Theologians 3rd Edn Oxford, Blackwell, 2005

Kennedy Philip,  Twentieth Century Theologians: A New Introduction to Modern Christian Thought  London, I.B. Tauris, 2010

Kennedy Philip, A Modern Introduction to Theology, London, I.B. Tauris, 2009

Davies, Noel and Conway, Martin World Christianity in the 20th Century, London, S.C.M., 2008       

Tennant, Timothy C Theology in the Context of World Christianity Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2007.        

Scott, Peter, Cavanaugh, WT.  The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, Oxford, Blackwell, 2004.

SCsS Livingston, James C, E. Schussler Fiorenza Modern Christian Thought, The Twentieth Century, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2000     

Jones Gareth (ed.) The Blackwell companion to modern theology, Oxford, Blackwell, 2007

Parratt J  An Introduction to Third World Theologies, London, CUP

MacQuarrie, J* Twentieth Century Religious Thought,  London, SCM, 1994

Moltmann, J  Experiences of Theology. Ways and Forms of Christian Theology, London, SCM, 2000

Baum Gregory, ed. The Twentieth Century: A Theological Overview Maryknoll N.Y., Novalis, 1999

Grenz, S J & Olson, R E*  20th Century TheologyGod & the World in a Transitional Age, Intervarsity Press, USA 1997

Background Reading and Resource List

Metz, J-B, and Schilebeeckx, E (eds.), God As Father, (Concilium 143), Edinburgh, T & T  Clark, 1989 (a groundbreaking discussion)

McFague, S, Models of God. Theology for an Ecological, Nuclear Age, London, SCM, 1987

Moltmann, J, The Crucified God, SCM, 1975

                        The Trinity and the Kingdom of God, London, SCM, 1981

                        God in Creation, SCM, London, 1990

                        The Spirit of Life, London, SCM, 1992 (or its attractive, more popular version: The Source, The Holy Spirit and the Theology of Life, 1997)

Placher, William C, The Domestication of Transcendence, Kentucky, Westminster John Knox, 1996

Taylor, J V, The Christlike God,  London, SCM, 1992

Willis, David E,  Notes on the Holiness of God, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2002

Theological Movements and Trends: introductory literature only

Avis, Paul, Methods of Modern Theology  London, Marshalls, 1986

Ford, David (ed.), The Modern Theologians  Vols 1 & 2, Oxford, Blackwell,1997

Grenz, S J & Olson, R E,  20th Century Theology  Illinois, IVP, 1992

Grenz, S J & Franke, J  R, Beyond Foundationalism. Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context, Louisville, Westminster John Knox, 2001

Gibellini, R, Paths of African Theology, Maryknoll, Orbis, 1994

Johnson, E A, She Who Is, New York, Crossroads, 1993

MacQuarrie, J,  Twentieth Century Religious Thought,  London, SCM, 1994

Moltmann, J, Experiences of Theology. Ways and Forms of Christian Theology, London, SCM, 2000

Further reading on specific topics could change from year to year


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