2011 unit archive
Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.
Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.
Formative Christian Thinking
Unit Code:
OCH/OCT300
RTI:
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value:
30 points This year long unit seeks to bring together the historical study of the church as it forms and reforms its faith, and reflection upon the method of Christian theologising. It explores Christian thought in selected historical settings as the basis for introducing the discipline of theology, and offers an introduction to the method of Christian theologising. As such, it forms a foundational unit for further study in both Church History and Systematic Theology.
Specific areas of study include: Christologies of the New Testament; a study of the Church as it forms and reforms its faith, and as it lives that faith in the world; the Trinitarian and Christological controversies viewed from both historical and theological perspectives; the controversies about the nature of Christian community and Christian living in historical and theological perspective. This study will have foci in the pre-Constantinian, Reformation and modern, post-Enlightenment periods.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the historical environment in which Christian thought developed in the pre-Constantinian, Reformation and post-Enlightenment periods
- Discuss both the historical and theological factors at work in the development of the Christian faith in the first five centuries
- Develop a theological argument in the light of the above understandings.
Lecturer/s:
David Gormley O'Brien
Mode of Teaching:
Online
Teaching Methods:
There are twelve fortnightly sessions. Each consists of guided reading from the set texts, additional reading resources and some notes, together with an online tutorial. Students will be expected to contribute to the discussions in each session.
Recommended reading:
* = set texts recommended for purchase
Preliminary reading:
- MacCulloch, D. Groundwork of Christian History. London: Epworth, 1987.
- Wright, N. T. Who was Jesus? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
Recommended reading:
- Berkhof, H. Christian faith. Revised edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.
- Borg, M. & N. T. Wright. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. San Francisco: Harper, 1999.
- Cameron, E. The European Reformation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
- Fiorenza, F. S. & J. P. Galvin. Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic perspectives. 2 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.
- Haight, R. Jesus, Symbol of God. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1999.
- *Hall, S. G. Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
- Hinson, E. G. The Early Church. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.
- *Matera, F. J. New Testament Christology. Louisville: WJK Press, 1999.
- *McDermott, B. O. Word become Flesh: Dimensions of Christology. Collegeville: Michael Glazier, 1993.
- McGrath, A. E. Reformation Thought: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 1988.
- *McGrath, A. E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Malden: Blackwell, 2007.
- Migliore, D. Faith Seeking Understanding. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
- Norris, R. A. (ed.) The Christological Controversy. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.
- Powell, M. A. & D. R. Bauer (eds) Who do you say that I am? Essays on Christology. Louisville: WJK Press, 1999.
- O'Collins, G. Christology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
- O’Collins, G. Interpreting Jesus. Mahwah: Paulist / London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1983.
- Rusch, W. G. (ed.) The Trinitarian Controversy. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.
- Schnackenburg, R. Jesus in the Gospels: A Biblical Christology. Louisville: WJK Press, 1995.
© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.