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TS 501 – Section 01 – Fall 2011 - Lawrence
TS 501- Section 01 Dr. Joel Lawrence
Fall 2011 Phone: 651-638-6109 (w)
Tuesday, 1-5PM 651-486-2742 (h)
Email:
Office: F-204
Systematic Theology I:
The Doctrine of the Trinity
I. Catalogue Course Description
“A discussion of the nature and methods of systematic theology as it compares with other fields of thought, a study of the character of God’s self-disclosure in nature and the Bible, and an investigation of the being and the works of the Triune God.”
II. Course Objectives
The goals of the class are for each student to:
1. Gain knowledge of the basic conceptual frameworks and themes of the purpose and method of systematic theology, the doctrine of the Triune God, God the Creator, and the authority of Scripture.
2. Move into a deeper relationship with God by the power of the Spirit of Christ in prayer and a worshipful response to the love of the Triune God.
3. Gain a disposition of diligent inquiry, reverence and joy in the things of God.
4. Grow in an understanding of the character of Scripture, a confidence in its trustworthiness and intrinsic power, and a conception of how it can and should function as the Word of God to the Church.
5. Develop a biblically informed and theologically sound vision of the glory, character and gracious activities of the one true and Triune God.
6. Develop an ability to demonstrate how his or her personal convictions regarding God are rooted in, and defensible from, Scripture.
7. Appreciate the diversity of the church’s theological reflections, and grow in appreciation and understanding of the theological views of others.
III. Required Reading
Grenz, Stanley. Theology for the Community of God. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Press, 1994.
Karkkainen, Veli-Mati. The Trinity: Global Perspectives. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2007.
Thielicke, Helmut. A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Press, 1962.
IV. Miscellaneous
· Contacting the Professor: Please feel free to call me with any questions at work or at home (If calling at home, please call before 10 PM). You can also reach me by email, to which I will respond within 24 hours (most of the time J).
· Inclusive Language: In accordance with Bethel Seminary policy, inclusive language should be used in class discussion and papers.
· Plagiarism zero tolerance policy: If a student is suspected of plagiarism, he or she will be called in for a discussion with the instructor. The onus will be on the student to demonstrate that the work is original. If plagiarism is discovered, the student will fail the class and be reported to the office of Student Life.
· Accessibility: Please contact the instructor as soon as possible if disability-related accommodations are needed. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities are set up through the Office of Disability Services. Contact Disability Services, at (651) 635-8759.
V. Late Work Policy
Late work will be penalized 3 points per day. No work will be accepted more than 1 week late. If you find yourself in an unexpected situation, please speak with me. Papers and reading assignments are due by Tuesday at 1 PM.
VI. Course Requirements
1. Required Reading
Read carefully the portions of the books as assigned. At the end of the course you will report on the amount of reading you have completed. You should be able to put 100%, as long as you follow the reading assignment schedule.
· Do not report the pages you have read, but the percentage read. Also, do not report what you intend to read, but what you have actually read.
· Your reading only counts if you complete by the assigned time.
· You will report your grade via Moodle at the end of the course. I will not track you down to submit this grade. If you don’t submit it by the date on the course calendar, you will receive a zero for the assignment.
2. Thielicke Interaction Paper
Each student will write a reflection paper on Helmut Thielicke’s book A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. Why did the author write this book? What questions did you grapple with? What things did you learn from Thielicke? What themes struck you as important? What did you disagree with? How has Thielicke’s book influence your thinking about theology?
This goal of this reflection is for the learner to demonstrate engagement and self-awareness through your personal reflections on your journey of reading the book.
· The paper should be written in 12-point font, double spaced, and should be approximately 1,500 words.
3. Theology and Culture Project
In this project, you will do creative theological engagement by interacting with a source from current culture. It could be any number of things you are engaging: a film, a piece of art, a song, a current technology. The purpose of the paper is to have you interact in a theologically sound and reflective manner on something from the world in which we live. You could also achieve the goal of this project by creating a piece of art, music, etc., that expresses your own theological thinking.
· If you are writing a paper, if should be written in 12-point font, double space, and be approximately 2000 words.
· If you want to create a piece of art, music, etc, come and speak with me and we can discuss the scope of your project.
4. Trinity Reflection Paper
This paper will be based on your reading of Karkkainen’s The Trinity. You will select one of the authors from Karkkainen’s book and dig deeper into her or his theology. The point of the project is for you to engage with a particular theologian’s conception of the Trinity, doing summary and critique. What is the theologian claiming about the Triune nature of God? Do you agree or disagree with their perspective? Why? What are the implications of these claims for the praxis of the church?
· The paper should be written in 12-point font, double spaced, and be 2,000 words, with about one-quarter of the paper being summary of the theologian’s viewpoints and the rest critical engagement.
· You should engage with 2-3 resources (academic articles or books) beyond Karkkainen to help you get a grasp of the author’s views.
5. Credo Paper
The credo paper is a final, integrative project for this course. This paper will give you the opportunity to state your own beliefs regarding the doctrines covered in class, to see how these beliefs are dependent upon one another, and to analyze how these doctrinal beliefs are foundational to your living out the gospel message of Jesus Christ. This paper should be approx. 3500 words.
Instructions:
1. First 2000 words: lay out your “statement of faith” on the main themes of this course.
2. Second 1000 words: analyze the interdependence of these themes: for example, How does the doctrine of the Trinity impact your theology of Scripture?
3. Third 500 words: Write some brief reflections on how the doctrines that you have explored in this course and come to convictions about integrate into your life and ministry (current or anticipated future).
***Examples will be provided in Moodle
***This assignment has been identified as a required integrative assignment that you may wish to review and reference in future integrative coursework.
6. Course Evaluations
Student course assessments are an important part of course development and enhancement. In order to recognize the value of your input and to encourage you to provide that input. Completing the course evaluation at the end of this course is included as a component of class participation. While your responses are anonymous,failure to submit an electronic evaluation will reduce your course grade by 2%.For any questions regarding the course evaluation process, please go to https://bethelnet.bethel.edu/ureg/bssp/eval_index.
Instructions for submitting papers:
· On all your papers, please include a cover sheet with the following information: Your name, the date, the title of the assignment that you are handing in, and the number of days the assignment is late if that is the case.
· You will submit all papers through Moodle.
· Please save your file as follows: your last name_assignment name.doc. For example, my Thielicke book review would be saved as: lawrence_littleexercise.doc
VII. Grading
The final grade will be based on:
1. Required Reading 15%
2. Thielicke Paper 15%
3. Theology and Culture Project 20%
4. Trinity Reflection Paper 20%
5. Credo Paper 30%
Grading Scale:
A 96-100 B- 83-85 D+ 71-73
A- 93-95 C+ 80-82 D 68-70
B+ 89-92 C 77-79 D- 65-67
B 86-88 C- 74-76 F 0-64
VIII. Course Schedule
Week 1: September 27
Topic: Course Introduction; What is Systematic Theology?
Week 2: October 4
Topic: The Task and Sources of Theology
Read: Grenz, Introduction; Thielicke
Week 3: October 11
Topic: The Knowledge of God
Read: Grenz, Ch. 1; Karkkainen, Ch. 5-9; Thielicke
Due: Thielicke Interaction Paper
Week 4: October 18
Topic: The Knowledge of God, Cont.
Read: Karkkainen, Ch. 17-20
Week 5: October 25
***Intensive week***
Week 6: November 1
***Intensive Week***
Week 7: November 8
Topic: The Doctrine of the Trinity
Read: Grenz, Ch. 2; Karkkainen, Ch. 21-23
Due: Theology and Culture Project
Week 8: November 15
Topic: The Doctrine of the Trinity
Read: Grenz, Ch. 3-4; Karkkainen, Ch. 24-25
Week 9: November 22
Topic: The Doctrine of the Trinity
Read: Karkkainen, Ch. 26-27
Due: Trinity Reflection Paper
Week 10: November 29
Topic: The Doctrine of Scripture
Read: Grenz, Ch. 14
WORK ON CREDO PAPER
Week 11: December 6
Topic: The Authority of Scripture
Due: Credo Paper and reading report (Due December 11th by midnight)