Course Description

Serving as foundation for Theo 602, this course explores the nature of theological work and also the following major themes of the systematic theology of the Christian church: the doctrines of the triune God, his being and works including creation; of the Lord Jesus Christ (Incarnation and Christology), of humanity (theological anthropology); the doctrine of sin (hamartiology); the doctrines of Scripture and revelation. In this course, we will take an incarnational approach to systematic theology. As the creeds themselves indicate, theology is biblically grounded, reflective unfolding of God’s self-revelation in the incarnation. Consequently, we will study theology based mainly on primary texts so that students will actually do theology and follow the historical development of doctrines to become acquainted with the continuity (and divergences) of the greater Christian tradition. This course is designed to impress on students the practical relevance of theology: the object of theology is Christ, in whom every strand of our understanding of God, world, and self comes together and has its ultimate reference point. The goal of theology is attainment of our full humanity through transformation into Christlikeness or what the tradition called deification (theosis). In offering a broad range of texts and authors to unfold the riches of the tradition, this course aims to accommodate beginners and more advanced students in theology.