308 Introduction To Christian Theology
Level 3 Course
Like any other field of academic study, the study of theology can get very complex indeed. However, as you will very soon discover on this module, the basics of Christian theology are in fact very straightforward and can be mastered by anyone who is prepared to put in a reasonable amount of work.
Theology is also far from irrelevant. It is for the most part not concerned with questions like how many angels you can fit on the point of a needle. It is concerned instead with really vital issues that affect every one of us - issues such as what God is like, who Jesus is, and how we can be saved.
Studying theology will also not undermine your faith. It is true that as part of this module you will look at the work of theologians who have questioned traditional Christian beliefs, often in a very radical fashion. However, you will not be asked to agree with them! What you will be asked to do is to think carefully about what they and all the other theologians you will encounter have to say, compare their ideas with Biblical teaching, and then make up your own mind about the issues involved; a process that can only strengthen your faith since a well informed faith is a stronger one.
This is a 10 Block course
Course costs:
£70, or a cost of a light lunch a week
View a sample lesson from this course here.
This course uses the 3rd Edition of Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction as a textbook. Other versions of this textbook have significantly different page numbers.
View the contents of this course below:
Introduction to Christian Theology Contents
INTRODUCTION
1: WHAT IS THEOLOGY?
1 What is Christian Theology?
2 Prolegomena and the Nature of faith
3 Proving God and Talking about Him
4 How Orthodox Should Theology Be?
2: THE BASIS OF THEOLOGY
1 Revelation
2 Natural Theology: Knowing God from Creation
3 Scripture
4 Reason, Tradition and Experience
3: THE DOCTRINE OF GOD
1 Is God a Male Person?
2 Can God Suffer?
3 Process Theology
4 The Holy Spirit
4: THE TRINITY
1 The Trinity: Biblical Foundations
2 The Trinity: Historical Development
3 Six Views of the Trinity
4 Where does the Spirit Come From?
5: THE DOCTRINE OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST
1 Salvation and the Centrality of Jesus
2 Jesus: The New Testament Witness
3 Jesus: The Patristic Debate
4 God was in Christ
6: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND HISTORY
1 The Enlightenment and History
2 The Quest for the Historical Jesus
3 Jesus and History in the 20th Century
4 The Resurrection
7: THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
1 The Christian View of Salvation
2 Images of the Cross
3 The Effects of the Cross
4 The Scope of Salvation
8: HUMAN NATURE, SIN AND GRACE
1 Human Nature, Sin and Grace
2 Grace and Merit
3 Justification
4 Predestination
9: THE SACRAMENTS
1 The Development of Sacramental Theology
2 The Function of Sacraments
3 The Eucharist
4 Baptism
10: ESCHATOLOGY
1 New Testament Eschatology
2 The History of the Future
3 Twentieth Century Eschatology
4 The Last Things