Advanced Theology Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Theology and Its Scope

Examines what theology is, how it differs from philosophy and religious studies, and why its boundaries matter. Grounds students in the discipline's self-understanding.

Lesson 2 • Theological Language and Analogy

Analyzes how language functions when applied to transcendent realities. Equips students to evaluate claims about God with precision and epistemic humility.

Lesson 3 • Primary Sources and Sacred Texts

Surveys the authoritative texts that theologians engage across traditions. Connects source selection to interpretive authority and doctrinal formation.

Lesson 1 • Patristic Theology and the Early Church

Covers the theological contributions of the Church Fathers and the controversies that shaped early orthodoxy. Connects patristic debates to later doctrinal standards.

Lesson 2 • Medieval Scholasticism and Synthesis

Examines the integration of faith and reason in medieval theology, especially the scholastic method. Shows how systematic theology emerged as a formal discipline.

Lesson 3 • Modern and Contemporary Developments

Surveys theology's engagement with Enlightenment critique, historical criticism, and postmodern thought. Prepares students to situate current debates historically.

Lesson 1 • Contextual and Ideological Readings

Introduces feminist, liberation, postcolonial, and other contextual hermeneutics. Equips students to evaluate how social location shapes interpretive outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Practical Exegesis Workshop

Applies all methods to selected texts through structured exegetical exercises. Develops the student's ability to produce a complete, defensible exegetical argument.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Hermeneutical Theory

Introduces the philosophical foundations of interpretation, from classical rules to contemporary hermeneutics. Anchors exegetical practice in coherent theoretical commitments.

Lesson 4 • Historical-Critical Methods

Teaches source, form, redaction, and tradition criticism as tools for reconstructing textual history. Connects historical findings to theological interpretation.

Lesson 1 • Doctrine of Creation

Covers creation ex nihilo, the goodness of creation, and ongoing divine sustenance. Relates creation doctrine to science, ecology, and human vocation.

Lesson 2 • The Doctrine of God: Divine Attributes

Analyzes classical and contemporary accounts of divine perfections such as omnipotence, omniscience, and eternity. Connects attribute discussions to worship and ethics.

Lesson 3 • Theological Anthropology

Investigates the nature of the human person as imago Dei, including body, soul, and spirit. Grounds ethical and pastoral applications in a robust doctrine of humanity.

Lesson 1 • Theories of Atonement

Surveys major atonement models from ransom to penal substitution to moral influence. Trains students to assess each model's scriptural, logical, and pastoral adequacy.

Lesson 2 • Contemporary Christological Models

Examines Spirit Christology, narrative Christology, and liberationist approaches. Develops critical evaluation skills for non-classical formulations.

Lesson 3 • Classical Christological Formulations

Analyzes the conciliar definitions of Chalcedon and their reception. Equips students to use classical categories precisely in contemporary discussion.

Lesson 4 • Historical Jesus and the Christ of Faith

Surveys the quest for the historical Jesus and its theological implications. Distinguishes historical reconstruction from confessional Christological claims.

Lesson 1 • Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Examines the Spirit's person, procession, and work in creation, redemption, and sanctification. Connects pneumatology to Trinitarian theology established in Chapter 4.

Lesson 2 • Church Governance and Ministry

Surveys episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational polity models and their theological rationale. Equips students to evaluate governance structures critically.

Lesson 3 • Nature and Marks of the Church

Analyzes the four classical marks—one, holy, catholic, apostolic—and their ecclesiological implications. Grounds ecclesiology in Christology and pneumatology.

Lesson 1 • Foundations of Theological Ethics

Introduces natural law, divine command, and virtue ethics as theological moral frameworks. Equips students to apply ethical theory to concrete moral questions.

Lesson 2 • Social Ethics and Public Theology

Applies theological ethics to justice, poverty, politics, and environmental responsibility. Develops the student's capacity for theologically grounded public engagement.

Lesson 3 • Cosmic and Corporate Eschatology

Examines millennial views, new creation, and the consummation of history. Connects corporate eschatology to ecclesiology and creation doctrine.

Lesson 4 • Bioethics and Emerging Moral Questions

Addresses life, death, and technology through theological ethical lenses. Prepares students to engage novel moral challenges with doctrinal coherence.

Lesson 1 • Responding to Objections and Defeaters

Addresses the problem of evil, divine hiddenness, and religious disagreement as challenges to theism. Develops confident, nuanced responses to the strongest objections.

Lesson 2 • Comparative Theology in Practice

Applies comparative methods to Christian engagement with Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Develops respectful, rigorous cross-traditional theological dialogue skills.

Lesson 3 • Theology of Religions: Major Positions

Surveys exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism as frameworks for evaluating non-Christian religions. Grounds each position in its Christological and soteriological commitments.

Lesson 4 • Classical Apologetic Arguments

Examines cosmological, teleological, ontological, and moral arguments for theism. Trains students to present and critique each argument with philosophical precision.