Gain an appreciation of how to “think theologically,” reflect on what we know and how we know it, engage a variety of interpretive lenses and explore ways to talk across difference.
- 4-week blended (synchronous and asynchronous) course
- 3 hours a week
- independent study (reading, watching, listening, and/or writing),
- online text-based discussion (asynchronous),
- final project due at the end of the third week
How do we get started? What are our foundational principles?
This course asks all the baptized to reflect on who we are as God’s people, and to consider how “who I am” affects “what I see,” “how I respond,” and what is my theological explanation for that.
The course uses the book How to Think Theologically by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2013) and a racial justice approach to addressing difference. You will have a chance to understand what theological thinking is and apply that to a contemporary issue that is important to you.
A final project (due at the end of the third week) is a short-video or written paper presented to the cohort, followed by a group response.
ORGANIZATION OF COURSE
- WEEK 0. Preparing Before We Begin
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- Make sure to log into the class ONE WEEK before the course start
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- WEEK 1. Social Location and Theological Analysis
- WEEK 2. A Theological Method
- WEEK 3. Considering the Four Levels of Oppression in Context
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- Projects Due Saturday midnight
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- WEEK 4. Christian Community
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- AFTERWARD: Spiritual Formation
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TEXT:
How to Think Theologically, Howard Stone and James Duke (Fortress Press, 2013)
This is the first course of the Fundamentals of Faith Series; it can be taken by itself or as part of the six-course series. It is a pre-requisite for the Preaching course.