Systematic Theology I - Andover Newton Theological School

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DRAFT SYLLABUS FOR ADVANCE PURPOSES ONLY
Final Syllabus Will Be Distributed At First Class Meeting
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY I
THEO611 Thursday 9:00—12:00
Prof. Mark Heim Fall 2008
This course is one semester of a two semester exposition and exploration of
Christian theology. It deals with major Christian doctrines, their meaning, coherence and
interpretation. Theology deals with regulative affirmations (expressed in many different
mediums) concerning God and human life. Christian theology roots these affirmations in
the history and faith of Israel and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believing that these witness
to a decisive movement of God with and for humanity. The course challenges all of us in it
to formulate and test our affirmations, in unity with the historical community of the
Christian Church as it has sought to respond to the Word of God in Jesus Christ, and
engage the condition of the human community. Our study focuses on the academic or
intellectual dimension of theology. Theology in its fullness encompasses personal,
communal, enacted faith. For this reason, the assignments enclosed in boxes for each
topic stress theological reflection keyed to concrete practices in Christian life and
formation.
The objectives (and expectations) of the course are:
1) those who complete the course will have demonstrated their ability to give an
accurate account of major strands within the historical Christian ecumenical
tradition on the doctrines covered;
2) those who complete the course will have demonstrated their ability to articulate
some of the fundamental criticisms of this tradition;
3) those who complete the course will have demonstrated first hand knowledge of
the perspectives on these topics of at least two significant systematic theologians
(Migliore and the author of a text chosen by the student);
4) those who complete the course will have demonstrated the capacity to formulate
and express their own theological perspective clearly, both orally and in writing.
5) those who complete the course will have enhanced their ability to connect
theological reflection with Christian practice
Course Requirements
1) Completion of assigned readings and class participation
Class attendance is kept on the premise that one necessary though not sufficient
condition for participation is presence.
2) Submission of a statement (maximum one page, single spaced) on the sources and

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authorities for theology in your own practice. This paper is due at the second class
meeting. **Thursday, September 18** This paper will NOT be graded, but submitting
the paper, on time, is a requirement.
Do not labor over this paper. It is meant to serve as a snapshot of your perspective
at the moment. To what sources do you turn when reflecting theologically? There may be
many life questions for which you believe your own individual experience or wisdom is
entirely sufficient to provide the right answer or guidance. But when there are important
issues that you do not believe you have the resources to resolve on your own authority,
what other sources carry weight with you, would strongly influence your conclusion. What
counts most for you and why? Don't attempt to change what you think or how you
approach things: just try to name and articulate your present practice.
3) Three papers
These are in the nature of "take home exams" and are due by 5:00 p.m.on the
dates indicated in the syllabus. The paper questions will be distributed in class. Papers
are to be no more than 3000 words, typewritten and double-spaced. Late papers will be
accepted, but the grade will be discounted for lateness on a graduated time scale (the
later it is, the more it will be graded down). You have a two day grace period in which the
clock does not start ticking. So no need to ask if late papers will be accepted or if you can
have an extension. Obviously the curve of deductions is such that a "point of no return" is
eventually reached (the point at which an A paper will be discounted to an F). The lower
the quality of the work submitted, the sooner this point comes! NOTE: Completion of
these papers is a requirement of the course. The failure to submit one paper means
failing the course (i.e. you receive an F for the semester, not the average of one F and
your other grades). Extensions (that is, suspension of the graduated deduction for
lateness) are not given except for medical, personal or family emergencies which receive
the Dean's approval.
Grading
Students are reminded that Andover Newton students can elect to take a course
on a pass/fail basis. Consult the catalog for the details and regulations.
Each of the 3 papers just described will count 1/3 of the final grade.
In addition there are possibilities to earn extra credit up to a total of 6 points. Each
point raises your final grade .05 points (i.e. a final grade of 3.0 or B becomes 3.3 or B+
with six extra credit points). Extra credit will not be accepted as a substitute for any
required work.
1) Extra credit will be given for submission of a written commentary or critique (no
more than 1 page, single-spaced) on any selection in the assigned reading
from Charry ed., INQUIRING AFTER GOD (no more than one paper per
section of the course)
2) Extra credit will be given for a meeting of your discussion group outside class
time, for which a one page summary report is submitted on behalf of the group within one
week of the meeting. No extra credit is given for discussion group meetings that are part
of the schedule during regular class hours. The meeting must deal with subject matter
being covered in the section at the time of the meeting. Credit will be given to each
member present at the meeting (1 point each) up to a maximum of 3 meetings.

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Discussion Groups
To provide opportunity for discussion of the class material and the reading
assignments, primarily in preparation for writing the papers, small discussion groups will
meet a maximum of three times during the class period in the course of the semester.
The groups are to have 3-5 members and they are to be self-selected. These meetings
are essential to the course, as one of the crucial features of theological education for
ministry is the ability to deal with theological issues in discussion, conversation, argument
and response. Please form your discussion group as soon as possible, and register it. If
you are having difficulty, speak to Prof. Heim.or to Lisa Abbott.
Office Hours
Prof. Heim's office is Worcester 310. The phone is 617 964-1100 x247. His home
phone is 617 965-5291. His email address is mheim@ants.edu. If we cannot talk in
person, email is the preferred mode of contact. Prof. Heim will keep office hours on
Thursdays from 12:00—1:00. He will meet at other times by appointment.
Practical Questions
All registered members of the class are free to tape record plenary class sections
(not discussion groups) solely for their personal use.
Each student needs to select her/his own systematics text AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE. A list of approved possibilities will be distributed (and is also available on the
web site of the class). Please register your selection as soon as you can. You are free to
propose a text not on the list, but it must be approved by Prof. Heim.
As the class meets only once a week, our time is very precious. Classes will begin
promptly and students are expected to be in place and ready to begin.
Course Web Page
All Andover Newton students must have a school email account and be registered
in the CONNECT Learning Center, where there is a site for this course. Be sure that you
have access to the site and can be reached by email through the site.
Books
The required readings for the course are all on reserve in the library. The
bookstore has copies of Migliore, Niebuhr, Burns, Norris and Rusch. The Charry book is
out of print this fall. It is on reserve in the library. The Charry readings in our syllabus are
available for reading (they cannot be downloaded) on the class web site in Blackboard
(under “course documents”). The bookstore has ordered some copies of all the other
assigned readings that are in print. There is no way to estimate demand for these, so act
quickly! In addition, the bookstore has stocked a selection of systematics texts from the
list distributed to you in class. The bookstore does not have all the books on the list by
any means. Look first in our library and then in other BTI libraries if the book you desire is
not available in the bookstore.
Academic Regulations

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Students are reminded that academic regulations outlined in the Andover Newton
catalog and in the bulletin from the Dean's office at the beginning of each semester are to
be strictly observed. In particular, all students should be aware that plagiarism is a severe
academic offense and will receive strong disciplinary action. If you are in any doubt about
proper attribution of sources, inquire or consult a writing manual for academic work.
SECTION ONE: REVELATION AND AUTHORITY
Class Meetings: September 11
September 18
***** PAPER DUE THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18 *****
Readings: Daniel Migliore, FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING, Chapters 1-3
and Appendix A "Natural Theology"
The appropriate section in your selected systematics text
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David S. Dockery, "The Divine-Human Authorship of Inspired
Scripture," in Duane A. Garrett and Richard R. Melick Jr. eds., AUTHORITY AND
INTERPRETATION [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
AND EITHER Sallie McFague, METAPHORICAL THEOLOGY,
Chapter One [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
OR Juan Luis Segundo, THE LIBERATION OF
THEOLOGY, Chapter One [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
“Inquiring After God When Meditating On Scripture” (Chapter 9) in Ellen Charry ed.,
INQUIRING AFTER GOD [available on the course web site under “Course Documents”]
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Supplementary Bibliography: Ellen Charry, BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MINDS; Stephen E.
Fowl ed., THE THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE; Paul Griffiths, RELIGIOUS
READING; Ian Fraser, REINVENTING THEOLOGY AS THE PEOPLE'S WORK; Elizabeth Schussler
Fiorenza, BREAD NOT STONE; H. Richard Niebuhr, THE MEANING OF REVELATION; Charles Hefling,
WHY DOCTRINES?; Margaret Miles, IMAGE AS INSIGHT; George Lindbeck, THE NATURE OF
DOCTRINE; James Cone, GOD OF THE OPPRESSED; Lesslie Newbigin, PROPER CONFIDENCE;
Nancey Murphy, BEYOND LIBERALISM AND FUNDAMENTALISM, THEOLOGY IN AN AGE OF
SCIENTIFIC REASONING; Letty Russell, FEMINIST INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE; Paul Achtemeier,
THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE; Gabriel Fackre, THE CHRISTIAN STORY: VOLUME TWO,
REVELATION; Jose Miguez Bonino, DOING THEOLOGY IN A REVOLUTIONAY SITUATION; Karl Barth,
CHURCH DOGMATICS I/1; John A.T. Robinson, CAN WE TRUST THE NEW TESTAMENT?; William
Abraham, CANON AND CRITERION IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY: FROM THE FATHERS TO FEMINISM;
Joerg Rieger, GOD AND THE EXCLUDED: VISIONS AND BLIND SPOTS IN CONTEMPORARY
THEOLOGY; C.S. Song, THE COMPASSIONATE GOD; Avery Dulles, MODELS OF REVELATION; Nelle
Morton, THE JOURNEY IS HOME; Colin Gunton, A BRIEF THEOLOGY OF REVELATION; Helmut
Thielicke, A LITTLE EXERCISE FOR YOUNG THEOLOGIANS; Kosuke Koyama, WATERBUFFALO
THEOLOGY; Reinhard Hutter, SUFFERING DIVINE THINGS: THEOLOGY AS CHURCH PRACTICE;
David Tracy, THE ANALOGICAL IMAGINATION; Kwesi Dickson and Paul Ellingworth eds., BIBLICAL
REVELATION AND AFRICAN BELIEFS; Carl F.H. Henry, GOD, REVELATION AND AUTHORITY,
Volumes 1 and 2; Bernard Lonergan, METHOD IN THEOLOGY and INSIGHT; Van Harvey, THE

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HISTORIAN AND THE BELIEVER
SECTION TWO: HUMANITY
Class Meetings: September 25
October 2
October 9
Reading: Daniel Migliore, FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING, Chapters 5 and
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The appropriate section in your selected systematics text
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J. Patout Burns ed., THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Chapters 2-6
Reinhold Niebuhr, THE NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN, Volume One
(omit Chapters 2 and 3)
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Rosemary Ruether, SEXISM AND GOD-TALK, Chapter 4 [Available on
electronic reserve for this course]
Mary Ann Hinsdale, “Heeding the Voices: An Historical Overview” and
Mary Catherine Hilkert, “Cry Beloved Image: Rethinking the Image of God” (Chapters 2
and 11) in Ann O’Hara Graff ed., IN THE EMBRACE OF GOD: FEMINIST
APPROACHES TO THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY [Chapter 11 is available on
electronic reserve for this course]
“Inquiring After God Through Discernment” (Chapter 3), in Ellen Cherry ed.,
INQUIRING AFTER GOD [Available on the class web site in CONNECT]
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***** PAPER DUE THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 *****
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Supplementary Bibliography: Anne E. Carr, TRANSFORMING GRACE: CHRISTIAN TRADITION
AND WOMEN'S EXPERIENCE; Georges Florovsky, CREATION AND REDEMPTION; Blaise Pascal,
PENSEES; Gustavo Gutierrez, THE POWER OF THE POOR IN HISTORY; Howard Thurman, JESUS AND
THE DISINHERITED; Nikolai Berdyaev, THE DESTINY OF MAN; Vladimir Lossky, IN THE IMAGE AND
LIKENESS; Soren Kierkegaard, SICKNESS UNTO DEATH and PURITY OF HEART IS TO WILL ONE
THING; Elaine Pagels, ADAM, EVE AND THE SERPENT; Ted Peters: SIN: RADICAL EVIL IN SELF AND
SOCIETY; Judith Plaskow, SEX, SIN AND GRACE; E.O. Wilson, ON HUMAN NATURE; Elaine Storkey
and Margaret Hebblethwaite, CONVERSATIONS ON CHRISTIAN FEMINISM: SPEAKING HEART TO
HEART; Philip Hefner, THE HUMAN FACTOR; Emerito Nacpil and Douglas Edwards eds., THE HOLY
AND THE HUMAN; Wolfhart Pannenberg, ANTHROPOLOGY IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE; Phyllis
Trible, GOD AND THE RHETORIC OF SEXUALITY; Charles Hodge, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Volume
Two; Letty Russell, BECOMING HUMAN; Albert A. Cleage Jr., BLACK MESSIAH; James Nelson,
EMBODIMENT; Juan Luis Segundo, EVOLUTION AND GUILT; Niels Henrik, Gregersen, Willem Drees and
Ulf Gorman eds., THE PERSON IN SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY; Teilhard de Chardin, THE
PHENOMENON OF MAN; Julia O'Faolain and Lauro Martines eds., NOT IN GOD'S IMAGE; Dorthee Solle,
TO WORK AND TO LOVE; Ann O'Hara Graff ed., IN THE EMBRACE OF GOD: FEMINIST APPROACHES
TO THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY; Daphne Hampson ed., SWALLOWING A FISHBONE? FEMINIST
THEOLOGIANS DEBATE CHRISTIANITY; Dwight Hopkins, BEING HUMAN: RACE, CULTURE AND
RELIGION; Elizabeth Stuart, GAY AND LESBIAN THEOLOGIES

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SECTION THREE: PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST
Class Meetings: October 16
October 23
October 30
November 6
Reading: Daniel Migliore, FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING, Chapters 8, 9 and
Appendix B "The Resurrection: A Dialogue"
The appropriate section in your selected systematics text
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Richard A. Norris Jr. ed., THE CHRISTOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES,
Chapters 3-6 and pp. 155-159.
John Calvin, INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, Book Two,
Chapters 12 (sections 1-5 only), 15, 16 (omitting sections 8-12), 17. [Available online at
http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/books/institutes/ OR
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.toc.html These sites can be accessed through links on the class
web site on CONNECT]
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James Cone, A BLACK THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION, "Preface" and
Chapter 6, "Christ in Black Theology." [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
Jacquelyn Grant, WHITE WOMEN'S CHRIST, BLACK WOMEN'S
JESUS, Chapter 7 [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
Mercy Oduyoye and Virginia Fabella, WITH PASSION AND
COMPASSION, Chapter 3, Therese Souga and Louise Tappa, "The Christ-Event from
the Viewpoint of African Women" [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
S. Mark Heim, “Saved By What Shouldn’t Happen: The Anti-sacrificial
Meaning of the Cross” in Marit Trelstad ed., CROSS-EXAMINATIONS [Available on
electronic reserve for this course]
“Inquiring After God Through Art” (Chapter 12) in Ellen Charry ed., INQUIRING
AFTER GOD [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
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***** PAPER DUE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13 *****
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Supplementary Bibliography: Aloys Grillmeier, CHRIST IN CHRISTIAN TRADITION; D.M. Baillie,
GOD WAS IN CHRIST; Jon Sobrino, CHRISTOLOGY AT THE CROSSROADS; Patricia Wilson-Kastner,
FAITH, FEMINISM AND THE CHRIST; John Hick ed., THE MYTH OF GOD INCARNATE; Michael Green
ed., THE TRUTH OF GOD INCARNATE; C.F.D. Moule, THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTOLOGY; C. Stephen
Evans, THE HISTORICAL CHRIST AND THE JESUS OF FAITH: THE INCARNATIONAL NARRATIVE AS
HISTORY; Edward Schillebeeckx, JESUS, CHRIST; Geza Vermes, JESUS THE JEW; Jaraslov Pelikan,
JESUS THROUGH THE CENTURIES; Kelly Brown Douglas, THE BLACK CHRIST; Rita Nakashima Brock,
JOURNEY BY HEART; A CHRISTOLOGY OF EROTIC POWER; Wolfhart Pannenberg: JESUS: GOD AND
MAN; Elsa Tamez, THROUGH HER EYES: WOMEN'S THEOLOGY FROM LATIN AMERICA; G.K.

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Chesterton, THE EVERLASTING MAN; Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, JESUS: MIRIAM’S CHILD,
SOPHIA’S PROPHET; Carter Heyward, "Re-imaging Jesus: Power in Relation," in THE REDEMPTION OF
GOD; Rosemary Ruether, "Christology-Can a Male Savior Save Women?" in SEXISM AND GOD-TALK;
Thomas F. Torrance, SPACE, TIME AND INCARNATINON; Jurgen Moltmann, THE CRUCIFIED GOD; S.
Mark Heim, SAVED BY SACRIFICE: A THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS; Welsey Wildman, FIDELITY WITH
PLAUSIBILITY: MODEST CHRISTOLOGIES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY; Michael Grant, JESUS;
Milan Machovec, A MARXIST LOOKS AT JESUS; Gustaf Aulen, CHRISTUS VICTOR; Robin M. Jensen,
THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS SEEN: ART, FAITH AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY; G.H. Williams,
"Christology and Church-State Relations in the Fourth Century," CHURCH HISTORY, XX, 3, pp. 3-33 and
XX, 4, pp. 3-26. [There are recent “historical Jesus” books without number. A good sampling would be
John Dominic Crossan, JESUS: A REVOLUTIONARY BIOGRAPHY; Marcus Borg, MEETING JESUS
AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME; Luke Timothy Johnson, THE REAL JESUS; Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza,
JESUS: MIRIAM’S CHILD, SOPHIA’S PROPHET, and Ben Witherington, THE CHRISTOLOGY OF JESUS.
For good one volume “doses” see Paul Copan ed., WILL THE REAL JESUS STAND UP? and N.T. Wright
and Marcus Borg, THE MEANING OF JESUS: TWO VISIONS]
SECTION FOUR: GOD
Class Meetings: November 13
November 20
November 27 [no class—ANTS fall break]
December 4
Reading: Daniel Migliore, FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING, Chapters 4 & 6.
The appropriate section in your selected systematics text
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William G. Rusch, ed., THE TRINITARIAN CONTROVERSY, Chapters 2,
3, 6, 10 (sections 1-48), 13.
Vladimir Lossky, THE MYSTICAL THEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN
CHURCH, Chapters 2-3.
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John Cobb and David Griffin, PROCESS THEOLOGY: AN
INTRODUCTORY EXPOSITION, Foreward and Chapters 1 and 3.
Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, HISPANIC WOMEN: A PROPHETIC VOICE IN
THE CHURCH, Chapter 2 [Available on electronic reserve for this course]
“Inquiring After God When At Prayer” (Chapter 13) in Ellen Charry ed., INQUIRING
AFTER GOD [Available on the course web site under “Course Documents”]
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***** PAPER DUE WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10 *****
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Supplementary Bibliography: Leonardo Boff, TRINITY AND SOCIETY; Augustine, ON THE
TRINITY; Thomas Aquinas, SUMMA THEOLOGICA, Section One; Samuel Solivan, THE SPIRIT, PATHOS
AND LIBERATION; Dorothy Sayers, THE MIND OF THE MAKER; Benjamin E. Mays, THE NEGRO'S
GOD; Major Jones, THE COLOR OF GOD; Catherine Mowry LaCugna, GOD FOR US: THE TRINITY AND
CHRISTIAN LIFE; John Zizioulas, BEING AS COMMUNION; Ruth Duck, GENDER AND THE NAME OF
GOD; Paul S. Fiddes, PARTICIPATING IN GOD: A PASTORAL THEOLOGY OF THE TRINITY; Keith
Ward, IMAGES OF ETERNITY: CONCEPTS OF GOD IN FIVE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS; Charles
Hartshorne, THE DIVINE RELATIVITY; Royce Gruenler, THE INEXHAUSTIBLE GOD; Thomas Oden, THE

LIVING GOD; Philip Clayton, THE PROBLEM OF GOD IN MODERN THOUGHT; William Placher, THE
DOMESTICATION OF TRANSCENDENCE: HOW MODERN THINKING ABOUT GOD WENT WRONG;
Mortimer Adler, HOW TO THINK ABOUT GOD; Elizabeth Johnson, SHE WHO IS; Donald Bloesch, GOD
THE ALMIGHTY; Lescek Kolakowski, RELIGION; Mary Daly, BEYOND GOD THE FATHER; Kazoh
Kitamori, THEOLOGY OF THE PAIN OF GOD; Malcom Diamond and Thomas Litzenburg eds., THE
LOGIC OF GOD; John Polkinghorne, THE FAITH OF A PHYSICIST; Patrick Glynn, GOD: THE EVIDENCE;
Hans Kung, DOES GOD EXIST?; Stan Wallace ed., DOES GOD EXIST? THE CRAIG-FLEW DEBATE;
Carol Christ, "Why Women Need the Goddess," in WOMANSPIRIT RISING; Juan Luis Segundo, OUR
IDEA OF GOD; Gordon Kaufman, THE THEOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: CONTRUCTING THE CONCEPT
OF GOD; Henry Nelson Wieman, THE SOURCE OF HUMAN GOOD; William R. Jones, IS GOD A WHITE
RACIST?; John Hick, EVIL AND THE GOD OF LOVE; John G. Stackhouse Jr., CAN GOD BE TRUSTED?:
FAITH AND THE CHALLENGE OF EVIL; Dorthee Solle, SUFFERING; Richard Rubenstein, AFTER
AUSCHWITZ; Peter van Inwagen ed., CHRISTIAN FAITH AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL.
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