Description: A study and analysis of the major texts and traditions of the church in the twentieth century with an emphasis upon the interaction of Christianity with contemporary culture and the student’s ability to read contemporary culture with a view toward ministry.

Texts and Traditions 3 is the third of a three-part sequence of courses that focus upon the history of the development of Christian thought through an examination of primary readings from the Christian tradition. The focus of this course is upon modern theology in the 19th and 20th centuries. This course is part of a grant that has been funded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Our task this semester is to focus on one central question in particular: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Asking the question of the personhood of Jesus is, of course, to examine questions of Christology. The question of who Jesus leads to other, connected questions: Who are we in light of who Jesus is? That is, how are we to think of theological anthropology? In light of theological anthropology, a final question we must ask is, “Where is Jesus Christ for us today?” This is a question that addresses both ecclesiology and the doctrine of creation.  To aid us in this exploration, our primary guide will be Willie Jennings’ book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. Through Jennings’ historical genealogy of the development of the doctrines of Christology, anthropology, creation, and ecclesiology, we will come to engage some of the most significant voices of the 19th and especially 20th centuries as they faced some of the most challenging contexts in which the church’s faithfulness has been tested. The hope is that by the end of the course, students will come to recognize the centrality of these doctrinal confessions for faithful witness in our own world and ecclesial context today.

Seminary: Truett Theological Seminary

Science areas: Environmental Science