Ashland University
Spring, 2005
Contact Information
Instructor: Scott D. Seay, M.Div., Ph.D.
Office: Miller 31
Office Hours: TuTh, 9-11 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. (and by appointment)
Office Phone: (419) 289-5237
Home Phone: (419) 207-9693
E-mail: sseay@ashland.edu
Course Description
This seminar focuses on the development of Protestant theology in Europe and America during the 20 th century. Designed principally for Religion majors, this course considers seven major “schools” in contemporary Christian thought: dialectical theology, Christian realism, Christian existentialism, Black theology, feminist theology, neo-evangelicalism, and post-liberal theology.
This course is one of the Religion Department's 400-level seminars, and fulfills that requirement for the major in religion. Thus, upon successful completion of the course, each student will be awarded three credit hours in the Department of Religion. It is assumed that students enrolling in this course have completed both Rel. 106 and Rel. 208 with a degree of success that is well above average.
Course Objectives
The goal of this course is for each student to reach the following objectives:
Objective |
Measure |
Gain a substantive understanding of the major schools of twentieth-century Protestant theology
|
Completing the assigned readings; engagement with lectures and class discussions; reflection papers.
|
Clarify his or her own theological perspective by engaging with theologies different from his or her own
|
Completing the assigned readings; engagement with lectures and class discussions; reflection papers.
|
Develop further his or her ability to engage in respectful and informed theological discussions with other thoughtful persons of faith
|
Class discussions; final paper presentation |
Cultivate in him or her an interest in further theological reading, reflection, and writing
|
Reflection papers |
Students are encouraged to keep these objectives in mind when completing the assigned readings, attending class lectures and discussions, and writing papers for this course.
Course Requirements
• Attendance and Participation (20%): Because this course will be conducted principally in seminar format, the regular attendance and lively participation of each student is critical for the success of this course. This means that all students should:
• Read the assigned materials carefully and completely prior to coming to class;
• Arrive on time for class and remain for the entire class session;
• Inform the instructor ahead of time if missing class is absolutely necessary;
• Remain attentive during all classroom activities;
• Listen closely and respond respectfully to both the instructor and fellow-students; and,
• Submit all work for the course on time as required by the due dates;
• Ask relevant questions during lectures and contribute substantively to class discussions.
The instructor reserves the right to call on any student in class as a means of fostering his or her participation. The instructor will advise any student whose attendance or participation becomes problematic in any way. Students who miss more than four class sessions – for whatever reason – will not receive credit for the course.
2. Reflection Papers (60%): Students will write two reflection papers (6-8 pp. apiece), dealing with substantive problems addressed by the major schools of thought in 20 th century Christian theology. Each paper is worth 30% of the final grade. Four possible due dates and topics for these reflection papers are as follows:
February 2: The doctrine of God in late 19 th and early 20 th -century theology and the response of dialectical theologians;
March 1: The doctrine of humanity in existential theology and Christian realism, discussing also the response of humanity to God;
March 24: The prophetic and social witness of Christian faith in black and feminist theologies, assessing the strengths and limitations of that witness;
April 26: The doctrine of Jesus Christ in process, evangelical, and post-liberal theologies.
Students are strongly urged to take advantage of the instructor's willingness to meet with students individually or in small groups outside of class time in order to discuss matters related to these reflection papers. Students should also know that reflection papers are due in class on the day assigned above, and that late reflection papers will not be accepted.
3. Final Paper (20%): Students will write a final paper (8-10 pages in length) in which they reflect on how their personal theologies have been affected by their engagement with the semester's material, a kind of “how-my-mind-has-changed” paper. A more detailed description of the assignment will be given near the end of the semester. Additionally, students will read these papers to the class and conduct a brief discussion afterwards. Final drafts of the paper are due on April 28 .
Students with certified learning disabilities and those with physical or emotional challenges are required to alert the instructor by the end of the first week of class to any special needs that they have. All efforts, consistent with the learning objectives of the course, will be made to accommodate the needs of these students.
The Honor Code of Ashland University applies to all aspects of student work in this course. Students are urged to familiarize themselves with the terms of the Honor Code and to abide by them in all aspects of their work. In particular, students should familiarize themselves with the Honor Code's policies regarding plagiarism. Students with questions regarding this Honor Code are urged to speak with the instructor for explanations and clarifications.
Required Textbooks
Clifford Green, ed. Karl Barth: Theologian of Freedom (Fortress, 1991)
Charles Hartshorne, Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes (SUNY, 1983)
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man (Westminster John Knox, 1996)
William Placher, Narratives of a Vulnerable God (Westminster John Knox, 1994)
Paul Tillich and F. Forrester Church, ed., The Essential Tillich (University of Chicago, 1999)
Course Calendar
January 11 Course Introduction
January 13 [L, D] Modernity & the Challenges of Contemporary Theology
Read: Troeltsch, “Religion and the Science of Religion” (1906)
[handout]
January 18 [D] Read: Troeltsch, “The Significance of the Historical Existence of
Jesus for Faith” (1911) [handout]
January 20 [L, D] Dialectical Theology
Read: Barth, Epistle to the Romans (1922) [Green , pp. 114-140]
January 25 [D] Read: Barth, “Barmen Declaration” (1934) [Green, pp. 148-151]
Barth, Selections from Church Dogmatics (1932-67) [Green, pp. 171-186 and 194-204]
January 27 [D] Read: Barth, Selections from Church Dogmatics (1932-67) [Green,
pp. 200-226 and 234-253]
February 1 [L, D] Christian Realism
Read: Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man (1941) , pp. 93-104; 150-177
February 3 [D] Read: Niebuhr, pp. 178-207
February 8 [D] Read: Niebuhr, pp. 208-240
February 10 [L, D] Christian Existentialism
Read: Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (1973) and The New Being (1955)[Church, pp. 1-40]
February 15 [D] Read: Tillich, The Protestant Era (1957)[Church, pp. 69-97]
February 17 [D] Read: Tillich, Shaking the Foundations (1948), Love, Power and
Justice (1954), and The Courage to Be (1952)[Church, pp.
131-204]
February 22 [D] Read: Tillich, Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions
(1963)[Church, pp. 205-227]
February 24 [L, D] Black Theology
Read: Malcolm X, “God's Judgment on White America” (1963)
[handout]
Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
(1963) [handout]
March 1 [D] Read: Joseph Washington, Jr. “Are American Negro Churches
Christian?” (1964) [handout]
Albert Cleage, “The Black Messiah” (1968) [handout]
James Cone, “The White Church and Black Power” (1969)
[handout]
March 3 [D] Read: James Cone, “Biblical Revelation and Social Existence”
(1974) [handout]
Vincent Wimbush, “The Bible and African-Americans”
(1991) [handout]
Cain Hope Felder, “Race, Racism, and the Biblical Narratives” (1991)[handout]
March 7-11 No Class – Spring Break
March 15 [L, D] Feminist Theology
Read: Mary Daly, “After the Death of God the Father” (1971) [handout]
Judith Plaskow, “The Coming of Lilith: Toward a Feminist Theology” (1972)[handout]
Phyllis Tribble, “Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread” (1973)[handout]
March 17 [D] Read: Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, “Women in the
Early Christian Movement” (1976)[handout]
Penelope Washburn, “Becoming Woman: Menstruation
as Spiritual Experience” (1977) [handout]
Jacquelyn Grant, “Black Theology and the Black Woman”
(1979) [handout]
March 22 [L, D] Process Theology
Read: Charles Hartshorne, Omnipotence and Other Theological
Mistakes (1984) pp. 1-50
March 24 [D] Read: Hartshorne , pp. 65-96
March 29 [D] Read: Hartshorne, pp. 97-136
March 31 [L, D] Evangelical Theology
Read: TBA
April 5 [D] Read: TBA
April 7 [L, D] Post-Liberal Theology
Read: Placher, Narratives of a Vulnerable God (1994), pp. 3-52
April 12 [D] Read: Placher, pp. 53-86
April 14 [D] Read: Placher, pp. 87-136
April 19 [D] Read: Placher, pp. 136-160
April 21 Presentation of Student Papers
April 26 Presentation of Student Papers
April 28 Presentation of Student Papers
Suggestions for Further Reading
Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Man of Vision, Man of Courage. New York: Harper and Row, 1970. The definitive biography of Bonhoeffer, written by his close friend and theological colleague.
Bromily, Geoffrey. Introduction to the Theology of Karl Barth. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1979. A simple exposition of the major themes of Barth's Church Dogmatics; very useful as an introduction to Barth's thought.
Brown, Charles C. Niebuhr and His Age: Reinhold Niebuhr's Prophetic Role in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: Trinity Press, 1992. The best general study of Niebuhr's life, thought, and impact.
Burrow, Rufus. James Cone and Black Liberation Theology. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Press, 1994. A sympathetic yet critical treatment of Cone's theology as a foundational source of contemporary Black Theology.
Capps, Walter. Religious Studies: The Making of a Discipline . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Helpful describes the work of major thinkers of the 19 th and 20 th centuries as the study of religion developed as a “scientific” discipline.
Carpenter, Joel. Revive Us Again: The Re-Awakening of American Fundamentalism. New York: Oxford, 1997. The best study of American fundamentalism, focusing specifically on historical development.
Chopp, Rebecca. The Praxis of Suffering: An Interpretation of Liberation Theologies. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1986. An extraordinary comparative study of Moltmann, Metz, and Bonino focusing on their understanding of suffering in Christian theology.
Clark, Henry. Serenity, Courage, and Wisdom: The Enduring Legacy of Reinhold Niebuhr. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1992. A sound defense of Christian Realism – and Niebuhr specifically – against the criticisms leveled against them by political theologians.
Clayton, John. The Concept of Correlation. New York: De Gruyter, 1980. The best study to date of the critical theme uniting Tillich's systematic theology.
Coakley, Sarah. Christ without Absolutes: A Study of the Christology of Ernst Troeltsch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. Perhaps the best treatment of Troeltsch's Christology, critically evaluating the relationship he sees between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith.
Cobb, John and David Ray Griffin. Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition . Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976. A fine introduction to the basic concepts of a difficult branch of modern theological thinking.
Felder, Cain Hope. Troubling Biblical Waters: Race, Class, and Family. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1989. An essential resource for understanding biblical interpretation from the perspective of Black Theology.
Harvey, Van. The Historian and the Believer. New York: Macmillan, 1966. An excellent theological reflection on the challenges posed to Christian faith by the claims of modern historical science.
Hayes, Dianna. And Still We Rise: An Introduction to Black Liberation Theology. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1996. A fine introduction to the major themes of Black Theology, identifying the concerns it holds in common with other forms of liberation theology.
Hopkins, Dwight. Black Theology U.S.A. and South Africa: Politics, Culture, and Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1989. A fine study emphasizing the pan-African character of Black Theology in America. Written in the context of the struggle against apartheid.
Hutchinson, William. The Modernist Impulse in American Protestantism . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976. A fine study of the general trajectories of 20 th -century Protestant liberalism, including a substantive consideration of Henry Nelson Wieman.
Johnson, Roger. The Origins of Demythologizing. Leiden: Brill, 1974. A useful study of the historical and philosophical influences on Bultmann's New Testament scholarship and constructive theology.
Kegley, Charles, ed. The Theology of Emil Brunner . New York: Macmillan, 1962. A collection of extraordinary essays on a key thinker in 20 th -century Protestantism.
Kelsey, David. The Fabric of Paul Tillich's Theology. New Haven: Yale, 1967. A very helpful analysis of the sources and norms of Tillich's systematic.
Lakeland, Paul. Post-modernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997. A clear presentation of the issues faced by Christians in an age that resists clear definitions and static interpretations of faith and history.
Lovin, Robin. Christian Faith and Public Choices: The Social Ethics of Barth, Brunner, and Bonhoeffer. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984. The best study of the theological ethics of key German theologians in the context Nazism.
--------------- Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. An excellent study of Niebuhr's thought within the historical context of Christian Realism as a broad theological trend.
McCormack, Bruce. Karl Barth's Critically Realistic Dialectical Theology: Its Genesis and Development, 1909-1936. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. The best study of Barth's early theology, challenging widely-accepted scholarly assessments of the topic.
McGovern, Arthur. Liberation Theology and its Critics. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1989. A fine survey of the main themes of liberation theology and of the criticisms leveled against it.
McGrath, Alister. A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism. Downer's Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1997. A sympathetic treatment of evangelical theology by a well-respected scholar.
Miller, Randolph Crump, ed. Empirical Theology: A Handbook. Birmingham: Religious Education Press, 1992. The best comprehensive resource on American empirical theology.
Myer, Gerald. William James: His Life and Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press. A valuable biographical study of James focusing also on his major contributions to 20 th century philosophical theology.
Noll, Mark. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1994. A critical study of the inconsistencies and shortcomings of evangelical scholarship, written by an “insider.”
Peden, Creighton. The Chicago School: Voices in Liberal Religious Thought. A fine collection of brief biographical and theological studies of key thinkers of the “Chicago School” in the early 20 th century.
Placher, William. Unapologetic Theology: A Christian Voice in a Pluralistic Conversation. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1989. A helpful introduction to post-liberal theology by explaining some of its sources and norms.
Ramsey, Paul, ed. Faith and Ethics: The Theology of H. Richard Niebuhr. New York: Harper and Row, 1965. A worthwhile collection of essays on Niebuhr's theological ethics. The long essays by Hans Frei are essential reading for anyone interested in the topic.
Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Sexism and God-talk: Towards and Feminist Theology. London: Beacon Press, 1983. An important synthetic work, offering a theological alternative to more radical “post-Christian” feminist theologians.
Schmithals, Walter. An Introduction to the Theology of Rudolph Bultmann. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1968. A comprehensive study of Bultmann's work as both historian and theologian.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elizabeth. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Crossroad, 1989. A foundational work in feminist biblical criticism and its impact on the history and theology of early Christianity, written by an unapologetic Catholic.
Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. New York: Macmillan, 1964). A classic description and critique of the 19 th -century quest, and a turning point in the study of the relationship between theology and scientific history.
Stone, Jon. On the Boundaries of American Evangelicalism: The Post-war Evangelical Coalition. New York: St. Martins, 1997. A fine historical and theological study of contemporary American evangelicalism.
Stone, Ronald. Professor Reinhold Niebuhr. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992. An interesting and valuable study of Niebuhr's life and thought through the lens of his vocation as a teacher of social ethics.
Tong, Rosemarie. Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction . London: Westview Press, 1989. A very useful introduction to the variety of secular feminisms.
Torrance, Thomas. Karl Barth: An Introduction to his Early Theology, 1910-1931. London: SCM Press, 1962. A sympathetic treatment of Barth's early theological disputes with liberal Protestant theologians, especially Harnack and Bultmann.
Wilmore, Gayraud. Black Religion and Black Radicalism. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1983. A history of African-American religion, arguing for the recovery of a truly radical Black religion.
Wyman, Walter. The Concept of Glaubenslehre: Ernst Troeltsch and the Theological Heritage of Schleiermacher. Chico: Scholars Press, 1983. An informative study of the 19 th -century discipline of systematic theology as it confronted the emergence of history as a science.