Christianity's Big Ideas: Tuesday nights at Pilgrim

I'll be teaching this unit at Pilgrim Theological College on Tuesday evenings (6.00pm-9.00pm) during  Semester 1, commencing on February 22nd. 

The unit is the entry-level introduction to what might otherwise be known as systematic theology or  Christian doctrine. Those terms do point to particular ways of thinking and studying, but whichever is preferred, they deal with the ideas that have classically characterised Christian thought: God, revelation, creation, humanity, Christology, redemption, church, hope etc.

In addressing these topics as Christianity's 'big ideas,' I take the opportunity to explore how, precisley as ideas, they have emerged and developed in the midst of intellectual debate, political struggles, apologetic defense and contextual revision. Sometimes they have defended the Christian and wider status quo, other times they have been tools for deconstructing the status quo and constructing new visions of life. Sometimes these ideas have inspired individuals and communities to love and service, other times they have legitimated arrogance and division. 

Something I'll be highlighting in this year's iteration of the unit will be the theme of 'conversation.' What conversations produced the ideas that Christianity has inherited and what conversations should these ideas be part of today? These conversations can be internal to the church (across time and place), at the interface between the church and the wider communinty or they can be conversations in the wider community to which the church listens in. 

Therefore, as well taking time to introduce a broad range of classical theological topics and styles of theology, the following are some of the topics and conversations which will be addressed at various points along the way:

• Theology and Revelation: What can be learnt in conversations between received theological knowledge and ancient wisdoms?
• Scritpure: How does the Christian doctrine of scripture relate to popular discussions about 'sacred' texts?
• Jesus Christ: Who is the Jesus invoked in attempts to defend the so-called Judeo-Christian tradition?
• Church: How might the church contribute to discussions about the post-secular west?
• Human being: What can a Christian anthropology contribute to the critique of neoliberalism?
• Hope: What can Christian discussions about hope learn from climate change activism?

The unit is both face-to-face and online synchronous. You can read the official unit description and check out the details of the learning outcomes, assessments and readings at these links: undergraduate face-to-face; undergraduate online synchronous; postgraduate face-to-face; postgraduate online synchronous.

For enrolment enquiries, contact Pilgrim's Registrar at: study@pilgrim.edu.au

For any specific enquiries abvout the unit content, contact me at geoff.thompson@pilgrim.edu.au