Winter 2003/Pasadena
PH516
Murphy

PH516: PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY. Nancey Murphy.

DESCRIPTION:

: The thought-worlds in which Christianity has found itself through the centuries have had important effects on our understanding and practice of the Christian faith. This course will familiarize students with some of these different ways of thinking, through study of representative philosophers, scientists, and theologians from antiquity to the present--e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Copernicus, Locke, Kant, Schleiermacher, Austin, Wittgenstein.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:

: Two ongoing needs of church leaders are the ability to distinguish the essential from the accidental in church life, and to find ways to express the faith authentically in new contexts. Knowledge: Understanding of some of the philosophical, scientific, and other factors that have shaped the church's teaching over the years (assessed via essay exams). Skills: Recognition of cultural factors at work in the present; clearer and more persuasive academic writing (assessed via term paper). Attitudes: Recognition of some of the challenges to the Christian faith that others have faced, and greater appreciation for attempts to meet them, even when the conclusions are different from the student's own (encouraged through class discussion and small group sessions).

COURSE FORMAT:

: Lectures with occasional small-group discussions. The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING:

: Allen, Diogenes. Philosophy for Understanding Theology. John Knox, 1985.; Kenny, Anthony. A Brief History of Western Philosophy. Blackwell, 1998.; Murphy, Nancey. Anglo-American Postmodernists. Westview, 1997.