Ross Woods, rev. 2021, 23
This is a list of ideas for undergraduate essays in theology, some of which might also be useful as topics for discussion, as topics for student presentations, or as examination questions. Here are a few guidelines for using them:
best?
fulfilsthe Old Testament? How is that different from abrogation?
The New Testament is a balancing act between the old covenant and the new, the Old Testament and New, between Jew and Gentile.
Paul predominantly saw Jesus as the “cosmic Christ” and said little about Him as the Nazarene person who taught the disciples.
The book of Revelation is primarily a collation of quotes and paraphrases from the Old Testament.
The Bible is still the Word of God when it is translated into another language, as long as that translation is accurate.
immediately.) How loosely can we justifiably treat the statements of Scripture?
The Bible is the only true source of theology.
It is difficult to know which teachings of the Bible should apply to us. So much is culturally determined and Christians have different views about what is only cultural in its context and what is normative.
If we study the Bible as literature only, are we secularising theology?
Inerrancy is better as a working assumption than as a conclusion.
deeply Trinitarian? What are the implications and practical applications?
Faith is a paradox. Believing something does not make it true, for that is fideism. But faith is necessary to know spiritual truth.Evaluate.
total depravity?
Theology is not the study of God. It is the study of man’s ideas about God.
Theology is caught between a rock and a hard place, between rationalism and irrationalism, between logic and subjective mysticism.Evaluate.
The difference between each of the following movements is mainly of emphasis and not of substance:
The Reformed view of theology is the best fit with the teachings of Scripture.Evaluate.
God predestines some people for salvation and other people for damnation.Evaluate.
Sin is making a few mistakes.
Theology is the property of the church.What does this mean and what are its implications?
study God?
The idea of heresy is outdated and divisive. Christians should abandon it.
Most modern Christians don’t know enough theology to be either heretical or orthodox.
Some studies of religion use secular assumptions. While they might validly inform us about humankind, they do not lead just to theological truth. Examples include: anthropology, sociology, history and psychology of religion, Bible as literature, brain science.Evaluate.
There is no such thing as Science. There are many competing disciplines, each with its own methodology and assumptions.Evaluate.
Scientific enquiry is a journey, not a destination.Evaluate.
Scientific enquiry might lead to truths but it cannot lead to Truth.Evaluate.
Science has found some things to be true, even if they need modification due to greater sophistication.Evaluate.
It is a miracle that mankind can know anything for certain. Our thinking is subject to unexplored assumptions and culture. Our senses, logic, and methods are fallible.Evaluate.
The physicist might say, 'The room is the physical world. I have studied everything in the room in the finest detail. Therefore there is nothing outside the room.'* Evaluate.
*God Forbid. ABC Radio National, 7.00 a.m., 26 January, 2020.
The evidence of the filling of the Spirit is enthusiasm, personal commitment, and sincerity.Evaluate.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity was really just a compromise between competing views.Evaluate. (Be careful to avoid an heretical position.)
The early church met to respond to heresies and theological problems, and the meeting in Jerusalem was the first such meeting. (Acts 15.) Their decisions, known as confessions or dogma, were binding on the whole church, and the most important decisions still define the difference between Christianity and heresy.
The Nestorians initiated the greatest evangelistic movement to Asia in history.
Some things that were once classed as Christian obedience are now seen as being legalistic.Evaluate. Where is the boundary between obedience and legalism?
Individuals and religious institutions frequently tend towards determinism or fatalism on one hand, and freewill and human determination on the other. However, they are equally cultural and psychological phenomena.
Styles of spirituality.They are psychological and tend to reflect different streams in most religions to some extent. Compare these approaches to each other.
Each view below defines a particular emphasis on what it means to be spiritual. Each church and individual Christian tends toward some views and away from others. All of them can be good and none is altogether right nor wrong in itself. Consequently, there is little value in arguing that one is right and the others are wrong.
The purpose of our faith is to reach out to those outside the walls of our church so that they can also believe in Christ.
The way to become spiritual is to focus on teaching the Bible so that we can understand it and apply it in our lives. That's why we have Bible studies and expository sermons.
Christians should be joyful, so our worship needs to be a positive experience of worshipping God, so that we can know him personally. Music is helpful, and people need some freedom to worship in creative ways. Our people find it quite boring to be still, quiet and reflective.
We have ceremonies that reflect our history and celebrate our past. Most aspects of worship have a symbolic meaning, and learning the meanings of each symbol helps us to further appreciate spiritual truth.
We are called to serve the poor and needy. We put a lot of energy into helping those who cannot help themselves, whether their needs are lack of food, inadequate clothing, homelessness, family problems, addiction, or some other kind of need.
Being a Christian is about being personally in touch with God, so we need time away from noise and busy-ness to be quiet, reflective, and prayerful. Knowing God is not about being noisy, excited, or preoccupied with externals. It is inward, quiet and personal.
These are open book assessments and the assessor may specify a series of deadlines for the student's work. The assessor may also interview the student on their submissions. Some assessor might like students to ask students to give a presentation.
Your assessor will assign a series of Old and New Testament books. These are a sample of the whole Bible:
Answer the following questions for each Bible book:
This assessment is about how to apply the steps and skills of exegesis to the four main kinds of biblical literature:
(Note: the Gospels contain all kinds)
Your assessor will assign you passages as follows:
Write an exegesis of each assigned passage. Each should show that you can exegete a passage, show how it applies to the broader biblical and theological framework, and apply it in practical Christian life.
Please type them as according to the standards for formal essays. There is no set length, but do not exceed 1000 words for each exegesis. The quality is more important than the length.
Make sure you cover all the points below. While they are a good guide, you will not necessarily write a good exegesis by blindly answering questions. For example, your answer to a later question might prompt you to revise your answers to an earlier question. Some questions might be essential for one passage but inapplicable in another.
Exegesis
Note: You may use tools such as Bible dictionaries, various translations, maps, dictionaries of words of the original languages.
InterpretationApplication
Your assessor will assign two passages, one from the Gospels and one from the Pauline letters. Prepare a series of Bible studies that go though the passages.
sharing of ignorance.
Submit your notes in a ready to use
format, that is, legible, laid out so that they are easy to follow when actually leading a group, and understandable for your assessor. Define your target group so that your assessor may assess their appropriateness.
Your assessor may also require you to lead an actual group and may attend (or ask your attendees) to assess your skills.
You assessor will assign you a passage of scripture. Consider:
Do do these tasks, you will need to explore the following elements:
Some passages in the Old Testament teach animosity and genocide to many of the peoples surrounding the Jews.
Some passages in the Old Testament indicate tolerance to non-Jewish peoples.To what extent is each of these statements true? What conclusions should be drawn?
Some parts of the Torah seem to be notes taken while Moses was judging specific cases.How could you know whether or not this is true?
Moses set up a system of national law as well as code of personal ethics and morality. Jesus taught a code of personal ethics and morality, but not a system of national law.To what extent is this statement true? To what extent do Moses' teachings apply to Christians in government today?
The Jews did not practice the Law of Moses during most of the Old Testament era.To what extent is this statement true?
The worldview of Job was a mixture of theism and local animism.Is this statement true? If so, to what extent?
fiddle with the text? How can we say Scripture is inspired if people edited it after it was written?
Each conversation below contains at least one cultural misunderstanding. For each conversation:
There is no one perfect answer for each question, and there are usually several right answers. But some answers are definitely wrong.
Note: You must respond to ALL conversations in all three ways. This allows 20 minutes for you to respond to each conversation.
One day we traveled to a group of Pokot people who lived several miles off the main road. After hiking in the bush for nearly an hour, we stopped to rest under some trees. As we rested, three Pokot men came by and sat with us.
My colleague struck up a conversation with them and began to tell them about Jesus. Their stoic expressions never changed while he told them that Jesus came to die on the cross to take away their sins.
"I'm not sure they understand what sin is," I interrupted. "Most Pokot I have talked with in this area have no concept of what it means to be a sinner."
So I asked the three men what they considered to be improper conduct. They listed adultery, killing a neighbor, and stealing the possessions of another Pokot.
I then asked them if they'd ever committed any of these mistakes. (These men didn't know the word for sin, as they'd never been to church.) They answered "No."
(R. Lewis, EMQ, altd.)
Joe was discipling Alf, whose brother-in-law had introduced them a few weeks ago. Alf had not been a Christian very long, but was keen to learn more. The first time they met they sat and talked and Joe felt really comfortable in the relationship.
Then they met for their first discipleship session, Joe thought that they'd need time to get into the relationship so didn't plan to teach very much.
But Alf sat beside him and listened carefully. He just looked at the ground, and sometimes looked up and down Joe's body, but never in the eye. Alf never volunteered information, and when asked, took a long time to answer even quite simple questions.
Joe wondered if Alf was sincere, and whether he was even paying attention. The occasional gazing up and down his body made Joe perceptibly embarrassed, and eventually Alf would not answer any questions at all. Alf didn't show up for their next meeting.
The language informant told the Bible translator, Thieves among the Zanaki people of East Africa generally knock on the door of a hut they hope to burglarize, and if they hear any movement or noise they dash off. An honest person will call the name of the person inside, identifying himself by his voice.
Yes
, said the missionary, but the Bible says, `Look, I stand at the door and knock.' We have to be true to the Bible.
Mr. Glab is a cured leprosy patient who works in a mission hospital as a carpenter. One day, the missionary doctor who ran the hospital spoke to Mr Glab. We'd like to invite you to come with some of our other staff to a medical conference on leprosy. It's important that you come, because you could do a lot to help patients. But you won't be working, and all other building staff will have to work, so we'll have to dock your for those days you're at conference.
Mr. Glab didn't give an answer but left, angry and confused, and complained to another worker.
Ed was a missionary on a Pacific island. One morning, Ed was called to pray for a young couple who had been found sleeping together. In order to find out what was going on, he wanted to discuss it with the boy and his family.
Boy: Just pray for us here. That'll mean we're married. Simple.
Parents: Why not get married in the church?
Parents: Too expensive. We'd have to provide food for hundreds of people.
Boy: And we have to make solemn promises to God. That's dangerous. If we did something wrong, He'd be angry and punish us.
Boy's brother: And besides, if he makes a vow, then he can't just send her away if he gets tired of being married to her.
Ed: (explains Christian teaching on marriage …) so you really should make the solemn vow. And you should do it in church.
Mrs Smith has a small son named Daniel and a maid named Maria. One day, Mrs. Smith caught Maria taking home Daniel's tricycle.
Mrs. Smith: Don't take that home. It belongs to my son. He owns it.
Maria: I found it on the path outside the house. Nobody owns it.
Mrs. Smith: But Daniel owns it. He must have left it out there.
Maria looks sad and confused.
Mrs Smith: It seems you've tried to steal it.
Maria: Oh I don't steal. You can't steal something that's been abandoned on a footpath.
Mrs Smith: But it's Daniel's. And you've got it in your hand! I'm afraid I'm going to let you go from your job.
Do missions allocate most of their resources (personnel, money, time) to simple survival on the field rather than to ministry projects to indigenous people? How much of that missionary effort is spent actively in ministry to already-Christians and how much is evangelising not-yet-Christians? What percentage of staff do missions allocate to field survival? (For example, what is the percentage of personnel administrators, regional coordinators, MK teachers, etc.)
What is the percentage of missionary time spent in language learning, visa business, tentmaking, children's education, furlough, team-building and pastoral care as a mission team? Does the individual field missionary really have time after learning the local language and culture, participating in mission administration at team and supra-team levels, managing finances, doing anything necessary to keep a visa, getting children educated, furlough, communicating with the home
country, keeping other expatriate workers encouraged and adequately supervised and fellowshipped, settling in and counselling new workers, accepting visitors and short term personnel from home countries, finishing educational upgrading, looking after marriages and families, time in sickness (a major time expenditure in some places), and perhaps holding a part-time tentmaker job?
These questions should be qualified in several ways. First, some apparently unproductive ministries contribute to team achievements rather than individual achievement, so it can be unfair to evaluate resource allocation on a strictly individual basis. Second, the necessities of everyday living in some cultures take considerably more time than many home countries, so to what extent should that time be considered wasted? (Be realistic: they might be necessary cultural learning and helpful in building personal relationships and credibility.
The New Testament does not teach a unified specific model of church governance.Evaluate.
When churches create large centralised bureaucracies or complex organizational structures, they inevitably go into spiritual decline.Evaluate.
When churches are small, independent and spontaneous, they tend to be unstable and go into into spiritual decline.Evaluate.
A church's ecclesiology should grow naturally out of its spiritual state. Church leaders and missionaries should not impose eccesiological structures on the church.Evaluate.
In the New Testament, the church started with a democratic Jewish model of organisation. As the Church moved westward, it increasingly followed the Roman idea of leadership by a local bishop.Evaluate.
No matter what missionaries teach about church governance, and no matter how biblical it is, indigenous churches tend to follow their own cultural views of the nature of leadership, the organization of the church, and the nature of institutions.Evaluate.
Pentecostal denominations have created a new version of episcopalian church governance. The senior pastor is seen has having an apostolic role, and has dominant leadership and control. The gathered church is primarily seen as the people of God gathered for worship.Evaluate.
Ecclesiology as it is taught in theological courses and the actual challenge of running churches are very separate and different topics of discussion.Evaluate.
In the nineteenth century, a theological scholar joined the Roman Catholic Church because:
a. God still gives His revelation to the church, and He chose the Roman Catholic Church instead of the other denominations.
b. He believed that the Bible must be interpreted according to the decisions of the church in the fourth and fifth centuries.
c. The Roman Catholic Church is more like the church of the fourth and fifth centuries.
d. The Bible still needs to be interpreted so there needs to be a church with the authority to evaluate various interpretations, so that doctrine is not determined by personal opinions.
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