Course Catalogue 2026-2027

A seminar course in which Chapter 64 of the Church Dogmatics will be studied. The topics will be: the Second Problem of the Doctrine of Reconciliation; the Exaltation of the Son of Man; the Homecoming of the Son of Man; the Royal Man; the Direction of the Son. Requirements: weekly readings, class participation, an in-class presentation, an oral examination.

The history of interpreting the parables can be divided into several periods. Early interpretations tended to read the parables as allegorical moralisms. From roughly 1900 to the 1960s, the dominant approach understood the parables primarily as apocalyptic symbols. Contemporary scholarship often treats the parables as narrative-theological devices, emphasizing metaphor, ambiguity, and theological meaning, and focusing on what the parable does to the hearer and how it challenges prevailing assumptions. This course, however, shifts attention away from abstract theological or purely narrative readings toward the material, social, political, religious, and economic realities reflected in the stories told by Jesus between 27 and 30 CE. When read in light of these realities, the parables are interpreted as realistic narratives rather than as symbolic or purely theological constructions. The authenticity of the parables, as we have them in their literary contexts, is not assumed, and the parables are read as atypical stories of social transformation told by a Galilean social prophet. Interpreted from this perspective, the parables are not earthly stories with heavenly meanings, but earthly stories with heavy meanings. The parables Jesus told are not stories about God, but stories about God's kingdom.

The course will review the international effort to resist violence against women; the challenge of the discourse of human rights and different cultural narratives; the efforts of organizations, including the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, and other NGOs; the history of resistance and complicity and of the church; and pastoral issues in responding. Methods include some lecture, seminar discussion, research, case study.

The course will review the international effort to resist violence against women; the challenge of the discourse of human rights and different cultural narratives; the efforts of organizations, including the United Nations, the World Council of Churches, and other NGOs; the history of resistance and complicity and of the church; and pastoral issues in responding. Methods include some lecture, seminar discussion, research, case study.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions. Major paper.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions. Major paper.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.