Theological Issues in the Life of the Church – RLGN 335

Course Description

This course allows students to study theological issues facing the modern church and presents opportunities to strengthen their biblical fidelity in belief and ministry practice. These issues are addressed from both a doctrinal and missional perspective focused on the primacy of the Great Commission. The goal is to bolster the church's ministry effectiveness in answering critical questions from contemporary culture with cogent, well-informed responses.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

This course offers dialogue concerning issues vital to the self-identity and mission of biblically conservative Christians. Christian leaders must be discerning and circumspect in their efforts to define and promote doctrinal truth—especially controversial issues. This course is offered to help the student recognize the issues at hand and the history behind many of these issues, formulate an approach for careful discernment, and articulate his/her own position in a consistent manner.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in Module/Week 1.

Blog Posts (3)

The student will write 3 blog posts. For each post, the student will respond to the instructor’s prompt by writing a 200–300-word blog post. In the same module/week, the student will write 4 comments to different classmates’ blog posts. Each comment must consist of at least 100 words. In the blog posts and comments, the student must support his/her assertions and provide at least 1 citation in current Turabian format for each post (as well as a brief bibliography if any resources are referenced). (CLO: A, C, D)

Theological Research Papers (2)

The student will be required to submit 2 Theological Research Papers. Each paper will be approximately 2100–2700 words. Each paper must cite at least 10 sources. Bibliography and citations must be in current Turabian format. Papers will be graded according to grammar and syntax, clarity and concision, the strength of the student’s argument, and how well the student has exegetically or theologically supported his/her argument. The depth and quality of research will also be influential in assessing a student’s grade. (CLO: C, D, E, F)

Exams (4)

Four exams will evaluate the student’s comprehension of material from the Boyd and Lutzer textbooks. Study guides are provided. Each exam will be open-book/open-notes, contain 25 multiple-choice, true/false, and matching questions, and have a 40-minute time limit. (CLO: A, B, C, D)