Details for Christian Worldview

The unit Christian Worldview is part of the subject area Education and is offered as a part of the following Awards: Master of Teaching (Primary) (Alphacrucis College (NSW Dept. of Education)).

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This unit sets out the theological foundations of a Christian Worldview based on the broad parameters of the gospel. It explores the nature of worldview and the extent to which worldview frames the meanings and values of individual and social life. As in other units in the Masters in Teaching, it is concerned with the way in which Christian faith frames worldview. This unit encourages students to not only examine the lens through which they see the world, but be able to articulate the theology, aligning it with the Scriptures and Christian tradition. This unit provides a valuable base for the teaching of the Religious or Christian Education subject in Schools.

Subject Content

Introduction to Worldview

• Definition of worldview
• Implicit sources of worldview (family, community, church, media, nation etc.)
• Importance of critical engagement with worldviews (self and others)
• Establishing the relationship between Christian theology and worldview

The Nature, Task and Sources of theology

• Theology as faith seeking understanding
• Introducing theological method
• The sources of theology: Scriptures, Christian tradition, Reason/Philosophy, and Contemporary Culture
• Exegesis skills and pitfalls

God and Creation

• The attributes of God; exploring the being and nature of God; omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience
• Understanding the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as its implications for the life and ministry of the Church
• The significance of “creation” for valuing the world and exercising stewardship
• Moving beyond the conflict between science and Christian concepts of creation

Humanity in the Image of God and Impacted by Sin

• Christian tradition and the imago dei – structural, functional, relational and dynamic conceptions
• Image of God and the importance for individual and social ethics
• Exploring the meaning of traditional concepts of sin
• Sin as a social and cultural problem, effecting economies, governments and cultures
• Original sin and the cycle of victimhood

Jesus Christ the Redeemer

• The nature of Jesus as logos incarnate, fully divine and fully human – exploring the Christian tradition
• Understanding the work of Jesus – the significance of his life, death and resurrection
• Metaphors of the atonement
• Relating ancient concepts of redemption to contemporary church and society

The Spirit, the Church and the Future

• Understanding the nature of the Spirit
• The gracious empowering (or baptism) of the Spirit as foundational for sanctification and ministry
• Spiritual Gifts in the church and for the purpose of vocation
• The nature of the church as modeled on the life of the Triune God
• The mission of the Church in worship and edification and in evangelism and social responsibility
• The relationship between Jesus’ proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom of God and church mission
• Personal and cosmic eschatology as orienting the life and mission of the church

This course may be offered in the following formats

This unit can be taken as a face to face mode as an Intensive, or by on-line (Moodle) format.In either delivery mode, the unit is constituted by interactive lectures, regular reading and online dialogue/discussion, and assignments.This unit is introductory and opportunity to expand and go deeper exists in other theology units which can be done as electives.

Please consult your course prospectus or enquire about how and when this course will be offered next at Alphacrucis College.

Required Equipment

Assessment Methods

Reading Reflections (20%)

Students shall read the allocated reading for each topic (ie. 1 reading per week for 12 weeks) and submit a one page response answering the following questions:

1. What is the basic argument of this text?
2. Give two ideas from this text that you found especially helpful?
3. What sections of this text (if any) did I not understand?
4. What sections of this text (if any) did I dislike or disagree with?
5. How would I apply the concepts to my own life
6. How could I communicate them in my work context

These questions are intended to help students develop a critical approach to reading.  They will also facilitate class discussion.  They can be answered in point form, but should be typed for the sake of future reference. 

The grade for the weekly assessment will be based on the number of reviews submitted, as well as a random selection of 4 weeks of reflections for closer analysis.

Reflections are to be submitted weekly.  They will be recorded (and potentially graded), and returned to students for use in study for the final exam.

Major essay (40%)

Option 1- Individual Topic

Select a topic covered in this course, and write a 2000 word essay.  As part of this project students are required to submit a 1 page proposal which sets out:

• The question to be answered
• Preliminary bibliography (at least 5 books)
• A draft outline

The proposal is due 1 month prior to due date of the essay, and will be returned to students the following week.  Students who fail to submit a proposal by this date (for whatever reason), or who submit an inadequate proposal, will be required to take Option 2 (below).

Option 2- Set Question

Students who are not confident in selecting their own topic can elect to do one of the following essays:

1. Explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, and its importance for the life and ministry of the Church.
2. What does is mean to say that humanity is created in God’s image?  How is this relevant to individuals, the church, and society as a whole? Who is Jesus Christ?  In your answer refer to the Christological debates of the early church, and also make reference to some current streams of thought as to how Jesus might be understood in our contemporary context.
3. Essays should be submitted following the format in the Academic Program Handbook, which also includes a helpful section on essay writing.  The final grade given will be framed by the following assessment grid:

Exam (40%)

The 2-hour final exam will consist of two parts:

Part 1: multi choice and short answer questions

Part 2: Two essay questions to be chosen from a list of four questions.

All questions will be derived from the lectures and the required reading.

Prescribed Text

Grenz, S. (2000) Theology for the Community of God. Eerdmans : Grand Rapids

Representative References

• Dockery, D. and G. Thornbury (eds.). (2002)  Shaping a Christian Worldview. Grand Rapids, Baker.
• Horton, S (ed.). (1993) Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective. GPH.
• Jewett, P. (1996) Who we are: our dignity as humans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Kärkkäinen, V. (2002) Pneumatology. Grand Rapids: Baker.
• Mayhue, R. J. Hughes and J. MacArthur (eds.). (2003) Think Biblically!: Recovering a Christian Worldview. Crossway.
• McGrath, A.E. (2006) Christian Theology: An Introduction (4th ed.). Blackwell
• Migliore, D. (2004) Faith Seeking Understanding. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Milne, B. (1998) Know the Truth. IVP.
• Ormerod, N. (1997) Introducing Contemporary Theologies. Maryknoll: E.J. Dwyer.
• Palmer, M. & Horton, S. (eds.), (1988) Elements of a Christian Worldview, Logion Press.
• Van Gelder, C. (2000). The Essence of the Church. Grand Rapids : Baker.

Journals

• Proquest religious database of  journals
• Journal of Pentecostal Theology
• Modern Theology
• Pneuma: Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies