Undergraduate programmes in Divinity and Theology

Syllabus

Introductory (Level 4) courses

Introduction to the Old Testament
A study of selected texts from the Pentateuch and the Former and Latter Prophets. The texts have been selected to cover the most essential aspects of the geography, history, writing and literature of the Old Testament.
Selected texts:
Genesis 1-11; Exodus 1-15; Deuteronomy; 1 and 2 Kings; either Amos or Hosea; either Ezekiel or Deutero-Isaiah; either Haggai or Zechariah 1-8.

Introduction to the New Testament
(i) The purpose and theology of each of the Synoptic Gospels, with particular reference to the prescribed texts;
(ii) Paul's theology, with particular reference to the prescribed texts;
(iii) 1 Peter, James, Hebrews.

Attention should be given to:

careful exegetical study of the texts, using at least one major commentary per text
study of relevant texts other than those prescribed
evaluation of modern scholarly discussion of the texts and principal topics relevant to the syllabus.

Set texts to be studied in English:
Mark 3:22-30. Matthew 12:24-32. Luke 11:14-23.
Matthew 6:7-15. Luke 11:1-4.
I Corinthians Chapters 1 and 15. Romans Chapter 8.

Christian doctrine
A systematic study of three central themes in contemporary Christian theology:
(i) Christology - such issues as: the relationship between theological claims regarding Christ and Jesus of Nazareth as a historical figure; the consciousness of Jesus and its theological significance; the normativity or otherwise of the Chalcedonian definition; the designation of Jesus as sinless; claims about the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ; Spirit Christology.
(ii) Trinity - such issues as: how the doctrine of God as three-in-one can be elucidated and grounded; the connections between a Trinitarian understanding of God and the concept of Christian revelation; psychological and social analogies for the Trinity; the proper use of the term 'person' in Trinitarian theology; the doctrine of the Holy Spirit; the filioque controversy; the ongoing significance of early Church debates regarding the nature of God.
(iii) Atonement- such issues as: the strengths and weaknesses of such metaphors as ‘sacrifice’, ‘satisfaction’, ‘victory’; the truth status of metaphorical language in soteriology; the coherence or otherwise of the idea that God suffers, with reference to its Trinitarian implications; issues about universal salvation; Christian salvation and human liberation.

Attention should be given to:

how Christian thought on these three topics developed during the early Christian centuries
the connections between doctrines and their socio-cultural settings
the interrelationships between the three different topics
the methods and criteria deployed in the development of theological positions.

Philosophy of religion
A study of the main problems in the philosophy of religion, including such topics as: the proofs of God's existence; the justification of religious belief; religious diversity; the divine attributes; miracle; prayer; eternal life; the problem of evil.

Level 5 courses

Reformation and society c.1450–c.1600
An examination of attempts at religious reform in Europe during the 16th century, which includes both reform of the Church and religious life, as well as reforms of society inspired by religious belief. The term ‘Reformation’ is understood as applying to both Protestant and Catholic movements of reform. Topics covered will include: later 15th century desire for reform; late medieval popular belief, and links between reform of social and religious life, Christian humanism and its influence; evangelical movements precipitated by Luther, Zwingli, the Anabaptists and Calvin; the magisterial and radical Reformations, their religious and social implications and the response of different social strata to them; the Papacy and Papal authority, Catholic evangelism, Catholic Reformation and Counter-Reformation; Church, state and politics, including the Reformation in England.

Foundations in Biblical Hebrew
Translation, grammar (including parsing of words and phrases), and exegesis of a set portion of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament.

New Testament Greek
Translation, grammar (including parsing of verbs and nouns), and syntax of set portions of the Greek New Testament.

Christian ethics
(i) The philosophical background in relation to:
(a) The Nature of Humankind: the Christian account of human nature compared with other theories; the worth of persons and the value of human life; the nature of conscience; the freedom of the will;
(b) The Nature of Human Acts: the relation of acts to consequences; acts and omissions; the principle of double effect; deontological and teleological accounts of right action.
(ii) The characteristics of Christian ethics in relation to the basic Christian doctrines concerning God, humankind and society.
(iii) A consideration of selected contemporary moral problems in the light of the foregoing.

Islam
A mainly historical study considering both traditional and radically novel views on the origins of Islam; the beginnings of Islamic theology and law; the doctrines of the sects, especially those of Shi’ism; the development of philosophy, and, in particular, mysticism; the rise of Islamic modernism and reformism; and contemporary practices.

Religion and science
(i) The history of the relationship between religion and science in the Medieval period (including Ptolemy), the Renaissance period (including Copernicus and Galileo), the Enlightenment period (including Newton), and the nineteenth century (including Darwin).
(ii) Contemporary and philosophical issues. Cosmology and the Anthropic Principle, quantum physics, Chaos Theory, Neo-Darwinism, genetic engineering, and cloning. The aims and processes of religion and science (including Popper and Kuhn), and the relationship between religion and science.

Level 6 courses

Advanced Biblical Hebrew
A detailed study of selected portions of the Old Testament in Hebrew. The primary emphasis is the exegesis of the texts, but attention will also be paid to textual and philological questions.

Romans in Greek
The whole epistle should be studied in English, with chapters 1-11 and chapter 13 (verses 1-7) to be studied in Greek.

Johannine writings in Greek
A study of the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles in English, with special reference to the Greek text of John 1- 12, and 1, 2 and 3 John.

Church, ministry and sacraments in early Christianity
Church, ministry and sacraments in early Christianity, with special reference to passages in English from Mark 14.17-25; Luke 22.14-23; John 15.1-17; and others.

Liturgical studies
A general introduction to liturgy, with particular emphasis on the principles underlying the various changes in worship and the liturgical movements. Topics will include the following: a general introduction to the principles of worship; prayer, covenant, sacrifice, symbolism; the Jewish background; the evolution of forms of worship and the Christian calendar; corporate worship and private devotion in the Middle Ages; worship during the Reformation; the Books of Common Prayer; the modern liturgical movement, Roman Catholic and Reformed; modern revisions of the Book of Common Prayer.

Buddhism
A survey of the main features of Buddhism as a world religion, with the emphasis on Indian Buddhism: early Buddhist doctrinal teachings in their religious context, the Buddhist community and monasticism, the scholastic Abhidhamma tradition, and sectarian developments. Mahayana Buddhism as a later form of Buddhism: the changing emphases on the teachings, especially the role of the bodhisattva. Key features of Buddhism in Tibet (including Vajrayana), China and Japan; and modern developments in Sri Lanka.

Mind and person in the philosophy of religion
The concept of person and the mind/body problem, and their significance for personal identity, religious belief, and immortality.

The tasks of life: Pascal, Kafka, Weil and Levinas
This module will examine four significant thinkers - Blaise Pascal, Franz Kakfa, Simone Weil, and Emmanuel Levinas - who are linked by a shared sense that our knowledge of ourselves, God and our purpose is difficult and tentative; best lived rather than thought; and glimpsed in fragments rather than grasped through extended metaphysical narratives. It will examine the distinctive features of these thinkers in relation to the constraints, possibilities and flourishing of human life and how they view human life in relation to God, religion and ethics. It will engage in a critical and comparative evaluation of the distinctive features of the four writers, their religious anthropology and the contribution of their religious background to their thought. Among the topics covered will be:

Pascal’s Augustinian approach to sin, boredom and diversion; the three orders of body, mind, heart in relation to the world and God; God known through religious experience; the challenge of deism and atheism; the hidden God and revelation.
Kafka’s stories as metaphysical parables and their diverse interpretations; possible religious background to his thought; cruelty and religion; modernity and religion; alienation and judgement in a secular context.
Weil on Plato’s myth of the Great Beast and the allegory of the Cave; how the world expresses divine goodness and beauty, yet is harsh towards humans; divine kenosis and creation; beauty, love of neighbour and religious rituals as implicit ways of loving God.
Levinas on responsibility for the other; the centrality of ethics and religion; the Jewish meaning of suffering; comparison of Judaism and Christianity on suffering, responsibility and mercy; ‘universalizing’ Judaism.

The theology of Jewish-Christian relations
Perhaps for the first time since the First Century CE, Christians have begun to develop a positive relationship to Jews that replaces the 'theology of contempt' which treated Judaism as part of the
pre-history of Christianity. The Holocaust (Shoah) prompted Christian self-examination, and some Jewish scholars have begun to develop a reciprocal, positive approach to the Christian
Church. This course will examine central questions in this theological dialogue: issues in the parting of the ways in the first century; Rabbinic Judaism and Torah-centred life; how to handle the presence of anti-Jewish sentiments in the New Testament; issues in the theology of supersessionism and the Christian theological negation of Judaism; recent Christian theological approaches to Jewish identity and corresponding proposals from Jewish scholars; Franz Rosenzweig and the theology of a conjoined mission of Jews and Christians; issues in Jewish self-definition and unfinished issues faced by both traditions.

Dissertation
A dissertation of 8,000-10,000 words on an agreed topic. Students will receive feedback on a one-page outline (consisting of a working title, a summary of the main sections of the dissertation, and a short bibliography), and comments on two complete drafts if required.