The Knowledge of God
TH401/TH601 The knowledge of God
What could be more foundational that a study of how we know God, and how God relates to this world? This includes thinking about how we know, how God reveals, what God reveals, and how we receive God's revelation. This underlies all we know and all we do not know about God, and how we think that God relates to the world. We need to learn this not just for our own benefit but also to help others know God. We think about these questions in the context of our world, other religions, what Christians have thought over 200 years, and what the Bible says. This unit includes: The concepts of revelation and inspiration; The place and nature of Scripture and natural theology, and the issues raised by reason, authority and experience; Creation and providence; Humanity as created; and sin and evil.
Workload: One semester, 4 credit points, 36 contact hours
Status: Core
Pre-requisites: First year, including Early Church History
When: Semester 1, 2011
Who: Peter Adam
Recommended Texts:
Adam, Peter, Written for us: Receiving God’s Words in the Bible, [Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2008].
ARCIC, The Gift of Authority: Authority in the Church III, [London: Catholic Truth Society/ New York: Church Publishing, 1999].
Berkouwer, G. C., Holy Scripture, Studies in Dogmatics, [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975].
Carson, D. A., and Woodbridge, John D., Scripture and Truth, [Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983].
Helm, Paul, and Truman, Carl, eds., The Trustworthiness of Scripture - Perspectives in the Nature of Scripture, [Leicester: Apollos, 2002].
Helm, Paul, The Divine Revelation - The Basic Issues, Foundations for Faith, [London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1982].
Helm, Paul, The Providence of God, [Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993].
Jensen, Peter, The Revelation of God, [Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2002].
Packer, J. I., God has Spoken – Revelation and the Bible, Christian Foundations, [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1965].
Stackhouse, John Gordon, Can God Be Trusted? Faith and the Challenge of Evil,
[Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998].
Vanhoozer, Kevin J., First Theology: God, Scripture and Hermeneutics, [Leicester: Apollos, 2002].
Wallace, Ronald S., Calvin’s Doctrine of Word and Sacrament, [Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1953].
Warfield, Benjamin Beckenridge, Revelation and Inspiration, vol. 1 of The Works of B. B. Warfield, [Grand Rapids: Baker, [1927] 1981].
Webster, John, Holy Scripture - A Dogmatic Sketch, Current Issues in Theology, [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003].
Work, Telford, Living and Active – Scripture in the Economy of Salvation, [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002].
Wright, N. T., Evil and the Justice of God, [London: SPCK, 2006].
Reccommended Texts for Theology (not just this unit)
Akin, Daniel L., ed, A Theology for the Church, B&H, 2007.
From a Baptist perspective. It is recommended because it provides basic information, and shows how to integrate what I describe as Biblical Theology, Historical Theology, Systematic Theology, and Practical Theology.
Lewis, Gordon R., and Demarest, Bruce A., Integrative Theology, Zondervan 1996.
It is recommended because it provides basic information, and shows how to integrate what I describe as Biblical Theology, Historical Theology, Systematic Theology, and Practical Theology.
Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, Eerdmans, 1996.
A traditional approach from a Reformed perspective. It is recommended because it provides a clear analysis of historical theology in topics.
Milne, Bruce, Know the Truth, Second Edition, IVP, 1998.
A basis overview of Theology from an evangelical perspective.
Ferguson, Sinclair, and Wright, David F., eds., New Dictionary of Theology, IVP, 1988.
The important topics of theology summarized clearly from an evangelical perspective.
Thomas, W. H. Griffith, The Principles of Theology: An Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles, Vine Books, 1978.
A traditional exposition of Reformed and Evangelical Anglican Theology based on an explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles.
