Skip to content

Course 26 · Lesson 3.1

Preparing: an outline of the doctrines

8 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 26 outline

Module 1: Comprehensive Biblical Knowledge Examination

  1. Preparing: a review plan for the whole Bible
  2. The examination: books, story, genres and key passages
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers and planning review

Module 2: Historical Theology Examination

  1. Preparing: a timeline, key figures and key councils
  2. The examination: periods, controversies and primary texts
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers and planning review

Module 3: Systematic Theology Examination

  1. Preparing: an outline of the doctrines
  2. The examination: God, Christ, humanity, salvation, church and last things
  3. Sample questions and what a good answer contains
  4. Evaluating your answers, especially on fairness across traditions

Module 4: Philosophical Argument Evaluation and Historical Apologetics Assessment

  1. Evaluating a philosophical argument: premises, validity and objections
  2. Exercises: cosmological, moral, evil and hiddenness arguments
  3. Assessing historical evidence: sources, dating, witnesses and bias
  4. Exercises: the resurrection, the reliability of the New Testament and the canon

Module 5: Written Defense of Three Christian Propositions

  1. Choosing three propositions and defining the terms
  2. Building the case: arguments, evidence and sources
  3. Stating and answering the strongest objections
  4. Evaluating your defenses against the criteria

Module 6: Statement of Faith and Rule of Life

  1. Writing a personal statement of faith
  2. Relating the statement to the creeds and the traditions
  3. Writing a personal Christian rule of life
  4. Making the rule concrete and reviewable

Module 7: Reflection on Theological Development

  1. Mapping your development: beliefs held at the start and now
  2. Changes of mind: what changed and what caused the change
  3. Writing the reflection

Module 8: Strengths, Uncertainties and Continued Study

  1. Scoring the results of the components
  2. Naming your uncertainties without shame or evasion
  3. A plan for continued study, with dates for review

All courses

Program / Course 26: Comprehensive Assessment / Lesson 3.1

What you will learn

  • Write a one page outline of the main Christian doctrines in the order they are usually taught.
  • Identify the points where Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant teaching agree and where they differ.
  • Prepare to state each tradition’s position in its own terms.
  • Make a study sheet of terms to define from memory.

The big idea

Systematic theology arranges Christian teaching by topic: God, Christ, humanity and sin, salvation, the church and sacraments, and last things. A review begins with a one page outline of these topics, with the points of broad agreement among Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians marked separately from the points of difference. The aim of the examination is fair statement as well as accuracy. As with every component of this course, it is private, self-marked and uncertified.

Key terms

Systematic theology
The study of Christian teaching arranged by topic, showing how the parts relate.
Trinity
The doctrine that God is one being in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Incarnation
The doctrine that the Son of God became human in Jesus Christ, remaining God.
Atonement
The work of Christ by which humanity is reconciled to God. Christians describe it with several images and theories.
Sacrament
A rite understood as a means of grace. Catholics and Orthodox count seven, and many Protestants count two, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Eschatology
Teaching about last things: death, judgment, resurrection and the new creation.

Background

The three great traditions share a great deal. All three profess the Trinity and the incarnation in the language of the early councils, affirm that Christ died and rose, and look for the resurrection of the dead. The differences concern chiefly authority, the nature of salvation and grace, the church and its sacraments, and some teachings about Mary, the saints and the last things.

A fair student states each position as its adherents would. This is harder than it sounds. For example, many Protestants describe Catholic teaching on merit in terms that Catholics do not recognize, and many Catholics and Orthodox describe sola scriptura as if it meant that tradition has no value. Each tradition keeps its own definitions, and the best way to learn them is from its own sources, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Orthodox writers and the Protestant confessions.

This preparation is private. The suggested standard of 70 percent is a target you may keep or change, and the site neither receives nor grades your work.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Draw up the outline

On a single page, write six headings: God, Christ, humanity and sin, salvation, church and sacraments, and last things. Under each heading write from memory three to five points that most Christians affirm. For example, under God: one God, three persons, creator of all, loving and holy.

Step 2: List the points of difference

Write a second list of at least five points where the traditions differ. Common choices are: the source and authority of doctrine; justification and the role of works; the number and nature of the sacraments; the role of Mary and the saints; the papacy and church government; the filioque; and purgatory. For each, leave space to state the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant positions.

Step 3: Learn the positions from their own sources

Use the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the Catholic position, an Orthodox author such as Timothy Ware or John of Damascus for the Orthodox position, and a confession such as the Westminster Confession or Luther’s Small Catechism for Protestant positions. Note that Protestants differ among themselves, so a position should be tied to a named tradition such as Lutheran, Reformed or Wesleyan.

Step 4: Build a terms sheet

List thirty terms, such as homoousios, hypostasis, original sin, grace, merit, imputation, transubstantiation, theosis and purgatory. Define each in one sentence from memory, then check. Mark the ones you cannot define.

  1. Which doctrines do all three traditions affirm, and can I state them accurately?
  2. Where do the traditions truly differ, and where do they only use different words?
  3. Can I state each position in a way its members would accept?
  4. Which terms do I use without fully understanding?
  5. From which source will I learn each tradition’s own view?
  6. Which Protestant tradition’s view am I describing when I say Protestant?

Examples

An outline line

Christ: one person, fully God and fully human; born, crucified, risen and ascended; affirmed in the Nicene and Chalcedonian definitions by Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant churches. (A summary.)

A difference line

Authority: Catholic, Scripture and tradition interpreted by the teaching office; Orthodox, Scripture within tradition, expressed in the councils and the Fathers; Protestant, Scripture as final authority, with differing weight for confessions. (A summary.)

A term defined

Theosis: the Orthodox teaching, found also in other forms in the West, that humans are called to share in the divine life by grace, without becoming God in essence. (A summary.)

Different perspectives

Catholic

Catholic doctrine is set out in the Catechism and in the decrees of the councils. It holds that Scripture and sacred tradition together form one deposit of faith, which the teaching office interprets.

Orthodox

Orthodox doctrine is expressed in the councils, the Fathers and the liturgy. Many Orthodox stress that theology is lived and prayed, and they are cautious about systematic treatment on the Western model.

Protestant

Protestant doctrine is expressed in confessions and catechisms such as the Augsburg Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession. The traditions differ on predestination, baptism and church order.

Ecumenical

Ecumenical dialogue seeks to name what churches hold in common and where differences remain. Its documents are useful for seeing which disputes are about substance and which about language.

Why it matters

A single outline shows the shape of the faith and prevents the study of details from losing the whole. Marking the points of agreement and difference teaches balance, since many popular accounts exaggerate one or the other.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Protestants all believe the same things.

Correction: Protestant churches differ on many doctrines. A fair statement names the tradition, such as Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Baptist or Wesleyan.

Misunderstanding: The three traditions disagree about everything.

Correction: They share the Trinity, the incarnation, the death and resurrection of Christ and the hope of the resurrection of the dead. The differences are real but come against a large common background.

Misunderstanding: Where traditions differ, one description is neutral.

Correction: Even descriptions can favor a side. A fair description uses the terms a tradition uses of itself.

Knowledge check

What are the six headings suggested for the outline?

God, Christ, humanity and sin, salvation, church and sacraments, and last things. The order follows the way many courses are taught, from who God is, through what God has done, to the life of the church and the final hope. A student may change the order if another seems clearer.

Why use the traditions’ own sources?

Because a position described by its opponents is often distorted. The Catechism, the Orthodox Fathers and the Protestant confessions state what each tradition teaches in its own words. Learning from them makes it possible to describe a view so that its members would accept it.

Name three doctrines on which the three traditions broadly agree.

The Trinity, the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus, and the death and resurrection of Christ. They also affirm creation by God and the hope of the resurrection of the dead, though they differ in how they articulate and apply these teachings.

Is this preparation checked by the site?

No. The outline, the term sheet and the exam are private to the student. There is no submission, certificate, accreditation, credit or degree, and the 70 percent standard is a suggestion for personal use.

Think it through

  1. Which tradition’s account do you know best, and how might that bias you?
  2. Which difference seems to you most important, and which least?
  3. How do you decide whether a disagreement is about substance or wording?
  4. What source will you trust to state a tradition fairly?

Independent assignment

The doctrine outline and difference table

In your own notebook, write a one page outline of the six topics from memory, then a table of at least five points of difference with the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant positions. Aim for about 500 words. Check each position against the tradition’s own source. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.

Further study