Course 25 · Practice and Scholarship
Theological Synthesis
Gather what has been studied across Scripture, history, doctrine, philosophy and ethics into one reasoned account of the Christian view of reality, knowledge, human life and conduct.
Overview
Most courses in this program study one subject at a time: a book of the Bible, a period of church history, one doctrine, one argument. This course asks how those pieces fit together. Do the story of Scripture, the development of doctrine over the centuries, the work of the philosophers and the demands of Christian conduct form a single picture, or merely a heap of separate things?
The course proceeds by integration. It first shows how biblical, historical, systematic and philosophical theology each ask different questions and how they check one another. It then turns to the large subjects that any worldview must address: what is real (metaphysics), what a human being is (anthropology), how people know anything (epistemology, faith and reason) and how to live (ethics, and the link between doctrine and practice).
Honesty about tension is part of the method. Christians in different traditions have wrestled for centuries with questions such as divine sovereignty and human freedom, or the unity of God and the Trinity of persons. The course teaches how to state such tensions precisely, to see what each tradition proposes, and to decide what can be held firmly and what must be held with humility.
The course ends with the student’s own commitments. The student examines what has been believed, why, and how those beliefs relate to the historic faith of the church, then writes a comprehensive synthesis. No particular conclusion is required. What is required is clarity, evidence and fairness.
Objectives
- Explain how biblical, historical, systematic and philosophical theology differ in method and how each corrects the others.
- Trace one doctrine from its biblical roots through its historical development to its systematic statement.
- Describe the Christian account of reality, including creation, contingency and the relation of God to the world, and distinguish it from competing metaphysical views.
- Explain the Christian understanding of the human person, including the image of God, the fall and the hope of resurrection.
- Compare accounts of how Christians claim to know, including the roles of Scripture, tradition, reason, experience and revelation.
- Explain how Christian ethics connects doctrine to conduct, using at least two ethical frameworks.
- State major theological tensions precisely and set out how the main traditions handle each.
- Evaluate your own theological commitments by naming the reasons, evidence and uncertainties behind them.
- Write a coherent and documented synthesis of your Christian worldview.
- Relate your own convictions to the creeds and the historic faith of the church, saying where you agree and where you differ.
Course outline
Module 1 Integrating Scripture and History
Learn how the Bible’s own story and the church’s long reading of it work together, and how each guards against the errors of the other.
Topics
- Integrating biblical theology
- Integrating historical theology
Lessons
Module 2 Integrating Doctrine and Philosophy
See how systematic and philosophical theology organize and test doctrine, and how Christians have understood the relation of faith and reason.
Topics
- Integrating systematic theology
- Integrating philosophical theology
- Faith and reason
Lessons
Module 3 What Is Real and What Is a Human Being
Examine the Christian account of reality and the human person, and compare it with leading alternatives.
Topics
- Christian metaphysics
- Christian anthropology
Lessons
Module 4 How We Know and How We Live
Study the Christian accounts of knowledge and of the good life, and the link between what Christians believe and what they do.
Topics
- Christian epistemology
- Christian ethics
- Doctrine and practice
Lessons
Module 5 Tensions and Commitments
State the persistent tensions inside Christian thought precisely, then examine honestly what you yourself believe and why.
Topics
- Reconciling theological tensions
- Evaluating personal theological commitments
Lessons
Module 6 Building a Coherent Worldview
Assemble the parts into a single account and place it honestly in relation to the historic faith of the church.
Topics
- Developing a coherent Christian worldview
- Independent faith and historic Christianity
Lessons
Suggested schedule
| When | Work |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Module 1: Integrating Scripture and History |
| Week 2 | Module 2: Integrating Doctrine and Philosophy |
| Week 3 | Module 3: What Is Real and What Is a Human Being |
| Week 4 | Module 4: How We Know and How We Live |
| Week 5 | Module 5: Tensions and Commitments |
| Week 6 | Module 6: Building a Coherent Worldview |
| Week 7 | Independent assignment and self-assessment |
Readings
Required
- Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction
A clear textbook that surveys doctrine and its history across traditions.
How to use it: Use as the main survey for how the theological disciplines relate. Read selectively on method, creation, humanity and the doctrine of God.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Council of Nicaea (325) and Council of Constantinople (381), The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
The statement of faith confessed by Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant churches. Learn it line by line before reading anything else on the Trinity.
How to use it: Read the creed slowly and mark the claims about God, creation, Christ and the human future. It is the common core of the synthesis.
Read the creed (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
Augustine’s account of his restless search for God. Read Book I and then Book VIII, the story of his conversion.
How to use it: Read selectively as a model of faith seeking understanding, with attention to what Augustine says about knowing, time and the human heart.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
The great medieval summary of Christian theology. It is long; use the questions assigned in each course rather than reading straight through.
How to use it: Read selectively on the relation of faith and reason, creation and the human person. Compare its method with that of the other readings.
Read online (New Advent) In the library - David Bentley Hart, The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss
An argument for the classical understanding of God across religious traditions, written by an Orthodox author.
How to use it: A modern account of the Christian doctrine of God and being, written for general readers. Read critically and compare with Aquinas.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Alvin Plantinga, Warranted Christian Belief
A leading philosopher argues that Christian belief can be rational without being proved by arguments. Advanced.
How to use it: Read selectively on the claim that belief in God can be rationally warranted without argument. It is difficult. Read summaries first if needed.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library
Recommended
- J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines
A standard account of how Christian doctrine took shape in the first centuries.
How to use it: A standard account of the formation of doctrine.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (5 volumes)
A major history of how doctrine developed across all three great traditions, to the modern age.
How to use it: Use for tracing one doctrine across centuries. Read the sections that touch the doctrine you choose.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
The most influential Reformed theology. Book IV is the best statement of the Reformed view of church and sacraments.
How to use it: A systematic Protestant account. Read selectively for knowledge of God and humanity.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church
A classic exposition of Eastern theology as lived and prayed. Advanced.
How to use it: An Orthodox account that emphasizes the limits of concepts. Useful for tensions between philosophical clarity and mystery.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The authoritative modern summary of Catholic teaching. Read it to understand what Catholics actually claim, in their own words.
How to use it: For a Catholic systematic statement of doctrine, morality and prayer in one work.
Read online (Vatican) In the library - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The Natural Law Tradition in Ethics
A scholarly overview of natural law from Aquinas to the present.
How to use it: For one major framework in Christian ethics.
Read online (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) In the library - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Virtue Ethics
What virtue ethics is, from Aristotle forward, and how it differs from other theories.
How to use it: For a second framework. Compare it with natural law and with divine command.
Read online (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) In the library - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Religion and Science
A careful survey of how science and religion have been related.
How to use it: For the relation of Christian metaphysics to modern science.
Read online (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) In the library
Passages in the Scripture Study
- Genesis 1:1 The opening claim that God is the source of all that exists. A starting point for Christian metaphysics.
- Genesis 1:27 Humanity created in the image of God. A foundation for Christian anthropology.
- Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God. Creation as a witness, relevant to faith and reason.
- Romans 1:20 God’s invisible qualities are perceived in what has been made. Often cited in discussions of natural knowledge of God.
- Acts 17:28 In him we live and move and have our being. Paul quotes Greek poets in speaking to philosophers.
- Colossians 1:17 In Christ all things hold together. A text for the unity of creation and redemption.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh. The center of Christian doctrine and its link to a material world.
- Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. A biblical statement about the starting point of knowing.
- Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us reason together. A text often cited for the place of reasoning in faith.
- Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God.
- Micah 6:8 Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. A summary of conduct.
- Matthew 22:37 The great commandment: love God with all your heart, soul and mind.
- James 2:17 Faith without works is dead. A text on the link between belief and practice, read differently by different traditions.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul passes on as of first importance what he received about Christ’s death and resurrection.
- Romans 12:2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. A text on how belief reshapes thought and life.
Independent assignment
A Comprehensive Written Synthesis of Your Christian Worldview
- Purpose
- To produce a single, coherent and documented account of your Christian worldview, showing how it is supported by Scripture, history and reason, and where it remains uncertain.
- Instructions
- Write a short opening statement of the question your worldview answers and of the starting point from which you reason (for example, revelation, tradition, reason or a combination).
- Write a section on reality (metaphysics): your account of God, creation and the relation of God to the world. Support it with at least two Scripture passages and one historical source.
- Write a section on the human person (anthropology): the image of God, the fall, the body and soul and the hope of resurrection. Note the main alternatives among Christians and among non-Christians.
- Write a section on knowledge (epistemology): what you take as authoritative and why, and how faith and reason relate in your view. Use at least one primary source.
- Write a section on ethics: the grounds of right and wrong in your view and how doctrine shapes practice. Give one worked example of a moral question.
- Write a section on tensions: choose three theological tensions, state each precisely, state how the major traditions handle it, and say what you hold and how firmly.
- Write a section relating your synthesis to the historic faith: go through the Nicene Creed and mark where you agree, where you differ and where you hold an open question. Name the tradition (or traditions) closest to your view.
- Write a closing section that lists your main uncertainties and the five questions you most want to study further.
- Test the whole: reread the synthesis and note any place where one section contradicts another, or where a claim lacks support. Revise, then date and sign the final version.
- Required sources
- At least six of the required and recommended readings.
- At least ten of the Scripture passages listed for this course.
- At least one Catholic, one Orthodox and one Protestant source for the tensions section.
- The Nicene Creed, quoted from the library.
- Length and scope
- About 5,000 to 8,000 words, or fifteen to twenty-five pages. Keep it in your own notebook or document. Do not send it anywhere.
- Questions to address
- What are the foundations of my worldview, and what supports them?
- Where do my beliefs depend on a tradition I have not examined?
- Which beliefs am I most sure of, and which am I only inclined toward?
- Where do my convictions differ from the historic creeds, and why?
- What would change my mind?
- How does what I believe change how I live?
- Expected output
- A comprehensive, documented written synthesis in your own words, with sections on reality, the human person, knowledge, ethics, tensions, the historic faith and uncertainties.
- How it will be evaluated
- It covers all the major areas of a worldview and links them coherently.
- It supports claims with Scripture, historical sources and argument, and cites them accurately.
- It states opposing views fairly, including those of other Christian traditions.
- It distinguishes firm conviction from open question and from established doctrine.
- It states tensions precisely and does not hide them.
- It relates the student’s view honestly to the creeds and the historic faith.
- It is internally consistent and its practical consequences are clear.
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Writing a list of beliefs instead of showing how they fit together.
- Assuming that a coherent system must be a correct one.
- Smoothing over a tension instead of stating it.
- Treating the views of one tradition as the view of all Christians.
- Claiming agreement with the historic faith without reading the historic texts.
- Leaving out ethics and practice, so that the worldview remains only a set of ideas.
Knowledge check and self-assessment
How do biblical theology, historical theology, systematic theology and philosophical theology differ?
Biblical theology studies the themes and development of the Bible’s own story. Historical theology studies how Christians have understood and defined doctrines over time. Systematic theology organizes the doctrines into an ordered, coherent whole. Philosophical theology uses the tools of philosophy to clarify and test concepts such as divine attributes. Each asks a different question and each can correct the others: history can show where a reading is new, and Scripture can test a system.
What does it mean to say that creation is contingent, and why does it matter for Christian metaphysics?
Contingent means that something exists but need not have existed. The Christian doctrine of creation holds that the world depends on God for its existence, and that God does not depend on the world. This distinguishes Christian teaching from pantheism, which identifies God with the world, from materialism, which treats matter as ultimate, and from views in which matter is as eternal and independent as God. It also grounds the goodness and intelligibility of the created order.
What does the phrase ‘image of God’ mean, and what are the main approaches to it?
The phrase comes from Genesis 1:27. Theologians have understood it in different ways: as reason or a capacity for relationship, as a function of ruling over creation as God’s representative, or as a status given by God to every human being. Many combine these. Whatever the approach, the phrase is used to ground human dignity, and Christians have generally held that the image was damaged, but not erased, by the fall and is restored in Christ.
Describe four ways in which Christians have related faith and reason.
One view holds that reason is a gift to be used within faith, as in Augustine’s ‘faith seeking understanding’ and Anselm. Another, in Aquinas, holds that some truths about God can be reached by reason and others only by revelation, without conflict between them. A third, associated with Tertullian’s famous rhetorical question about Athens and Jerusalem, is wary of philosophy. A fourth, in some Reformed thinkers, holds that belief in God can be rational without being derived from arguments. The views differ in emphasis, not always in substance.
Why do Christian traditions disagree about the relation of faith and works?
Because key texts such as Romans 3 and James 2 can be read in different ways. Catholic teaching holds that justification involves the believer’s transformation by grace and includes cooperation with grace. Protestant traditions generally stress that justification is by faith alone, with good works as its fruit. Orthodox teaching speaks more of a path of theosis (participation in the divine life). Each tradition claims to honor both Paul and James, and each charges the others with imbalance. A fair account of the question uses each tradition’s own statements.
What is a theological tension, and how should it be stated?
A tension is a pair of claims, each supported by Scripture or tradition, that seem hard to hold together, such as divine sovereignty and human freedom or one God and three persons. It should be stated precisely, with both claims in their strongest forms, with the terms defined and with the contradiction (if any) shown. Then the proposed resolutions, from different traditions, can be set out, along with an honest note on which of them involve mystery and not solution.
How does doctrine relate to practice?
Doctrine shapes how Christians pray, worship and act: belief in a creator grounds gratitude and care for creation, belief in the incarnation grounds respect for the body, belief in the Trinity shapes the idea of love as self-giving. The relation also runs the other way. Worship and practice carry doctrine and can reveal when a teaching has become empty or distorted, which is expressed in the old saying that the rule of prayer establishes the rule of belief.
What does it mean to hold an independent faith in relation to historic Christianity, and what should an honest synthesis say?
An independent faith is one held and examined by the believer, and not merely inherited. In relation to historic Christianity, an honest synthesis states where the believer’s convictions agree with the creeds and the great traditions, where they differ and why, and which questions remain open. It does not assume that independence makes the believer right, nor that tradition ends inquiry. It takes the church’s long witness seriously as evidence while being willing to examine it.
Judge your own progress
- When you finish the modules, answer the eight knowledge questions from memory and without notes. Aim for 70 percent or better; if you score lower, reread the relevant module and try again.
- Write the synthesis (the independent assignment) in stages. Wait one week after the first full draft, reread it, and mark every place where one section contradicts another or where a claim lacks support.
- Check the synthesis against the evaluation criteria. Rate each criterion as strong, adequate or weak, and write one sentence on how to improve each weak one.
- Return to the key ideas after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. At each point, explain aloud how Scripture, history, doctrine and reason support one of your central claims, and state one tension you are still working on.
- You can explain how the four theological disciplines differ and check one another.
- You can describe the Christian account of reality, the person, knowledge and conduct, and compare it fairly with alternatives.
- Your synthesis is coherent, documented and honest about tension and uncertainty.
- You can say exactly where your convictions agree with and differ from the historic faith of the church.