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Postgraduate Divinity 2015-2016

DR501V: THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF GOD

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

The course involves a consideration of the development of the Christian doctrine of God and related themes from Scripture to the 20th century. It pays close attention to significant texts in the Christian tradition (including creedal statements, and the writings of Origen, Augustine, Barth, and others), and to discussions of the doctrine of the trinity. The course requires careful reading of key primary texts.
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DR501Z: TRINITY AND CHRISTOLOGY

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

Through close reading and seminar discussion of selected texts, this course will introduce students to major themes in a Christian account of God and his effective presence in Jesus Christ. In tracing the connections between trinitarian, christological, and soteriological teaching in some influential teachers of the Christian church, this course will attend in particular to the conceptual relations between the doctrines of eternal generation, incarnation, and reconciliation.

  
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DR502F: NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

The New Testament includes 27 different works, by a number of different authors, produced over a significant time-span (less than a century). To what extent are these disparate or complementary voices? This course firstly introduces the academic discipline of New Testament Theology – its history, tasks, methods and problems – and then explores a number of New Testament texts, addressing questions of similarity, difference and development within their theology/ies. This will include particular study of one or more key theological themes (e.g. christology, pneumatology, eschatology, soteriology), by means of close study of selected New Testament texts.

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DR502H: DISSERTATION COLLOQUIUM

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

For the first four sessions we will meet as a group to take an overview of the process of finding a suitable dissertation topic and embarking on research in Divinity and Religious Studies. Then students will develop their own dissertation topics in consultation with their supervisors.
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DR502K: THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD: RELIGION, HISTORY, LITERATURE

0 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

In this course we will discuss the life of Muhammad, the main prophet of Islam, and the construction of his image in the Muslim sources. The main episodes in the Prophet’s life will be analysed from a number of perspectives, using primary, secondary and extra-Islamic sources in order to achieve a better understanding of the construction of Muhammad’s image by the early Muslims.

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DR502P: ISA: THE ISLAMIC IMAGE OF JESUS – ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

In this course we will discuss the biography and characterisation of Jesus, a major Muslim prophet and the expected mahdi (Islamic messiah). The course will look at the existing sources for this biography and the problems that they present to modern scholars. It will examine possible Christian origins of this figure. Through a discussion of the main episodes in the life of the Muslim Jesus we will learn of the various ways for understanding his character. The course will also discuss the status of Jesus against other prophets in Islam, especially Muhammad, and against the Qur'an.
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DR502T: CREATION IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

This course examines the account of creation in the biblical book of Genesis in order to explore the theological account of human moral action it offers. By exploring different movements of the creation story, the course lays out the basic structure of Christian moral theology. The aim is to develop a theological approach to the fundamentals of Christian ethics, clarifying its relevance for issues of sexuality and procreation, economics, work, governance, health, animals and the environment. The course offers a broad theoretical framework for thinking about the whole scope of ethical questions in contemporary society.
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DR502V: JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

The course provides a survey of Jewish History (from the Persian and Hellenistic periods to the present day) and of Jewish culture (Jewish identity, rites and other aspects of religious life) through the ages. It provides students with a full overview of Judaism from its inception to the present.
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DR502X: SPECIAL SUBJECT

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

This course allows a student to do in-depth study in a specific area in Divinity or Religious Studies agreed upon with his or her supervisor and approved by the Head of School. It may be offered in conjunction with the student sitting in on level 4 lectures relating to the subject material.
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DR503D: READINGS IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

This new course engages at length and in depth with the thought of one or more formative thinkers in the Christian theological tradition to foster critical reflection on the scope and coherence of Christian teaching as well as the defining concerns and conventions of Christian systematic theology; and to cultivate in students the interpretative and analytical skills required for advanced work in the discipline. In a year-long series of fortnightly seminars, students will engage intensively with one or more works from the Christian doctrinal tradition.
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DR503G: ANCIENT GREEK FOR POSTGRADUATES 3

15 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

The course is a synthesis of New Testament Greek Undergraduate level 2 material and enhanced text reading and linguistic appraisal. This course will concentrate on intense reading of the New Testament and ancient Greek texts together with text and linguistic analysis.

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DR503H: ANCIENT GREEK FOR POSTGRADUATES 1

15 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

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DR503J: SPIRITUAL FORMATION

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

Christian Spiritual Formation involves the transformation of the whole person to the character of Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is concerned with people’s attitudes, character, intentions and thoughts, and the development of their spiritual maturity. This course will explore and study the personal disciplines and practices which Christians have exercised in their attempts and efforts to grow in their relationship with God over the centuries. Students will have the opportunity to reflect upon the usefulness and relevance of these texts in their own spiritual journeys and to their present spheres of ministry.

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DR503M: PREACHING TO CHANGE THE WORLD: EXPLORING THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN WITNESS

30 credits

Level 5

First Sub Session

This course engages students in a sustained exploration of the theology and practice of preaching in the context of Christian worship with a view to the wider horizon of public communication. Initial investigation of traditional and contemporary theologies of the Word prepares us to focus upon the theological and rhetorical analysis of actual sermons considered in video, audio and textual forms. We will critically examine the theological frameworks within which preaching is understood, various possibilities for understanding the relation of biblical text, contemporary context, and preached sermon, as well questions concerning the interplay of form and content in the act of preaching
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DR551N: ESSENTIALS OF CONFUCIANISM

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

This course will focus on the history and key doctrines of Confucianism in East Asia from Kongzi to contemporary phenomena. A thorough discussion of the Confucian Diaspora in Southeast Asia may be included.
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DR551Q: GREAT THINKERS IN THEOLOGICAL ETHICS

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

This course will introduce students to a number of major thinkers in the area of Theological Ethics. Its focus will be on reading and discussing texts by prominent figures who are of ongoing significance.  Moreover, this course will include figures from different theological and confessional backgrounds (Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, non-Conformist, etc.), and explore whether and how their theological commitments connect with practical stances and approaches (i.e. on issues of war and peace, sexual ethics, bioethics, etc.)
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DR552G: DISSERTATION

60 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

20,000 word dissertation written on a topic related to the student's taught Master's programme and agreed to by the supervisor and the programme co-ordinator.

 

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DR552U: THE STUDY OF THE HEBREW BIBLE

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

The subjects covered are those which are currently of special importance to the development of Hebrew Bible Studies, namely the history of ancient Israel, Pentateuch Studies and exegetical methodology, anthropology and its use in Hebrew Bible research, and the history and theology of the Septuagint (inasmuch as it pertains to the understanding of the Hebrew Bible).
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DR552X: SPECIAL SUBJECT

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

This course allows a student to do in-depth study in a specific area in Divnity or Religious Studies agreed upon with his or her supervisor and approved by the Head of School. It may be offered in conjunction with the student sitting in on level 4 lectures relating to the subject material
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DR553G: ANCIENT GREEK FOR POSTGRADUATES 4

15 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

The course is a synthesis of New Testament Greek Undergraduate level 2 material and enhanced text reading and linguistic appraisal. This course will concentrate on intense reading of the New Testament together with text and linguistic analysis. Further emphasis will be comparative analysis and interpretative methodologies.

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DR553H: ANCIENT GREEK FOR POSTGRADUATES 2

15 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

This course, which builds on the foundations laid in DR503H, introduces further study of the grammar and vocabulary of New Testament Greek. The programme will follow the textbook by J. Duff, Elements of New Testament Greek (Cambridge University Press, 2005). This is not to be confused with the textbook with the same title by John Wenham. By the end of the course the textbook will have been covered and the students will begin to read and translate unaltered texts from the New Testament.

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DR553K: PATTERNS AND PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH LEADERSHIP

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

Opportunities to explore and reflect on principles and patterns of church leadership in both the first and twenty-first centuries. In studying the New Testament sources, the relevance of both informed historical and theological study will be apparent; the relevance of distinguishing between descriptive and prescriptive New Testament content will be evaluated; and the extent to which the context for church may be determinative for patterns of church leadership will be identified. This will provide a basis for reflecting on various issues that surround current practices of church leadership.
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DR553M: CHRISTIAN PRACTICES

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

Christian practices are not activities as such, and neither are they religious duties. They are, rather, patterns of communal life within the Christian tradition that address fundamental human needs by revealing the presence and power of God. Practices point beyond the individualism of our present culture and disclose the social qualities of the Christian life. This course will explore the role and the effect which a number of Christian practices have played in the lives of local congregations. Students will have the opportunity to reflect upon the potential role of these practices in their own areas of ministry
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DR5589: INTERPRETING MYTH

30 credits

Level 5

Second Sub Session

A survey of eight leading theories of myth from the fields of anthropology, sociology, psychology, and religious studies. The focus will be on the differing answers the theories give to the common questions of the origin, the function, and the subject matter of myth.  Each theory will be applied to a familiar myth.

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