I. Course Description
This course offers students the opportunity to study the theology of St. Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Zwingli and other men who helped bring about the Reformation. Students will gain a perspective of place of the reformers in historical theology as well as have opportunity to read some of their writings. In this course students will study through the book and audio lectures Theology of the Reformers by Dr. Timothy George, founding Dean and Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama.
II. Course Mentor
If you are taking this course as directed studies, you must have a mentor to successfully complete the course requirements. A list of available mentors for this course and their contact information is posted in the Student Area. If you have any difficulty arranging for a mentor, please contact the Study Center Director.
III. Attendance and Participation
This course meets for 16 sessions. Students will have 20 weeks to complete all the sessions (from February 1, 2010 to June 25, 2010). Your participation in the course will be determined largely by your contact time with your mentor. You may work through the course material online at your own pace, but to fulfill the attendance requirement for the course, you must stay in contact with your mentor and log at least 16 meetings with your mentor (one for each session of the course). Your mentor may give you 2 credits for 1 meeting if you meet long enough to sufficiently cover two sessions. It will be up to your mentor to determine at the end of the course if you have fulfilled the attendance requirement and sufficiently covered the course material.If extenuating circumstances arise and you will not be able to complete the course in the allotted time, please contact the Study Center Director.
IV. Required Texts
Two texts are required for this course:
• Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George
• The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
Additional reading assignments will be provided online.
V. Outline of Sessions
The 16 sessions of this course are as follows:
1. Introduction
2. Augustine (Part 1)
3. Augustine (Part 2)
4. The Late Middle Ages
5. Erasmus
6. Martin Luther
7. The Reformation in Saxony
8. Zwingli
9. Calvin (Part 1)
10. Calvin (Part 2)
11. Calvin's Institutes (Part 1)
12. Calvin's Institutes (Part 2)
13. Calvin's Institutes (Part 3)
14. Calvin's Institutes (Part 4)
15. Menno Simons and the Anabaptists
16. The Abiding Value of Reformation Theology
VI. Method of Instruction
Teaching methods will include:
• Listening to audio lectures with power point slides online
• Study Guides for each Session (covering the material from the reading and lecture)
• Discussion of course material with your mentor
• Feedback from your mentor on course assignments
VII. Course Assignments
All assignments for the course are outlined on the session pages and in the study guides.
Weekly Assignments:
Each session will include the following:
1) Reading Assignments
2) Discussion Questions over the Reading Assignment
3) Discussion Questions over the Lecture
Please complete all the readings for the session and print out a hard copy of your answers to the discussion questions so you are prepared for your meetings with your mentor. You will receive credit for doing your weekly assignments once you have met and covered the material with your mentor.
Major Projects: Your course work will also include two major projects:
1. Research Paper You will choose one of the major events of the Reformation (Luther’s 95 Theses, Luther at the Diet of Worms…) and prepare a research paper. Your paper should be five pages (not including title page or bibliography), double-spaced, no larger than 12-point font (Times Roman or Arial), with 1 inch margins. Your paper should cover a brief history of the event, a discussion of the major theological issues involved, and the significance of the event to our understanding of theology today. More detailed instructions on this project will be provided in Session 10.
2. Position Paper Your final project for the course will be to prepare a position paper. Your paper should be minimum of three pages (not including title page), double-spaced, no larger than 12-point font (Times Roman or Arial), with 1 inch margins. You will choose one topic of theology from a list of available topics (election, justification by faith alone, the atonement, the will of man…). Your paper should cover your own understanding of the topic, a defense of your view from Scripture, and a brief comparison of your view to that of the reformers. More detailed instructions on this project will be provided in Session 15.
Your mentor will assign specific due dates for your projects. All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by June 25, 2010.