Theology - areas of study
Theology combines a wide range of disciplines.
- literary and historical analysis of the writings of the Old Testament
and New Testament
- history of the Church from its beginnings to the present day: Church
History
- Christian thought and philosophy, including ethics, in historical and contemporary
perspective: Systematic Theology
- Christian practices, their forms, history, and rationale: Practical
Theology
The Old Testament area
includes literary and historical analysis of the writings of the Old Testament.
It entails study of:
- the ‘Pentateuch’, the first 5 books, commonly called the Law;
the historical, prophetic, wisdom and liturgical literature, including their
sources, traditions, theology, relation to history and their literary characteristics
- the historical, political, social, cultural and religious context of the
writings and that to which they refer, including archaeological data
- the language or the writings (predominantly Hebrew).
- the history of the collecting of the writings to form the Old Testament
and the study of the extant manuscript evidence and its evaluation.
The New Testament area
includes literary and historical analysis of the writings of the New Testament.
It entails study of:
- the four gospels and Acts, including their content, theology and interrelationship,
the form and history of the diverse traditions which formed the sources of
the writers; and reconstructions of the historical Jesus
- the writings of Paul and others linked to him, including historical reconstruction
of Paul’s life and thought, and other individual writings
- the Jewish and Hellenistic Roman world, its history, politics, sociology,
language (Greek), religious perspectives and literature as it sheds light
on the origins and development of first century Christianity
- the history of the collecting of the writings to form the New Testament
and the study of the extant manuscript evidence and its evaluation.
The Church History area
is a discipline of history, focussing especially on early church, reformation,
modern and Australian church history and employing historical methodologies.
It entails study of:
- primary source material, written and oral
- social and cultural history
- forms of the church’s life in diverse historical contexts
- Christian thought and practice in their contemporary historical context.
The Systematic Theology area
is diverse and much of it has an interdisciplinary character.
It entails study of:
- the content of the Christian tradition, in particular, statements of belief
and meaning, in the context of historical times and of contemporary thought,
thus drawing together biblical and doctrinal traditions with religious questions
of today, yet further engaging relevant disciplines such as philosophy, cultural
studies or sociology.
- ethical issues in historical and contemporary perspective
The Practical Theology area
includes critical reflection on the practices
of the Christian religion. It includes practicums.
It entails study of:
- liturgy and homiletics
- media and communication
- education
- pastoral care
- spirituality
- the church and Australian society.
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