Course Syllabus

Instructor: Jeremy Garber, Ph.D.

Oberammergau church interior

Course Synopsis

What is “the church”? What does the church do? Who decides who’s in and who’s out?  The primary purpose of this course is to survey the theological doctrines of “church” and community. To do this, students will (1) closely examine selected key texts in the Christian Bible that discuss the developments of the early Christian church; (2) closely examine selected sections of historical theological texts on ecclesiology from a variety of theological traditions; and, most importantly, (3) research the understandings of authority and leadership, church and community in (a) their own self-identified community or tradition and (b) a contrasting community or tradition by visiting and observing their communal practices and reflecting upon them.

Required Text

Norman Kraus. The Community of the Spirit: How the Church Is in the World. Wipf & Stock, 2008. ISBN 978-1597529754.

 All other texts will be online readings on Canvas and open-source Internet texts provided by the instructor.

Overview and Objectives

Evaluation

Policies And Services

Course Summary:

Date Details Due