Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Theology Table at Nightbird Books: Canon, Confession, Creed, and Comparative Theology

This class will begin September 7th, 2011 and will last 14 weeks, meeting Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Nightbird Books. 5-5:30 informal gathering and conversation, 5:30-6:30 discussion of course material. The class will be taught by Pastor Clint Schnekloth, together with Jon Amos and Tom Stockland.

The concept: to explore what it means to have a canon (Scripture), creed, and confessional texts, and place them in comparison with other faith traditions. All Christian communities can benefit from continued conversation about how the Scripture functions as a holy text for the community, how the creeds (especially the Apostles and Nicene) function as a hermeneutical key for reading Scripture, and how, in the case of Lutherans, being confessional contributes further to being authentic in confessing precisely how we read Scripture in relation to the life of church, and life in general.

Our primary texts for the class will be:

Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture, by Peter Leithart
Canon and Creed, by Robert Jenson
The Augsburg Confession (in brief as an example of a confession)
Harvesting the Fruits: Basic Aspects of Christian Faith in Ecumenical Dialogue, Walter Kasper
Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Borders, Francis X. Clooney

Over the course of the semester, we will read all of the primary texts as the basis for our conversation and learning. For the Comparative Theology component at the end of the class. Emily A. Holmes, professor of theology from Christian Brothers University, Memphis, will be a guest speaker as the capstone for the course. 

You can purchase the books at Nightbird, http://www.nightbirdbooks.com/ 

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