NEW: CS151 Philosophy of History and TH390 Contextual Theology
Our latest pre-pubs are CS151 Philosophy of History by Mike Licona and TH390 Contextual Theology: Examples from Christianity in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by Victor Ezigbo.
CS151:
Philosophy of History (CS151) establishes a theory of history and then applies it to a historical investigation of the resurrection of Jesus. It provides an extensive and detailed consideration of the many issues related to historical investigation—including the uncertainty of historical knowledge, the influence of one’s worldview in historiography, the historian’s right to investigate miracle claims, burden of proof, and arguments to the best explanation.
The course then walks through this strictly-controlled historical method to investigate the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. You’ll learn the relevant biblical and non-biblical sources which are identified and evaluated according to their historical reliability. Finally, the course weighs two prominent hypotheses that account for the historical bedrock according to the historical method set forth above. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is shown to be a near-certain historical probability, and thus, a solid basis for one’s faith in God—a faith that produces an eternal hope in the resurrection life.
TH390:
Contextual theology requires you to take human contact seriously and is an indispensable source of theology. Victor Ezigbo discusses how contextual theology can teach theologians who already do theology from a systematic, historical, or biblical perspective. Ezigbo explores the “ancestor Christologists” in Africa, who look at Jesus Christ as an “ancestor”—someone analogous to the African concept of an ancestor of the spiritual world and the physical world. He explores liberation theologians in South America and their work, including their emphasis on engaging in social action and taking on socio-political problems in their communities. Ezigbo considers Dalit theologians as an example of theology in Asia. These individuals take on the questions that the Dalits—who are considered outcasts in the traditional Hindu system — are asking about the gospel. All of these contextual theologians from around the world have learned that theologians have the responsibility of serving the church — they should identify the needs of the church and address those needs in the ways that people can understand. Contextual theology will help all theologians accomplish this great task.