THEOLOGY LOUNGE: "Theology 101: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story"

THEOLOGY LOUNGE for summer 2010 is about to get underway! This coming Thursday night I am starting a class called "Theology 101: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story." It's designed to give you a fresh grasp of the Bible and Christian theology. The class is open to all. Details are below. If you are a reader who can come to the class, we would love to have you!

1. WHAT THEOLOGY 101 IS ALL ABOUT
Theology is not about knowing dry religious facts. It is about understanding the personal God and how he interacts with us. The best way to understand God is to see him in action, as the primary actor in a story that starts with creation and ends with the restoration of all things. This dynamic and dramatic approach to theology is the one we will take in Theology 101.

Theology 101 situates Christian beliefs in a big picture that’s easy to understand and remember. This is not dumbed down theology. It is theology arranged according to the overarching history of God’s involvement with us.

Theology 101 is deeply rooted in Scripture. We will see how this overarching history comes out of the pages of the Bible. The Bible is not just something we read; it is something we participate in. To learn theology is to find our place in the biblical story.

2. WHO THEOLOGY 101 IS FOR
Theology 101 is for:
  • People who don’t necessarily have a great deal of background in Christian theology but are curious about what we believe and why. That includes both Christians and non-Christians.
  • People who have done some reading in theology but would benefit from seeing it arranged in story form as a complement to its usual “systematic” form. (We will pull more “systematic” insights out of the story, but story will be our primary way to learn theology.)
  • People who want to see the Bible from a fresh perspective.
3. CLASS MATERIALS
We will use a book – The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004). I highly recommend you purchase the book. It is worth having. You can get used copies on Amazon for less than $10 including shipping.

Bring a Bible.

And bring a pen and a pad of paper. I will provide study outlines for use in class sessions.

4. WHEN AND WHERE
Dates and Times: Six sessions running on Thursday nights – July 8 through August 12 – from 7:00 to 9:00.

Location: Tree of Life Church, Church of the Brethren (2761 190th Street, North Redondo Beach – that’s 190th between Inglewood Ave and Hawthorne Blvd on the north side of the street).

5. HOW CLASS SESSIONS WILL RUN
It's Theology Lounge. That means classes will be interactive. We all learn best when we are involved, so expect to be involved in discussions, practical projects, and whatever else.

6. SCHEDULE OF CLASS SESSIONS
Session 1     July 8     “Everybody’s a Theologian. Why Not Be a Good One?”
Session 2     July 15    Acts 1 & 2: Creation and the Fall
Session 3     July 22    Act 3: Israel
Session 4     July 29    Interlude: The Period between the Old and New Testaments and Act 4: Jesus
Session 5    August 5  Act 5: The Church
Session 6    August 12 Act 6: The Completion of God’s Mission

Comments

  1. Kenny JohnsonJuly 3, 2010 at 6:13 PM

    Will we need the book on July 8th?

    ReplyDelete
  2. David BeckJuly 4, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    Great question, Kenny! It would be a good idea, but it's not required for the first session.

    ReplyDelete

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