Course Catalog Description
This course will explore the implications of particular Christologies on the global church, mission, and culture, with special reference to Church history. This course will cover the early development of trinitarian theology, the debates about the identity of Jesus Christ, and creeds. This course will also include explorations of more contemporary critiques about how Christology is formed and practiced in the church and world, engaging diverse theological perspectives. The goal of this class is to understand the historical formations and critiques of Christology, Soteriology, and Ecclesiology, so that the student might be able to design and construct life-giving theologies within the context of their vocational call and the communities in which they will serve.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to
- Outline key doctrinal developments in Christology and examine the key and related critiques of how the church has constructed and lived this theology in the world throughout Christian history.
- Analyze and articulate how Christology can help us both to critique and to build culture.
- Construct a framework for how Christology impacts particular church, parachurch organizations, and/or communities today.
Course Requirements
For more information on how you will be graded in this course, please refer to the Contract Grading page.
Students must submit their contract by Wednesday, February 7.
Below are all the possible options for assignments in this class. Students will opt into assignments based on the grade they wish to receive in the course.
| Column A | Column B | Column C |
| Cultural Jesus Presentations | Icon Writing | Research Paper |
| 10 Reading Responses | Annotated Creed | Short Research Paper + Creative Project |
Cultural Jesus Presentations
Following the example provided on the first week of class, students are invited to present a cultural depiction of Jesus to the class and lead a class-wide conversation. Any image, song, video, or textual representation is welcome, provided it fits within the allotted 20 minutes (including conversation). Students must do research and provide the answer to question (a) then lead the class in a discussion of questions (b, c, d):
- What is the context of the cultural Jesus? What is the creator of the cultural Jesus responding to—any particular movements, events, theological/philosophical positions, etc.? (history)
- What does this cultural Jesus reveal about God and/or the person of Jesus Christ? (theology/Christology)
- What does the cultural Jesus reveal about us/humanity? (theological anthropology)
- What are the implications of the Christology? (ethics)
Students can sign up for presentations in the first weeks of class. Presentations can be given at any point in the term, but there can be no more than two presentations per week. Thus, students must not wait until the last weeks of the term to sign up for a presentation slot.
Nothing needs to be turned in with this assignment, as long as the student verbally provides sufficient historical/cultural context. Students will have Zoom screen-sharing capabilities to complete this assignment.
Reading Responses
Students will complete journal-type reflections on 10 weeks of course readings. Students may opt to respond to the weeks listed below using the Reading Response template provided by the instructor or respond via their own preferred means (e.g. in the past, students have written creative responses or have mind-mapped their readings). Each response must be limited to approximately one page single-spaced.
- How Jesus Became Christ
- The Invention of Orthodoxy
- The Council of Nicaea
- The Council of Chalcedon
- Middle Ages/Early Modernity
- Barth & the Black Christ
- Incarnation I
- Incarnation II
- Atonement
- Election, Ecclesiology, & Ethics
Note: Students are encouraged to write their reading responses as they go versus waiting until the end of the term, as the purpose of this assignment is to help students engage and retain their reading each week to better prepare them for class discussion.
Icon Writing
For this assignment, students are invited to participate in the Eastern Church’s practice of icon-writing. Students should begin by watching the short PBS video to learn more about the process. Icons must be of Jesus but can reflect him in any way the student sees fit.
Along with submitting an image of their icon (JPG or PNG preferred), students must submit a 600-word essay both describing the symbolism embedded in the icon (using 2-3 terms from the course, e.g., soteriology, atonement, incarnation, low/high Christology, etc.) and reflecting on the process of icon writing itself.
Note: Students may use whatever media they prefer for this project.
Annotated Creed
In the spirit of the Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creed, for this assignment students will write their own creed that expresses their developing Christology/Theology of God. The creeds must be at least 20 lines long, include “I believe” statements, and describe theological claims about the nature/identity of Christ (e.g. the relationship between Christ and the Godhead, claims about atonement or the incarnation, etc.). Students must also annotate their creeds, using either track changes or a separate Word document. Annotations should provide theoretical background for the “I believe” statements and should exercise 2-3 key terms of this course (e.g. soteriology, atonement, incarnation, low/high Christology, etc.).
Note: The creeds may be traditionally orthodox or heterodox in nature. The purpose of this assignment is to help students tease out their own Christological beliefs in the language of the historical Christian church (creeds)—whether they fall under the umbrella of orthodox Christianity or not.
Research Paper
For this research paper, students are invited to go deeper on either the Christology of a certain theologian (including, but not limited to, the theologians introduced in class); survey Christology within a particular school of thought (e.g. feminism, postcolonialism, queer theology, etc.); or choose their own topic that is related to Christology in some way. As a research paper, students are expected to have a clear argument expressed in a thesis statement. However, depending on the exact topic of their paper, they may find that personal experience or non-academic sources (music, literature, art, social media content, etc.) are appropriate for thoroughly excavating their topic.
Papers should be approximately 10 pages (3,000 words). There should be a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed academic sources, 2 of which are primary (i.e. written by a theologian you are writing about).
Please reach out to Dr. Sawyer with any questions regarding the appropriateness of your topic. Reach out to the Writing Center with help in developing a clear argument.
Short Research Paper + Creative Project
For the research paper + creative project assignment, students are invited to write a short research paper on any topic related to Christology (outlined below) alongside a creative expression. The creative expression should be thought of as the “unspoken” parts of the research project, what the student cannot put into words/prose.
Short Research Paper: Like the longer research paper, students are invited to go deeper on either the Christology of a certain theologian (including, but not limited to, the theologians introduced to in class); survey Christology within a particular school of thought (e.g. feminism, postcolonialism, queer theology, etc.); or choose your own topic that is related to Christology in some way. As a research paper, students are expected to have a clear argument expressed in a thesis statement. However, depending on the exact topic of their paper, they may find that personal experience or non-academic sources (music, literature, art, social media content, etc.) are appropriate for thoroughly excavating their topic.
Papers should be approximately 7 pages (2,100 words). There should be a minimum of 7 peer-reviewed academic sources, 2 of which are primary (i.e. written by a theologian you are writing about).
Creative Project: A piece (or collection/series of pieces) of art, poetry, narrative writing,
music, drama, photographic essay, sermon, etc. coordinated with the above paper. (Please, no pictorial or movie collages.) The themes of the paper and the creative project should reflect and resonate with one another. This artistic project must show evidence of the requisite time investment, must not have been produced for any other purpose prior to the class, and must be of an acceptable standard for a Master’s program.
Please reach out to Dr. Sawyer with any questions regarding the appropriateness of your topic or project. Reach out to the Writing Center with help in developing a clear argument.