Theology Units

It is impossible to live without doing theology. Even the statement “I don’t believe in God”, is a theological statement in that it presupposes certain things about the God that it rejects. In our Christian lives everything we say and think has a theological dimension. There is, thus, no non-theological thought. We only have good and bad theology.

Many times ordinary Christians think that all academic theology must be bad theology and will inevitably impact negatively on their Christian lives. However, we need to consider that the statement: “I don’t bother about all that theological stuff” already contains a whole range of underlying theological ideas – many that may not be sound in the first place. In saying that, one may imply that I don’t have to worry much about checking my ideas against the Bible as I am sure that I am perfectly correct; that I do not have to think about the implications of the Biblical message for my everyday life and the world in which I live because I can just use any text to support what I want to do and think; that the Holy Spirit by-passes our rational thinking and that what I feel is more important than what I think; that I cannot really learn from other people; that the church consists of a number of individuals who can all think as they want and claim to be correct; that the doctrine and actions of my church is more correct than other Christian positions but that I do not have to think about it, and many more similar things.

Theology is the space in which we live before, and worship, the God of the Bible. Good theology should expand the dimensions of our existence within the boundaries set up by the Word of God. The Biblical boundaries direct and anchor our faith to the person and actions of the triune God as revealed to us in Christ Jesus.

Good theology should bring us to love God more for who he is and bring us to love other people more despite who they are.

In this unit we will see the glory, the trials and the temptations that befall believers as they are, and strive to be, the body of Christ in the world. It is only as we see the church in the light of the bigger picture of the Kingdom, its existence marked by the salvation historical eschatological existential tension between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’, that we can understand and deal with her brokenness and glory in this world.

Ministers who have reflected theologically on the church are able to structure their practical work within the broader framework of God’s ultimate goal and purpose for the church. By utilising this framework they will, thus, be equipped to not only work in the church, but also to work creatively on thechurch.

Many students enter into the ministry full of enthusiasm, only to have their hopes dashed on the realities of church life. Through this course students will develop a sober, yet expectant approach to the church as they serve God to help the church become what she is in Christ.

To think about Christ and the Holy Spirit is to come to a place of awe and worship. It is here that we are able to catch a glimpse into the very depths of God’s own being. It is here that we are brought to a deeper understanding of ourselves. It is here that we see the relationship between the Holy God of love and sinful humanity brought to its surprising climax.

For everybody wishing to be in the service of the gospel, this unit is of supreme importance. Unless we understand who Jesus is and the full significance of what he has done for us, we will never experience the full richness of the gospel of Christ. And unless we understand the relationship between Christ and the Spirit we will not be able to clearly discern God’s continuing work in the church and our lives.

This unit will provide foundational knowledge on which to practically build our lives and the church, in worshipful service to God.

In a pluralistic and multi-cultural society ethics are always controversial. In this course we will examine ethics from a uniquely Christian perspective. In doing so we will seek to understand the difference between Christian Ethics and secular Ethics. There is, also, the danger that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be changed into a purely ethical regulative system, thus undermining the heart of the gospel. We will, therefore, carefully examine the relationship between the law and grace in a Biblical perspective. Following the development of a theological base-theory for ethics we will examine certain critical ethical issues for today.

This course will investigate the theological and practical theological dimensions of developing worship in the local church. As the church exists as a worshipping community the development and structuring of worship in the local church is of cardinal importance.