Methodology and Methods in the Christian Theological Tradition

This seminar course is intended to provide students in the "theological studies program" with a broad understanding of the anthropological conditions that "constrain" all modes of human thought, including primitive religious and "meta-religious'' thought, at various periods in the evolution of Homo sapiens and subsequent historical developments. The intention here is not to sutvey the range of informal or formal methods employed in the various types of theology (whether biblical or narrative; political or prophetic; natural or revealed; historical, systematic, or pastoral; etc.) or of the theologies of particular Christian denominations or theologians. Its objective is to inquire whether it is possible to construct a sound framework or "theory" of method that can justify the knowledge claims of the disciplines (or fields) included under the rubric "Christian Theological Studies" within the framework of the modern Western research university.