This is a list of ideas for undergraduate essays in theology, some of which might also be useful as topics for discussion, as topics for student presentations, or as examination questions. Here are a few guidelines for using them:
Students will need to narrow some topics to make them feasible. In their original form, some are too broad to explore in a single essay.
Some topics are more difficult than others.
You might want to re-word some of them based on student feedback.
Some topic statements are probably true, and others are probably untrue.
Some have rocks under the surface of the water. Only the better students will pick them.
Some topics probably have no final solution. The challenge is to make as much progress as possible in reaching one.
Some topics ask “to what extent.” This presumes that something is perhaps not wholly true or wholly untrue. The intent of the question is to find the limitations (extent) of its truthfulness.
Exposition
Which kind of translation is best: literal, dynamic or paraphrase? And what do you mean by best?
There are three different kinds of Bible commentary: devotional, expository and critical.
How are they different and what is the role of each kind?
Given a commentary, how can a reader identify the particular kind?
What topics are normally covered in Introduction to the New Testament and Introduction to the Old Testament?
What is the value of learning Old Testament Hebrew? How necessary and useful is it?
What is the value of learning New Testament Greek? How necessary and useful is it?
What is the value of learning languages that are cognate to Old Testament Hebrew, such as Akkadian and Ugaritic?
Most of the book of Proverbs is a series of observations of human nature. To what extent can they be used prescriptively to diagnose human problems? For example, “Pride goes before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18) Joe is a counsellee who has fallen on hard times. Can a counsellor therefore diagnose pride as the cause of his problems?
How literally should we interpret Genesis 1-11 (e.g. Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, Babel, Noah, Metheuselah lived to 969 years old.)
What is the synoptic problem? What are the best solutions?
Which gospel was written first: Mark or Matthew?
To what extent does detailed exegesis represent the intent of the author? Did the biblical authors intend their meaning to be more loosely interpreted?
New Testament
Compare the Judaizing forces in the early church with Paul's approach to Gentiles.
Which particular passages in Acts discuss the issue?
Which particular passages in Romans discuss the issue?
Which particular passages in Galatians discuss the issue?
Which other particular passages in other NT books discuss the issue?
To what extent are the above views consistent? To what extent do they differ?
Considering their historical situation, what influenced each side to believe what they did?
Trace the development of this theme throughout Acts. What changes is the author trying to communicate?
What does it mean that the New Testament fulfils the Old Testament? How is that different from abrogation?
Acts is not just history; it is also very theological, especially in the way it selects things to say, says them in certain ways, and leaves other things out. What are the main theological themes and emphases?
Evaluate: The New Testament is a balancing act between the old covenant and the new, the Old Testament and New, between Jew and Gentile.
Evaluate: Paul predominantly saw Jesus as the “cosmic Christ” and said little about Him as the Nazarene person who taught the disciples.
How should Christians interpret paradoxes in the Bible? For example, we see both the love of God and the wrath of God. Jeremiah and Lamentations are full of grief, while Galatians exhorts us to be joyful always. What is the difference between a paradox and a contradiction?
If the Bible says that God can be angry and will punish sinners, how does that fit with our ideas of a God of love?
“The resolution of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) was no more than a practical compromise at the time between Jewish and Gentile Christians. For that reason, Paul never mentioned it in his letters.” Evaluate.
“In the early New Testament, the Gospel was simply that the Messiah has come, and was addressed mainly to Jews and to Gentiles who were sympathetic to Judaism. The main theological problem with this view was explaining the death of the Messiah.” Evaluate.
To what extent are the synoptic gospels a biography of Jesus?
To what extent are the synoptic gospels primarily a series of theological statements?
How literally should we interpret the book of Revelation?
Evaluate: The book of Revelation is primarily a collation of quotes and paraphrases from the Old Testament.
Discuss the central concern of the letter to the Hebrews.
Who was James and why did he write his epistle?
Considering the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus, did first century Jews see a sign of prophet-hood to be denouncing sin, announcing divine punishment, and calling to repentance?
If the synoptic gospels contain many stand-alone logia, what are the implications for the synoptic problem? For example, if most of the synoptic gospels are not biographical narratives, it wouldn’t matter if the second writer omitted one, found another to include, or put them in a different order.
Why are the resurrection passages in the Gospels much briefer than the events leading up to the crucifixion?
Why did the Gospel writers give relatively few chapters to the teaching and ministry of Jesus and relatively more chapters to the last period of Christ’s life, which was mostly only one week?
The transfiguration was a momentous event in the Gospels. Why didn't the writers give it much more prominence?
Bibliology
Evaluate: The Bible is still the Word of God when it is translated into another language, as long as that translation is accurate.
Verbal inspiration implies that an interpreter should treat the statements of Scripture as true. However the intended meaning of the author might be much less definitive in the original context of writing. (For example, many events in Mark's gospel happen immediately.) How loosely can we justifiably treat the statements of Scripture?
Evaluate: The Bible is the only true source of theology.
Evaluate: It is difficult to know which teachings of the Bible should apply to us. So much is culturally determined and Christians have different views about what is only cultural in its context and what is normative.
Where is the line separating a high view of Scripture from bibliolatry? (It doesn’t help that people with a very high view of Scripture always deny bibliolatry.)
Evaluate: If we study the Bible as literature only, are we secularising theology?
Evaluate: Inerrancy is better as a working assumption than as a conclusion.
If we say that “proof-text theology” is invalid or inaccurate, are we then saying that our own theological constructs are authoritative?
Where is the line that differentiates between bibliolatry and acceptance of the Bible as the Word of God?
Theology and orthodoxy
What does it mean that theology should be deeply Trinitarian? What are the implications and practical applications?
Evaluate: “Every statement in the Bible is true, so we could re-arrange all the bits and make a perfect explanation of Christianity.”
What is the essential nature of the gospel? It was once based on fear of divine punishment but is now more often based on the attraction of God's love, so that these two messages had very little in common.
Faith is a paradox. Believing something does not make it true, for that is fideism. But faith is necessary to know spiritual truth. Evaluate.
The nature of man in Christian theology. What is each of the following and what are its implications?
Imago Dei
What is total depravity?
Effects of the fall
Bipartite or tripartite?
Evaluate: Theology is not the study of God. It is the study of man’s ideas about God.
What is the correct role for intellectualism in theology? To what extent should theology follow the laws of logic?
Theology is caught between a rock and a hard place, between rationalism and irrationalism, between logic and subjective mysticism. Evaluate.
Compare the human and divine natures in one of the following and explore the implications:
The person of Christ
The nature of the Church
The inspiration of Scripture
Evaluate: The difference between each of the following movements is mainly of emphasis and not of substance:
Conservative evangelicalism: Christians choud understand the Bible and put it into practice
Pentecostalism and charismatic view: God is free and active in the world today.
Lutheranism: Salvation is by grace through faith.
Armenianism vs Calvinism:
Are some people predestined to become Christians or do all people have freewill?
Is there double predestination? Are some people predestined to hell?
Can Christians lose their salvation? (Perseverance of the saints.)
Is Arminianism a form of semi-Pelagianism?
Is Calvinism a form of predeterminism?
The Reformed view of theology is the best fit with the teachings of Scripture. Evaluate.
Choose one of the five points of Calvinism and evaluate it.
God predestines some people for salvation and other people for damnation. Evaluate.
Isn't the idea of a personal Devil a little old-fashioned? Should Christians abandon the teaching?
How did denominational doctrine develop over time?
What is the difference between denominational doctrine and individual theological opinion? Give examples from at least three different traditions.
Evaluate: Sin is making a few mistakes.
What's the difference between biblical studies and systematic theology? Isn’t systematic theology supposed to be biblical?
Evaluate: Theology is the property of the church. What does this mean and what are its implications?
Is creativity a desirable virtue in theology? If so, how can the theologian be creative without flirting with heresy?
If the perception of spritual truth requires faith, what about non-Christians who want to learn about Christianity as an academic exercise?
Is it possible to study God?
In theology, Christians learn about God and learn to understand Him in their own culture. At what point does that knowledge become a caricature of a safe, understandable, predictable God, created in our image and brought down to our size?
Was the concept of Jesus in twentieth century liberalism a revival of the Ebionite heresy?
Does the doctrine of the incarnation necessarily imply a Docetist Christology? Explain your answer.
Scripture does not explicitly teach the doctrine of the trinity, and it seems that the idea of three-in-one did not even occur to the biblical writers to be difficult in any way. Why?
Scripture explicitly teaches the doctrine of the incarnation as necessary to salvation, but the biblical writers did not see a contradiction in a great God who is Spirit being incarnated as a human. Why?
In the New Testament, most references to predestination refer to the people of God collectively, not individually.
Orthodoxy
Evaluate: The idea of heresy is outdated and divisive. Christians should abandon it.
Evaluate: Most modern Christians don’t know enough theology to be either heretical or orthodox.
To what extent is orthodoxy defined by the events of history?
To what extent should orthodoxy be defined by the events of church history?
Is it valid to define orthodoxy by the details of academic theology? Explain your answer.
What is the difference between denominational doctrine and Christian orthodoxy?
Eschatology
In eschatology, what’s the difference between pre-millenialists, post-millenialists, and amillenialists? Which is correct? To what extent is it possible to reach a complete solution?
Evaluate dispensationalism.
In eschatology, what’s the difference between pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation? Which view, if any, do you support?
Isn't the idea of hell and divine punishment a little old-fashioned? Should Christians abandon the teaching?
Will all people who don't accept Christ go to hell? What about little children who are too young to understand the Gospel and those who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel?
Apologetics
How should Christians differentiate between:
Christian spirituality
spirituality other than Christian
superstition
the Christian attitude to animism, e.g. healing, spirits, etc.?
Some studies of religion use secular assumptions. While they might validly inform us about humankind, they do not lead just to theological truth. Examples include: anthropology, sociology, history and psychology of religion, Bible as literature, brain science. Evaluate.
There is no such thing as Science. There are many competing disciplines, each with its own methodology and assumptions. Evaluate.
Scientific enquiry is a journey, not a destination. Evaluate.
Scientific enquiry might lead to truths but it cannot lead to Truth. Evaluate.
Science has found some things to be true, even if they need modification due to greater sophistication. Evaluate.
It is a miracle that mankind can know anything for certain. Our thinking is subject to unexplored assumptions and culture. Our senses, logic, and methods are fallible. Evaluate.
The physicist might say, 'The room is the physical world. I have studied everything in the room in the finest detail. Therefore there is nothing outside the room.'* Evaluate.
*God Forbid. ABC Radio National, 7.00 a.m., 26 January, 2020.
Holy Spirit
Do all Christians have the Holy Spirit? If not, what does that mean?
The evidence of the filling of the Spirit is enthusiasm, personal commitment, and sincerity. Evaluate.
Does the Bible teach us to accept sickness or will God heal everybody who has faith?
Did miraculous gifts end at the end of the apostolic age?
Some Christians believe that extraordinary gifts of the Spirit ceased at the end of the age of the original apostles, while others believe they are still valid. Evaluate both positions, draw conclusions, and defend your position based on Scriptural evidence. Do not use personal anecdotes of any kind as evidence.
Sacraments
Should the Lord's supper be open to anybody who wants it, or only opened to baptized believers?
Do the sacraments transmit grace?
Compare different views of baptism:
Baptism of children vs baptism of adults
Baptism by immersion vs sprinkling
Baptism by water cf. baptism in the Holy Spirit?
Church history
The eastern and western churches developed differences very early in Christian history. What were those differences, why did they come about, and what were the effects?
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity was really just a compromise between competing views. Evaluate. (Be careful to avoid an heretical position.)
Montanism was the first heresy. Compare it with contemporary Pentecostalism.
Evaluate this statement:
The early church met to respond to heresies and theological problems, and the meeting in Jerusalem was the first such meeting. (Acts 15.) Their decisions, known as confessions or dogma, were binding on the whole church, and the most important decisions still define the difference between Christianity and heresy.
How have the different Christian traditions used Scripture? How did these different uses affect the subsequent development of each one?
Evaluate the statement: The Nestorians initiated the greatest evangelistic movement to Asia in history.
Ethics
Some things that were once classed as Christian obedience are now seen as being legalistic. Evaluate. Where is the boundary between obedience and legalism?
Should Christians be pacifists?
Does the Bible allow Christians to hold public office?
Can Christians get divorced? Can they remarry? What are the biblical guidelines either for or against?
To what extent should Christians keep the Sabbath? Is Sunday the Sabbath for Christians?
Should Christians tithe?
Why do good people suffer?
Does the Bible teach Christians to live sacrificially or does it teach that God will bless Christians with wealth?
What is the biblical position on women in ministry?
Psychology of religion
(Cf. theology and psychology)
Conversion is both a theological and psychological phenomenon. How do you integrate those two aspects so that each has its proper place? (Note: do not simply describe the theology and psychology of conversion.)
Individuals and religious institutions frequently tend towards conservative or progressive temperaments. How does that affect their view of right and wrong in theology? What are the implications?
Evaluate this statement and consider the implications: Individuals and religious institutions frequently tend towards determinism or fatalism on one hand, and freewill and human determination on the other. However, they are equally cultural and psychological phenomena.
To what extent do churches manifest predominantly feminine cultures?
There are six basic religious temperaments, described in the reading below entitled Styles of spirituality. They are psychological and tend to reflect different streams in most religions to some extent. Compare these approaches to each other.
In your comparisons, consider any relevant factors, e.g. purposes, strategies, chief characteristics and emphases, implementation, and effectiveness.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each one?
What are the lessons to be learned from the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
Consider Fowler's stages of religious development. What is their role in providing a church program of Christian ministry?
Reading. Styles of spirituality
Each view below defines a particular emphasis on what it means to be spiritual. Each church and individual Christian tends toward some views and away from others. All of them can be good and none is altogether right nor wrong in itself. Consequently, there is little value in arguing that one is right and the others are wrong.
Evangelism
The purpose of our faith is to reach out to those outside the walls of our church so that they can also believe in Christ.
Teaching
The way to become spiritual is to focus on teaching the Bible so that we can understand it and apply it in our lives. That's why we have Bible studies and expository sermons.
Ecstatic
Christians should be joyful, so our worship needs to be a positive experience of worshipping God, so that we can know him personally. Music is helpful, and people need some freedom to worship in creative ways. Our people find it quite boring to be still, quiet and reflective.
Ceremonial and symbolic
We have ceremonies that reflect our history and celebrate our past. Most aspects of worship have a symbolic meaning, and learning the meanings of each symbol helps us to further appreciate spiritual truth.
Good works
We are called to serve the poor and needy. We put a lot of energy into helping those who cannot help themselves, whether their needs are lack of food, inadequate clothing, homelessness, family problems, addiction, or some other kind of need.
Mystical-contemplative
Being a Christian is about being personally in touch with God, so we need time away from noise and busy-ness to be quiet, reflective, and prayerful. Knowing God is not about being noisy, excited, or preoccupied with externals. It is inward, quiet and personal.
Biblical interpretation
These are open book assessments and the assessor may specify a series of deadlines for the student's work. The assessor may also interview the student on their submissions. Some assessor might like students to ask students to give a presentation.
Bible overview
Your assessor will assign a series of Old and New Testament books. These are a sample of the whole Bible:
Two historical books
Two books of wisdom literature
Two Old testament prophets
Two New Testament letters
Answer the following questions for each Bible book:
What is the purpose of the book? State it clearly and succinctly.
Why did you define that as the purpose? Give your reasons, based on the text itself.
Who is the author? (Give the name if possible.)
Why did you give that name/s as the author?
Based on the biblical text, what can be known about the author?
If you are unable to identify the author, give your reasons, based on the text itself.
Who were the original recipient(s)?
Give their name/s if possible.
Based on the biblical text, why did you identify them as recipients?
Based on the biblical text, what can be known about them?
If you are unable to identify the recipients, give your reasons.
What are the main theological themes and emphases?
Outline:
Write an outline of the book's structure. (You may use published translations and other aids, such as Bible dictionaries, and the introductions in commentaries.)
Explain your reasons for dividing sections where you did.
What are the major themes and events in the book, and how does the book's content follow a sequence from beginning to end? (You may draw them as a diagram, but it is not required.)
What is the style of literature?
How does the literary style affect the way it is to be interpreted? (E.g Acts is mainly historical. Revelation is based on apocolyptic styles.)
Identify and describe distinctive features relevant to interpretation.
What is its context as part of the whole Bible:
in relation to other books of the Bible?
in relation to wider themes in Scripture?
in relation to the historical flow of the whole Bible?
Exegesis
This assessment is about how to apply the steps and skills of exegesis to the four main kinds of biblical literature:
Biblical poetry (e.g. Psalms and the Old Testament wisdom literature, the prophets)
Exposition and exhortation (e.g. the New Testament letters)
Narrative (e.g. Acts, Old Testament historical books)
Apocalyptic (e.g. Revelation)
(Note: the Gospels contain all kinds)
Your assessor will assign you passages as follows:
One Psalm
Two passages from the New Testament letters
One passages from Acts
Two passages from the Old Testament historical books
One passage from Revelation
Alternative
• Two Psalms
• Two passages from the New Testament letters
• Two passages from Acts
• Two passages from the Old Testament historical books
• Two passages from Revelation
Task
Write an exegesis of each assigned passage. Each should show that you can exegete a passage, show how it applies to the broader biblical and theological framework, and apply it in practical Christian life.
Please type them as according to the standards for formal essays. There is no set length, but do not exceed 1000 words for each exegesis. The quality is more important than the length.
Make sure you cover all the points below. While they are a good guide, you will not necessarily write a good exegesis by blindly answering questions. For example, your answer to a later question might prompt you to revise your answers to an earlier question. Some questions might be essential for one passage but inapplicable in another.
Exegesis
Describe any relevant background that affects meaning. These include social, political, cultural, historical contexts.
What is the text before and after talking about?
If there are any characters mentioned in the text, who are they?
What are their personal characteristics?
What are the important grammatical features?
List the key words and say what they they mean.
What significant or distinctive features does the text have?
What is the main topic of the passage?
What distinctive kinds of language expression does it have? (e.g. metaphor, simile, repetition, chiasmus, parallelism, symbolism, hyperbole, etc.) How do they affect interpretation?
What key words need special care in interpretation?
What recurring themes are in the text?
Describe the relationship between the people or ideas in the passage.
What did the original recipient of this book understand by this passage?
Note: You may use tools such as Bible dictionaries, various translations, maps, dictionaries of words of the original languages.
Interpretation
What is the main point of the passage?
What are the supporting points?
What is the meaning of the text?
What is the difference between their viewpoint at the time and our viewpoint today?
Consult three scholarly commentaries.
Evaluate your exegesis considering what they say. Reference them in your exegesis.
Evaluate your commentaries. Justify your comments.
Application
Put the teachings of the text into two lists:
biblical principles that apply to all Christians and
culturally-specific teachings that are relevant only to the people at the time of writing.
Explain how each biblical principles of the passage apply personally to people today, and give examples of each. Applications need to be specific, concrete, contemporary, and justifiable from the passage.
What did you learn that new and relevant to you personally?
How would you explore it further?
Bible study group
Your assessor will assign two passages, one from the Gospels and one from the Pauline letters. Prepare a series of Bible studies that go though the passages.
It should be appropriate to use in your own ministry, and appropriate to the people in your group.
It should cover the main biblical content.
It should include personal application or relevance.
It should include discussion that promotes learning, not just sharing of ignorance.
Submit your notes in a ready to use format, that is, legible, laid out so that they are easy to follow when actually leading a group, and understandable for your assessor. Define your target group so that your assessor may assess their appropriateness.
Your assessor may also require you to lead an actual group and may attend (or ask your attendees) to assess your skills.
Story interpretation
You assessor will assign you a passage of scripture. Consider:
Plan how you would tell it as a story.
Plan how you would you act it out as characters on stage.
Do do these tasks, you will need to explore the following elements:
The personalities of the characters
Their motivations
The emotions they express
The way they interact
The kind of conflict that drives the stories
A starting point and an ending point
A sequence of events that builds to a climax
Who is your intended audience
Elimination of extraneous elements that don't contribute to your story
An underlying message you want to communicate to your audience without preaching at them.
Old Testament
How valid is the Old Testament for Christians? Where are the limits?
During the period of the Old Testament, does Jewish culture change from a group mentality (where whole extended families could justifiably be punished for the crime of one family member) to a more individualistic mentality? Explain your answers with evidence from the Old Testament.
Some passages in the Old Testament teach animosity and genocide to many of the peoples surrounding the Jews.Some passages in the Old Testament indicate tolerance to non-Jewish peoples. To what extent is each of these statements true? What conclusions should be drawn?
What kinds of government are represented in the Old Testament? Consider these possible kinds:
Kingdom with an absolute monarchy
City states, each ruled by its own king
Vassal states
Theocracy (Rule by priests)
Confederation of independent tribes
What was the Jewish concept of statehood from the time of Saul to the Exile? Consider:
The role of the monarchy
The role of priests (theocracy)
Tribal and clan loyalties
Relations with other nearby nations (e.g. Moab, Edom, Amon, Philistia, Phoenicia).
The Old Testament recounts some horrendously bloodthirsty and immoral incidents. How should these be interpreted and what conclusions should we draw from them?
Some parts of the Torah seem to be notes taken while Moses was judging specific cases. How could you know whether or not this is true?
Moses set up a system of national law as well as code of personal ethics and morality. Jesus taught a code of personal ethics and morality, but not a system of national law. To what extent is this statement true? To what extent do Moses' teachings apply to Christians in government today?
The Jews did not practice the Law of Moses during most of the Old Testament era. To what extent is this statement true?
When did Job live?
The worldview of Job was a mixture of theism and local animism. Is this statement true? If so, to what extent?
What is distinctive about the theology of Job? What is similar and what is different from the remainder of the Old Testament?
Was Moses the author of the Torah? If you demonstrate that he was, how do you account for the conclusion, which was written after his death?
What was the role of the schools of prophecy in ancient Israel?
An editor collated the Psalms into five books. Somebody edited I & 2 Kings to become I & 2 Chronicles. Did these editors fiddle with the text? How can we say Scripture is inspired if people edited it after it was written?
How would you respond to someone who says that the people of the Old Testament could not know God intimately? Base your answer on Psalms.
Did Ezra write I & 2 Chronicles?
Many Psalms were written in a particular historical context. For example, many of David's Psalms have an introduction explaining current incidents and can be compared to the parallel record in 2 Samuel. Give the physical and historical context of ten Davidic Psalms.
Daniel is one of the more difficult books in the Old Testament. What principles are appropriate to ensure accurate exposition?
Joe Blow claims to have found a secret code in the book of Daniel to predict the end of the world. What mistakes did he make? What would be a better expository approach?
What was the ethnic mix of the Jewish nation during biblical times, and how did it change over time?
Missions and culture
Each conversation below contains at least one cultural misunderstanding. For each conversation:
Suggest plausible (i.e. credible) reasons for the miscommunications. (You do not need to know the real reason because you have not studied each culture in detail, but you do need to identify what kind of things could have happened based on the cultural ideas discussed in this unit.
Explain each reason. (What is the dynamic? Why is it happening?)
Suggest one or more better ways of coping with the situation. Explain your suggestions enough so that the marker can understand them. (You do need to provide a sensitive, thoughtful response, but you do not need to know the best way because you have not studied each culture in detail.)
There is no one perfect answer for each question, and there are usually several right answers. But some answers are definitely wrong.
Note: You must respond to ALL conversations in all three ways. This allows 20 minutes for you to respond to each conversation.
Conversation 1
One day we traveled to a group of Pokot people who lived several miles off the main road. After hiking in the bush for nearly an hour, we stopped to rest under some trees. As we rested, three Pokot men came by and sat with us.
My colleague struck up a conversation with them and began to tell them about Jesus. Their stoic expressions never changed while he told them that Jesus came to die on the cross to take away their sins.
"I'm not sure they understand what sin is," I interrupted. "Most Pokot I have talked with in this area have no concept of what it means to be a sinner."
So I asked the three men what they considered to be improper conduct. They listed adultery, killing a neighbor and stealing the possessions of another Pokot.
I then asked them if they'd ever committed any of these mistakes. (These men didn't know the word for sin, as they'd never been to church.) They answered "No."
(R. Lewis, EMQ, altd.)
Conversation 2
Joe was discipling Alf, whose brother-in-law had introduced them a few weeks ago. Alf had not been a Christian very long, but was keen to learn more. The first time they met they sat and talked and Joe felt really comfortable in the relationship.
Then they met for their first discipleship session, Joe thought that they'd need time to get into the relationship so didn't plan to teach very much.
But Alf sat beside him and listened carefully. He just looked at the ground, and sometimes looked up and down Joe's body, but never in the eye. Alf never volunteered information, and when asked, took a long time to answer even quite simple questions.
Joe wondered if Alf was sincere, and even whether he was even paying attention. The occasional gazing up and down his body made Joe perceptibly embarrassed, and eventually Alf would not answer any questions at all. Alf didn't show up for their next meeting.
Conversation 3
The language informant told the Bible translator, "Thieves among the Zanaki people of East Africa generally knock on the door of a hut they hope to burglarize, and if they hear any movement or noise they dash off. An honest person will call the name of the person inside, identifying himself by his voice."
"Yes", said the missionary, "but the Bible says, "`Look, I stand at the door and knock.' We have to be true to the Bible."
Conversation 4
Mr. Glab is a cured leprosy patient who works in a mission hospital as a carpenter. One day, the missionary doctor who ran the hospital spoke to Mr Glab. "We'd like to invite you to come with some of our other staff to a medical conference on leprosy. It's important that you come, because you could do a lot to help patients. But you won't be working, and all other building staff will have to work, so we'll have to dock your for those days you're at conference."
Mr. Glab didn't give an answer but left, angry and confused, and complained to another worker.
Conversation 5
Ed was a missionary on a Pacific island. One morning, Ed was called to pray for a young couple who had been found sleeping together. In order to find out what was going on, he wanted to discuss it with the boy and his family.
Boy: Just pray for us here. That'll mean we're married. Simple.
Parents: Why not get married in the church?
Parents: Too expensive. We'd have to provide food for hundreds of people.
Boy: And we have to make solemn promises to God. That's dangerous. If we did something wrong, He'd be angry and punish us.
Boy's brother: And besides, if he makes a vow, then he can't just send her away if he gets tired of being married to her.
Ed: (explains Christian teaching on marriage . . . ) so you really should make the solemn vow. And you should do it in church.
Conversation 6
Mrs Smith has a small son named Daniel and a maid named Maria. One day, Mrs. Smith caught Maria taking home Daniel's tricycle.
Mrs. Smith: Don't take that home. It belongs to my son. He owns it.
Maria: I found it on the path outside the house. Nobody owns it.
Mrs. Smith: But Daniel owns it. He must have left it out there.
Maria looks sad and confused.
Mrs Smith: It seems you've tried to steal it.
Maria: Oh I don't steal. You can't steal something that's been abandoned on a footpath.
Mrs Smith: But it's Daniel's. And you've got it in your hand! I'm afraid I'm going to let you go from your job.
Resource usage in missions
Do missions allocate most of their resources (personnel, money, time) to simple survival on the field rather than to ministry projects to indigenous people? How much of that missionary effort is spent actively in ministry to already-Christians and how much is evangelising not-yet-Christians? What percentage of staff do missions allocate to field survival? (For example, what is the percentage of personnel administrators, regional coordinators, MK teachers, etc.
What is the percentage of missionary time spent in language learning, visa business, tentmaking, children's education, furlough, team-building and pastoral care as a mission team? Does the individual field missionary really have time after learning the local language and culture, participating in mission administration at team and supra-team levels, managing finances, doing anything necessary to keep a visa, getting children educated, furlough, communicating with the home country, keeping other expatriate workers encouraged and adequately supervised and fellowshipped, settling in and counselling new workers, accepting visitors and short term personnel from home countries, finishing educational upgrading, looking after marriages and families, time in sickness (a major time expenditure in some places), and perhaps holding a part-time tentmaker job?
These questions should be qualified in several ways. First, some apparently unproductive ministries contribute to team achievements rather than individual achievement, so it can be unfair to evaluate resource allocation on a strictly individual basis. Second, the necessities of everyday living in some cultures take considerably more time than many home countries, so to what extent should that time be considered wasted? (Be realistic: they might be necessary cultural learning and helpful in building personal relationships and credibility.
Analysis questions
Draw a historical time-line of your sources, showing how they relate to each other historically.
What historical influences affected each source?
What cultural influences affected each source?
What other contextual factors (conception of Christianity at the time, history, politics, other ideas current at the time, social conditions, etc.) affected the various opinions? Is it good to be affected by these factors? Explain your answer.
Describe in your own words the patterns of relationships and linkages between historical and cultural factors.
What sources of authority did they draw on for denominational doctrine? (Churches have appealed to Scripture, personal Christian experience, reason, church councils, and tradition as authoritative in some way. For example, the early church held councils to make clear decisions on controversial doctrinal matters.)
What examples of bias did you notice? What caused that bias?
What issues do you see arising from your sources? Define and evaluate them using accepted methods of scholarship.
Eccesiology
Is church defined as an institution or defined by its function?
The church is the church catholic. What are the differences between interdenominationalism and organisational unity? What are the implications of those differences? Evaluate.
What should be the relationship between church and government?
Compare episcopalian, congregational and Presbyterian views of church governance. Which is the biblical form?
The New Testament does not teach a unified specific model of church governance. Evaluate.
To what extent can church structures prevent or resolve church problems?
When churches create large centralised bureaucracies or complex organizational structures, they inevitably go into spiritual decline. Evaluate.
When churches are small, independent and spontaneous, they tend to be unstable and go into into spiritual decline. Evaluate.
A church's ecclesiology should grow naturally out of its spiritual state. Church leaders and missionaries should not impose eccesiological structures on the church. Evaluate.
In the New Testament, the church started with a democratic Jewish model of organisation. As the Church moved westward, it increasingly followed the Roman idea of leadership by a local bishop. Evaluate.
No matter what missionaries teach about church governance, and no matter how biblical it is, indigenous churches tend to follow their own cultural views of the nature of leadership, the organization of the church, and the nature of institutions. Evaluate.
Pentecostal denominations have created a new version of episcopalian church governance. The senior pastor is seen has having an apostolic role, and has dominant leadership and control. The gathered church is primarily seen as the people of God gathered for worship. Evaluate.
Ecclesiology as it is taught in theological courses and the actual challenge of running churches are very separate and different topics of discussion. Evaluate.
Is it biblical to ordain people as pastors? If so, what special rights should they have?
Does the Bible allow women to be appointed to church leadership?
Explain the characteristics of your church that are not based o the Bible but are based on history and culture.
Respond to this view: In the nineteenth century, a theological scholar joined the Roman Catholic Church because:
a. God still gives His revelation to the church, and He chose the Roman Catholic Church instead of the other denominations.
b. He believed that the Bible must be interpreted according to the decisions of the church in the fourth and fifth centuries.
c. The Roman Catholic Church is more like the church of the fourth and fifth centuries.
d. The Bible still needs to be interpreted so there needs to be a church with the authority to evaluate various interpretations, so that doctrine is not determined by personal opinions.
To what extent is the Universal Church of the New Testament a continuation of the people of God in the Old Testament?
Was the church established in the Old Testament or on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out? Support your answers based on exposition of Scripture.
To what extent is the Universal church the same as the Kingdom of God? (Mt. 5-7; 13.)
To what extent does the Universal church be equate with the visible church?
In the Roman Catholic view, the Universal church is the same as the Roman Catholic Church, so that joining the church is the same as gaining salvation. Evaluate this view based on Scripture.
Is the church better being a unified organisation or lots of denominations?
Could a unified church better prevent false teachings?
What is the meaning and application of John 17:21-23?
Which view of the church is most biblical: the church as a formal institution or the functional church?
Can the church as a formal institution be differentiated from the functional church?
To what extent can the church as a formal institution be tied to the functional church?
To what extent is the Pentecostal view of church governance the same as the Episcopalian view?
Does the New Testament teach formal church membership?
To what extent is it justifiable to equate confession of faith, baptism, and responsibilities as a church member?
When are the conditions of church membership too strict? Too loose?
When it is too easy to become a church member, the church bureaucracy must be very strong. Evaluate.
Should church worship services be restricted to only believers or church members?
Explain the concept of church membership in your church and the reasons for it.
What are the limitations of the power of church leadership to run the church? Based on the New testament, what should those limitations be?
To what extent is God directly involved in church governance?
Should the church abolish all church leadership positions that are not specified in the Scripture?
How could churches prevent the misuse of power in church leadership?
Based on 1 Tim 3 and Tit. 1, make a list of the requirements to be a church leader.
Explain the task of an elder according to Acts 20.
What is the basis of the office of deacon?
Is pastor (shepherd) the same as elder?
Should church leaders be appointed for a set period of office?
Some churches have rules that only ordained pastors can preach in church, give the sacraments (baptize and serve Lords’ supper). Are these rules justifiable?
What powers should be invested in the meeting of church members?