Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School · Courses
CF
22 courses with the subject CF, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
CF 100Christian Belief Today
This course is designed to immerse students in the living stream of Christian theological thinking about God, as expressed in creeds— ecclesial and personal, ancient and new. We will wrestle with basic teachings about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Trinity, sin and salvation, the Kingdom of God, the Church, last things, and so on. Although systematic in scope, attention will be focused on the intersections of texts, contexts, and communities of faith through the centuries of world Christianity. At every point we will attend to learned, pastoral and prophetic aspects of Christian theology as language of the enlightened heart, articulated as credo. Students will be asked to articulate their own credo in conversation with Christian theological traditions, their ecclesial communities, and the realities of life in the 21st century.
This course offers an introductory survey of Christian ethics. It assumes no prior knowledge of the field and is appropriate for both those looking for a general introduction in preparation for ministry, as well as those contemplating future specialization in the field who want a bird’s eye view of the tradition. Specifically, we will track the changing configurations of four sets of relationships that resurface throughout Christian history: the relationship between faith and works, church and state, individual (rights) and community (responsibility), and love and justice. The overall aim is twofold: first, to cultivate a critical sense of the abiding power of, and objections to, Christian moral teachings, and secondly, to apply these teachings to concrete social practices.
American Religious History is a survey course that introduces students to the development and transformation of religion from the pre-Columbian period to the present in the United States. While the course concentrates on the history of American Christianity, it also examines diverse religious traditions have influenced and been influenced by the historical development of the United States. Particular attention is paid to issues like American exceptionalism, manifest destiny, immigration, race, and gender.
This course studies the theological foundations of evangelism with a view to developing appropriate principles and strategies of evangelism in the local church. The purpose of this course is to give students an opportunity to develop, for their own ministries, an understanding of evangelism that meets the criteria of (1) charity, (2) fidelity, (3) depth, (4) sensitivity to issues of context and justice, and (5) applicability.
This course examines the growth and development of Christianity by surveying its key periods, movements, and figures. Emphasis will be given to primary source readings and interaction with historical context. This section of the course begins with late-Medieval Christianity (ca. 1400) and moves toward the present day.
This course is an introduction to the development of Christianity from the apostolic period to the Reformation. Emphasis is placed on the central historical figures, movements, social issues and theological issues, with attention given to their importance for Christian ministry today. Major texts and interpretive studies are read.
This course offers an intensive study of the life and thought of the first Protestant Reformer. Luther’s life will be set in the historical and theological context of Late Medieval Catholicism. Many of Luther’s main writings will be read in chronological order to give a sense of the development of his theology as he gradually felt forced to leave the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s career as a reformer will be highlighted, as will the salient themes of his “new” theology. Significant secondary sources will be read to help us interpret Luther’s life and thought from various stand points. The contemporary relevance of Luther’s life and theology will be explored.
This course is intended to 1) provide students with the historical context for understanding John Wesley’s significance as a church leader; 2) identify and explore major theological themes in Wesley’s thought, 3) assess Wesley’s significance in church/religious history; 4) explore Wesley’s legacy, in light of issues facing contemporary Christians; 5) provide modern Methodists (and others) with the theological resources necessary for doing theology and ministry in the Methodist mode.
CF 225PANDEMIC: Political Ecology, Theology and the Responses of the Faithful
This course will explore the COVID-19 pandemic as an unveiling—an apocalypse—that is laying bare deep structures of global injustice including racism, misogyny, exploitative capitalism, and unmitigated natural resource extraction. Together, we will articulate faithful responses to these questions through the lens of faith and community leaders.
This course surveys the writings and practices which constitute and contributed to the formation of Christian Spirituality. The work of leading Christian spiritual writers, from a variety of faith traditions will be studied and evaluated. In addition to academic study, students will be encouraged to embrace the practices and disciplines of Christian Spirituality.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a deeply theological thinker who was first and foremost engaged with how the gospel is to be lived in concrete ways in the world today. His interweaving of theological sophistication with the life of discipleship is unique, as is the creative tension with which he held together faithfulness to the past and risk-taking for the future. At heart, however, Bonhoeffer’s theology is Christology. His focus on Jesus inspired Bonhoeffer’s passion for the church as the “body of Christ”—the physical manifestation of Jesus, “Christ existing as church-community”— and in the last years of his life shaped his understanding of the “this- worldliness” of faith. 25 course Instructor Dr. John R. Tyson Dr. John R. Tyson Dr. John R. Tyson Dr. Melanie A. Duguid-May
Christianity and Violence Against Woman In this class, students will consider the role that Christian approaches to religious belief have had in shaping both the problem and promise of belief with regard to violence against womxn today. Guided by texts in Christian ethics and theology, feminist philosophy, and trauma studies, students will consider the nature of belief as a Christian ethical concept and practice in order to investigate the contours of belief in terms of its capacity to either hinder or act as a resource for womxn’s flourishing.
CF 302Mystics, Communities, and Revolutionary Change
This course considers mysticism as knowledge of God, Christ, ourselves, our communities of faith and our world, which is grounded experientially in love of God and love of “our neighbors as ourselves.” From this angle of vision, we will explore definitions of mysticism, biblical foundations of Christian mysticism, and read primary texts from the communion of Christian mystics who sought the hidden, loving and transforming God revealed in Christ and in all creation. Accordingly, we will pay attention to dynamics of power, gender, race and the call to revolutionary change as we read the texts of mysticism more deeply. We will consider the seeking and the becoming of mystical experience as it leads inexorably to healing, growth in holiness, and the lived praxis of “new creation.”
This course is an historical and theological study of the church’s faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Students will explore the theological significance of Jesus’ person and work through examining the development of Christology in its various expressions. The course will draw upon classical resources, as well as contemporary critiques and reaffirmations of the church’s faith in Jesus Christ.
This course examines ways in which the salvific work of Christ have been understood. Special attention is devoted to the question of Christ’s atonement as understood by St. Athanasius, St. Anselm, Peter Abelard, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, and Immanuel Kant. Some consideration will be given to the themes of justice, retribution, mercy, and forgiveness as moral and theological themes.
This course examines the development of United Methodist history and theology from the time of John Wesley to the present. In addition to acquainting the student with significant historical and theological movements within the United Methodist tradition, the course will increase student awareness of how these movements have impacted denominational identity at the beginning of the 21st century.
In this seminar, we will be reading a few texts that cover liturgical theology, in general, and Anglican liturgy, more specifically. Together, we will engage in theological discussion as well as liturgical praxis. The goal of the course is to have each student walk away with a basic understanding of liturgical theology and to be competent in the use of the Book of Common Prayer and the other resources of the Episcopal Church.
This course will examine the development and evolution of Anglicanism from the English Reformation (16th – 17th centuries) to the contemporary post-colonial period, with a special focus on the history and polity the Episcopal Church.
Faith formation and spirituality in the Episcopal church has ancient roots. This course invites students to explore those roots, the progression of the tradition and their own spiritual formation. This course will introduce students to beliefs and practices of formation by both reading and engaging these disciplines. Students will discover how ancient as well as contemporary Christian spiritual practices embrace an incarnational way of living, which offers a way of being and doing in the world.
CF 564Mission and Ministry in the Episcopal Church
This course will be a critical survey of the history of Christian Mission from the New Testament to the contemporary church. Particular attention will be given to persons, movements, and cultural shifts that defined the missional movement. This course will introduce students to a variety of perspectives with an emphasis on the Anglican Communion & the Episcopal Church.
The overall goal of this course is to help every student practice thinking, praying, analyzing, and engaging Anglican theological and ethical discourse in an informed and beloved teaching and learning community. The course is designed to help students to gain an overview of the theological and ethical landscape of the Anglican Communion and its efforts to develop a multicultural identity from a diversity of worldviews and meanings, while also nurturing a balanced sense of the unity of the church and God’s creation.
