Access to Christian Theology modules

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Introduction to Studying Theology

What’s this module about?

This module focuses on the methods of study needed for higher education in general, and theological education in particular. It does so using theological texts and biblical materials. This means that, while the module is of particular benefit to anyone who has been out of the habit of study for some time, it still has value to seasoned scholars because of the reading it requires.

Aims of this module:

to help you assess what you understand by ‘study’,
to give you some tools and pointers that will help you with your study, and
to give you first hand experience of using these tools in a theological environment.

Old Testament Overview

What’s this module about?

Although the Bible tells us about many people, places and events, it is really telling one story, which some have called His-story i.e. the story of God and his acts. This module introduces you to the themes of the first part of that story by giving you a thematic introduction to the Old Testament.

Aims of this module:

to familiarise you with the broad sweep of biblical history, particularly as seen in the Old Testament,
to identify most of the key themes of the Old Testament, and
to enable you to understand something of the historical background to these themes, and to enable you to see some of the links between the Old Testament story of God's people and the New Testament story of God's revelation in Jesus Christ.

An excellent summary of this module can be found in our Old Testament Overview public lecture series.

Systematic Theology

What’s this module about?

Systematic theology draws together the different strands of teaching found in the Scriptures in an attempt to systematically, coherently and meaningfully expound the Christian faith.

Aims of this module:

to familiarise you with tasks and methods of systematic theology,
to identify the key themes of systematic theology,
to enable you to trace the links between these themes, and
to show how the person and work of Christ, as revealed in the Scriptures, is the key to understanding them all.

New Testament Overview

What’s this module about?

This module takes up the story we began in Old Testament Overview – the story of the acts of God in history. Where Old Testament Overview focused on the story of God and his actions as told in the Old Testament, this module focuses on the content and meaning of the New Testament. The books of the New Testament focus on the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the consequences of these events both for the people of God and the history of the world. The books of the New Testament cover only a relatively small number of decades, but they bring to fulfilment the themes developed over centuries of Old Testament history.

Aims of this module:

to familiarise you with the major divisions of the New Testament,
to acquaint you with some of the historical background to the New Testament,
to enable you to identify the development of key themes as introduced in Old Testament Overview (grace, covenant, sin, etc),
to let you see that these are fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ, and

to help you see the significance of these things for personal faith.

History of Christianity

What’s this module about?

Church history is, as the name implies, the study of the history of the Church. The parameters of this study are enormous, spanning the last 2,000 years and touching all parts of the earth. This module gives us an overview of this remarkable story in a way that is readable and informative without being daunting.

Aims of this module:

to give you an overview of the history of Christianity from the first century AD until today, and
to introduce you to some of the major eras in the Christian story in order to help you examine current issues.

Pastoral Theology

What’s this module about?

Theology is not simply an academic discipline. Theological reflection takes place in the ‘rough and tumble’ of life. It relates to the real world in which people are born, live and die. It is our theological reflection on God’s dealings with us in this ‘real’ world which gives us the raw material for pastoral theology.

Aims of this module:

to introduce you to some of the aims and methods of pastoral theology,
to provide an elementary biblical basis and rationale for the pursuit of pastoral theology,
to give you the opportunity to see some of the relationships between biblical and theological studies, and the life issues which we must face day by day,
to give you the chance for some personal reflection on some issues of pastoral relevance, and
to give you the chance to explore some of the fundamental issues involved in grief and bereavement.