Foreword by Alan Torrance
Introduction
The Vitality of Christian Community
The Theme of Our Course
Christology and Chronology
A Subversive Theology
Acknowledgments
Class 1: What's the Use of Theology?
The Trap of Measurability
The Trap of Utility
The Value of Theology
Homework Assignments
Class 2: Methods in the Madness
Theology as an Act of Faith
Theology as Science
Some Methods in the Madness
Applying the "Who" Question
Homework Assignments
Class 3: I Believe in God
The Truth Will Set You Free
Theological Omelets and the Strange Brew of Authority
Homework Assignments
Class 4: I Believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of
Heaven Earth
Father God?
Almighty God?
Creator God?
Homework Assignments
Class 5: I Believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our
Lord
Faith in Jesus Christ
The Quest for the Historical Jesus
The Content of the Kerygma
The Christological Controversies
What Does It All Mean?
The Lordship of Jesus Christ
Homework Assignments
Class 6: Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered, Dead Buried
Martin Luther Meets Jesus
The Self-Emptying God
The Lord of Lost Causes
Aspects of the Atonement: Toward a More Inclusive Framework
Homework Assignments
Class 7: Our Humanity in Light of Jesus Christ
Imagination Enough to See What Is There
The Specificity of Jesus Christ
The Image of God
The Comprehensive Claim
A Tree Named Adam
Homework Assignments
Class 8: The Holy Spirit
Learning Ourselves Through the Holy Spirit
A Wind, a Fire, a Power Divine
The Spiritual Humanity of Jesus Christ
The Lord Is the Spirit
The Giving God
Homework Assignments
Class 9: The Holy Catholic Church
A Confessional Starting Point
The Community Created by the Holy Spirit
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Members of One Body
The Myth of Solitary Religion
The Myth of Voluntary Religion
The Specificity of the Church
The Church and the Kingdom of God
Homework Assignments
Class 10: The Forgiveness of Sins
The Environment of Forgiveness
The Verbum visible of Forgiveness
The Ethics of Perichoresis
Homework Assignments
Class 11: The Resurrection of the Body the Life
Everlasting
A Teleological Vision
The Resurrection of the Body
The First Fruit of Resurrection
Peregrini et hospites super terram
Amen
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Subjects
Michael Jinkins is President and Professor of Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Previously he served as Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Pastoral Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, after having served as pastor of several congregations. His books include Called to be Human (Eerdmans); Letters to New Pastors (Eerdmans); Invitation to Psalms (Abingdon); Christianity, Tolerance and Pluralism (Routledge Press); The Church Faces Death: Ecclesiology in a Postmodern Context (Oxford University Press) and In the House of the Lord: Inhabiting the Psalms of Lament (Liturgical Press).
"Michael Jinkins has provided us with an accessible and readable
theological primer. His lively introduction to the central
doctrines of the Christian faith is born of a conviction that
theology matters deeply not merely for a small professional group
but for the whole people of God. This book is likely to be used and
valued by many, particularly within the Reformed tradition."
*David Fergusson, Professor of Divinity, New College, University of
Edinburgh, Scotland*
"I heartily endorse Michael Jinkins's Invitation to Theology.
Eminently readable, Jinkins provides a fresh, even elegant,
articulation of core doctrines of the faith in a lively and
engaging style. His imaginative analogies and helpful penchant for
interrelating doctrines breathe an energizing vitality into
theological reflection. Jinkins portrays doctrinal issues in ways
both savvy to historical context and also engaging of readers
'where they live.' Most attractive to me is the
trinitarian/christological lens through which all key doctrines are
viewed. At last we have a survey that regards the Trinity not
merely as an addendum or a part of the chapter on the doctrine of
God but as integrally woven into the whole fabric of the
theological tapestry, giving refreshing cohesion to every doctrine.
I have long awaited such an unapologetically trinitarian-angled
book for use as a text in my Christian doctrine classes."
*Jeannine Michele Graham, Assistant Professor of Religion,
Whitworth College*
"Michael Jinkins is offering much more than a basic theological
text book on the Creed; he is presenting an approach to theology
and theological learning which comes out of his experience as a
teacher of adults in seminary and Sunday school. I warmly commend
this exciting resource for group learning and agree with Jinkins's
conviction that doing theology is a community activity with a
practical end. Those who immerse themselves in this course, in the
conversations with great thinkers of the past, and in the creative
thinking and exploration that is encouraged can hardly fail to have
a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of their faith. As the
course is designed to be done as a community activity, the hope and
expectation is that with a renewed grasp of the gospel, there will
be a fruitful renewal of the life of the church. Read as a text by
individuals, the attractive prose and clarity of presentation
should inspire group use and collaborative learning. Dr. Jinkins's
book deserves to be widely read and used."
*The Rev. Canon Dr. Vincent Strudwick, Director of Theology
Programmes Department for Continuing Education, University of
Oxford, Fellow of Kellogg College*
"Michael Jinkins's invitation to theology is lively, fresh and
reader friendly. Centered on the trinitarian love of God as source
of new life in communion with God and others, Jinkins's book ties
together Christian doctrine, worship and service, and helpfully
exposes the destructiveness of modern individualism in both church
and society. An excellent choice for a first course in
theology!"
*Daniel L. Migliore, Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic
Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary*
"I'm glad that I accepted Michael Jinkins's invitation to study
theology with him. Jinkins makes good on his promise that
theological study will come alive when it helps us to see our
world--and our own lives in that world--through the reality of the
living Christ."
*Richard J. Mouw, President and Professor of Christian Philosophy,
Fuller Theological Seminary*
"Jinkins here invites us to participate in both the joys and the
challenges of the theological task. With the expectancy of a
colleague proposing a new approach to an old question, he draws us
into conversation with the figures, themes and problematics of the
Christian tradition. With the guiding hand of a good teacher, he
reminds us that the work of theology should not be undertaken
lightly. Students and laypeople new to the discipline will
especially benefit from Jinkins's creative balance of 'lectures'
and 'homework assignments,' all geared to train us to be
theologians--to better know and bear witness to the character of
God."
*Cynthia L. Rigby, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology,
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary*
"Michael Jinkins has the rare gift of making complex theological
doctrines accessible to laypeople and beginning theological
students without 'dumbing down.' In this book he interprets
Christian doctrine with the cheerful and joyful good humor that is
appropriate for a theology that has to do with the good news of God
in Jesus Christ. An especially helpful feature of the book is the
way it encourages teachers and students to learn together to relate
the implications of the Christian faith for everyday life."
*Shirley Guthrie Jr., Emeritus Professor of Systematic Theology,
Columbia Theological Seminary*
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