BB607 - Biblical Theology of Mission
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0 Standard Tuition Fee
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4Credit Points
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0.125 EFT
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8AQF level
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biblical studiesUnit Discipline
Prerequisites
This unit can be counted as a Biblical Studies (BB) unit or as an Evangelism and Missiology (EM) unit, towards the Ministry and Practice department requirements of a course, or towards the Bible and Language department, but not both.
Exclusions
BB505.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students willA. Know and understand
- The biblical foundations of Christian mission.
- The nature and purpose of God as a missionary God.
- The role of humanity in the purposes of God.
- Selected approaches to the biblical theology of mission.
B. Be able to
- Explain the biblical foundations for mission.
- Discuss the nature and purpose of God as a missionary God.
- Analyse the role of humanity in the universal purposes of God.
- Present a Critical evidence-based perspective on the biblical theology of mission.
- Evaluate selected approaches to the biblical theology of mission.
C. Be in a position to
- Integrate perspectives from their other theological studies into the biblical theology of mission.
- Use perspectives from the biblical theology of mission for personal understanding and in ministry contexts.
- Apply the biblical theology of mission to contemporary missionary issues.
- Evaluate historic and contemporary approaches to the biblical theology of mission.
Content
Section A: Old Testament Perspectives
- God, Creation and the world; human sin and the effects of the fall.
- The missiological significance of Babel and the Flood.
- The Abrahamic covenant; God and Israel: election, covenant and responsibility.
- Yahweh versus Baal; Israel and the nations; universal hope in the Psalms.
- The missionary emphasis of the prophets; the Servant of the Lord.
- The kingdom of God in the Old Testament; inter-testamental hopes, nationalistic and universal.
Section B: New Testament Perspectives
- The synoptic Gospels and the ministry of Jesus; the Kingdom of God and the ministry to Israel; the place of the gentiles; the missionary mandate.
- The Gospel of John: the “world” and its need; the children of God; Abrahamic sonship; Jesus and his own as “sent”.
- The Holy Spirit in the mission of the church; missionary principles in Acts; ethnic barriers and cross cultural mission.
- The Pauline theology of mission:
- Jew and Gentile in Christ; the new humanity and the renewal of creation.
- The mission of the church and the powers; conflict, suffering and mission;
- Mission and future hope; the consummation of all things in Christ.
Set Readings
Prescribed
Blauw, J., The Missionary Nature of the Church; A Survey of the Biblical Theology of Mission (London: Lutterworth, 2003).
Bolt, P. and M. Thompson (eds), The Gospel to the Nations: Perspectives on Paul's Mission: in honour of Peter T. O'Brien (Leicester: Apollos, 2000).
Glasser, A., Announcing the Kingdom: the Story of God's Mission in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003).
Kaiser, W. C., Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000).
Köstenberger, A. J. and P. O’Brien, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (Leicester: Apollos, 2001).
Larkin, W. J., et al, Mission in the New Testament: An Evangelical Approach (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1998).
O’Brien, P. T., Gospel and Mission in the Writings of Paul: An Exegetical and Theological Analysis (Grand Rapids; Carlisle: Baker; Paternoster, 1995).
Okoye, J. C., Israel and the Nations: A Mission Theology of the Old Testament (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2006).
Peskett, H. and V. Ramachandra, The Message of Mission: The Glory of Christ in All Time and Space (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2003).
Sanders, J., No Other Name: An Investigation Into the Destiny of the Unevangelized (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001).
Sanneh, L., Disciples of all Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Oxford: OUP, 2008).
Senior, D. and C. Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundations for Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983).
Van Engen, C. E., et al, The Good News of the Kingdom: Mission Theology for the Third Millennium (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1998).
Recommended
Park, Joon-Sik, Missional Ecclesiologies in Creative Tension: H Richard Niebuhr and John Howard Yoder (New York: Peter Lang, 2007).
Classic
Bosch, D., Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991).