93
Åbo Akademi University 2014/2015
ÅBO CAMPUS
Theology
Church History
Church history as an academic discipline is connected both
to theology and history. Church history is concerned with
how the Christian faith has developed and has been ex-
pressed from the time of Jesus until today, for instance the
growth of the Christian church, the development of church
institutions, religious leaders, revivalist movements and the
Christian mission.
Christianity and Freedom in African History
6 credits
Intermediate level
Self-study course
Contact: Kim Groop
Aim(s): To give the student a better understanding of the
striving for political and religious freedom from an African
Church historical perspective.
Formof assessment: Written examination based on literature
Course literature:
Prozesky (ed.): Christianity amidst Apartheid: Selected Per-
spectives on the Church in South Africa;
Ranger (ed.): Evangelical Christianity andDemocracy in Africa;
Soothill: Gender, Social Change and Spiritual Power - Charis-
matic Christianity in Ghana;
Behrend: Alice Lakwena & the Holy Spirits: War in Northern
Uganda 1985-97;
Taylor: Primal Vision - Christian Presence amid African Re-
ligion;
Olupona & Nyang (eds.): Religious Plurality in Africa;
Miller (ed.): Seeking Peace in Africa - Stories from African
Peacemakers;
Spear & Kimambo (eds.): East African Expressions of Chris-
tianity;
Smedjebacka: Lutheran Church Autonomy in Norhern Tan-
zania 1940-1963;
Gifford: African Christianity - its Public Role
Bediako: Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western
Religion.
The Christian Mission
541500.0
4-10 credits
Intermediate level
Self-study course
Contact: Kim Groop
Aim(s): The course focuses on the Christianmissionarymove-
ment, its history and character as well as encounters between
the Christian mission and various cultures and religions.
Formof assessment: Written examination based on literature
Course literature:
Bosch: Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology
of Mission;
Neill: A History of Christian Missions;
Buhlmann: The coming of the Third Church;
Austin: China's Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late
Qing Society, 1832-1905;
Hastings: A History of African Christianity;
Hastings: Church and Mission in Modern Africa;
Yates: Christian Mission in the Twentieth Century;
Bevans & Schroeder: Constants in Context - A Theology of
Mission for Today;
Sundkler & Steed: A History of the Church in Africa;
Nelson: Readings in Third World Missions;
Bowie, Kirkwood and Ardener (eds.): Women and Missions:
Past and Present;
Smith: Women inmission: from the New Testament to today;
Ustorf: Sailing on the Next Tide: Missions, Missiology and the
Third Reich.
Nedungatt: Quest for theHistorical Thomas Apostle of India - A
a Re-Reading of the Evidence.
Church History in an International Perspective
541400.0
4-10 credits
Intermediate level
Self-study course
Contact: Ingvar Dahlbacka or Kim Groop
Aim(s): The course focuses on the Christian church around the
world. Particular focus will be put on the church´s situation
and development in a social and cultural context.
Formof assessment: Written examination based on literature
Course literature:
Imberg: In Quest of Authority: the "Tracts for the Times" and
the development of the Tractarian leaders, 1833-1841;
McLeod (ed.): Cambridge History of Christianity: Vol 9, World
Christianities, c.1914- c. 2000;
Gilley and Stanley (eds.): Cambridge History of Christianity.
Vol. 8, World Christianities, c.1815-c.1914;
Isichei: A History of Christianity in Africa. From Antiquity to
the Present;
Moffett: A History of Christianity in Asia Volume II 1500-1900;
Chadwick: A History of Christianity;
Jenkins: The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year
Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
New Testament Exegetics
Psychology and the Bible
4-6 credits
Intermediate level
Self-study course
Contact: Kari Syreeni
Aim(s): To give the student a broad picture of the Bible and
biblical interpretation from various psychological perspec-
tives.
Formof assessment: Written examination based on literature.
Course literature:
J. Harold Ellens &Wayne G. Rollins, Psychology and the Bible:
A New Way to Read the Scriptures, 4 volumes, 2004.
Wayne G. Rollins, Soul and Psyche: The Bible in Psychological
Perspective, 1999.
James J. DiCenso, The Other Freud: Religion, Culture and
Psychoanalysis, 1999.
D. Andrew Kille, Psychological Biblical Criticism, 2001.
W.W. Meissner, TheCulticOrigins of Christianity: TheDynamics
of Religious Development, 2000.
The New Testament as Literature
4-10 credits
Intermediate level
Self-study course
Contact: Kari Syreeni
Aim(s): To give an overview of the New Testament mainly
from a literary perspective.
Formof assessment: Written examination based on literature.
