From 2008 Presbyterian Studies will be delivered on-line through 15 units in three modules of ten weeks and five units each, commencing on 4 February 2008.
Module One, Foundations (from Celtic Christianity to the Reformation and the Confessions), will begin with an Introductory week commencing Monday 4 February and then run from 11 February to Friday 18 April.
Module Two, Towards a Global Tradition (from revival in Scotland to the rise of the missionary movement and settlement in New Zealand to the present day), will commence on Monday 28 April and conclude on Friday 4 July.
Module Three, Diversity and Renewal (leadership, conflict, sacraments, worship and mission), will commence on 21 July and conclude with the final assignment due on 26 September.
Students are required to participate on-line. Each fortnight a question will be sent by email with suggested readings and a discussion question. Students are asked to respond to the set question, and to interact with the responses of other students.
There are three written assignments during the course of the year, one at the end of each module.
CHC2052 Assignment cover sheet pdf word (right click and save 'link' or 'target' to a folder in your computer). This has two pages and is the preferable cover sheet for this course.
A paper on Referencing Styles (pdf) (right click and save 'link' or 'target' to a folder in your computer)
For further enquiries contact the course tutor John Roxborogh john@roxborogh.com or the EIDTS director, Bruce Hansen bahansen@xtra.co.nz.
Completed
enrolment forms should be
forwarded to the Academic Registrar, EIDTS,
The importance of Presbyterian Studies
Presbyterian Studies provides a unique overview of Presbyterian identity in the context of Reformed history, theology and practice globally and in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is taught using a combination of printed course guide and reader, on-line resources, group discussion through email, and emails from the tutor. Assessment is by three assignments, one on a person, one on a document, and the third on an issue in the church today of interest to the student.
The course aims to explore the heritage of the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition by connecting our understanding and imagination with worshipping communities of faith that have struggled to be faithful to their understanding of the Word of God in different circumstances and contexts. /font>
It seeks to deepen understanding of the conflicts which shaped our identity without needing to relive those conflicts or share their polarisations so much as to try understand why people felt as strongly as they did about those sorts of issues. Of course there is a tension here! We do not seek to ignite in our time the battles of the past, we do not blame others or ourselves for what happened then, however we do take note of what went on and why. Learning from history and repeating it are not the same thing.
Useful information
Online Resources are detailed on the Schedule, Course Guide and Resources pages linked left and on http://roxborogh.com/REFORMED/ .
Our virtual classroom for 2008 is a Google group and members of the class will be sent details at the beginning of February .
Visit http://www.eidts.ac.nz/ for further information including on other papers. You can write, phone, or email EIDTS as follows:
|
The Registrar |
Phone: 03 338 0363 Free Phone 0800 667 969 Fax: 03 339 0124 E-mail: registrar@eidts.ac.nz |
Getting started
1) After enrolment with EIDTS you will receive information about the course from the Registrar. A printed Reader will also be supplied separately for each module.
2) Your email address will be added to a Google list we use. It is helpful if you have your own gmail address so that you can refer back to all the emails later. Gmail is free. You do not necessarily need to use your gmail for email, but you need to have one to be able access the group emails.
3) In the week beginning the first Monday of February I will send out one or two emails to everyone on the list. This will also give you the email address we will use for class discussion. I will also email you asking you to share with others on the list something about yourself, the ministry you are involved in, and what you would like to get out of this course.
4) In February we will begin the course following the schedule you will be able to access from a link on the left of this page.
5) Fortnightly emails will be available on a Google Group page. Those from 2006 are available so you can look ahead if you need to.
6) You may contact me by email on john@roxborogh.com or ring me at home in the evenings on 03 473 8631. My cell-phone is 021 64 77 39 and you can text if you wish.
7) If you need help with your computer and email it is best to have a computer buddy.
8) Although we do as much as possible through stuff on the worldwide web, using the study guide and reader and by talking with people, some books are also needed. In assignments it is essential to use more than one type of source - books, articles, web, conversation, you-tube. Wikipedia is sometimes a useful source, but not a reliable authority.
9) Text books
An excellent text for the Reformation period
is Diarmid MacCulloch, Reformation, Europe's House Divided, Penguin, 2004.
The paperback is about NZ$35. available from Amazon or from University Book Shop,
Dunedin.
For the New Zealand historical section of the course (end of module two) you will
need access to a copy of Dennis McEldowney (ed.) Presbyterians in Aotearoa,
1840-1990. Presbyterian Church of N. Z., 1990. This can be borrowed from the
Hewitson Library, Knox College, Arden Street, Dunedin 9010, by mail.
The 2008 general text book. John H Leith, Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A Way of Being the Christian Community, John Knox Press, 1977 / St Andrew Press, 1981 provides background reading even though it fairly early on addresses the North American story. It is available through Amazon.com, new or second-hand. The earlier editions are still adequate for this course.
Other books can be borrowed from the Hewitson Library, Knox College, Arden Street, Dunedin 9010, by mail, or from the Kinder Library, St John's College, Meadowbank, Auckland.
John Roxborogh
Course writer and tutor
Email: john@roxborogh.com Website: http://roxborogh.com