THEO 650
R
ESEARCH
P
APER
: F
INAL
A
SSIGNMENT
I
NSTRUCTIONS
O
VERVIEW
In his book, The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism,
David Tracy identifies three “publics” or social realities in which one can speak of God and Jesus
Christ: the academy, the church, and the broader society. The idea behind this distinction is that
yes, Christian thinkers should be speaking to all three, but each represents a different culture
world and thus a different way of engaging it. This creates a particular challenge for Public
Theology as Christians find themselves amid these distinctions, perhaps even simultaneously.
Nonetheless, the call of the church is to be light to the world and part of that commissioning is to
proclaim the truths of the Scriptures to contemporary situations. This means the church must be
students not only of Scripture but of culture as well. This is done not to mimic culture’s practices
but to understand its plausibility structures and beliefs in order to speak the truth into it. There is
a myriad of cultural issues to discuss but in the current cultural climate some bubble up to the
top. This is the task of the assignment, to choose a relevant topic/issue and discuss it as if you
were speaking to the broader society, essentially doing public theology which is, as Vanhoozer
and Strachan state, “theologically informed discourse aimed at the general public.”1
I
NSTRUCTIONS FOR
F
INAL
A
SSIGNMENT
Students will write a 3500 – 5000-word paper on one of the topics listed below. As students
develop the topic, they should keep in mind the context (audience) to which the paper is directed
– the general public. This means that the paper should reflect what has been learned concerning
the practice of public theology. Below are some assignment requirements and general
expectations.
Regarding sources, the paper should use the Bible appropriately (not quoting verses at length)
along with at least 10 additional high-quality sources. Church websites are inappropriate for this
assignment and Journal Articles must be used only sparingly (no more than three). Websites of
official organizations related to the topic or government agencies and educational
institutions (such as pro-abortion groups and advocates) may be used for factual information and
statistics but do not count towards the 10 minimum sources. Course texts should be used
sparingly in this assignment and do not count toward the 10 minimum sources.
Regarding formatting, the paper must follow Turabian and School of Divinity guidelines
regarding formatting, style, grammar, and graduate quality of work.
Regarding the scope, the paper must remain narrow and focused in scope. This allows the writer
ample space to thoroughly develop the topic at hand.
Regarding the topic, below are some high-level categories with more specific topic
suggestions/questions within each. Keep in mind that students do not have to choose the exact
1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Introduction: Pastors, Theologians, and Other Public Figures,” in The Pastor as Public
Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015), 19.
THEO 650
specific sub-level topic but do need to stay within the high-level categories listed below. Please
keep in mind that at the graduate level, topics must be narrow in scope so whatever is chosen
from the sections below needs to be specific and refined.
Reproduction and Abortion Topics
•
Is Human Life a Human Person?
•
History of Christian Teaching on Abortion
•
Court Decisions, Abortion and SCOTUS (Griswold v CT, Roe v Wade, etc.)
•
Planned Parenthood’s role in Abortion
•
In-Vitro Fertilization: An Option for Christians?
Ethical Theories
•
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
•
Stanley Hauerwas’s concept of Christian Living
•
Situation Ethics—a biblical evaluation
•
Divine Command Theory—biblical and critical evaluation
The Kingdom of God and Ethics
•
The Kingdom of God in Matthew’s Gospel
•
The Kingdom of God in Luke’s Gospel
Legalism—Its appeal and its problems.
Pornography
THEO 650
•
Psychological, Physiological and Relational effects of pornography
•
Pornography and human trafficking
Capital Punishment
•
Capital Punishment—evaluation of reasons to either keep or eliminate it
Environment
•
Global Warming—ethical issue or political football?
•
Creation and the Christian’s responsibility to the environment
War
•
Just War Theory Applied: The Iraq War; The Afghanistan War, World War II, etc.
•
Modern Christian Pacifism – a critical analysis
Ministerial Ethics
•
Sexual abuse and the responsibilities of a minister to the victim(s) and congregation
•
Confidentiality Rules – where and how they apply
•
Should ministers be required to perform gay marriages where they are legal?
Marriage and Family
•
Gay Marriage: Should Christians oppose it?
Drug Use
THEO 650
•
Medical Marijuana –What should Christians think about this alternative form of
medicine?
•
Recreational Marijuana – Can Christians partake in moderation?
Justice and/or Civil Disobedience
•
Natural Law: Does it have a place in Christian Thinking
•
The Bible and Martin Luther King’s view of social justice
•
Augustine and the City of God: is a just society a proper goal for the church?
•
Chuck Colson and the Christian’s role in promoting Justice
•
William Wilberforce as a model for Christian social involvement
•
Is Civil Disobedience ever justified?
•
The Civil Rights movement and Civil Disobedience
Social Order/Social justice
•
Christians and the public square: Hermits or activists?
•
Welfare: who is responsible, government or church?
•
ObamaCare: Is there a “right” to healthcare? Limits and responsibilities for secular
governments in healthcare services.
•
Liberation Theology
o Latin American
o Feminist
o African American
o Womanist
•
History of the Christian Life Commission/Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
THEO 650
Gender and Sexuality
•
Gender dysphoria
•
Transgender conversion therapy in children
•
Homosexual desire vs Acting on Desires
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
