Content

The unit will explore the questions of sex, sexuality and gender from an explicitly doctrinal perspective. It will explore the way various doctrinal loci (e.g., creation, Christology, eschatology) shape specifically Christian understandings of sex, sexuality and gender. It will do so by an intentional dialogue, often neglected in ecclesial discussions of these issues, between biblical exegesis, hermeneutics and doctrine. It will also proceed on the assumption that Christian doctrine is not only an expository or confessional discipline, but also interrogative and constructive. In exposition, attention will be given to received anthropologies and classical Christian understandings of sex and gender, including the strong nexus between creation and order. In construction, the relationship of the doctrinal tradition to insights from biology, sociology and philosophy will be explored. Also in construction, it will draw on the biblical witness to creation’s inscrutability (e.g. Job and Ecclesiasties) and early Christian eschatology.

Unit code: CT3099P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Systematic Theology

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Describe the understandings of sex and gender in classical Christian teachings

2.

Analyse the doctrinal structure of the classical understandings of sex and gender

3.

Explore the relationship between Christian doctrine and non-theological disciplines in general and in regard to contemporary theological discussions of sex and gender

4.

Discuss and evaluate various proposals for revised theological understandings of sex and gender

Unit sequence

One unit in systematic theology

Pedagogy

online guided reading materials, tutorial forums.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Brownson, James V. Bible Gender and Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.
  • Coakley, Sarah. God, Sexuality and the Self: An Essay ‘On the Trinity’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
  • DeFranza, Megan K. Sex Difference in Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.
  • Gray, Janette. Neither Escaping nor Exploiting Sex: Women’s Celibacy. Sydney: St. Paul’s, 1996.
  • Hill, Wesley. Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.
  • Loader, William. Making Sense of Sex: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Early Jewish and Christian Literature Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.
  • Martin, Dale B. Sex and the Single Saviour: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation Louisville: WJKP, 2006.
  • McRandal, Janice. Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Difference: A Contribution to Feminist Systematic Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015.
  • O’Donovan, Oliver. Church in Crisis: The Gay Controversy and the Anglican Communion. Eugene: Cascade: 2008.
  • Rogers, Eugene. Theology and Sexuality: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
  • Rogers, Eugene. Sexuality and the Christian Body: Their Way into the Triune God. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.
  • Thatcher, Adrian. Redeeming Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • Tonsdat, Linda Marie. God and Difference: The Trinity, Sexuality and the Transformation of Finitude. London: Routledge, 2015.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Blog

Blog journal responding to set readings (500 words)

0 10.0
Essay

Essay proposing a Christian doctrinal understanding of sex, sexuality and gender (3000 words)

0 60.0
Essay

Essay Analysing a classic text of Christian anthropology (1500 words)

0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 09:33:17 +1100