This course is the first of three courses designed to carefully and critically examine the central doctrines or teachings of the Christian church. In this course, students will first study and reflect upon the foundations of the Christian Faith and will then explore how the doctrines have shaped the life of the Church in its context. The focus of this particular course will be the question of what is theology, how a person makes sense of scripture for theological purposes, the doctrines of God,   Christology,  and Angelology.

As a result of this course, the student should be able better to:

1. Articulate and defend the essential theological doctrines of the historic Christian faith as covered in this course.
2. Appreciate the importance of historical theology in the development of the doctrines of  God,  Christ, and angels.
3. Compare and contrast the Christian worldview with other views.
4. Grasp with greater depth the interrelationships between various doctrines with the twin goal of beginning to formulate a Christian worldview, as well as bringing our life, language, and thought more in conformity to God’s Word.
5. Integrate theological doctrines with contemporary issues thus learning how to do theology by applying the Word to the contemporary world.
6. Minister in the local church with greater biblical-theological clarity as one who is deeply concerned to proclaim the whole counsel of God in all of its beauty, breadth, and depth.