Sunday, March 2, 2008

Week 8--Paper Outline 1: The Gospel in a Secular University

I wish to treat the subject of higher education in Southern California, specifically the diverse community of Cal State, Northridge in the San Fernando Valley. How does the Gospel impact the halls of academia here? How does my local congregation mediate the Gospel message with CSUN, and how is our own understanding of the Gospel refined in this process?

I have chosen to use Bevans’ synthetic model because of this dialectic aspect. The synthetic model also suits the subject because it allows us to be critical of how we understand the Gospel, and because it respects the universality of the Gospel.

My local congregation will benefit from the diversity of ideas available at CSUN, thereby broadening its theological horizons. This can be done by the church hosting seminars and conferences on religious issues, and congregants being involved in campus activities (interreligious dialogue events, charities, protests, etc.) The local community outside of the church will in turn benefit from our unique faith perspective by being in dialogue with us along the way. The global community will be reached through academic and multicultural channels as the university acts as a kind of communication hub for the Gospel.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

sounds good - in part one be sure to focus on baker as you develop your theory - so how does something in culture form our education or how does power play in the education system etc? Make sure to keep that as a focus. The practices you spell out sound interesting as well.

ON another note - I'd encourage you to take a look at James Wm. McClendon's last chapter in his book Witness (Abingdon, 2000). It's an absolutely fantastic gospel-like response to the secular university.