As the operation of M.Theol. program has been assigned to the Areas, it is understood that the Areas have the flexibility to interpret the fields and courses listed below under the prescribed areas of concentration according to their contextual needs.

The following fields with prescribed areas of concentration have been approved by the Senate and offered by participating schools as faculty and library resources permit.

All candidates are required to complete eight courses and individual research, resulting in a thesis. Among the eight, one course is organized at the area level on methodology along with introduction of the guiding principals for doing theology in Asia as approved by the SEAGST. Five courses shall be taken in the area of concentration, in which three are core courses and two are electives that a candidate shall select in consultation with her/his advisor. Two other courses shall be taken from another department to ensure the interdisciplinary character of research and study.

Classes shall be offered as a combination of integrated seminars, lectures and tutorials. Each course should meet at least thirty hours. Not more than one third of the work may involve participation in lecture courses at the undergraduate level (B.D., M.Div.), with the understanding that extra assignments in addition to the regular work of the course will be required, and that the course is not a repetition of any course previously taken.

Each course will attempt to introduce the candidate to the current discourse in the specific area of study while maintaining the general critical guidelines that the SEAGST approves as its guiding principle. At the Masters level, a candidate is expected to do a careful study of at least 10 books for each course.

Evaluation of a course shall be done on the strength of at least one research paper of 4,000 to 6,000 words, and one book review, along with seminar presentations.

I. BIBLE AND INTERPRETATIONS

Prerequisites: Knowledge of the respective language within the area of concentration of the candidate is required. For example, if the candidate is working in the area of Old Testament, knowledge of Biblical Hebrew for exegesis and a working knowledge of New Testament Greek are required. If the candidate is working in the area of New Testament, knowledge of New Testament Greek sufficient for exegesis and a working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew are required. For a candidate pursuing a comparative study of a text from Old Testament and a text from an Asian religion, the requirements are to have knowledge of Hebrew and the respective languages in which the scripture/text of that religion is written.

Areas of Concentration

A. OLD TESTAMENT

Required courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Old Testament literature, canon and text

3. Sociology of Ancient Israel / Theology of Old Testament from the perspective of the marginalized

4. Reading Old Testament through the eyes of Asians / Comparative reading of Old Testament and an Asian religious text

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

B. NEW TESTAMENT

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. New Testament literature, canon and text

3. Sociology of the New Testament / The historical, culture and religious background of the New Testament from 167 BCE to 110 CE

4. The origins of the ancient Church / Role of Women in the formation of the Christian tradition / Reading New Testament with Asian eyes

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

C. ASIAN RELIGIONS/ PEOPLES' MOVEMENTS

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Study of the scripture [decided with respect to the specific area of study]

3. Sociological understanding of the specified religious tradition or the text / Reading of the text from the perspective of the marginalized

4. Towards a Christian theological understanding of the text / Implications of the specific text to the life of the Church / Inter-religious or inter-faith debates with respect to Christianity and the specific text in focus

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

II. THEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN ASIA

Prerequisites: Knowledge of the respective language within the area of concentration of the candidate is required.

A. CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETATION OF FAITH

Required courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Principles of interpretation of the contents of a faith tradition in the context of Asia

3. Sociological understanding of a faith tradition

4. Major theological themes in the context in consideration

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

B. THEOLOGY OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

Required courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Theological Methodology

3. A Survey of Contextual Theology / Survey of Contemporary Theologies and their significance in Asia/ Feminist Theologies

4. A Critical analysis of an Asian society / Study of a particular theologian with significance for Asia/ Inter-religious practices and living / Peoples’ movements and their theological significance

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

C. PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Foundations: The nature of religions and religious experience; philosophical understanding of religion and religious experience; the philosophical heritage of Christianity and other Faith traditions

3. The main ideas in religious belief considered from philosophical perspectives: God, holiness, Karma, Nirvana, revelation and reason, the problem of evil, etc. / A selected philosopher or religion with significance for Asia

4. Philosophy and social change / The tradition of social philosophy in Asia / Philosophy and the political economy of Asia

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

D. CHRISTIAN ETHICS

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Methodological Issues in Ethics / Survey of the development of ethical discourse in the Christian tradition

3. Critical analysis of Asian societies / research towards an ethical understanding of

4. Globalization / Political economy and the poor

5. Feminist Ethics / Environment and Ethics / A comparative study of ethical issues in Asia

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Elective in consultation with the advisor

8. Topic selected from another field

9. Topic selected from another field

E. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Historiography: approaches and methods of writing history of Christianity

3. A selected period of church history in relation to Asian churches / towards a post-colonial reading of the history of Christianity / The marginalized in the history of the Church / Women in the Church

4. The history of a particular church in Asia

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

III. RELIGION, CULTURE, AND THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

A. MISSION AND WITNESS

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Theology of mission for the church in Asia: Biblical foundations; proclamation and dialogue as expressions of mission; socio-cultural orientation

3. The history of the Church’s missionary activity from Asian perspectives: The coming of Christianity to Asia; political and social factors in mission; impact of mission on

Asian societies, and mission in an era of globalization

4. Mission and Power / Post-colonial Critique of Missionary movements / Mission and the marginalized / Dialogue with people of living faiths and ideologies

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

B. ECUMENICS

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or area

2. Foundations: Biblical and theological basis for developing an ecumenical theology for the church and mission in Asia.

3. History: The ecumenical movement, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, with special emphasis on problems of ecumenism in Asia

4. Selected subjects related to ecumenism in Asia, ecumenical social thought in Asia /

Regional or national expressions of ecumenism / Ecumenical movements such as EATWOT / Ecumenism and People’s movements / Ecology, Economics, and Ecumenism

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

C. LIFE AND WITNESS OF THE CHURCH

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Pastoral Theology: biblical basis, historical development, interaction between psychology and theology, principles of counselling

3. Ministry and ministries; the nature and mission of the church; the role of the pastor or church worker in church and society; person-oriented, church oriented and world oriented ministries of the church; church and society

4. A selected area of interest, such as; management and administration; the ministry of preaching; urban industrial mission; clinical pastoral education; mission in rural communities, ministry to national armed forces, evangelization and church growth; new forms of ministry in Asia.

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

D. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Required courses

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Philosophical, psychological and sociological bases for Christian education

3. The biblical, theological, and historical foundations of Christian education

4. The educational ministry of the church in Asia; its objectives, methods, program, curriculum, and contemporary development in Christian Education in a particular Asian location

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

E. LITURGY AND WORSHIP

Required Courses:

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. A study of biblical models in Liturgy and Worship

3. Liturgy and Worship in the life and witness of the Church in the last two thousand years

4. Emerging forms of Liturgy and Worship in Asia

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

IV. GENDER AND MARGINALIZED CONCERNS

A. GENDER STUDIES

Required Courses

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Methodological issues in Gender Studies

3. Feminist reading of the Bible / Feminist interpretation of the biblical text / Women and the Church

4. Women and society / En-gendering society / Specific issues concerning gender relations

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field

B. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES STUDIES

Required Courses

1. Methodology course offered by the Region or Area

2. Methodological Issues in the study of Indigenous Communities

3. Reading history, text and anthropology from the perspective of Indigenous

communities / Concept of Land and Culture in Indigenous Cosmology / Concept and practice of faith

4. Concept of modernization and the impact on Indigenous societies / Place and status of Indigenous communities in contemporary Asian societies

5. Elective in consultation with the advisor

6. Elective in consultation with the advisor

7. Topic selected from another field

8. Topic selected from another field