The topical foci of our 'secondary' books lends them to specific assignments. If one of your books is on this list, you may consider this as a possible written assignment. I hope you come away having unlocked more of your book's potential to shape your life, faith, and work, as well as a deeper appreciation of the book itself.
Voddie Baucham, Fault Lines:
The black church has been a formidable force in American (and world) Christianity. Its traditions have been massively influential in Christian and especially in broader American culture, both Christian and secular, and even globally. Revivals in the postbellum south in both black and white Christianity had a marked influence on evangelical Christianity in the twentieth century, and the worldwide Pentecostal tradition has its beginnings in the black church's Wesleyan tradition.
Lately the public portrayal of black Christians has been characterized somewhat more narrowly than either the historical or the contemporary reality, as conforming to the agenda and sensibilities of the so-called 'new left,' in particular its embrace of critical race theory (CRT). While black Americans on balance view CRT favorably, a minority do not. (A good recent survey characterizing black Christians in the USA is here.) Baucham's work represents some of the voices left out of this characterization.
This assignment offers an opportunity to draw connections between Baucham's critique and the course concepts from lectures and your other reading. You do not need to agree or disagree with Baucham to do this.
Develop a theological analysis of Baucham's argument. Where are specific claims supported by the course concepts? Where are they unsupported (or not clearly supported enough), or even contradicted?
Then examine the broader shape of his vision of Christian reconciliation and flourishing. Where is it buttressed and/or weakened by course concepts? Is Baucham right that CRT is fundamentally incompatible with the gospel? Why or why not?
James and Rosamond Johnson, American Negro Spirituals (from a previous year):
One of the great riches of American Christianity is the heritage of the so-called 'black church': its preaching, liturgical forms and styles, and music. This tradition has been massively influential in Christian and especially in broader American culture, both Christian and secular, and even globally. Revivals in the postbellum south in both black and white Christianity had a marked influence on evangelical Christianity in the twentieth century, and the worldwide Pentecostal tradition has its beginnings in the black church's Wesleyan tradition.
The tradition's theological depth is especially visible in its preaching and its hymnody. This assignment offers an opportunity to explore the theology of the black church's earliest preserved music.
Make sure you read the prefaces to both Johnson volumes and survey a wide variety of the hymns there. If you are new to spirituals and gospel music, as well as the early black church's popular and influential tropes, you may need to do a little research. For instance, some terms had double meanings: 'Egypt' and 'Pharaoh' were often treated as parabolic references to American chattel slavery, the 'Gospel Train' or 'chariot' could mean the Underground Railroad as well as conventional salvation, 'home' could mean both heaven and temporal freedom, and so on. Don't mistake simplicity and repetition for shallowness.
Survey a wide variety of the hymns in the book. Optionally, you can augment these with more contemporary gospel music and lyrics, but be mindful of the vast changes between those eras.
Using those source materials (and appealing to at least ten well-chosen spirituals), characterize the black church's theology. Appeal to similarities as well as contrasts with the theological material you're learning in our course, appealing of course to lectures as well as your other readings. How would you describe the tradition's eschatology? Its doctrine of salvation? Its understanding of the church? Where does the tradition focus most, and to what theological topics does it pay less attention? And if you also examine contemporary gospel (or urban gospel) music as well, what has changed over the centuries?
There are excellent sources online for explaining some of the tropes you'll find here, and I have material in my library I can point you to.
Matt Mikalatos, My Imaginary Jesus:
The book presents a dizzying array of 'christologies' or perceptions of Jesus Christ, with the clear implication that all fall short of the real Jesus, and that some fall shorter than others. It also describes a narrative progression or succession as the author's faith changes.
(a) What Jesuses would you say you have embraced and abandoned in your past? How good were your reasons for doing both? (b) The author describes other persons in his life (including biblical characters) who were instrumental in that process. Who has been instrumental in yours, and in whose lives are you instrumental in similar ways? (c) How does 'your Jesus' (Mikalatos might say 'your Imaginary Jesus') contrast with Jesus as displayed in scripture and in the church's most agreed-upon theology? In other words, where do characterizations of Jesus in the Bible and in the church's tradition bump up against Jesus as you intuitively understand him? What do you think accounts for these differences? What are you doing in response as you have become aware of them?
Both believers and nonbelievers can do this assignment with integrity!
Vincent Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered:
Donovan paid careful attention to the Masai and contextualized the gospel for them in a way that his tradition's missionaries had largely failed to do, then observed and reported what that fresh encounter produced. His treatment addresses many of our course's theological topics. He says in his introduction,
A parish priest in the United States remarked that even though Christianity Rediscovered was written in an African context, out of African experience, it was clear to him the book was really written about the church in Europe and America. I was gratified it was that clear. ... I had hoped [readers] would be able to take that basic thought and apply it to the church in America and elsewhere in a way that I could never do.
Your assignment is to do that. Describe some potential, or actual, fresh encounters between the gospel and our contemporary American context (or some other context with which you are more familiar). Where can the two communicate fairly clearly? Where does the gospel fundamentally challenge American life and thought in ways that might produce (or have produced) confusion, perplexity, rejection, reformation, and transformation? Draw comparisons/contrasts with episodes from Donovan's interactions with the Masai, and use course concepts from lectures and readings the way Donovan's analysis addresses many of our course's theological topics (God, Christ, office, sin, atonement, church, salvation, sacraments, etc.).
The Voice of the Martyrs' Hearts of Fire:
Christians are the largest persecuted group worldwide. You won't hear many of their stories in mainstream news, nor will you hear much about global Christian faith, but the persecuted church is changing the world—and the world is pushing back. Its deep theological substance appears in testimonies of those who suffer in Jesus' name. The word 'martyr' means witness. This assignment offers an opportunity to consider the theological significance of these witnesses.
As you read of each woman, do a little informal research into her place and historical moment.
What 'theology'—what account of the gospel and its God—do these women's faith and life stories witness to or express? Appeal of course to lectures as well as your other readings. How are (or aren't) specific Christian doctrines 'coming alive' in them? How do their lives explicate, demonstrate, surpass, or even challenge the concepts you're learning in this class?
Draw widely both on the women's stories in the book and on the other course material, lectures as well as your other readings. Consider doctrines of atonement, humanity, church, sin, catholicity, virtues (faith/hope/love), judgment—the sky's the limit.
Remember, I want to see proper style, clear writing, a thorough answer to the question, and explicit citations of course materials. I hope you come away with a deeper appreciation of these books, making the hours you spent reading them even more worthwhile.