PC136-612 - Theological Approaches to Wellbeing

  • 2,940 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 12
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 6
    AQF level
  • Category developing unit
    B
  • Pastoral & Church-Focussed Ministry Unit Discipline

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

Demonstrate Developing knowledge and understanding of, and the research underlying, theological approaches to wellbeing.

B. Be able to

1. Comment Critically on secular and Christian perspectives on human flourishing and wellbeing.

2. Establish a vision and rationale for a Christian perspective on human flourishing and wellbeing in their vocational context.

3. Present Analytical evidence-based perspectives on theological approaches to wellbeing. 

C. Be in a position to

Applying perspectives and skills from ‘Theological Approaches to Wellbeing’ to contemporary Christian ministry/professional practice/life.

Content

1. Human flourishing in the history of ideas and Christian thought

2. Human flourishing and wellbeing in the Old Testament

3. Human flourishing and wellbeing in the New Testament

4. Theological reflections upon positive psychology and contemporary understandings of happiness

5. Suffering, resilience and wellbeing

6. Virtue and its relationship to wellbeing

7. The contribution of the church to wellbeing

Set Readings

·         Ambler, G., M.P. Anstey, T.D. McCall & M.A. White (eds) Flourishing in Faith: Theology Encountering Positive Psychology (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade, 2017)

·         Barrett, Justin & Pamela Ebstyne King, Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing (IVP Academic, 2021)

·         Birkett, K., Resilience: A Spiritual Project (London: The Latimer Trust, 2016)

·         Charry, E.T., By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine (New York: OUP, 1997)

·         Charry, E.T., God and the Art of Happiness (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010)

·         Clifton, S., Disability, Virtue Ethics, and the Good Life (Waco, TX: Baylor UP, 2018)

·         Crisp, Thomas M., Steven Porter & Gregg A. Ten Elshof (eds), Neuroscience and the Soul: The Human Person in Philosophy, Science, and Theology (Eerdmans, 2016)

·         Johnson, Eric L. Psychology and Christianity: Five Views edited by Eric L. Johnson (IVP, 2010)

·         Long, Katelyn N.G & Tyler J. VanderWeele, ‘Theological Virtues, Health, and Well-Being: Theory, Research, and Public Health’ in Handbook of Positive Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, edited by Edward B. Davis, Everett L. Worthington Jr., Sarah A. Schnitker, (Springer, 2003), open access: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-10274-5_25

·         McMinn, M.R., The Science of Virtue: Why Positive Psychology Matters to the Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2017)

·         Oviedo, Lluis, ‘Theology’s Concern for Wellbeing and Human Flourishing: A Research Program,’ Journal of Empirical Theology 36(3):1-15, 2023, DOI:10.1163/15709256-20231135

·         Pennington, J.T., 'A Biblical Theology of Human Flourishing' Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, 2015. Online: https://tifwe.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Pennington-A-Biblical-Theology-of-Human-Flourishing.pdf

·         Pennington, J.T., The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018)

·         Strawn, B.A., The Bible and the Pursuit of Happiness: What the Old and New Testaments Teach Us about the Good life (Oxford: OUP, 2012)

·         Taylor, C., A Secular Age (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap, 2007)

·         Thompson, Curt, Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections Between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices (Tyndale Momentum, 2010)

·         VanderWeele, Tyler J., A Theology of Health: Wholeness and Human Flourishing (University of Notre Dame Press, 2024)

·         Volf, M. A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2011)

·         Volf, M. & M. Croasmum, For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2019)

·         Whybray, N.R., Good Life in the Old Testament (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2006)

Williams, Rowan, Being Human: Bodies, Minds, Persons (Eerdmans/SPCK, 2018)

Available At

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