Silliman University Divinity School -...

2009

Silliman University Divinity School

[MASTER OF THEOLOGY ] Major in Mission Studies (Thesis Track/Mission Action Project)

Curriculum for Master of Theology in Mission Studies 2

FIRST YEAR (24 units) Year I: 1st Semester (12 units)

Code Description Units Grade

MS 501 Mission 1: Foundations 3 3.0

MS 503 Inter Faith Dialogue and World Religions 3 3.0

MS 505 Church and Society: Justice, Peace and Human Rights 3 3.0

MS 507 Integrity of Creation: Ecumenical Perspectives 3 3.0

Total 12

Year I: 2nd

Semester (12 units)

Code Description Units Passing

Grade

MS 502 Mission 2: History and Ecumenical Perspectives 3 3.0

MS 504 Development Models and Ideologies 3 3.0

TBA Politics and Governance 3 3.0

TBA Governance, Resources and Social Change 3 3.0

Total 12

SUMMER Term: Service Learning Experience

SECOND YEAR (18 units)

1st Semester (12 units)

Code Course Title Units Passing

Grade

Elective (Open Curriculum) 3 3.0



MS 511 Research and Thesis Writing 3 3.0

Total 12 3.0

2nd

Semester (9 units)

Course Title Units Grade

MS 512 Writing of Thesis or Mission Action Plan and Defense 3 3.0

MS 514 Integrative Colloquium 3 3.0

Total 6


I. Introduction

The churches in Asia, along with other countries especially the Third World, are in the

midst of multicultural, multi-religious, impoverished and conflict-torn societies. These

societies also face serious threats caused by ecological degradation. These contexts challenge

the churches to revisit their theology of mission and mission approaches. The church need to

remember that Jesus Christ’s life and work point ultimately to the mission God wills for the

church to do: to establish justice and peace in this world so that life will flourish.

II. Justification for the Proposal to Offer a Master of Theology in Mission Studies In response to these challenges, Silliman University Divinity School seeks to establish

an International Center for Mission Studies, designed on the basis of the above contexts. This

effort is inspired by the United Evangelical Mission (UEM), of which the United Church of

Christ in the Philippines is a member. The Center shall serve as an institution of learning for

scholars who will be teaching Missiology in their own contexts. Thus, the Center is intends

to:

1. Be an institution of learning that is creative and innovative in building and

strengthening the scholarship in Missiology;

2. Create a mission training program and a curriculum rooted in the theological principle

that the Church is called to incarnate the Gospel into the life and culture of the people

and communities;

3. Equip students to become trainers of contemporary missionaries in Asia with a strong

theological foundation, and skills and knowledge in development that enable them to

engage the multi-cultural, multi- religious, impoverished and conflict-torn societies of

Asia.

4. church personnel, pastors, seminary teachers and other church workers to become

trainers of people to do mission work that is holistic, sensitive and responsive to a

particular context;

5. offer a training program that creatively combines the disciplines of theological and

development, as well as with experiences gathered from actual immersion in the field

The International Center for Mission Studies understands mission as a holistic task of bringing, sharing,

and witnessing to the truth and liberating power of the Gospel to all peoples in various nations and

regions of the world. It upholds the principle of giving special attention to those who are suffering and

marginalized by the prevailing socio economic and political systems

III. Features of the Proposed Degree Program: Master in Theology, Major in Mission Studies

Will be completed in two years (four semesters and one summer );

will involve both intensive classroom , library work and field exposure in various

areas related to the various disciplines covered in the program;

off campus training in places operated by partner institutions;

will require the completion of a Mission Action Project (MAP) or a thesis before

graduation.


Unique Features of the Program Curriculum Design

1. An Open Curriculum system

includes a minimum number of core theology courses on Mission to provide the

student a solid theological foundation .

the rest of the courses will be chosen by the student from a list of available

elective courses in the university.

employ the “theory-practice-theory” or praxis model of learning.

students have relative freedom to choose courses to take based on their interest

and competencies needed for their mission

2. Strong Advisory system:

A faculty adviser will closely monitor and provide careful guidance to the student

in choosing courses to take.

The faculty adviser will be part of a core of faculty advisers who will provide

general guidance and supervision of the student especially in choosing one’s area

of specialization and in the completion of the student’s mission action project or

thesis.

3. Combination of theological and development oriented disciplines (multi-disciplinary):

best responds to the challenges arising from the various issues and context of

most mission workers;

equip the student on the theological foundations and imperatives of mission and

on the various social and human and environmental development issues to make

the mission work of the church relevant and responsive;

an integrative colloquium course and the preparation of the culminating Mission

Action Project (MAP) that reflects the student’s theological direction and the

specific modes of action the student decides to adopt and carry out.

4. Field Exposure and dynamic library support system

emphasis on the view that a total learning experience happens not only in the

campus but also out in the field where the raw experiences of immersion in the

“life and death issues” and people’s struggles for survival are expected to have

defining impact on the mission stance, perspective and commitment of the student.

field consultants, lecturers are brought in as resources for the classroom learning;

they will serve as living human documents and sources of very vital information

that will complement what has been acquired from the classroom, the library and

from the field.

5. Regular guest lecturers in both theological and development disciplines:

the mission center holds a strong position to provide the students the best lecturers

for the theological courses connected with mission, and the best guest lecturers in

various development areas who may be invited from other parts of the world.


IV. The Viability of the Program

Given its aim to go international, the United Evangelical Mission has committed to

give full scholarships to at least 10 students each year. The Divinity School has also set up a

Recruitment Committee to be more intentional in recruiting good students both for this new

program and for the existing ones.

V. Program Offering:

Foundational or Core Courses for the Master of Theology major in Mission Studies.

Courses Units Total

A. Theology 24

1. Mission 1: Foundations 3

2. Inter Faith Dialogue and World Religions 3

3. Church and Society: Justice, Peace and Human Rights 3

4. Integrity of Creation: Ecumenical Perspectives 3

5. Mission 2: History and Ecumenical Perspectives 3

6. Development Models and Ideologies 3

7. Politics and Governance 3

8. Governance, Resources and Socio-cultural Social Change 3

B. Open Curriculum (Interdisciplinary Elective Courses 12

1. Theology and Development Courses 9

2. Integrative Colloquium 3

C. Research: Thesis Writing or Mission Action Plan 6

Total Number of Units required to graduate 42

V. Faculty

The Silliman University Divinity School is capable of offering this new major field of

Study, especially because the program will use a multi-disciplinary approach. It has faculty

members, both resident and visiting professors who hold Ph.D. and D.Theol. degrees. Faculty

members of the Divinity School are holders in the major disciplines of higher degrees in

theological education (Bible, Theology, History, and Ministries):

a. Existing Faculty members (11 full-time, 4-F & 6-M)

b. Adjunct Faculty (3)

c. Visiting Faculty (2)

Qualified faculty members from other departments of the University, especially those

who have doctoral degrees, are also enlisted to teach courses in their respective disciplines in

the developmental area that are needed by the students under this program. For this particular

program, the following are initially listed to teach:


1) T. V. Sitoy, Jr, Ph. D., University of Edinburgh … History of Missions

2) Erme Camba, M. Theol. SEAGST …………….. Foundations of Mission,

Evangelism and Ecumenism

3) Tom Maddela, Ph. D, Italy ….………………. Liturgical Renewal

4) Victor Aguilan, Th.D., SEAGST ………………. Church and Society

5) Rey Rivera, Ph. D., University of San Carlos …… Development Models and

Ideologies; Politics and

Governance

6) Muriel Orevillo Montenegro, Ph. D., UTS-NYC…Third World and Feminist

Theologies; Inter Faith and World

Religions; Seminar on Bible and

Gender; Contemporary Theologies

7) Lucio Mutia, Th. D. SEAGST ……… ……… Mission and Spiritual Care

8) Noriel C. Capulong, Th. D., SEAGST …… … Biblical Foundations of Mission

9) Lope Robin, M.Theol., SEAGST ……… . . . . .. Theology of Creation

10) Enrique Oracion, Ph. D., Univ of San Carlos . . . Dynamics of Social Change

Note: The DS maintains a gender balance and strives to have a 20% international presence.

Two faculty members are pursuing their doctoral studies and two are preparing for their

Master programs. The DS will be announcing the need for fraternal workers to teach in the

following areas – Mission/Mission studies; New Testament

VI. Prerequisites for admission to the program:

1) The candidate must have obtained a Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent

from any recognized seminary institution of a member church of the UEM.

2) The candidate must be favorably endorsed by his/her church denomination and the

seminary from where he/she last graduated.

3) English will be the main language of instruction. Candidates who may lack

proficiency in the language may be required to undergo a one semester or one

summer special course in English language offered at the university before one

begins the program. A TOEFL score of 550 is required from the applicants.

VII. Objectives for each level.

o During the first year the students are expected to focus on the intensive studies in

theology and development courses.

o In their second year, the students will do research and write a thesis or a Mission

Action Plan.

VIII. Graduation Requirements: 1. Completion of the curricular requirements of 42 units, the 24 units being a fulfillment

of the CHED required number of units for the core courses.

2. Cumulative QPA of at least 3.0.

3. Passed the Public Defense of Thesis which will be happen between January and

February during the Second Year.


4. Endorsed by the Faculty for Graduation

IX. Schedule of Courses

Code Number:

The number code 500 indicates that the courses are offered in the Master of Theology level,

which is higher than the Master of Divinity.

FIRST YEAR Year I: 1st Semester (12 units)

Code Description Units Grade

MS 501 Mission 1: Foundations 3 3.0

MS 503 Inter Faith Dialogue and World Religions 3 3.0

MS 505 Church and Society: Justice, Peace and Human Rights 3 3.0

MS 507 Integrity of Creation: Ecumenical Perspectives 3 3.0

Total 12

Year I: 2nd

Semester (12 units)

Code Description Units Passing

Grade

MS 502 Mission 2: History and Ecumenical Perspectives 3 3.0

MS 504 Development Models and Ideologies 3 3.0

TBA Politics and Governance 3 3.0

TBA Governance, Resources and Social Change 3 3.0

Total 12

SUMMER Term: Service Learning Experience

SECOND YEAR

1st Semester

Code Course Title Units Passing

Grade




MS 511 Research and Thesis Writing 3 3.0

Total 12 3.0


2nd

Semester

Course Title Units Grade

MS 512 Writing of Thesis or Mission Action Plan and Defense 3 3.0

MS 514 Integrative Colloquium 3 3.0

Total 6

X. Course Descriptions

First Year

1st Semester 2nd

Semester

MS 501: MISSION I - Biblical, Historical

and Theological Foundations of Mission 3

units

An introduction to the theology of Christian

mission and evangelism through a survey of

the biblical foundations of mission and

evangelism and mission history particularly

in Asia.

MS 502: MISSION II: Theologies and

Praxis of Mission 3 units

The course introduces the student to the

paradigm shift in the theologies and praxis in

the modern missionary movement following

the international ecumenical mission

conferences from Edinburgh to Athens as

well as the Evangelical, Pentecostal and

Roman Catholic movements. The students

will be introduced to contemporary historical

and ecumenical documents on Mission and

Evangelism such as the 1974 “Lausanne

Covenant” and 1990 “Manila Lausanne

Manifesto”; the WCC-CWME 1982 “Mission

and Evangelism – An Ecumenical

Affirmation” and the 1975 Vatican “Evangelii

Nuntiande.” Attention will be given to

current issues in missiology, such as

evangelism and church growth, proselytism,

ecumenical relations in mission, justice, peace

and creation, and dialogue with other Living

Faiths and Ideologies.

MS 503: World Religions and InterFaith

Dialogue 3 units In this course, students will examine the

diverse teachings about nature, religious

experience, values, ethics, and the use of

sacred texts among the world’s major

religions. This course seeks to help students

cultivate a sympathetic understanding of

these various religious traditions and their

relevance for the contemporary world as they

___ Development Models and Ideologies

3 units This course looks into the different

classic models of development in regard to

liberal nationalist/mercantilist and socialist

ideologies. The emphasis are placed on the

works of Francois de Quesnay, Adam Smith,

David Ricardo, John Maynard Keynes, Milton

Friedman, John Kenneth Galbraith and The

WB-IMF-GATT-WTO of the liberal school;


prepare for the ministry. This study demands

for critical engagement with world religions’

teachings, truth claims, views on human

destiny and salvation, role assigned to

women, their involvement in the process of

interreligious/interfaith dialogue, and the

importance they give to building a just and

peaceful society.

Students will also study the historical

Christian disposition towards world religions

and assess current Christian theological

thinking about these religions. In light of the

challenges of ministry in a pluralistic world

where humanity search for meaning, students

are challenged to explore and chart possible

directions of mission work. Students are

called to cultivate understanding with people

of other faiths in relation to the

interconnected issues of social justice,

ecology, race, gender and peace.

Alexander Hamilton, Antonio Serra, Thomas

Munn, Friedrich list and Otto Von Bismarch,

Jean Baptiste Colbert, and the Meiji of Japan

of the nationalist/mercantilist school; and Karl

Marx, Dependency School and the Bible for

the socialist ideology. These models are

studied in terms of how the means of the

nation’s production, the market and wealth

distribution should be managed for the benefit

of all. One major requirement: a.

deconstructive critique of a country’s model

of development using any or a combination of

the above thought, or the student may pursue

a macro-environment analysis of a country for

strategic thinking towards ensuring the virtues

of “nourishing the people,” “education” and

the use of people’s taxes with rectitude. (The

use of early publications are deliberately

chosen to bring the students close to the

context upon which these reading materials

were written, and to expose the students to the

references which may not come from the

interpretation of interpretations).

MS 505: Church and Society: Justice,

Peace and Human Rights 3 units

Church mission is challenged to address

the varied and multi-faceted issues and

concerns facing humanity today. As

Churches become more involved in mission

and development work, it is increasingly

clear that injustice is behind much of the

impoverishment and that the causes of this

injustice need to be tackled in order to bring

lasting change. To do this, Churches often

need to confront government and work with

those who have the power to bring about

change. This course will be devoted to a set

of questions and problems that are now

central to modern missiological debates: (1)

what are the consequences when religion and

politics become intertwined? (2) What are

the fault lines along which tensions and

conflicts arise? (3) What is the appropriate

relationship between “church” and “state” in

a modern society? To address these

____Politics and Governance 3 units 3

This course studies the dynamics of

authoritative allocation of values in systemic

term. Power and influence in governance in

the sense of the elite and the pluralist

thinking, the use of ideological and repressive

state apparatuses, machine politics and state

budget preparations and insertions in the

context of power and influence peddling and

their effects on economic growth and the

people’s “quality of life” are examined. But

economic variables as indices of governance

such as free-market, floating rate, Balance of

Trade, Balance of Payment, employment,

Consumer Price Index, Inflation and

purchasing power are also examined to

understand the consequences of politics and

governance on the quality of life of the people

in the communities.


problems, this course has been created. It will

explore the theological, intellectual and

historical development of Church and State

relations. The students will analyze important

issues affecting Church and State relations

such as human rights, democracy, religious

plurality, religious fundamentalism,

secularism and the policing power of the

State.

MS 507: Integrity of Creation:

Ecumenical Perspectives 3 units

The course will facilitate the students

into doing a critical evaluation of the

traditional and western theology of creation.

This includes an examination of the ancient

cultural traditions that had influenced the

biblical concept of creation. In the process

the students will identify the salient features

of the traditional theology that virtually

provided theological justification for the

destructive attitude of human being towards

nature. The course will also introduce the

students some alternative theological

constructions by the ecofeminist and male

theologians who have the same passion for

creation. Moreover, the course will let the

students examine the theological perspective

of indigenous/aborigines peoples about

creation and how they relate with the natural

environment. It also aims to encourage the

students develop their own alternative

theology of creation that can help instil

awareness among their people on the urgency

of restoring and conserving the natural

environment. Along with this, the students

would be encouraged to identify the

traditional and indigenous cultures in their

own places that promote the integrity of

creation, which they can use as resources in

the development of a new and alternative

theology of creation.

_____Governance, Resources and Social

Change 3 units

This course looks into the formal and

informal arrangements, institutions, and

norms which determine how resources either

natural or created are utilized amidst the

social and cultural changes that beset a

community. There are five possible forms of

governing resources in particular social and

cultural context: traditional management,

community-based management, co-

management, centralized management, and

private management. The spatio-temporal

dimensions of power, access, control, and

distribution of resources are also discussed

relative to the categories of political

organizations: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and

states. The students at the end of the course,

who will be eventually engaged in community

works either in secular or sacred domains, are

expected to be adept in developing adaptive

management strategies that consider the

existing social and political structures but are

responsive to socio-cultural changes.


Summer: Service Learning Experience

Second Year

1st Semester 2

nd Semester

Elective (open curriculum) 3 units

MS 514: Integrative Colloquium - 3 units


MS 512: Writing of Thesis or Mission

Action Plan and Defense (3 units)

Thesis hearings or defense will be

scheduled on the first two weeks of February.

Two copies of the thesis will be submitted to

the Office of the Dean on March 1.


MS 511: Research and Writing of Thesis

or Mission Action Plan 3 units

The first week of the first semester will be

an orientation to thesis writing. On August

15 of the first semester during the Senior

Year, the candidate must submit to the

Academic Affairs Committee a thesis on a

topic in the area of concentration that is

approved by the faculty member who accepts

the task as the first reader of the thesis. On

September 15 of the same semester, the

student must submit to the two readers an

outline of the proposed thesis and a

preliminary annotated bibliography.

This is mostly an independent work by the

student. A periodic consultation between the

advisor and the student may be scheduled.

The student is required to have an approved

thesis proposal or Mission Action Program

(MAP) in order to get enrolled in this

course.

XI. List of Theological Courses available for the Open (Interdisciplinary) Curriculum:

Code Course Title Credit in Units

DBI 332 or DBI 334 Seminar on Bible and Gender 3

MS 521; (Same as THE

335)

Contemporary Theologies 3

DLM 331 Liturgical Renewal 3

MS 523 (Same as DSC

443)

Mission and Spiritual Care 3


XII. List of Development Courses available for the Open (Interdisciplinary)

Curriculum:

Code Course Title Credit in

Units

EP 240 Resource Management: Policies and Practices 3

Sociology 146 Sociology of National Development 3

CRM 113 Environmental Economic and Sustainable

Development

3

Socio 144 Introduction to Demographic Analysis 3

CRM 103 Socio-Cultural Impacts on the Environment 3

CRM 116 Economics of Natural Resources 3

Socio 151 Social Psychology 3

CRM 112 Capability Building 3

Others existing courses in the university of interest to

students

XII. Program Cost

Please see separate sheets.

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