Below is a list of papers offered on the DTM. Papers available in any given year may vary but the list below may be taken as indicative of the type of content to be offered.
This paper will cover principles of Hebrew grammar and syntax, translation from Hebrew into English and textual criticism as exemplified in a set text prescribed by the Faculty Board.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Identify Hebrew words and use standard lexicons, commentaries and theological wordbooks
- Understand the basic grammatical rules of Biblical Hebrew
- Understand the principles of Hebrew syntax
- Translate straightforward Biblical Hebrew prose
- Apply Hebrew thought forms in the exegesis of Biblical texts
- Critically compare published translations of OT texts
- Have a basic understanding of and be able to use the textual apparatus in their Hebrew Bible
The paper will cover principles of New Testament Greek grammar and syntax, and translation from Greek to English and textual criticism as exemplified in a set text prescribed by the Faculty Board.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Read and translate the Greek of the Set Text
- Understand basic Greek grammar and syntax
- Critically compare published translations of NT texts
- Recognize the most significant vocabulary in the Greek NT
- Relate issues of grammar and syntax to idiomatic translation
- Have a basic understanding of and be able to use the textual apparatus in their Greek NT
This paper aims to introduce some critical and theological perspectives on the Christian Bible, both Old and New Testaments. There will be a combination of surveys of significant sections of the Bible and a more detailed look at selected primary texts. The challenge of interpreting the Bible in its historical, canonical and contemporary context will be explored.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an outline knowledge of the Christian Bible
- Show an awareness of the challenge of reading the Biblical texts in their historical and canonical context
- Evaluate a range of interpretations of selected biblical texts
- Begin to articulate how it is possible to read the Bible from a Christian point of view
This paper aims to introduce some of the central concerns of theology in the light of the Christian reflection on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The primary texts studied will include theological texts from different periods of the Christian tradition.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a capacity to read texts theologically
- Identify the central doctrines of the Christian Faith
- Evaluate the thinking behind their classical formulation and contemporary discussion of them
- Articulate a view of a number of key issues in theology in relation to the person and work of Jesus Christ
This module aims to introduce students to the study of the Church in historical context. Students will be familiarised with the practices, methods, and modes of Church history through the examination of specified historical period or periods. This module seeks to equip the student with a firm grasp of the historical experience of the Church as a foundation for further study in Church history, doctrine, liturgy, and pastoral practice.
The module will require students to engage with the historical experience of the Church in a specified period or periods. As appropriate to the specified time-frame, particular attention will be paid to the historical context of the formation of Christian doctrine, the nature of the Church’s self-understanding and self-expression, her relations with, and her interaction with other religious and philosophical traditions. Due attention must also be paid to the variety of Christian experience in the specified periods.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of the history of the Church in its context during the specified period(s) and relate that understanding to the contemporary Christian experience
- Identify the chief issues and themes of the specified period(s) with relation to the formation of Christian identity, doctrine and mission
- Show an informed understanding of the Church’s engagement with other religious and philosophical traditions evident in the specified period(s)
- Make appropriate and informed use of primary materials
- demonstrate an awareness of contemporary and broad (rather than simply confessional) historiographical approaches to the Christian past
- compare the recent experience of different church traditions
- appreciate the extent to which Christianity has been, and remains in controversial dialogue with its cultural and political context
- evaluate recent trends in Christian mission and social thought against an historical background
The overall aims will be to introduce students to the language, syntax, exegesis and theology of the Set Texts on the basis of the Hebrew text. Students will acquire not only a more advanced knowledge of Biblical Hebrew and the basic skills of exegesis, but will also relate these to the identification and interpretation of key historical and theological issues in one or more of the set texts.
Objectives
The study of the texts from Deuteronomy, Judges, and Jonah is designed (apart from their intrinsic interest) to lead students on to a fuller appreciation of the syntax of prose texts (including the significance of word order and the less common uses of the tenses of the verb). Throughout the course lectures and private study are expected to be supplemented by fortnightly supervision work on translation from English into Hebrew, which will be tested in the examination. The lectures will focus mainly on linguistic aspects of the texts, but their theological and literary aspects will explored in two or three essays which students will write in the course of the year. By the end of the year students are expected (a) to have developed their understanding of Hebrew to an intermediate level, involving familiarity with the varied syntactical structures of prose texts; (b) to have acquired a knowledge of some major aspects of the content of at least two of the set texts.
The paper will contain passages for translation and comment from one or more portions of New Testament text which the Board shall from time to time prescribe.
Objectives
The overall objective will be to introduce students to the language, syntax, exegesis and theology of the Set Texts on the basis of the Greek text. Students will acquire not only a more advanced knowledge of New Testament Greek and the basic skills of exegesis, but will also relate these to the identification and interpretation of key historical and theological issues in a gospel and an epistle.
The paper will introduce students to the exilic age and the critical examination of texts associated with this period.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Show a detailed knowledge of the Old Testament material studied.
- Engage with scholarly enquiry into the material’s original context and meaning
- Understand the theological perspectives of the material and its author(s)
- Relate the material to Christian ministry and life
This paper will provide for close study of text from one or more books of the New Testament, as prescribed by the Faculty Board and studied through attendance at Tripos Lectures for B4 (The Letters of Paul). It will be concerned with the background, content, theology, and interpretation of the material; and with questions arising from the use of the material in Christian faith and practice.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Show detailed knowledge of the New Testament material studied
- Engage with scholarly enquiry into the material’s original context and meaning
- Understand the theological perspectives of the material and its author(s)
- Relate the material to their own situations in ministry and living
This paper will provide for close study of text from one or more books of the New Testament, or of one, as prescribed by the Faculty Board. It will be concerned with the background, content, theology, and interpretation of the material; and with questions arising from the use of the material in Christian faith and practice.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Show detailed knowledge of the content of the prescribed New Testament material.
- Critically discuss the material’s origins, development and meaning.
- Understand the theological perspectives of the material and its author(s)
- Comment on points of difficulty within the prescribed material.
- Show awareness of the hermeneutical possibilities of the prescribed material.
- Relate the prescribed material to Christian faith and practice.
To introduce students to the discipline of biblical theology, by exploring, in dialogue with key interpreters, a number of pivotal theological themes as they are discernible in specific Scriptural texts, and as they relate to the doctrines and practices of the Church.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Discern, clarify and explicate some of the unifying theological patterns that give the Scriptural canon its shape and coherence
- Demonstrate the ways in which readings of Scripture are related to the church’s subsequent formulation of later, post-biblical doctrine
- Assess the importance of biblical narrative, in particular the Bible’s witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to recent Christology and trinitarian theology.
- Critically explore the theological and liturgical significance to the contemporary church of key moments in the narratives of the gospels and Acts.
- To introduce theological concepts shaping and shaped by Christian worship. To relate the study of worship to the study of doctrine and history, helping students to understand how worship has evolved in a variety of historical contexts and enabling them to relate this to developments in contemporary worship, drawing on a variety of traditions, especially those represented within the Cambridge Theological Federation.
- To introduce features of contemporary culture and pastoral concerns which affect the ways in which Christians worship is understood and performed. To introduce the phenomenology of word and story, symbol and ritual and explore the potential of this understanding for planning and interpreting worship. The focus includes eucharistic and initiation liturgy, services of the word and pastoral offices.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Give an account of biblical and doctrinal foundations of Trinitarian worship
- Appreciate the historical development of eucharistic and baptismal worship and apply this historical insight critically to revisions and developments in contemporary worship.
- Apply insights relating to the phenomenology of word, symbol and ritual in worship to interpretation and planning of worship.
- Begin to relate pastoral concerns to the effective interpretation and use of the pastoral offices.
Individually negotiated through the Faculty Board. See also Supplementary Regulations.
Objectives
As approved by the Faculty Board.
This paper will introduce students to the advanced study of Church history including the sophisticated handling of primary sources and engages with the historiography of the subject. On completion of the course students will be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of the interplay between the ideas of Christian Doctrine, the institutional development of the church and the social, political, economic and cultural context of the church. The Faculty Board will prescribe up to 4 topics which may be studied in each year, students will study one topic.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- A broad knowledge of a variety of local appropriations of Christianity and their change.
- An understanding of Christianity’s meanings and social and political significance in different eras and settings.
- An ability to draw constructively on the insights of a range of disciplines such as history, theology, social anthropology, sociology and political science.
The module aims to develop in students mature and well-informed habits in moral thinking, appreciation and judgment appropriate to a Christian teaching and pastoral ministry, and to Christian living.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Understand the variety of ethical views and approaches within the Christian Church
- Develop a range and depth of knowledge in a particular area of ethics
- Critically evaluate the various sources on which Christians draw in their moral thinking
- Articulate a sensitive, coherent and engaged position on ethical issues
Individually negotiated through the Faculty Board
Objectives
As approved by the Faculty Board
A candidate for the DTM may, with the permission of the Faculty Board, submit a dissertation on a topic approved by the Faculty Board. This may be on any topic relating to the subject of any full or half-paper in Groups B, C, or D.
A candidate who wishes to offer a dissertation shall submit an application, including the title of the proposed dissertation and a statement of the scheme of papers to be offered in the examination.
The Reflective Pastoral Practice is the most distinctive feature of the BTh degree. It is designed to test your development as a practical theologian within the context of a vocational award which seeks to relate academic learning to pastoral practice, contexts and growth in self-awareness. Pastoral papers are compulsory in both the first (BTh 51) and second (BTh 52) examination years. BTh 51 is a half paper. BTh 52 is one full paper.
Objectives
On successful completion of this Paper students will be able to:
- Demonstrate development as a Christian who reflects theologically on their own engagement with the church and the world
- Engage with the discipline of pastoral theology, its literature and sources
- Integrate previous experience with their vocational development in dialogue with other parts of the BTh degree and life within the Cambridge Theological Federation
- Show how their own background, assumptions and perceptions influence their theology