Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Program Description

The Ph.D. in Contextual Theology is a degree that interfaces Biblical Studies and Theology and the understanding of the socio-cultural context with the aid of the Social Sciences. In this interface, the importance of transformational, pastoral, educational, and missional tasks are emphasized. This degree will enable graduates to exercise theological and educational leadership in church, NGOs, educational institutions, and research centers so that they can engage their economic, political, and social worlds. There are two tracks: 1) Theology and Culture; 2) Biblical Studies and Culture.

The Theology and Culture track focuses on cultural and theological traditions and/or systems, including their hermeneutical and historical underpinnings, and their dynamic interface with the biblical material in its socio-cultural context, and with the use of the social sciences in identifying and analyzing contemporary challenges.

The Biblical Studies and Culture track is focused on research whose starting point is the biblical text in the original languages as it is situated in its various socio-cultural and historical contexts. Theological engagement acts as a bridge between the ancient context and the contemporary one, as these are understood from the lenses of the social sciences.

This program is recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Aims of the Program

The goal of the PhD Program in Contextual Theology is to form scholar-practitioners who can exercise theological/educational/research leadership because they have developed certain perspectives and dispositions, acquired independent research skills, and are able to produce theological work that is rooted and has practical significance in the local context, but with global resonance.

• They understand the contextual dimensions of Scripture and of the church’s theologizing in history.
• They are knowledgeable in the methods and skills for an in-depth and sensitive understanding of religious/social/political phenomena and the dominant values/narratives of their own culture or church traditions.
• They are able to trace themes, concepts, and ideas in Scripture appropriate to their subject matter, based on a careful exegesis of the text in its own context, yet with the understanding of the role of the leader in the whole interpretative process.
• They are ready to be independent researchers who are able to (1) tackle a subject matter in new fields or with new methods, or else to make connections or link that have not been seen or well-developed before; (2) gain a comprehensive knowledge of their field, so that they would know the gaps in research; (3) use resources and appropriate methodologies for gathering data, as well in analyzing and synthesizing them in creative ways.
• They are multi-disciplinary thinkers and practitioners who are able to relate together various fields in an integrative way so as to be able to produce new or more relevant paradigms of theology and praxis.
• They are able to draw out the practical implications of their research and contribute to the shaping of a pastoral/missional response to a current issue and/or to addressing a practical need with contextual relevance and missional impact.
• They have cultivated the quality of social and spiritual discernment so that that are able to make appropriate and insightful links and applications.
• They demonstrate the skill of disciplined writing and are able to present the results of their study in a clear and well-established format so that the others (both specialists and non-specialists) are able to interact with their results.
• They are equipped to be faculty of theological training institutions and teach in graduate and postgraduate theological education programs.

Philosophy of the Program

Nature of Contextual Theology

Contextual theology is not to be understood as some unusual or “new breed” of theology. All theology, no matter how philosophical or scholarly it claims to be, is contextual. What contextual theology seeks to do is to make its hermeneutical orientation as up-front and evident as possible. Contextual theology seeks to overcome the dominant theological paradigms in past and current discourse that have gained the status of the classis and therefore continue to “rule” much of contemporary theologizing. By de-powering the classic paradigms and building local theologies from below, contextual theology seeks to build theologies that reflect the Christian community in its various particular settings but keeping in mind the wider world in which it finds itself. Thus, contextual theology is particularly focused on empowering the faith community by giving it a language and praxis in its formation, growth, and service in the setting/s in which it finds itself.

Moreover, contextual theology is not understood as a two-step process in which one understands first and then the practical application follows later. Rather, the practical is already presupposed and integral from the beginning of the interpretation and theological process. Contextualization occurs in the very act of understanding. The result is a theology that is at once systematic, biblical, and practical. It is expected then that the research work of both faculty and students in the PhD program would have an academic as well as a practical orientation.

Local and Global

Contextual theology does not mean elevating the local to the detriment of the global. It simply challenges other local theologies that have been elevated to  classical status. Thus, contextual theology, while oriented towards a articular society or culture or cultural sub-group, is still in conversation with other theologies in a global discourse since it recognizes that the church is both local and universal. This implies that issues tackled in research will be rooted in the local context but will have global resonance or implications.

In order to keep the global focus, ongoing interaction with scholarship in the West, as well as with other parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa will be encouraged. This would entail participation in regional and international conferences for both faculty and students. Partner institutions will be explored and funding sourced so that students can spend part of their dissertation research in educational institutions or research centers with good library resources in other Asian countries or in the West.

Interdisciplinary and Integrative

The program addresses the fragmentation of theological knowledge—the by-product of the Enlightenment model of education—by ensuring the cross-fertilization of disciplines. While specialized and focused studies are important, these must be seen in a larger framework and related to other theological disciplines. Efforts will be made for integration to happen at various levels: the student’s particular research interest with the courses in the curriculum and the research interests of other students and scholars in the community; among the various course content and methodologies; between the student’s life, academics, and ministry; between local issues and broader national and global issues; between public life and personal life; between life in the seminary and life in the outside world.

Integration happens as faculty in the program are involved in an on-going conversation on how their own particular disciplines and courses relate to others and as various integrative activities are built into the formal and non-formal curriculum. In order to encourage integration, team teaching (among faculty of the same or different disciplines, between residential and visiting/adjunct faculty, between a theologian and a practitioner) would be encouraged as much as possible.

Field Research Orientation

Understanding the social context cannot be done through books alone. Field knowledge helps to correct unquestioned assumptions, give a broader picture to personal/immersion experiences leading to a more in-depth social analysis, provide a means of testing intuitions, and raise questions for further research. It is thus indispensable to contextual theology. Moreover, the data from field research is important for shaping a pastoral and missional response that is more reflective of and appropriate to the context. Hence, field research is an indispensable component of this PhD program, utilizing research tools drawn from the social sciences.

Rooted in the life of the Church

The focus of the program is to prepare people for the various ministries of the church—whether as faculty of theological schools that prepare pastors for the local church, denominational heads and church leaders, research directors and staff, consultants and resource persons to Christian NGOs, parachurch organizations, and corporate organizations wanting to strengthen their Christian witness, and writers of theological books and commentaries. Hence, it is important that the work of students and faculty are rooted in the life of the church and serves the church.

Learning in Community

The PhD is not set-off as separate from the ATS Master’s programs. PhD students participate in the life of the ATS community. PhD students also help in the Masters programs by giving a public presentation of their research in a colloquium, assisting in assessment, course instruction, and leading seminars in order to prepare them for teaching roles. To further enhance community life in an academic community, students will be structured as a cohort in a two-year cycle. Community activities will be scheduled with faculty participation to maximize academic and personal interaction.

Importance of Discernment

Being skilled in methodology alone is not sufficient to develop theologies that are appropriate to a certain context. Engaging one’s societal context calls for a spirituality that can undergird a discerning re-reading of Scripture and the emergence of new theological constructions. Hence, the program will emphasize the spiritual disciplines in order to cultivate the quality of discernment, aid faculty and students in the holistic integration of theory and practice, and provide resources for the multiple challenges of study, ministry, and personal/family/public life. 

Adequate Mentoring

In order for students to grow into independent researchers an adequate mentoring process needs to be put in place. Even though courses give the necessary foundation for one’s research to take off, it is in only in the nitty-gritty of one-on-one mentoring that ideas are explored, arguments are tested, further resources are provided, and the research begins to take shape. Thus, the program will seek to put in place a good mentoring system from the time a student is admitted until the time of submission and defense of the dissertation. This means a realistic faculty-student ratio (in consideration of the total load of a faculty) to ensure adequate supervision. Training seminars for PhD mentors, readers and examiners will also be conducted and a system put in place to ensure that both faculty and students are supported in the mentor-mentee roles.

Graduates of this Program Can Serve As:

• Faculty in Biblical Studies and Theology
• Leader of Bible Schools and Seminaries
• Leader of Christian Organizations
• Theologian/Thought Leader for the Church and for Christian Organization
• Writer of Commentaries and Theological Books
• Researcher of Religious Phenomena
• Advocate for Social and Church Issues

Ph.D. Bridge Program

The Ph.D. Bridge Program is our way of helping interested applicants for the Ph.D. in Contextual Theology program. In the Bridge Program, interested applicants will be advised to take the masteral courses that they lack as prerequisites. For those with non-thesis masteral degrees, they will be guided so they can fulfill the research paper prerequisite. Also, they can be guided as to the research topic they want to pursue in their Ph.D. program. The curriculum for this bridge program is catered individually.

We accept students for the Ph.D. Bridge program every semester.

Ph.D. –  Curriculum

Biblical Studies and Culture Concentration

CURRICULUM

 Foreign Language Requirements: Two Foreign Languages (3 masteral level units each)

1. 1. 1. Aramaic (OT), Advanced Latin (NT), or Septuagint Greek
      2. French or German

1. 1. 1. Core Courses (5 courses, 30 units)
         1. Philosophical and Contextual Hermeneutics   – 6 units
         2. Asian Theology and Spirituality   – 6 units
         3. Old Testament and New Testament Theology   – 6 units
         4. Social Science Research   – 6 units
         5. Contextual Theological Method  – 6 units
      2. Concentration Courses (4 courses, 24 units)
         1. Method in Biblical Studies   – 6 units
         2. Scripture in Context   – 6 units
         3. Guided Independent Reading   – 6 units
         4. Guided Independent Biblical Book Study: Old Testament or New Testament Book   – 6 units

Total units of Course Work = 54 units

C. Dissertation (12 units)

Total Number of Units = 66 units

Theology and Culture Concentration

CURRICULUM

Foreign Language Requirements: Two Foreign Languages (3 masteral level units each)

1. 1. 1. Advanced Greek or Advanced Hebrew
      2. French/German/Latin/Spanish (choose one)

 A. Core Courses (5 courses, 30 units)

1. 1. 1. Philosophical and Contextual Hermeneutics   – 6 units
      2. Asian Theology and Spirituality   – 6 units
      3. Old Testament and New Testament Theology   – 6 units
      4. Social Science Research   – 6 units
      5. Contextual Theological Method   – 6 units

B. Concentration Courses (4 courses, 24 units)

1. 1. 1. Doing Local Theology   – 6 units
      2. Tradition and Context   – 6 units
      3. Guided Independent Reading   – 6 units
      4. Guided Independent Study   – 6 units

Total units of Course Work = 54 units

C. Dissertation (12 units)

Total Number of Units = 66 units

Ph.D. – Admission Requirements

Application Process

Admission Requirements

• Application Form, with clear vocational goals or statement of purpose, and possible dissertation topic. Download Application Form.
• 2×2 ID picture
• Payment of Application Fee (to be submitted with application form): $35
• MDiv, ThM, or MA in related fields
• A Master’s Thesis or a 40-60 page research paper that has a biblical or theological component
• Three References (academic, friend or colleague, pastor or employer)
• Signed Statement of Faith (Lausanne Covenant 1974 to represent the broad spectrum of evangelical faith)
• A photocopy of the TOR of the highest education received. (An official transcript will be required once accepted)

Date of Start of Next Cohort = August 2024

Deadline of Application for Next Cohort = December 31, 2023

The following prerequisites should be taken at the Master’s level:

• Hermeneutics
• 6 units of Social Science Research
• 6 units of either Greek or Hebrew for Theology and Culture track; 9 units each of Greek and Hebrew for Biblical Studies and Culture track
• 12 units of Theology (with a Theological Method component)
• 12 units of Bible (with a Biblical Theology component)

FEES

For details, contact:

Ph.D. – List of Faculty

Core Faculty

• • Athena Evelyn O. Gorospe, Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary (USA)
  • Charles Ringma, Ph.D., University of Queensland (Australia)
  • Annelle G. Sabanal, Ph.D., University of Edinburgh (UK)
  • George Capaque, Ph.D., De La Salle University (Philippines)

Affiliate Faculty

• • Timoteo D. Gener, Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary (USA)
  • Adonis Abelard O. Gorospe, Ph.D., Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)
  • James Ayodeji Adewuya, Ph.D., Nazarene Theological College/University of Manchester (UK)
  • Simon Chan, Ph.D., Cambridge University (UK)
  • William Dyrness, Ph.D., University of Strasbourg (France)
  • Edgar Ebojo, Ph.D., University of Birmingham (UK)
  • Melba Maggay, Ph.D., University of the Philippines Diliman (Philippines)
  • Aldrin Peñamora, Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary (USA)
  • Dr. Manuel Victor J. Sapitula, Ph. D., National University of Singapore(Singapore)
  • Amanda Shao Tan, Ph.D., Westminster Theological Seminary (USA)
  • Madeline Vega, Ph.D., University of Gloucestershire (England)
  • Lorenzo Bautista, Th.M., Asian Theological Seminary (Philippines)
  • Social Science Research Professors from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University

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