Theological Studies
The cognitive dimensions and philosophical questions implicit in, and posed by, religious experience, particularly as considered in historical and contemporary Christian thought.
112 Studies in Religion (1 course) Investigations into the nature and function of religious faith and activity. The course asks: What is a religious claim? On what should it be based? How should it be evaluated? What does it mean to those who accept it? The focus is on the Christian heritage and its interaction with religious alternatives and secular culture. Lectures, readings, a writing component, and discussions will revolve around the underlying issues. THEOL, Fall and Spring semesters.
122 Introduction to Christian Thought (1 course) A survey of central events, ideas, and figures in the history of Christianity from the early church to the present. The course will focus on primary texts, and attention will be given to ways that Christianity has developed within a variety of historical and cultural contexts. The significance of historical developments for the church today will be examined throughout the course, and selected contemporary issues debated within the church will be discussed. THEOL, Fall and Spring semesters.
132 God Today (1 course) This course investigates the importance and function of a contemporary, religious understanding of God. How is God to be portrayed? Is such a portrayal credible? What are its implications? How do specific Christian views of God affect human meaning and behavior? The course explores various biblical images of God and re-examines them in the light of 20th-century developments, particularly massive human suffering, despair, and ecological problems. THEOL, offered annually.
222 Catholic Lives (1 course) A survey of the history and development of Catholicism, chiefly through the vehicle of autobiography. It involves the study of central Catholic teachings, distinctive religious practices, and the history of the church’s organization through the eyes of representative figures. The course also examines the rich tradition of Catholic dissent and reform, illustrated in the lives and work of Clare and Francis of Assisi, Luther, Teresa of Avila, Dorothy Day, and others. HIPHI, Fall semester, even years.
262 God and Gender (1 course) An examination of how one’s understanding and experience of gender are connected to one’s views of God and the natural world. The course explores the works of a variety of thinkers both inside and outside the Christian tradition, paying special attention to issues raised by feminist theologians. Possible topics include: language about God, human sexuality, the nature of biblical authority, images of nature in Western religious thought, views of Jesus, the feminist movement, the men’s movement, and the ordination of women. This course counts toward fulfillment of the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies minor. Prerequisite: any course in religion. HIPHI, Fall semester, even years.
272 Luther and His Legacy (1 course) This course will explore the life, work, and legacy of Martin Luther. Attention will be given to the social, economic, and political milieu of the 16th century and his role as a leader of the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s own writings will be analyzed and assessed. Central to the course will be an examination of the major theological principles at the core of Luther’s thought and their significance for contemporary Christianity. HIPHI, Fall semester.
282 Perspectives on Evil, Sin, and Suffering (1 course) “If God is good, where does evil come from? If there is no God, where does goodness come from?“ These questions form the basis of this course, which examines how theologians have grappled with the tension between God’s goodness and the presence of evil and suffering in the world. Students will scrutinize “classic“ responses to the problem of evil from the viewpoint of their most serious contemporary challengers: feminist theologians from both developed and “Two-Thirds World“ countries, and post-Holocaust Jewish theologians. Prerequisite: One course in religion. HIPHI, WRITI, Spring semester, odd years.
312 Jewish-Christian Encounter (1 course) Christianity emerged from Judaism, yet until recent decades, the relationship between the two faiths often has been hostile, with tragic results for the Jews of Europe. This course will examine the historical and theological aspects of that relationship: the context out of which Christianity emerged, its eventual separation from its “parent“ faith, and its ultimate repudiation of Judaism. The course also considers the theology of Jewish-Christian relations, past and present. How does either faith maintain its claims in the face of the other? In what ways are the two religions linked even while they are in conflict? Prerequisite: one course in religion. HIPHI, WRITD, Fall semester, odd years.
322 Nineteenth-Century Religious Thought (1 course) The 19th century was a period of enormous ferment and originality in religious thought—and anti-religious thought. This course will cover the chief thinkers in the birth and growth of modern theology and atheism from the French Revolution to the outbreak of World War I. Primary emphasis will be on the movement leading from Kant and Schleiermacher to Troeltsch and the dialectical theology, and the counter-currents of Feuerbach and Nietzsche. The growing interaction of European thought with world cultures in this period will also be engaged, and students will have the option to study religious thought in any world culture, from Europe to America, Asia, and elsewhere. Prerequisite: one course in religion or philosophy. HIPHI, WRITD, Fall semester, even years.
332 Contemporary Theologies (1 course) An examination, using primary texts, of theological issues emerging at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, with particular attention to theologies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as feminist, womanist, and African American theologies in North America. The course will account for the ways in which theologians working today draw on and/or depart from earlier 20th-century theologians, including Barth, Tillich, Bonheoffer, and others. Prerequisite: one course in religion. HIPHI, Spring semester, odd years.