Theology

Department Chair: Dr. David Deavel, david.deavel@stthom.edu

The major in theology seeks to instill competency in major topics in the study of Catholicism and in the methods of investigation and research appropriate to the discipline of theology. Theology plays a particularly important role in the synthesis of knowledge as well as in the dialogue between faith and reason. The study of theology, as part of a liberal arts education, aids the University community in its “constant effort to determine the relative place and meaning of each of the various disciplines within the context of the human person and the world that is enlightened by the Gospel,” and thus in preserving “the sense of the transcendence of the human person over the world and of God over the human person.” (John Paul II, Ex corde Ecclesiae, 16, 19).

Students who successfully complete the major program will be able to: read and use scripture in accordance with theological methods; interpret documents in Church history according to their historical and theological contexts; and assess, from within the ecclesial tradition, arguments in systematic and moral theology. Fulfillment of these objectives will be determined by means of an exit examination.

The school also offers a five-year BA/MA Combined degree in Theology which enables high–achieving undergraduate students to earn both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a streamlined program combining undergraduate and graduate studies. The BA/MA requires 120 undergraduate credit hours and 30 graduate credit hours of study and allows students to take undergraduate and graduate courses concurrently during the senior year. The BA and MA degrees will be conferred only after the BA/MA student completes the 120 undergraduate credit hours and 30 graduate credit hours of study successfully. The undergraduate hours for the Theology coursework are reduced to 36 hours from 42 hours. The chair of the Theology major will advise the student on which courses to take.

For graduate students, the department offers an MA in Historical Theology. Through its six-course sequence in historical courses and its offering of systematic courses based in the Catholic dogmatic tradition and integrating Sacred Scripture, students will be given a solid basis in Catholic theology that is informed by both Scripture and the Tradition. Students will complete the MA by passing a set of comprehensive exams or, with the permission of the director, an MA thesis.

Degrees and Certificates

Classes

CS 3356: Theological Anthropology

Studies the Christian vision of the man under the light of divine revelation: his creation in God's image and likeness, his ultimate end, and his spiritual and material faculties. Readings focus on the development of Christian anthropology in its historical context, both ancient and modern, as well as the anthropological foundations of moral action, ascetical praxis, and sacramental discipline. Primary source readings will typically be chosen from scripture, the fathers, and recent Magisterium, including documents of the Second Vatican Council, with an eye to comparison and contrast between Christian anthropology and modern and post-modern views of the human person. Key topics may include deification, personhood, freedom, the mind, passions, relationality, or sexuality. Prerequisites: THEO 1301/3301 and 2301/3311

CS 4191: Catholic Studies Internship

A practical experience with a community organization dealing with social justice issues. Both a faculty member (Political and Social Science Department) and a field supervisor will coordinate and evaluate the internship. Periodically, throughout the semester, interns in this program will meet to discuss how their internships are related to Catholic Social Teaching.

CS 4391: Social Justice Internship

A practical experience with a Catholic organization dealing with social justice issues. Both a faculty member (Political Science Department) and a field supervisor will coordinate and evaluate the internship. Periodically, throughout the semester, interns in this program will meet to discuss how their internships are related to Catholic Social Teaching.

CS 5320: Educating the Human Person

Explores the Catholic understanding of the human person with a view towards implications for pedagogy. This course examines many aspects of human nature: the unity of soul and body, sensation, emotion, thought, free choice, and habits.

CS 5321: The Catholic School

This course focuses on what a Catholic school is, what makes it distinctive, what rule it plays in the Church and the lives of families, and how all of that affects the way teachers approach their various subjects.

EVNG 5301: The Theology of Bishop Barron

The courses engages the thought of Bishop Robert Barron to examine major themes in systematic theology and their relevance to evangelizing the culture. The course includes introductions to Eucharistic theology, dogmatic theology, and ecclesiology.

EVNG 5302: Reading for Evangelists

Effective evangelists are culturally informed and able to engage productively and confidently with complex literary and nonfiction texts. In this seminar-style course, students will develop and practice strategies for reading in a range of genres and forms with comprehension and charity. Students will also critically assess their own reading habits, use cultural, historical, and/or literary context to gain a deeper understanding of texts, and apply what they learn to the work of evangelization and discipleship.

EVNG 5304: Christology for Evangelists

The course provides an introduction to the Church's understanding of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, God made flesh, with special emphasis on Christ's identity as both eternal logos and historical redeemer.

EVNG 5306: Philosophy for Evangelists

The course provides an introduction to Catholic apologetics with the goal of equipping students to respond to the most common secular objections to Catholicism. Topics include arguments for the existence of God, the historicity of the Resurrection, the problem of evil, and the relationship between faith and science.

EVNG 5308: Moral Theology for Evangelists

Anchored in the thought of Fr. Servais Pinckaers, this course provides an introduction to Catholic moral theology with the goal of teaching students how the Catholic conception of the meaning and purpose of human action leads to authentic happiness. Potential topics include natural law, justice, the common good, virtue, conscience, character, politics, Catholic social teaching, and sanctification.

EVNG 5310: Art for Evangelists

The course provides an introduction to the distinctively Catholic conception of beauty and how beauty can serve as an effective tool for evangelization. Topics include sacramentality, transcendence, and the relationship between 'high art' and 'popular art.'

EVNG 5312: Biblical Studies for Evangelists

The course offers and introduction to Old and New Testament theology using a 'hermeneutics of evangelization' that sees revelation in five acts: creation, the fall, the formation of Israel, Jesus Christ, and the Church. Student will also learn how to evangelize using Word of Fire's distinctive bible.

EVNG 5330: Advanced Topics in Evangelization I: Summer Residency

Summer Residency provides students the opportunity to study a special topic at the University of St. Thomas campus. Topics include evangelization and new media, politics and evangelization, evangelization and persecution, Church history for evangelists, and cross-cultural evangelization.

EVNG 5331: Advanced Topics in Evangelization II: Summer Residency

Summer Residency provides students the opportunity to study a special topic at the University of St. Thomas campus. Topics include evangelization and new media, politics and evangelization, evangelization and persecution, Church history for evangelists, and cross-cultural evangelization.

EVNG 5332: Dante for Evangelists

The course examines one of history's best poets and provides a perennially compelling and relevant vision of the Catholic philosophical, theological, moral, and artistic life.

EVNG 5334: Evangelical Legacy of Vatican II

The course addresses common misconceptions about the purpose and content of Vatican II with the goal of teaching how Vatican II principles remain essential for effective evangelization.

EVNG 5336: Spirituality for Evangelists

The course explores how the thought and practice of the great spiritual masters and saints of the Church can serve as potent tool for inviting people into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

EVNG 5338: Patristics for Evangelists

The course provides an introduction to patristics with the goal of showing how the Church Fathers can effectively address both Protestant and secular criticism of the Church.

EVNG 5344: Practical Evangelization

This course focuses on the concrete 'how to's' of effective evangelization in contemporary contexts. Topics include how to use social media to evangelize, how to create and nurture digital and physical evangelical communities, how to build a culture of life, how to respond to indifference, and how to response to opposition and hostility.

EVNG 5346: Evangelization in America

What can social science teach us about human flourishing and what opportunities does it reveal for where and how to evangelize contemporary America? This class will range across social science data from political science, psychology, sociology, economics, etc. in looking at happiness, unhappiness, and how the Church can speak to the predicament of the contemporary American soul.

SPTHEO 5302: Biblical Hebrew

The course of Biblical Hebrew will present an introduction to the basis of the Classical Hebrew used in the Masoretic text. This course is essential to learn the basic semantic notions of the Biblical vocabulary that has marked the spirituality and theology of the Old Testament. By the end of this course the students will be able to write and read Hebrew words and translate Biblical phrases.

SPTHEO 5303: Biblical Greek

The course of Biblical Greek will present an introduction to the basis of the Koiné Greek used in the New testament and some texts of the Septuagint. This course is essential to learn the basic semantic notions of the Biblical vocabulary that has marked the spirituality and theology of the New Testament and the Magisterial vocabulary used to define diverse dogmatic formulations in the catholic Church. By the end of this course the students will be able to write and read Greek words and translate Biblical phrases.

SPTHEO 5304: Exegetical Methods

The course of exegetical methods will present an introduction and praxis of the most important exegetical techniques and approaches developed throughout the history of the Biblical Criticism. The knowledge and praxis of diverse exegetical methods will offer to the students’ multiple Biblical viewpoints to approach the canonical texts in order to discover its manifold levels of meanings.

SPTHEO 5305: Hispanic Hermeneutics

The course of Hispanic hermeneutics is a very unique application of hermeneutics. The hermeneutical process surges as a result of the exegetical study of the texts that needs to be interpreted through the specific viewpoint of the “Hispanic reality in the United States.” This sociological situation illuminates the interpretation of the academic study of the Biblical texts and its message becomes relevant to the modern reality of the Latino/a immigrant or Hispanic minorities in the United States.

SPTHEO 5306: Pentateuch

The course of Pentateuch will study the most important theological themes of the canonical books: i.e., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers, and Deuteronomy: their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction that explains the formation of the books, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5307: Historical Books

The course of the Historical Books will study the most important theological themes of the canonical books: i.e., Joshua, Judges, 1-2Samuel, and 1-2 Kings: their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction that explains the formation of the books, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5308: Prophets of Israel

The course of the Prophets of Israel will study the most important theological themes of the canonical books: i.e., Major and Minor Prophets: their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction that explains the formation of the books, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5309: Poetic and Wisdom Writings

The course entitled Poetic and Wisdom Writings will study the most important theological themes of the canonical books, their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction that explains the formation of the books, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5310: Synoptic Gospels and Acts of the Apostles

The Synoptic Gospels will be studied in this course and Acts of the Apostles with the different methods used by the Catholic Church for an understanding in the light of faith. This course explains the historical background, the narrative structures, the authorship of the canonical books, main theological contents and themes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5311: Paul and his Letters

The Pauline letters will be studied in this course in terms of their life settings, historical contexts and their Christian message through exegesis and pastoral hermeneutics pertinent to the current Latino/a reality. This course explains the historical background, the narrative structures, and the authorship of the canonical books, main theological contents and themes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5312: Catholic Epistles

The course of the Catholic Epistles will study the most important theological themes of the canonical letters: i.e., James, Jude, and 1-2 Peter: their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5313: Johannine Literature

The course of Johannine Literature will study the most important theological themes of the canonical letters: i.e., Gospel according to John, 1,2,3 John, and Revelation: their literary problems, their authorship, their literary genres, their history of the redaction, and the exegesis of the most important periscopes that marked the theology and spirituality of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

SPTHEO 5320: Intro to Theological Studies

This course will introduce students to the theological field including the different types of religious thought and the way in which Catholic theology has different branches of study throughout history. Special emphasis will be given to the Latino/a theology in the United States. **COURSE IS TAUGHT IN SPANISH

SPTHEO 5321: Catholic Morality

This class will cover a systematic study of the ethical principles of Catholic moral doctrine and its daily application in the modern world in such a way that the person can live according to the will of God.

SPTHEO 5322: The Gospels

The four Gospels will be studied in this course with the different methods used by the Catholic Church for understanding them in the light of faith. This course explains the background, the structure, the main contents, and the major themes of each gospel.

SPTHEO 5323: Fathers of the Church

This course will study of the Fathers of the Church. Doctrine and Christian beliefs will be studied as well as their apologetic defense against the attacks of the pagan religions.

SPTHEO 5324: Church History

In this subject a study of the history of the church from Its birth to the present time will be made, separating the moments and important changes throughout 1he centuries with Its main characters and events. Special attention will be given to the history of Hispanic Catholicism In the United States.

SPTHEO 5325: Theology and Themes of the Old Testament

This course will cover the Pentateuch, the historical, sap1entlal, an Cl prophetic books. The different methods of study, literary styles, origin and 1heologlcal thought predominating in each of these books wlll be presented and elucidated according to the main theological needs of the Hispanic communities.

SPTHEO 5326: Trinity and Incarnation

This course will study the central dogma of the Trinitarian nature of God and its main exponents. The mystery of Incarnation will be Intrinsically inter-related with Christology and the life of Jesus of Nazareth from his human and divine nature.

SPTHEO 5327: Foundations of the Catholic Faith

This course will present the basic foundations of the Catholic faith contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as teachings, beliefs, practices, and prayers. Basic truth& and identifications of the Catholic faith will be studied within the framework of the Hispanic pastoral reality.

SPTHEO 5328: Paul and his Letters

The Pauline letters will be studied in this course in terms of their life settings, historical contexts and their Christian message through an exegesis and a pastoral hermeneutics pertinent to the current Latino/a reality.

SPTHEO 5329: Mission of the Church

This course will cover missiology as the constant task of the Church to announce the gospel and an analysis of its philosophy, its theology, Its biblical bases, its historical guidelines, and its practices within the Hispanic Catholic community.

SPTHEO 5330: Mary and Piety

The study of the life of the Virgin Mary, its basis in Scripture, its dogmas and doctrines; Marian piety as an expression of faith of the different cultures, particularly of the Spanish-speaking community In the United States.

SPTHEO 5332: Theology of the Sacraments

Study of the sacramental principle: relationship of the sacraments to Christ and the Church; and biblical, historical and doctrinal introduction to the seven sacraments, with special emphasis on their role in Christian life

SPTHEO 5333: Sacraments in Parish Life Practicum

ln this course we will study sacramental theology In.Its pastoral application and liturgical celebration in the context of the parish Hispanic community in the different periods of the Church. Its biblical foundations and the Catholic tradition will be included. The student will complete a service project within a parish In which knowledge gained in this course will be applied.

THEO 2314: Theological Methods

An introduction to theology as a science, including its principles, sources, and methods, and an exploration of the parts of theology and how they cohere. Topics will include the skills and virtues necessary to the practice of theology; revelation and its witnesses in Sacred Scripture and Tradition; faith and its preambles; dogma and doctrine; development of doctrine; Magisterium; faith and reason; and the motives of credibility.

THEO 3311: Teachings of the Catholic Church

Introduction to the fundamentals of Catholic dogmatic theology, the science of sacred doctrine, as revealed in Scripture and Tradition and defined by the Magisterium of the Church.

THEO 3332: Theology of the Sacraments

Study of the sacramental principle: relationship of the sacraments to Christ and the Church; and biblical, historical and doctrinal introduction to the seven sacraments, with special emphasis on their role in Christian life.

THEO 3333: Theology of Worship

Worship, ritual and the human condition; Christian worship and the history of salvation; spiritual worship and liturgical action: objective and subjective aspects; play and festivity; sacred actions, times, and places; liturgy and holiness.

THEO 3336: Christian Spirituality

Systematic study of the concepts and practices of the Christian spiritual life, illustrated by reading selected texts from the great spiritual masters and writers of the Church.

THEO 3339: Christ the Savior

Basic themes concerned with the person and work of Jesus Christ as they emerge in scripture and tradition; emphasis on Jesus’ public ministry, the paschal mystery, and the Christology of both the early and contemporary Church; modern problems regarding the meaning of salvation.

THEO 3345: Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

Introduction to the theological method and major contributions of St. Thomas. Each semester will concentrate on one of the following topics: God–Trinity, creation, the Holy Spirit, grace, the moral life, etc.

THEO 3349: Christ and the Moral Life

A study of fundamental Catholic teachings on the moral life, founded upon the truth that the power to live the moral life flows from Christ and the divinizing power of his grace, particularly in the sacraments. Course content includes the beatitudes, freedom, the morality of human acts and passions, moral conscience, the theological virtues, sin, social justice, and the Ten Commandments.

THEO 3351: Prophets of Ancient Israel

Prophecy in the Old Testament in its historical and religious contexts; critical methods of studying the prophets; current interpretations of the prophetic books.

THEO 3353: Pentateuch

The Torah in its historical and religious contexts; the development of pentateuchal criticism; critical methods of studying the Pentateuch; theologies of the different traditions and their relations to biblical theology as a whole.

THEO 3354: Synoptic Gospels

The synoptic gospels in their historical and religious contexts; critical methods of studying these gospels and their relations to biblical theology as a whole.

THEO 3355: Book of Psalms

Contemporary exegetical approaches to Psalms, including the genre of “psalm” with a comparison to similar literature from the ancient Near East; types of psalms; relation of the Psalter to temple and synagogue worship; interpretations of individual psalms.

THEO 3356: Theological Anthropology

Studies the Christian vision of man under the light of divine revelation; his creation in God's image and likeness, his ultimate end, and his spiritual and material faculties. Reading focus on the development of Christian anthropology in its historical context, both ancient and modern, as well as the anthropological foundations of moral action, ascetical praxis, and sacramental discipline. Primary source readings will typically be chosen from scripture, the fathers, and recent Magisterium, including documents of the Second Vatican Council, with an eye to comparison and contrast between Christian anthropology and modern and post-modern views of the human person. Key topics may include deification, personhood, freedom, the mind, passions, relationality, or sexuality.

THEO 3359: Theology and the Liberal Arts

Introduction to the tradition of Catholic reflection on liberal education. The course considers the nature of the liberal arts, the relationship between theology and the other disciplines from a theological point of view, the question of the unity of knowledge, and the spirituality proper to the life of learning.

THEO 3365: Gospel and Letters of John

The fourth gospel and the epistles of John; critical methods of Johannine study; current status of Johannine scholarship; theological messages of the gospel and epistles.

THEO 4321: Catholic Epistles

This course is designed to explore the historical and religious contexts of the Christian communities at the end of the first century as reflected Hebrews and in the Catholic Epistles: James, 1-2 Peter, Jude, and the three Johannine letters. Topics include: narrative characteristic of the Greek text, the problem of the authorship, internal and external problems of the Proto-Christian communities, literary analysis of selected periscopes and theological developments manifested in the texts.

THEO 4324: Christian Ethics and the Law

A theological examination of ethical issues relating to the making and application of the law: e.g., the concept of justice; legal positivism and the relation of civil and criminal law to ethics and the legitimacy of the adversary system; obligations relating to confidentiality, equal access to legal services, punishment and sentencing, contracts; the practice of law as a Christian calling.

THEO 4334: Social Justice and the Church

Catholic teaching on social, political and economic issues: freedom; law; conscience; marriage and family; political authority; just war and nuclear arms; human dignity and rights; work; private property and social justice.

THEO 4339: Celtic Spirituality

Systematic study of the concepts and practices of the Christian spiritual life, with a special emphasis placed upon an understanding of Celtic Spirituality and the influences of Anglo-Saxon spirituality on it. This study will be undertaken by a reading and study of selected texts by the great spiritual masters and writers of the Church from the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon tradition.

THEO 4347: Fathers of the Church

Lives and thoughts of the great saints and scholars of the first millennium who shaped the Church’s teaching and life. Reading their works is essential to the course. Among those to be discussed are the Desert Fathers, Origen, Basil, Ambrose and Augustine.

THEO 4348: Theology of the Body

Introduction to the writings of John Paul II on the sacramental nature of creation, and in particular, the human body, male and female. Marriage as sacrament of the Communion of Persons in the Trinity. The ethics of human sexuality as integral to the responsible relationship between persons and the theology of the total, reciprocal gift of persons.

THEO 4351: Wisdom in Israel

Introduction to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Qoheleth, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach.

THEO 4360: John Henry Newman

A study of the thought and influence of John Henry Newman through a selection of his writings, including The Idea of a University.

THEO 4367: Mariology

Mary’s role in the salvation of humanity. Mary in scripture and in the tradition of the Church. The teaching of the contemporary magisterium: Pius XII, Vatican II, Paul VI, John Paul II. Mary in contemporary theology.

THEO 4368: Book of Revelation

Origin and development of apocalyptic literature in the Old Testament and the intertestamental period; formation, structure and style of the Book of Revelation; redactional and literary analysis of the text to define its theology and the situation which produced it.

THEO 4390: Triune God

Theology engages the mind and heart as a work of "faith seeking understanding." This course examines the Christian doctrine on God as one and trinitarian. It will explore the biblical/theological foundations, historical development, and contemporary approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity, with attention to the development of doctrine and how Trinitarian faith impacts the life, prayer and liturgy of Catholic Christians.

THEO 5332: Theology of the Sacraments

Study of the sacramental principle: relationship of the sacraments to Christ and the Church; and biblical, historical and doctrinal introduction to the seven sacraments, with special emphasis on their role in Christian life.

THEO 5339: Christ the Savior

Basic themes concerned with the person and work of Jesus Christ as they emerge in scripture and tradition; emphasis on Jesus' public ministry, the paschal mystery, and the Christology of both the early and contemporary Church; modern problems regarding the meaning of salvation.

THEO 5349: Christ and the Moral Life

A study of fundamental Catholic teachings on the moral life, founded upon the truth that the power to live the moral life flows from Christ and the divinizing power of his grace, particularly in the sacraments. Course content includes the beatitudes, freedom, the morality of human acts and passions, moral conscience, the theological virtues, sin, social justice, and the Ten Commandments.

THEO 5351: Prophets of Ancient Israel

Prophecy in the Old Testament in its historical and religious contexts; critical methods of studying the prophets; current interpretations of the prophetic books.

THEO 5353: Pentateuch

The Torah in its historical and religious contexts; the development of pentateuchal criticism; critical methods of studying the Pentateuch; theologies of the different traditions and their relations to biblical theology as a whole.

THEO 5354: Synoptic Gospels

The synoptic gospels in their historical and religious contexts; critical methods of studying these gospels and their relations to biblical theology as a whole.

THEO 5355: Book of Psalms

Contemporary exegetical approaches to Psalms, including the genre of “psalm” with a comparison to similar literature from the ancient Near East; types of psalms; relation of the Psalter to temple and synagogue worship; interpretations of individual psalms.

THEO 5361: Biblical Exegesis

This class studies the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures, including the contribution from the Patristic and Medieval period as well as from modern Biblical scholarship. Special attention will be paid to the tensions between modern Biblical scholarship and the Patristic and medieval tradition of interpreting the Bible, as well as to the areas in which the two traditions might enrich each other. The course attends to the philosophic and theological questions inextricable from Biblical exegesis.

THEO 5362: Theology of Grace

This course undertakes to examine the theological, historical, and dogmatic aspects of the doctrine of Grade in the Catholic tradition, and emphasis will be placed on central thinkers such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas as well as certain important modern controversies.

THEO 5365: Gospel and Letters of John

The fourth gospel and the epistles of John; critical methods of Johannine study; current status of Johannine scholarship; theological messages of the gospel and epistles.

THEO 5367: MA Thesis Direction

Masters students will work with a thesis director to select a topic and write a thesis proving mastery of the subject matter.

THEO 5375: Patristics I

This course offers close readings of influential works from some of the most important Eastern Church Fathers for the development of the Catholic Theological and dogmatic traditions. The course is usually taught with a unified theological theme in mind.

THEO 5376: Patristics II

This course undertakes an examination of the life and thought of St. Augustine and includes a close reading of some of his most influential works.

THEO 5377: Medieval Theology I

This course undertakes a reading of important theological selections from the Early Scholastic period, ranging from Anselm, Abelard, the Victorines and Bonaventure.

THEO 5378: Medieval Theology II

This course undertakes a reading of selections from Thomas Aquinas (and other Dominicans such as Albert the Great and Catherine of Siena) for the development of the Catholic theological and dogmatic traditions.

THEO 5382: The Triune God

Theology engages the mind and heart as a work of "faith seeking understanding." This course examines the Christian doctrine on God as one and trinitarian. It will explore the biblical/theological foundations, historical development, and contemporary approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity, with attention to the development of doctrine and how Trinitarian faith impacts the life, prayer and liturgy of Catholic Christians.

THEO 5383: Modern Theology I

This course examines the history and theology of the Catholic Church from 1860-1960, including Vatican I, Aeterni Patris and the Thomistic revival, the Modernist Crisis, and the nouvelle théologie.

THEO 5384: Modern Theology II

A theological exploration of the documents of Vatican II and related documents of the magisterium, their theological and historical context, and the grounding in Scripture and Tradition. Special attention is given to ressourcement and aggiornamento and to the "hermeneutics of reform" and "hermeneutics of continuity" as contrasted with a "hermeneutic of rapture."

THEO 6321: Catholic Epistles

This course is designed to explore the historical and religious contexts of the Christian communities at the end of the first century as reflected Hebrews and in the Catholic Epistles: James, 1-2 Peter, Jude, and the three Johannine letters. Topics include: narrative characteristic of the Greek text, the problem of the authorship, internal and external problems of the Proto-Christian communities, literary analysis of selected periscopes and theological developments manifested in the texts.

THEO 6324: Christian Ethics and the Law

A theological examination of ethical issues relating to the making and application of the law: e.g., the concept of justice; legal positivism and the relation of civil and criminal law to ethics and the legitimacy of the adversary system; obligations relating to confidentiality, equal access to legal services, punishment and sentencing, contracts; the practice of law as a Christian calling.

THEO 6325: Faith and Moral Development

An examination of the stages, processes and methods of Christian moral development. Topics include: how ethical norms are known; relation of faith to ethics; the concept of habit and the development of theological and moral virtues; the effect of culture on morals; the role of myth, symbol and identification in moral development; academic subjects and moral development.

THEO 6334: Social Justice and the Church

Catholic teaching on social, political and economic issues: freedom; law; conscience; marriage and family; political authority; just war and nuclear arms; human dignity and rights; work; private property and social justice.

THEO 6339: Celtic Spirituality

Systematic study of the concepts and practices of the Christian spiritual life, with a special emphasis placed upon an understanding of Celtic Spirituality and the influences of Anglo-Saxon spirituality on it. This study will be undertaken by a reading and study of selected texts by the great spiritual masters and writers of the Church from the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon tradition.

THEO 6351: Wisdom in Israel

Introduction to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Qoheleth, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach.

THEO 6360: John Henry Newman

A study of the thought and influence of John Henry Newman through a selection of his writings, including The Idea of a University.

THEO 6367: Mariology

Mary’s role in the salvation of humanity. Mary in scripture and in the tradition of the Church. The teaching of the contemporary magisterium: Pius XII, Vatican II, Paul VI, John Paul II. Mary in contemporary theology.

THEO 6368: Book of Revelation

Origin and development of apocalyptic literature in the Old Testament and the intertestamental period; formation, structure and style of the Book of Revelation; redactional and literary analysis of the text to define its theology and the situation which produced it.

THEO 6374: Modern Challenges to Christianity

The impact of the 19th and early 20th century scientific, economic, philosophical and psychological critiques of Christianity; emphasis on method for analyzing theological responses to these and other contemporary challenges.