500
This course examines the rational foundations of the Christian faith and the principles for understanding divine revelation and magisterial teaching. As such, this course will treat the distinction and relationship between faith and reason; the notion, possibility, and need for divine revelation; the motives of credibility; and the principles for a proper interpretation of Magisterial teaching (including discussion of the “theological notes” or “qualifications”).
One inquires whether the existence of God can be proved, and studies some of the main attempts to prove it (including the cosmological, the teleological, the ontological, and the moral proofs). One studies the problems of speaking about God without anthropomorphism (that is, speaking in such a way as not to reduce God to a finite being). One comes to grips with the main objections to traditional theism, such as those of Kant and Hume, and those of process theology, and with the attempt to disprove the existence of God on the basis of the evil in the world.
The proper task of theology "is to understand the meaning of revelation and this, therefore, requires the utilization of philosophical concepts which provide a solid and correct understanding of man, the world, and God" (The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum Veritatis). This course will introduce the students to the need of a suitable philosophy for theology by examining the relationship and nature of philosophy and theology as "sciences" in the classical sense. This course examines the teaching of the Church's Magsterium on "perennial philosophy" and investigates a number of the more important fundamental philosophical insights critical for theology. Topics may include: physical motion, matter, form, privation, substance, accident, being, act, potency, the good, natural law, the end of man, natural knowledge of God, among other matters. The goal is for the student to attain a genuine philosophical understanding of these realities so that what God has revealed may be understood theologically and scientifically.
One studies closely some classic texts of ancient or medieval philosophy, such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Metaphysics, St. Augustine's De Trinitate, the works of St. Anselm, some part of the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas, or some major work in the Franciscan tradition. The intent is to study the great works of philosophy more seriously than is possible when they are dealt with in other courses. This closer textual study will enable the students to deepen their understanding of the philosophical tradition in which they stand. This course can be taken more than once since its content will vary from semester to semester.
This course outlines the development of modern science in light of the influence, culture and selected teachings of Catholic Church. It identifies conflicts and tensions that have arisen between scientific developments and Church teachings and Catholic culture. Topics include: medieval precursors to modern science, the Galileo affair and its contributions to modern science, Newton, Darwin and recent advancements in science.
This course follows the development of Visual Art images from ancient to contemporary culture by studying artists who have used, as St. Pope John Paul described, “creative intuition to enter into the heart of the mystery of the incarnate God and at the same time into the mystery of man.” The course will view and consider the established modes of visual expression and narrative image-making in the Western Tradition of Art, from the Classical age to the Modern age. Critical analysis will focus on the aesthetic dialogues between the literal and the visual, the symbolic and the incarnate, the profane and the sacred.
This course will present the basic principles of the interpretation of the Bible within the Catholic tradition. It will evaluate the strengths and difficulties of biblical criticism as it has developed in recent centuries. Alternate approaches, such as that of the early Christian fathers, will be examined. Differences in biblical interpretation among Christian denominations will be discussed. The Bible will be shown as the foundation of Christian prayer, catechetics, and family and community life.