Courses

A doctrinal study of the Trinity and the Church, engaging the biblical material in forming a doctrine of God and the Church.

A doctrinal study of the person and work of Jesus Christ, engaging the biblical material in forming a doctrine of Christology and soteriology.

A supervised short-term missions/cross-cultural internship/practicum.

Students are invited to investigate some of the most significant theologians and theologies of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries with a view toward how they influence Christianity today. The approach is both inter-confessional and international in scope and seeks to allow students to grapple with important theological issues in local, national, and global contexts.

This course focuses on the theological, liturgical, and spiritual traditions that undergird the Catholic Church and which continue to form her self-understanding. Historically, this course explains and evaluates the development of the Catholic doctrine of the Church in terms of its roots in Scripture and Tradition, and with a particular emphasis on the Pauline understanding of the Church as the Body of Christ, and selected readings from the Church Fathers, as well as developments in Catholic understanding of the Church in different historical periods and social contexts. It also examines the Church in terms of her ongoing mission to the contemporary world implied by Catholic doctrine. Spiritually, this course exams the distinctive teaching of the Second Vatican Council's 'universal call to holiness' which ultimately serves to integrate doctrine and life in each member of the Church. Analysis of these themes are undertaken in dialogue with the perspectives of other Christian traditions, and in the light of the constructive critique they can offer.

A survey of central issues arising from the question, “Is belief in God rational?” Topics include arguments concerning the existence of God, religious pluralism, natural science and religious belief, religious language, and critiques of natural theology from Kierkegaard and Reformed Epistemology.

A study of the history of contextualization from biblical to modern times, exploring significant models and paradigms of prominent thinkers and evaluating these adaptations and innovations. Also, the social and spiritual dynamics of culture change are examined, with a view to analyzing those processes which help to make the Gospel relevant in the constantly changing world in which we live.

An examination of key issues pertaining to suffering and belief in God. Topics include the problem of evil, arguments from suffering, original sin, everlasting suffering, and providence.

This course seeks to extend the study of theology to the manner in which non-Western communities of Christians endeavour to shape their world by their faith. Special emphasis is given to examining Christology and Soteriology from a cross-cultural perspective and to the manner by which both Western and non-Western traditions may interact to enrich hermeneutics, missiology, and biblical and systematic theology.