RELS 477 - New Testament Canon: Development and Theology | 2024-2025

Investigates the theological implications of the historical development of the New Testament canon. Stress is laid upon the contextual reading of primary source evidence and its interpretation in important secondary source literature. New Testament canon development is explored as it relates to the Rule of Faith, the early councils, creeds, and the church fathers. These relationships are then investigated with a view toward how they influence our understanding of Scripture in the twenty-first century.

RELS 476 - Theology and Worldview | 2024-2025

What is Worldview in relation to Theology? How does it influence us and others? Students are invited to investigate some of the salient moments in the history of Christian worldview thinking and its contemporary expressions as they relate to the discipline of theology. We will inquire into implications of this relationship in various spheres of life, including politics, art, science and the environment.

RELS 473 - The Theology of Thomas Aquinas and John Paul II | 2024-2025

This course takes an in-depth look at the theological vision of the two most influential Catholic theologians of the second Christian millennium: St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope John Paul II. The main features of St. Thomas's synthesis of Christian thought, especially as found in his great Summa Theologiae, is explored. This is followed by an examination of the personalist Thomism of Pope John Paul II, and his program for the renewal of the Catholic Faith, especially as found in selected encyclicals and apostolic letters. The vision and worldview of St.