School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Fundamental Theology

The resources and methods of theology provide the framework for this course. A primary focus will be on the relationship between revelation, faith, and theology, which includes the role of the Bible and the church's doctrine. The course will also survey past and present methods in 'doing theology,' and consider the connection between theology and spirituality.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

The Church

The ecclesial dimension of Christian faith is the focal point of this course. The course will locate the church within both a Trinitarian theology and a theological anthropology. Specific topics for exploration include the place of the church in the Creed, the sacramentality of the church, a theology of mission, and of structure and authority. The course will also explore current issues shaping the church's life and its place in the wider culture.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Christology

This course seeks to clarify what it means to confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, and why this is a significant claim. The course examines the New Testament, the early councils of the Church, the writings of early and medieval Christian theologians, the dogmatic teachings of the Church and the contributions of contemporary theologians. Two main questions will be addressed: Who is Jesus? How does Jesus save us?

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Contemplative Theology

This seminar explores major figures, texts, and trends in contemplative approaches to theology. By "contemplative" it is meant a disposition of deep openness and receptivity, a working familiarity with silence, hiddenness, and the implicit dimensions of thought, feeling, and awareness. More than a study of figures and texts that exhibit a broadly contemplative sensibility, the seminar inquires into the practice of contemplation (e.g., ways of attending, the cultivation of skills, the formation of habits, etc.) and the way such practice bears upon (or might bear upon) theology itself. Classic figures and texts will be treated alongside contemporary trends of contemplative renewal.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theological Virtues

The Church is often described as a community of faith, hope, and love. This course explores how some Christian thinkers have understood these central theological virtues. After considering New Testament sources, we will examine the following periods and thinkers: patristic (e.g. Augustine), medieval (Aquinas), reformation (Calvin), early modern (John of the Cross), and modern (Rahner, Lonergan, liberation theology). While special attention will be paid to the systematic thought of Aquinas, the goal of this course is to present a broad range of thinkers so that students can articulate their own account of these characteristic marks of Christian life.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theology of Culture

This course explores the relationship between theology and culture through the following questions: How do particular cultures shape Christian faith? How has the Church, for better or worse, changed (or failed to change) the various cultures into which it has been received? How are rapid advances in technology shaping culture and how should the Church respond? How do theologians navigate between their local context and global economic realities that influence all locales? How does the study of culture, which integrates the various branches of inquiry into human meaning, challenge and invigorate theological reflection?

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Faith & Justice: Liberation Theologies in the U.S.

Liberation theologies are modes of theological discourse that rethink the purpose of religious thought and practice by placing attention on distinctive experiences of injustice and inequality encountered by different individuals and social groups. Although the liberation theology movement is now a global one, the United States has been the birthplace of a good number of liberation theologies. This course examines the emergence, development, emphases, and methodologies of four of these, including African American/Black theology of liberation, feminist theology of liberation, Latino/a theology of liberation, and LGBTQ theology of liberation. Besides offering a solid introduction to liberation theology, the course analyzes basic concepts underlying theories of injustice, domination, and oppression.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Creation and Eschatology

How does Christian faith invite us to imagine the relationship between "this world" and "the world to come"? How does that affect the way we live and work in the world? This course explores key biblical texts, Christian doctrine, and contemporary theologies. Special attention is given to the relationship between religion and science, especially biblical hermeneutics; evolution and theology; death, judgment, heaven, and hell; the significance of Christian faith in bodily resurrection; and the biblical and theological basis for concern for the environment and a creation-centered spirituality.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Global Catholicism: Challenges/New Evangelization

This seminar traces the evolution of global Catholicism in the light of demographic shifts within the Roman Catholic Church from 1910-2010. Drawing upon insights and perspectives from church history, ecclesiology, theology, world mission studies, and post-colonial theory, the seminar examines the interactive dynamics of faith and culture as it explores the transformation of Roman Catholic ecclesial consciousness in the twenty-first century. Additional resources for research and analysis include the working documents, proceedings, and outcomes of recent Special Synods as well as international, regional, and national General Conferences of Episcopal Conferences, Assemblies of Conferences of Religious, and World Youth Days.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Discipleship

What is the relationship between what theologians have said about discipleship and the ways in which these articulations have shaped the living out of their vocations as theologians in the church and in the world? What can we learn from their lives? What do they teach us about following Jesus amidst the forces of secularization and desecularization? What does it mean to follow Jesus particularly in times of war, genocide, natural disaster, catastrophe, socio-economic collapse, scientific discovery, globalization and pluralism? What currently informs our own theological imaginations with regard to the challenges of Christian discipleship in today's church and world?

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

The Trinity in the Early Church

An introduction to early Christian Trinitarian theology and its enduring pertinence to the Church's worship of God as one and three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Treating authors from Justin Martyr to John of Damascus, we explore the scriptural and philosophical features of, among other issues, the "Cappadocian solution," the "psychological analogies" of Augustine, the roots of the filioque, and the challenge of Islam. We will consider the retrieval of patristic Trinitarian theology by recent authors, especially in light of debates on ontotheology, the immanent and the economic Trinity, and social analogies for divine perichoresis.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

The Mystery of the Trinity

The course will offer the Scriptural sources, the dogmatic development and the works of contemporary theologians that have contributed to the Church?s reflection on God, One and Triune, as revealed through the life and praxis of Jesus of Nazareth. This fundamental path will permit us to offer a systematic Trinitarian theology of God as Mystery of salvation and liberation of all.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Latin American Theology of Liberation

Latin American liberation theology traces its origins to the grassroots Christian communities that struggled for social justice in the 1960s. This course explores the distinctive way in which Latin American liberation theologians correlate their interpretation of their social context with the Christian tradition and praxis in a mutually-critical manner. We will critically examine their fundamental presuppositions, their contribution to theology, and their efforts to articulate the Christian message as an effective response against oppression and on behalf of a full human liberation. We will also incorporate some of the liberationist voices that emerge from other social and cultural situations.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Synodality and Reforms in the Church Today

This Course explores the theological and pastoral roots of Synodality as a consequence of the process of reception and deepening of the Ecclesiology of the People of God in the Second Vatican Council. In this context, Pastoral conversion and Synodal conversion are key to understand today`s ecclesial proposal of an inverted pyramid that overcomes clericalism and leads to a new way of proceeding in the Church that starts from below, from the sensus fidei fidelium, and then upwards. From this perspective, we are entering in a new phase in the reception of the Council and a renewed ecclesiology, an event that involves the reform of structures and processes. This demands a conversion in the ecclesial mentality, a revision of lifestyles, practices of communal discernment, and structural reform. Therefore, the course will present synodality as a constitutive and constituent note of the Church that embraces a major reform.

School:

Boston College School of Theology & Ministry

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Reconciliation in a World of Conflict

The twentieth century's legacy is marked by social conflict and war: more than 200 million people killed because of political repression, ethnic or religious wars. Enlisting a theological lens, this seminar examines the Christian resources and contribution to the problem of reconciliation. After examining the most important secular approaches to the problem of personal and social conflict, we will focus on the main Christian theologies of reconciliation, including the works of Robert Schreiter, Miroslav Volf, John de Gruchy, and Jon Sobrino. Their theologies will be examined through individual case studies of the Balkan region, South Africa, and El Salvador.

School:

Boston College Department of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Classic Texts in American Theology

This course examines texts that defined both the "Great Tradition" in American theology (Reinhold Niebuhr, William James, Walter Rauschenbusch) as well as texts that have profoundly shaped American Catholic theology (David Tracy, Elizabeth Johnson, etc.)

School:

Boston College Department of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theology of Edward Schillebeeckx

This doctoral seminar will be devoted to the reading of primary texts from three periods in the work of Edward Schillebeeckx (1914-2009): (1) the early existential-phenomenological retrieval of Thomas Aquinas's theology of sacraments; (2) the shift to historical consciousness and hermeneutics during and after Vatican II, particularly exemplified in his Christology; (3) the shift to critical theory and its critique of modernity, leading to an historical praxis of mysticism and politics in the light of a suffering world.

School:

Boston College Department of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Feminist Theologies and Theory

This doctoral seminar examines the contributions that feminist/womanist/Latina/Asian/ Queer theologians have made to Christian theology, with special attention given to the theoretical perspectives and methodological frameworks they employ. We will examine some of the major social/political/hermeneutical theories that feminist scholars of religion use in addressing the challenges of identity, difference, embodiment and Western hegemony/imperialism. Students will have the opportunity to analyze a classic feminist theology text of their choosing, utilizing insights from these theoretical frameworks.

School:

Boston College Department of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Methods in Theology

In the late 1960s, Karl Rahner asserted that theology's new partners in dialogue were the human and social sciences. Increasingly in answering new and perennial questions, contemporary theology has partnered with archaeology, sociology, cultural studies, psychology, world religions, and forms of critical theory. This course considers various methods in doing theology as well as some of theology's significant dialogue partners.

School:

Boston College Department of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

A Theology of Food: Eating, Drinking and the Eucharist

Eating and drinking are primordial human experiences that nourish individuals, sustain communities and are at the heart of rituals in many religions. In the Judeo-Christian tradition meals play an important part in the unfolding dialog between God and humanity. Christians believe in a privileged encounter with the Lord Jesus in the Eucharistic meal of bread and wine. Eternal life is portrayed as a great banquet in God's presence. This course articulates a theology of the Eucharist that takes meal as its point of departure. It examines how this central Christian action both shapes the divine-human relationship and informs our response to contemporary issues such as creation and ecology, hunger and suffering, solidarity and exclusion, hope and eternity.

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Constructive Theology [LECTURE]

This course introduces students to the major themes of Christian theology with the aim of providing them with a framework for effective and faithful theological reflection. Beginning with revelation and ending with eschatology, we follow a familiar progression in the study of systematic theology, examining modern and postmodern theological perspectives on God, creation, human nature, sin, Christology, ecclesiology and other doctrinal loci. The methodological approach is constructive, in that emphasis is placed on helping students integrate central issues of faith in response to contemporary issues.

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Constructive Theology [DISCUSSION]

[This discussion section is full. Please contact sthregfa@bu.edu to be added to the waitlist or choose a different disucssion section for this course.] Discussion

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Constructive Theology [DISCUSSION]

Discussion

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Spirit

[This course is full. Please contact sthregfa@bu.edu to be added to the waitlist.] The course shifts focus from studies of the Holy Spirit in Christian teachings to examine what it means to tend to the human spirit, especially under conditions of threat, struggle, and oppression. It features the writings and teachings of three figures -- Howard Thurman, Julian of Norwich, and Gloria Anzald?a -- and positions them as spiritual guides for exploring our capacities: 1) for connection and care; 2) for living with intention and purpose; and 3) for reimagining collective life. With primary focus on the works of Thurman, this course is an invitation to think with him about what makes religious/spiritual teachings about the human spirit distinctive and compelling. It also invites students, through readings and assignments, to engage with their own spiritual lineages and the spiritual traditions of the communities whom you serve.

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Political Theology

Recent developments across a variety of disciplines have led to deep and widespread interest in "political theology" -- a diverse range of approaches to interrogating, (re)imagining, and (de)constructing the intersection of politics, religion, and theology, present and past. Scholars have argued that dominant paradigms of sovereignty, the secular, modernity, and liberalism are themselves secularized, corrupted, or otherwise transformed versions of Jewish and Christian theology. Others contend that modern political practices and paradigms represent not the legacy of early modern secularization but the trail of an early modern reinjection of theology in political and social theory. Others still find in the practices of contemporary communities lived political theologies that subvert existing power structures and cast doubt on common conceptions of contemporary political life and possibilities. This course examines these competing developments, readings, and proposals; their interactions; and the contested histories, theories, and values that underwrite them. Considering political theology as both a historical and contemporary phenomenon and engaging a range of perspectives and figures, the course also considers relations and interactions between political theology and other approaches to questions of "religion and politics."

School:

Boston University School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Queer Theology

This course explores queer theology's potential to shape Christian thought and practice as a whole. Topics include eros and agape, sin and sexuality, pleasure and asceticism, dissent and sainthood, apophatic theology, trans* theology, queer sexual ethics, and queer spiritualties within and beyond Christianity. For fall 2022, a special focus will be on the meeting of AIDS with the present pandemic, asking what we might learn about loss, grief, ritual, and activism from collective queer life during AIDS. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)

School:

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Boston

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Introduction to Theological Studies

Required of all first-year students, this course provides a foundational understanding of academic research including knowledge of research and writing standards, proper citation and use of sources, understanding and avoiding plagiarism, and introduction to theological reflection as part of the research process. Offered every fall, spring, and summer. All non-MACC students must take this course during their first year of study, and preferably in or before their first semester or term.

School:

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Boston

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theology Survey I

A study of theological method, revelation, inspiration, and canon of scripture; existence and attributes of God; Trinity; creation and providence; human nature; original and actual sin.

School:

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Hamilton

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theological Hermeneutics

A discussion of main theories and concepts of hermeneutics, with particular attention being paid to the relationship between exegesis and systematic theology; contextual and missional issues. Offered at the Th.M. level.

School:

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-Hamilton

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Theology Survey I

A study of theological method, revelation, inspiration, and canon of scripture; existence and attributes of God; Trinity; creation and providence; human nature; original and actual sin.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Philosophy in the Desert: Evagrius of Pontus’s “Gnostic Trilogy”

A close reading of the “Gnostic Trilogy” of Evagrius of Pontus (d. 399), a Christian philosopher whose monastic career was spent in the Western deserts of Egypt, among the early generations of monks there. The “Gnostic Trilogy” is a scaled curriculum of ascetical and mystical theology, including the Praktikos, Gnostikos, and Kephalaia Gnostika. Previous coursework in the history of early Christianity is recommended, especially familiarity with Origen of Alexandria’s Peri Archôn or On First Principles, but not strictly required. All readings will be in translation, but there will be (optional) reading sections in Greek and Syriac, for those with at least an intermediate level of instruction.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

The Flourishing Life: Perspectives from Christian Theology and the Social Sciences

Debates over the shape of the good life are as old as human culture itself, and retain a deep appeal even in contemporary pluralist societies. As with other great religious and philosophical traditions, the history of Christian theology reflects a rich and subtle debate over the nature of flourishing and the pathways to achieving it. Until recently, by contrast, the social sciences tended to focus their efforts on understanding and preventing human illness and suffering, seeking (in Freud’s words) to “turn hysterical misery into ordinary unhappiness.” That has begun to change of late, with the rise of fields such as “positive psychology” and even “positive epidemiology,” which have sought instead to understand and promote human flourishing. Scholars from these fields have increasingly emphasized the role of religious participation in promoting many aspects of well-being, as in Joseph Henrich’s observation, “Across countries, the belief in a contingent afterlife is associated with greater economic productivity and less crime.” This course will consider perspectives on the nature of human flourishing from the Christian theological tradition and from the social sciences. We will also explore some important pathways to flourishing, including character & virtue; friendship, family, and belonging; and religious participation. The course will bring theological (and in some cases philosophical) readings, most often classics, into conversation with recent publications from the social and behavioral sciences. We’ll ask how these distinct disciplines might enrich, qualify, or challenge one another, and consider how their interaction leads to a deepened understanding of our shared pursuit of the good life. Finally, we’ll consider what practical implications our findings might have both for religious communities, public policy, and the individual pursuit of flourishing.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Religion and Liberation Around Toni Morrison and Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Writings and Lives

In 1995 Toni Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez met for the first time in Mexico City and spoke about their writings, editors, lives and literary influences. This course is a comparative study of the religious dimensions in their writings and lives with special attention to the themes of colonialism and liberation, homeland and quests,  rememory and myths, Africa and Latin America,  goodness and evil, slavery and freedom.  More attention will be given to Morrison’s works and García Márquez will appear in a powerful supporting role.

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Readings in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Theory

An advanced reading course in modern theory. Although primarily intended for doctoral students in the study of religion or related fields, master's students with a background in theory are welcome to contact the professor about admission to the course. Content will vary each year. Topic for Fall 2022: Freud

School:

Harvard Divinity School

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Encountering Motherhood: Sacred Histories

Childbearing, pregnancy, and motherhood, and the uncanny bond between mother and child have been focalthemes in the history of religion since the Paleolithic period. This seminar considers the complex subject ofmotherhood through sacred histories from ancient Greece, Eastern Orthodox Christianity,Buddhism, Finnish epic, and select indigenous traditions. We will also read contemporary works in matrifocal theology, evolutionary biology, sociology, and literature.

School:

Hartford International

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Introduction to Christian Theology

This course aims to survey all of the major dogmatic elements in the Christian confessions and theological discourses: the doctrine of revelation, the doctrine of God/Trinity, Christology, Sotereology, Christian anthropology, Pneumatology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, etc. We will study how each element interrelates with the contemporary Christian community's life in the world.

School:

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

Introduction to the New Testament

A required survey of the New Testament books in their historical and religious background with attention to hermeneutics, the patristic exegetical heritage, and modern biblical studies.

School:

Saint John's Seminary

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

FUNDAMENTAL THEOLOGY

In this course we will reflect on sacred theology’s defining task: deepening our comprehension of the Deposit of Divine Revelation. This will require that we explore Divine Revelation’s nature and content, as well as how Christ has endowed His Church with the capacity to preserve and interpret this sacred deposit. We will also delve into how the believer comes to recognize and assent to Divine Revelation in the gift of faith, the role reason plays in paving the way for this gift, and the role reason plays in the life of faith. Accordingly, the course will introduce students to the discipline of apologetics as the demonstration of faith’s rational suitability. It will also present the methodological and ecclesial dimensions of sacred theology’s cogitatio fidei.

School:

Saint John's Seminary

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

CHRISTOLOGY

This course is an introduction to the basic elements in the study of the identity and saving work of Jesus Christ as developed throughout the Catholic Tradition with particular attention to the contribution of St. Thomas Aquinas. The course proceeds from an examination of the data of Revelation in both the Old and New Testaments, to a detailed study of the Christological formulas articulated by the Church through the Third Council of Constantinople (680–81), to a systematic treatment of topics rooted in the two natures and one Person of Jesus Christ, including the knowledge, holiness and mediation of Christ. The course concludes with an examination of the basic principles of soteriology.

School:

Saint John's Seminary

BTI Category:

Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)

THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

This course treats Catholic belief regarding creation, the providence of God, the creation and fall of the angels, original sin and the consequences of the fall, the problem of evil, as well as the nature, origin, and destiny of the human person. In light of contemporary debates, this course will consider Catholic belief about grace, freedom, and the relationship of the natural and super-natural orders. The course will also treat basic themes of eschatology. In addition to Scriptural and patristic sources, instruction will consider medieval and modern authors as well as the texts of the recent papal Magisterium.