Course Catalogue 2025-2026

Challenges of religious pluralism to Christianity appearing from outside Christianity, and responses to it. How do other world religious traditions think about Christianity or religions for that matter? What are the theoretical problems of religious pluralism and the response to them from within Christianity?

This interdisciplinary seminar examines a variety of hermeneutical and critical theories spanning Ranke's historical realism to Dilthey's crisis of historicism in the nineteenth century, culminating in the existential phenomenology of Heidegger. The course then turns to the classical hermeneutic debate between Gadamer, Habermas and Ricoeur, and then explores the extended debate over what is an 'author' (Schleiermacher, Barthes, Foucault); the course then turns to Levinas's ethics of alterity, Derrida's differance and deconstruction, ending with Deleuze's 'rhizomatic' philosophy. Each of these theorists construct the relations between history, texts, authors and readers in different ways. This course stresses self-reflexivity and ability to discuss how theory always shapes biblical interpretation.

Are people innately evil, or do they become evil due to negative life experiences? Can a universal internal moral imperative rooted in an innate good will exist independently of self-interest? Contemporary theorists from a variety of disciplines in the humanities and sciences argue that human beings are motivated by amoral internal forces that are shaped into moral action through diverse cultural learning processes. Notions such as the nature of subjectivity, agency, relationality, and capacities for critical self reflection are brought into question. These and other issues are explored through the lenses of philosophy, social theory, psychoanalysis and religion in dialogue with relevant classical and contemporary thinkers.

This course engages students with key Old Testament interpretive methods across a broad spectrum that may include historical-critical, literary, reader-oriented, theological, inter-disciplinary, and global approaches. Working with biblical texts together with readings from practitioners enables students to assess the assumptions, methods, development, and strengths and weaknesses inherent in each interpretive method.

This course will explore through classroom lectures and seminar discussions the texts and pastoral practice of the daily cycle of the liturgy of the hours and the yearly cycle of feasts, fasts and commemorations of the Byzantine (Orthodox and Eastern Catholic) churches, including the historical evolution and theological meaning of those rites. Some consideration will also be given to the liturgies of the hours and liturgical year of the Oriental Orthodox churches, specifically the Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopian rites. The course will also further develop the concept of liturgical theology and the reflect on pastoral practice in the celebration of daily and festal services.

This course will explore through classroom lectures and seminar discussions the texts and pastoral practice of the daily cycle of the liturgy of the hours and the yearly cycle of feasts, fasts and commemorations of the Byzantine (Orthodox and Eastern Catholic) churches, including the historical evolution and theological meaning of those rites. Some consideration will also be given to the liturgies of the hours and liturgical year of the Oriental Orthodox churches, specifically the Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopian rites. The course will also further develop the concept of liturgical theology and the reflect on pastoral practice in the celebration of daily and festal services.

The course will introduce students to the theological interpretation of John's Gospel and explore its significance for Christian theology. Students will read a range of theologically engaged exegetes of John from across the centuries, seeking to understand their contributions both contextually and as part of a continuing dialogue about the interpretation of the Gospel. Particular attention will be paid to John's Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and perspectives on Judaism. Students will also be introduced to methodological discussions about the nature of both theological interpretation and reception history as approaches to interpreting Scripture. The course also aims to equip students to assess the relevance of historic interpretations of John for understanding the Fourth Gospel and its theological significance today.

After the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), in its various revisions, is the most important foundational text of Anglican Christianity; Often praised for its literary beauty and influence, it has nevertheless become unfamiliar or even offensive to Anglicans who worship mainly with new liturgies produced in recent decades; This course will explore the sources and historical development of the Prayer Book tradition from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, the BCP's importance in the history of doctrinal controversy and Anglican identity, and how the BCP's liturgies have been variously received and interpreted over time, including critiques by modern liturgical scholarship; Major themes: the Bible and worship; liturgical language; the sacraments; sin and repentance; individual and community; ecclesiology and ecumenism; the BDP and churchmanship.

After the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), in its various revisions, is the most important foundational text of Anglican Christianity; Often praised for its literary beauty and influence, it has nevertheless become unfamiliar or even offensive to Anglicans who worship mainly with new liturgies produced in recent decades; This course will explore the sources and historical development of the Prayer Book tradition from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, the BCP's importance in the history of doctrinal controversy and Anglican identity, and how the BCP's liturgies have been variously received and interpreted over time, including critiques by modern liturgical scholarship; Major themes: the Bible and worship; liturgical language; the sacraments; sin and repentance; individual and community; ecclesiology and ecumenism; the BDP and churchmanship.

Close textual study of the Scriptural sources and doctrinal development of the Roman Catholic tradition of reflection on the identity of the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ Students develop a systematic understanding that addresses contemporary questions raised about traditional doctrine, leading to a personal and critical appropriation of traditional faith affirmations in light of preparation for pastoral ministry and theological leadership in the Church.

We will read the books of Ruth and Esther together with a cloud of witnesses from the past and present who found them not only life giving but also, especially in the case of Esther, deeply troubling. We will examine techniques and strategies used for reading these and other Old Testament narratives through history. We will explore the contexts of Ruth and Esther within both the ancient world and Scripture. We will examine their contents making use of a variety of traditional and innovative interpretive techniques and strategies (including reading within the context of the Ancient Near East, theological exegesis, disaster and trauma studies, and narrative criticism). We will consider how these books speak to us as individuals and as the church in the twenty-first century.

The course introduces the student to the dynamics of grace presented in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, situating the Exercises both in their historical context and within its interpretations in contemporary culture. The goal of this course is 1. to prepare a student to engage in the role of directing the spiritual exercises, 2. to allow the student to understand the dynamics of these exercises, 3. to see the underlying anthropology and theology of these exercises.