Theology is poetry
Giovanni Boccaccio
Theology—critical reflection on religious belief and practice—holds a prominent place among the liberal arts at King’s College. Some form of religious experience is a nearly universal aspect of human experience, and the Jewish and Christian traditions have played substantial formative roles in the development of many of the cultures of the modern world. King’s students are given the opportunity to engage in careful study of Hebrew and Christian scripture and the doctrines, practices, and cultures constituting Christian tradition. This academic study of Christian faith avoids both indoctrination and indifference in the quest for what the Latin Church Fathers called fides quaerens intellectum: “faith seeking understanding.”
As a college in the Catholic Christian tradition, King’s seeks to foster mature reflection that will serve as a foundation for the student’s religious and intellectual development as an individual and member of society. The College strives to do this in a manner which encourages informed religious decisions and which recognizes the significance of other religious traditions. Likewise, the college promotes mutual understanding and respect among religious peoples. For these reasons, all students are required to take two courses in Theology as part of the CORE Curriculum.
The CORE requirement in theology requires each student to take one course in Systematic or Biblical Theology (CORE 25X) and one in Moral Theology (CORE 26X). Because King’s students of all faiths are required to complete CORE requirements in Theology, students from faith traditions other than Christianity may petition the Chairperson to allow some latitude in course selection.
MASTER SYLLABI:
CORE OFFERINGS in BIBLICAL STUDIES
CORE 251:The Old Testament CORE 252:The New Testament CORE 253:Key Biblical Themes
GOALS FOR CORE OFFERINGS IN BIBLICAL STUDIES.
Upon completion of any these courses, the student will:
1. Understand and critically articulate key theological concepts and express those concepts effectively in writing.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with tools and methods employed in contemporary scholarly study of the Bible.
3. Demonstrate familiarity with the most significant critical questions in contemporary biblical studies.
4. Discuss critically the theological category “revelation” and its significance to the theological enterprise with respect to the study of scripture.
5. Use the Bible as a resource for discussing the question of the ultimate meaning of human existence and the implications of that meaning for human living.
6. Engage in civil conversation with persons and communities with diverse experiences and points of view on religious and theological issues.
7. Understand and critically discuss the various roles of biblical language and themes in culture, the arts, politics, government and social institutions.
CORE OFFERINGS in SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
CORE 250: Catholicism CORE 254: Belief and Unbelief CORE 255: The Church CORE 256: Science, Theology, & Culture
CORE 257: Who is Jesus? CORE 259: Topics in Systematic Theology
GOALS FOR CORE OFFERINGS IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Upon completion of any of these courses, the student will:
1. Understand and critically articulate key theological concepts, and express those concepts effectively in writing.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with tools and methods employed in the contemporary study of Systematic Theology.
3. Discuss critically the theological category “revelation” and its significance to the theological enterprise.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic and developmental nature of Christian doctrine.
5. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and to critique theological arguments.
6. To appreciate the impact of theological ideas on culture, the arts, politics, government and social institutions.
7. Engage in civil conversation with persons and communities with diverse experiences and points of view on religious and theological issues.
CORE OFFERINGS in MORAL THEOLOGY
CORE 260: Christian Ethics CORE 261: Faith, Morality and the Person CORE 263: ChristianMarriage CORE 264: Issues in Christian Social Ethics
CORE 265: Christianity and the Environment CORE 269: War and Christian Tradition
GOALS FOR CORE OFFERINGS IN MORAL THEOLOGY
Upon completion of any of these courses, the student will be able to:
1. Understand and critically articulate key theological concepts, and express those concepts effectively in writing.
2. Demonstrate familiarity with the most significant critical questions in contemporary moral theology.
3. Express in speech and writing a familiarity with the ways Christianity has and continues to engage the question of the ultimate meaning of human life and the implications of that meaning for deciding how to live day-to-day.
4. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the history of Christian moral theology and its significant contemporary questions.
5. Engage in civil conversation with persons and communities with diverse experiences and points of view on religious and theological issues.
6. Understand and critically discuss the significance of the language and themes of Christian moral tradition in culture, the arts, politics, government and social institutions.
CORE OFFERINGS in THEOLOGY
SPRING, 2009
CORE 251: The Old Testament (3 sections)
This course studies the principal themes, historical framework, geographical setting, and literary background of the literature we call the Old Testament. The development of the faith of Israel from its beginnings in the earliest tribal migrations to the emergence of Judaism just prior to the time of Jesus will be discussed. (Dr. Minore)CORE 253: Key Biblical Themes (2 sections)
The Bible tells the story of the beginnings of the relationship between God and human beings, but it does so by telling many different stories from many different times. This course provides an introduction to the Bible by examining central theological themes that connect these stories, such as creation, covenant, sin, prophecy, and salvation, as well as the historical roots of these stories, such as the Exodus, the Davidic Monarchy, the Exile, and the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. (Dr. Thompson)CORE 254: Belief and Unbelief
This course addresses the serious option facing modern people: to believe in God or not. It addresses a number of questions: Can we know if God exists? What is the difference between “the God of the philosophers” and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Is it reasonable to believe in God? Is belief the product of psychological factors in the individual? What is the relationship between God and morality? Does believing benefit the person in any way? Students will both study answers given by major philosophers, theologians, and novelists and develop their own answers. (Mr. Shearn)
CORE 257: Who is Jesus?
This course explores the many answers to the question Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Christians call Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the King, and the Savior of the World, among many other titles. Jesus is also a figure of enduring fascination in cultural history. To gain a fuller theological understanding of Jesus, students will study such topics as Jewish Messianism, New Testament depictions of Jesus, theological understandings of the Son as the second person of the Trinity, Jesus’ two natures as God and human, explanations of how Jesus saves humanity from sin, and the historical Jesus. Other topics could include non-Christian perspectives of Jesus or Jesus in art, literature, and music. (Dr. Malesic)
CORE 259: God and Suffering (2 sections) (Dr. Thompson)
CORE 260: Christian Ethics (5 sections)
Christian Ethics is the discipline of thinking critically about how best to embody the Christian way of life in particular places and times. This class investigates concepts such as narrative, practice, law, virtue, and liturgy and the ways they inform the Christian moral life. These notions will be applied to concrete moral questions of contemporary relevance. (Father Issing; Mr. Kalaus)
CORE 261: Faith, Morality, and the Person (2 sections)
This course addresses the ways Christian and other religious and moral traditions interact with personality and socio-historical conditions to form identity and shape character over time. Special attention is given to the way religious practices and community memberships foster and sustain moral convictions and actions, with a focus on the ways lives of faith can challenge and transform the societies within which they are lived out. (Dr. Malesic; Mr. Kalaus )
CORE 263: Christian Marriage (2 sections)
This class is an exploration of the Christian tradition on the issues of sexuality, gender, marriage and the family. (Dr. Muntzel)
The Chair of the Department of Theology and Director of the Theology CART is Dr. Joel Shuman.