Theology 10001 – Foundations of
Theology
meetings: fall
2011 , m.w.f. 4:05-4:55
professor: Gabriel
Said Reynolds (reynolds@nd.edu or
call x1-5138)
ta: Joseph Khalil (jkhalil@nd.edu)
office hours: m.w.f. 11-12 in 227 Malloy
“Therefore the
Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
-- Isaiah 7:14
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Course Description The name “Immanuel”
means “God with us” in Hebrew.
Christians have traditionally referred to Jesus Christ with this name,
and argued that Jesus was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy – proclaimed
centuries earlier – which is quoted above.
Yet the belief that Jesus is “God with us” presents a challenge. How could God, the Creator, become a part
of creation? Why would He do such a
thing? These are the questions that
faced the authors of the New Testament and the Church Fathers. In this course we will examine how they
addressed these questions and, through that examination, ourselves confront
these same questions. Together we will
pursue a critical reading of Old Testament, New Testament and early Christian
writings as we engage in theological reflection. Foundations of
Theology is the first of two required theology courses. These two courses are directed towards a
number of goals. First, they provide
students with information about the Bible and Christian theology that in
itself is important. Second, they form
the basis of a Catholic community at Notre Dame where all students (whether
or not they are practicing Catholics) have a common experience of texts and
questions that might be discussed not only in class but also while playing
intramural football. Third, theology
itself is meant as a guiding light for all other classes. As with the great European universities
(Paris, Bologna, Oxford, Cambridge etc.), Notre Dame was founded by the
Catholic Church to be a community where students are strengthened in their
faith and morals, and therefore more able to see the truth in other fields,
whether science, music, or history. |
abbreviations (for reading corrected papers) |