Assessment

Final Essay 80% + Reflection 20%

Module Aims

This module introduces learners to the Catholic understanding of grace in its various forms and to Catholic perspectives on the human person as the Image of God. It explains and explores the basic Christian concept of the giftedness of human life and its far-reaching implications. Particular attention is paid to God’s will for the human person as evident in the divine act of creation, as well as to the Fall and its effects, and to the redemption and sanctification of the human being through divine grace.

The module will familiarise the learner with these ideas through a close engagement with Scripture and with a variety of theological texts and opinions.

Indicative Syllabus

Learning Outcomes

• — Demonstrate a basic understanding of how God is at work in the universe and of the nature of the relationship between God and the human person
• — Summarize theological ideas such as creation and grace as rooted in Scripture, Tradition and contemporary theology
• — Give a basic account of the Christian story of creation, the Fall and redemption
• — Explain the nature of human sanctification drawing on Biblical themes and images in a way appropriate to diaconate ministry
• — Integrate their knowledge and understanding of these ideas with lived experience as encountered in diaconate ministry

Bibliography

• — Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes. 1965.
• — Bauerschmidt, Frederick C. and James J. Buckley. An Introduction to Catholic Theology. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.
• — John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, trans. Michael Waldstein (Boston, MA: Pauline Books and Media, 2006), 178-188.
• — Kreeft, Peter and Robert K. Tacelli. Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1994.
• — Lewis, C. S. The Abolition of Man. London: Harper, 2001 (first published 1943).
• — McGrath, Alistair. Theology. The Basics. Oxford: Blackwells, 2008.
• — Merton, Thomas. No Man is an Island. New York: Harcourt, 1955.
• — O’Callaghan, Paul. Children of God in the World. An Introduction to Theological Anthropology. Washington, D. C.: CUA Press, 2013.
• — Trocquer, Rene Le. What is Man? London: Burns and Oates, 1961.
• — Varden, Erik. Entering the Twofold Mystery. On Christian Conversion. London: Bloomsbury, 2022.
• — White, Thomas Joseph. The Light of Christ: An Introduction to Catholicism. Washington, D. C.: CUA Press, 2017.
• — Wicks, Jared. Doing Theology. New York: Paulist Press, 2009.