Assessment

Oral Presentation + 6000 word Essay

Module Aims

This module explores theological anthropology from within the Christian tradition, paying particular attention to its biblical foundations and theological developments since Vatican II. It draws upon several theological disciplines and examines diverse viewpoints. It brings a Christological lens to issues of human possibility and limitations, including the reality of evil and the need for healing and salvation, and to issues such as gender, justice, and ecology. The module aims to locate theological reflection on the personal self in wider contexts and stresses interdependence and the relational nature of humanity. By fostering engagement with key texts and contemporary scholarship, the module seeks to empower learners to apply theological insights to contemporary issues in society and church, with particular reference to the place of women and those kept poor.

Indicative Syllabus:

• An understanding of the imago Dei tradition in theology
• Human beings and the experience of God (grace)
• The Christian understanding of creation and redemption
• Human experience and theological anthropology
• The human person as moral and spiritual subject
• The human capacity for evil and sin
• Suffering, healing and salvation
• Christian selfhood, modernity and postmodernity
• Embodiment, sexuality and theological anthropology
• Christian understandings of human nature and developments in the natural sciences

Learning Outcomes

• — Articulate key insights of Christian theological anthropology paying particular attention to its biblical foundations and theological developments since Vatican II.
• — Dialogue with theological sources representing diverse viewpoints within the area of theological anthropology
• — Apply the insights of contemporary theological anthropology to issues in society and church, with particular reference to the place of women and the disenfranchised.
• — Engage with contemporary theological treatments of a chosen theme within theological anthropology from multiple perspectives and offer a personal judgement on the merits and demerits of different theological positions.
• — Formulate some key anthropological convictions arising from reading, research, writing and seminar discussion.
• — Indicate how the key themes of theological anthropology are ‘self-implicating’, i.e. intimately connected to the spirituality and practice of Christian living.

Bibliography

• — Marc Cortez. Theological Anthropology: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: T& T Clark, 2010.
• — Terence E. Fretheim. God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. Nashville TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.
• — Edmund Hill. Being Human: A Biblical Perspective. London: Chapman, 1984.
• — Mary Ann Hinsdale and Stephen Okey, The T&T Clark Handbook of Theological Anthropology. Bloomsbury, 2021.
• — Hans Schwarz. The Human Being: A Theological Anthropology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.
• — John R Sachs. The Christian Vision of Humanity. Basic Christian Anthropology. Collegeville: Liturgical, 1991.
• — Susan, A. Ross. Anthropology: Seeking Light and Beauty. Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives. Collegeville: Liturgical, 2012.
• — The Pontifical Biblical Commission. What is Man? A Journey Through Biblical Anthropology. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2021.