Assessment

Assignment 50% / Exam 40% End of semester / Tutorial 10%

Module Aims

This module aims to provide learners with an overview of the Christian faith from a Catholic perspective. It introduces learners to the most central beliefs and themes of the Christian faith by charting the Judaeo-Christian account of salvation history. Particular attention is given to the existence and nature of God, to the nature of the human being, to the person and mission of Jesus Christ and, briefly, to the nature of Church. The objective of the module is to equip learners with a theological foundation for the remainder of their degree. The module equips learners with an overview from which to delve into more in-depth explorations of these and related themes.

Learning Outcomes

• — Explain key moments of the Christian story, such as Creation, the Fall, the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection
• — Give basic definitions of core theological concepts of the Christian faith, such as faith, revelation, sin, grace, redemption
• — Understand the relevance of these concepts for making sense of human existence and the core questions it poses
• — Use the above theological concepts and ideas critically and in the context of constructing a written argument about the Christian faith and its understanding of the meaning of life
• — Understand, summarise, and analyse theological texts

Bibliography

• — Dei Verbum (18 November 1965). Second Vatican Council: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.
• — Connolly, J. R.. ‘Christian Faith: A Contemporary View,’ in The College Student’s Introduction to Theology, ed. Rausch, T. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1993).
• — Conrad OP, Richard. The Catholic Faith. A Dominican’s Vision. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1994.
• — Kreeft, Peter. Catholic Christianity. A Complete Catechism of Catholic Beliefs Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2001.
• — 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. Mere Christianity. London: Collins, 2014 (first published 1952).
• — McGrath, Alistair. Theology. The Basics. Oxford: Blackwells, 2008.
• — Rausch, Thomas. Systematic Theology. Collegeville, MN: Michael Glazer, 2016.
• — 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.