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ST. PETER's SEMINARY / KING's UNIVERSITY COLLEGE at the University of Western Ontario Winter 2012 Systematic Theology 5212B

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ST. PETER's SEMINARY / KING's UNIVERSITY COLLEGE at the University of Western Ontario Winter 2012 Systematic Theology 5212B ST. PETER’S SEMINARY / KING’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE at The University of Western Ontario Winter 2012 Systematic Theology 5212B - Doctrine of God Tuesday, 7:00-10:00, Room 102 John Dool, 432-5726, x272, [email protected] Office hours by Appointment A. COURSE DESCRIPTION The development of the Church’s understanding of God as Triune. Biblical, patristic, medieval, and contemporary approaches to the mystery of God are considered. Special attention is given to the connection of Trinitarian doctrine to the experience of salvation. (3 hours; antirequisite: the former Dogmatic Theology 201A). B. GOALS This course will assist students to grow in the following knowledge, skills and attitudes: Knowledge: To gain an appreciation for the biblical foundations, key historical developments, and contemporary questions and avenues of thought in regard to the mystery of the Triune God. To gain a sound understanding of the key doctrinal teachings of the church, how and why they developed, and the erroneous positions to which they responded. To gain a sound understanding of the intertwining of the doctrine of the Trinity and the mystery of human salvation. Skills: To learn to integrate principles of Trinitarian thought into one’s independent exploration of theological issues. To learn to relate traditional teachings to contemporary questions and issues. To learn to identify and constructively critique the Trinitarian perspective in a given text or thinker. Attitudes: To grow in recognition of the benefit of shared dialogue and shared exploration of theological issues. To develop a sensitivity to the nature and limitations of our language about God. To grow in a sense of the centrality of the mystery of the Trinity to Catholic faith and practice and to develop an openness to ongoing exploration of that mystery. C. ASSESSMENT Take home exam, distributed Feb.7, to be returned Feb.14 (20%) A research paper, (10-12 pages, 12 pages maximum) on a topic of your selection, due Mar. 27 (30%) 2 A final, written examination will be during the exam period (30%) Participation in discussions (20%). D. READINGS OR TEXTBOOKS Required: Gerald O'Collins, The Tripersonal God. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. Course package. E. SCHEDULE, TOPICS & READINGS or STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE Section 1: The Mystery of God and Scriptural Foundations Week 1: Introduction and Overview: The Mystery of God; God in the Old Testament (O'Collins, ch. 1) Week 2: The Trinity in the New Testament (O'Collins, chs. 2,3,4); Introduction to the Fathers Section 2: Patristic Developments Week 3: The Pre-Nicene Fathers: (O'Collins, ch.5 and Tertullian, Against Praxeas); Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition Week 4: The Arian Controversy (Thomas Marsh, from “The Great Controversy”, The Triune God; selection from Athanasius, Orations Against the Arians); Nicea and Constantinople (O'Collins, ch.6 and ch.7, pp.127-34) Week 5: The Cappadocian Fathers (Catherine LaCugna, from God For Us: The Trinity and Christian Life; selections from Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzus) Section 3: Medieval Trinitarian Theology Week 6: Augustine (Eugene Teselle, Augustine the Theologian; Augustine, selection from On the Trinity) Week 7: Richard of St. Victor (Ewert Cousins, "A Theology of Interpersonal Relations", Thought, v. XLV, spring, 1970; Richard of St. Victor, Book Three of the Trinity) Week 8: Aquinas (Brian Davies, from The Thought of Thomas Aquinas; selections from Summa Theologiae) Section 4: Appropriating the Tradition Today Week 9: The Trinitarian Mystery of Love (Walter Kasper, from “The Trinitarian Mystery of God”, The God of Jesus Christ); Trinitarian Persons and Actions (O’Collins, ch.10) Week 10: The Person of the Spirit (O'Collins, ch. 9; Yves Congar, from I Believe in the Holy Spirit, v.3; Alasdair Heron, “The Filioque Clause”, One God in Trinity) Week 11: The Paschal Mystery (Bruno Forte, “The Trinitarian History of Easter”, from The Trinity as History); Trinitarian Communion, Church, and Eucharist (Michael Figura, “Church and Eucharist in the Light of the Trinitarian Mystery"; Forte, “The Trinitarian Present of History”, from The Trinity as History) 3 Week 12: Naming and Imaging God (Catherine LaCugna, “The Baptismal Formula, Feminist Objections, and Trinitarian Theology”; O’Collins ch. 11; Thomas A. Smail, “In the Image of the Triune God”) Week 13: Celebrating and Teaching the Mystery (Catherine LaCugna, "Making the Most of Trinity Sunday" and Richard Gaillardetz, “To Teach of the Trinity”) F. UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS Students are responsible for knowing the University’s academic policies and regulations and any particularities of their own course of study. These can all be found at the University’s website (http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholoff.pdf). Ignorance of these policies is not an excuse for any violation thereof. The following policies are particularly important to note: Submission of Assignments and Tests: Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the dates as given above. Assignments may not be dropped off at King’s or submitted electronically. It is the responsibility of the student to organize his or her work so that the assignments are completed on time. For a serious reason, a student may approach the professor before the due-date, and may be granted an extension at the discretion of the professor. Any medical reasons will be confirmed by proper documentation as approved by the Dean’s Office. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment will be deducted for each day it is overdue without permission. No electronic devices will be allowed during tests or the examination, unless approved in advance by Student Services at the University or King’s. Students who miss tests will negotiate a “make-up” date with the professor. Any medical reasons will be confirmed by proper documentation as approved by the Dean’s Office. Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt by quotation marks and/or footnotes. Plagiarism is a major academic offense. Students may be required to submit their work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. Selection and Registration of Courses: Students are responsible for ensuring that their selection of courses is appropriate and accurately recorded, that all prerequisite course(s) have been successfully completed, and that they are aware of any anti-requisite course(s) that they have taken. G. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Anatolios, Khaled. Retrieving Nicea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011. Attfield, D. G. “‘I in You and You in Me’: Perichoresis and Salvation”, Theology, v. cix, no.852, pp. 421- 29. Ayres, Lewis. Nicaea and its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-century Trinitarian Theology. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Badcock, Gary. Light of Truth and Fire of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997. Barnett, Daniel. “Trinity and the Parish: A Response to Fr. Anthony Oelrich”, Chicago Studies, v.46, no.2, 2007, pp.190-208. 4 Benner, Drayton C. “Augustine and Karl Rahner on the Relationship between the Immanent Trinity and the Economic Trinity”, International Journal of Systematic Theology, v.9, no.1, 2007, pp. 24-38. Braaten, Carl, ed. Our Naming of God: Problems and Prospects of God-Talk Today. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989. Bracken, Joseph. God: Three Who Are One. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2008. "Subsistent Relations", Journal of Religion, 1984, pp. 188-204. "Trinity: Economic and Immanent", Horizons, v. 25, no.1, 1998, pp.7-22. Brown, Sally A. “Speaking of the Trinity Again”, Theology Today, v.64, no.2, 2007, pp. 145-58. Buckley, James J. and Yeago, David S., eds. Knowing the Triune God: The Work of the Spirit in the Practices of the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. Bulgakov, Sergius. The Comforter. Boris Jakim, trans. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004. Butin, Philip. The Trinity. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2001. Cantalamessa, Raniero. Contemplating the Trinity. Ijamsville, Md: Word Among Us Press, 2007. Coffey, David. “The Roman ‘Clarification’ of the Doctrine of the Filioque”, International Journal of Systematic Theology, v.5, no.1, March 2003. Collins, Paul M. Trinitarian Theology, West and Eas: Karl Barth, the Cappadoican Fathers, and John Zizioulas. Oxford: OUP, 2001. Congar, Yves. I Believe in the Holy Spirit, vols. 1-3. New York, Seabury, 1983. The Word and the Spirit. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1986. Cross, Richard. “Two Models of the Trinity?”, Heythrop Journal, v.43, no.3, 2002, pp.275-94. Crump, David. “”Re-examining the Johannine Trinity: Perichoresis or Deification?”, Scottish Journal of Theology, v.59, no.4, 2006, pp. 395-412. Cunningham, David. "Developing Alternative Trinitarian Formulas", Anglican Theological Review, v.LXXX, Winter 1998 "Participation as a Trinitarian Virtue: Challenging the Current 'Relational' Consensus", Toronto Journal of Theology, v. 14, Spring, 1998, pp. 7-26. Davies, Brian. The Thought of Thomas Aquinas. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. Davis, Stephen, Kendall, Daniel, and O'Collins, Gerald, eds. The Trinity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Del Colle, Ralph. “ ‘Person’ and ‘Being’ in John Zizioulas’ Trinitarian Theology: Conversations with Thomas Torrance and Thomas Aquinas”, Scottish Journal of Theology, v.54, no.1, 2001, pp. 70-86. Downey, Michael. Altogether Gift: A Trinitarian Spirituality. Dublin: Dominican Publications, 2000. 5 Drilling, Peter. “Discipleship, Ministry and Authority: A Trinitarian View of Ecclesial Life”, Seminary Journal, v.17, no.2, 2001, pp.13-31. Edwards, Denis. Breath of Life: A Theology of the Creator Spirit. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004. Emery, Gilles. “The Personal Mode of Trinitarian Action in Saint Thomas Aquinas”, The Thomist, v.69, no.1, 2005, pp. 31-77. The Trinitarian Theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Francesca Aran Murphy, trans. Oxford: OUP, 2007. The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Triune God. Washington: Catholic U. of America Press, 2011. Trinity, Church, and the Human Person: Thomistic Essays.
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