A study of the Old Testament covering biblical books, their historical contexts, genres and ancient Near Eastern cultural contexts necessary for interpretation. The basics of exegetical method particular to the genres of the Old Testament will be covered. Principles of biblical interpretation will also be covered especially from a Catholic perspective. Lectures and assignments including quizzes, exams and a final paper.

Ignatius of Loyola wanted Jesuits to be "contemplatives in a ction". This describes the desire of many Christians today and the imperatives thrust upon us to be at once boned with God and with our fellow travellers. Reading in Loyola Zizioulas, J Macmurray, early Christian and contemporary theologians and mystics. NT accounts of prayer and action in Jesus of Nazareth. 20-25 page essay.

The study of liturgy as ritual activity with a focus on the discipline of ritual studies and anthropology as a resource for liturgical scholarship and pastoral praxis. The course will consist of a close examination of seminal thinkers in ritual studies, their classic and contemporary works; consideration of methodological issues posed by social science methods; relationship between liturgy and ritual, theology and embodiment, worship and culture, ritual and ethics. Weekly 2-hour doctoral seminar, readings, presentations, book review, major paper.

Ignatius of Loyola wanted Jesuits to be "contemplatives in a ction". This describes the desire of many Christians today and the imperatives thrust upon us to be at once boned with God and with our fellow travellers. Reading in Loyola Zizioulas, J Macmurray, early Christian and contemporary theologians and mystics. NT accounts of prayer and action in Jesus of Nazareth. 10-12 page essay.

An introduction to the content of a portion of the New Testament: 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation.  The guiding question of the course is "Who is Jesus?". Lectures, tutorials. Evaluation: participation, exegetical papers. Prerequisite: WYB1501 or equivalent.

What is educational ministry? How can we reshape Christian Education in our congregation in order to revitalize the church and society? Exploring the structure of educational theory, reflecting one's educational experience in the church, engaging in dialogue with theorists in Christian Education, we will attempt to refashion christian Education for today's church, and create a vision of Christian education in order to revitalize the congregation. Lectures.

Development of thought and piety; monasticism and mendicants; crusades, parish life; papacy, princes and church councils; Byzantium; East-West relations; relations with Jews and Muslims; Renaissance and reformations; reformers; missionary expansion; confessionalism. The course will consist of lectures, small group discussions, and oral reports that summarize small group discussions. Mid-term assignments; choice of final exam or research papers. NOTE: Students who have taken --H2002H Medieval Christianity (600-1500) and/or --H2003H Reformation & Early Modern Christianity may not take Christianity II (843-1648). Prequisite: History of Christianity I or permission of the instructor.

Using the writings of Thomas Berry & theologians who work with the new cosmology, the course provides an introduction to eco-theology as well as the ways eco-theologians are articulating new understandings of theological anthropology, revelation, Christology, pneumatology, sin and salvation, and eschatology. Adult learning methods. Evaluation: participation, practical integration, reflection paper and integration paper.

The course will undertake a detailed study of Prophet Muhammad's biography in the light of the Qur'anic revelation and religious thought that became foundational for the development of legal-ethical and theological traditions.  Students will study the life of the Prophet and relate it to his spiritual as well as temporal experience to investigate political theology of Islam.  Our approach will be that of History of Religions (phenomenology), that is, aiming at a fuller understanding of the meaning of the concepts like "Apostle of God," "Seal of the Prophets," "The Mother of the Book," and so on, for individual Muslims and for Muslim thinkers over the centuries.  In order to accomplish this task, students will study the entire Qur'an, in conjunction with the biography of the Prophet. Mid-term, 25%; Final Exam, 30%: Research paper, 40%; Class participation, 5%.

The course will undertake a detailed study of Prophet Muhammad's biography in the light of the Qur'anic revelation and religious thought that became foundational for the development of legal-ethical and theological traditions.  Students will study the life of the Prophet and relate it to his spiritual as well as temporal experience to investigate political theology of Islam.  Our approach will be that of History of Religions (phenomenology), that is, aiming at a fuller understanding of the meaning of the concepts like "Apostle of God," "Seal of the Prophets," "The Mother of the Book," and so on, for individual Muslims and for Muslim thinkers over the centuries.  In order to accomplish this task, students will study the entire Qur'an, in conjunction with the biography of the Prophet. Mid-term, 25%; Final Exam, 30%: Research paper, 40%; Class participation, 5%.

An examination of different issues related to the "historical" Paul, including sources, composition history, composition history of the corpus paulinum, social location, mission, and comparative analogies. Research seminar with paper.

An introduction to the subjective dimensions of Catholic moral theology. Among the topics to be considered are concepts of the person, freedom and responsibility, conscience, aspects of moral decision making, virtue and vice. Lectures, discussions, readings, short papers and final exam; the course will also include a limited online component. (Prerequisite: Fundamental Christian Ethics I.)

Using the writings of Thomas Berry & theologians who work with the new cosmology, the course provides an introduction to eco-theology as well as the ways eco-theologians are articulating new understandings of theological anthropology, revelation, Christology, pneumatology, sin and salvation, and eschatology. Adult learning methods. Evaluation: participation, practical integration, reflection paper and integration paper.

Study of selected poetic texts with emphasis on the syntax and style of Hebrew poetry. Weekly participation, mid-term and final exams. Prerequisite: three semesters of Biblical Hebrew. N.B.: in combination with WYB3013H/EMB3014H (or equivalent) successful completion of this course as if for credit satisfies the Hebrew requirement for doctoral candidates in New Testament.

The aim of this course is threefold. 1. To expose the student to contemporary forms of critical and cultural analysis. 2. To use that analysis to look at spirituality. 3. To expose the student to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in a post-modern age.

For Basic Degree students there will be short papers, class presentations and class participation.   For Advanced Degree Students, in addition to the work done for the Basic Degree students there will be a major paper of 12-16 pages.

This advanced course explores the potential for civic/ecclesial partnership for social transformation in the city of Toronto. Students will serve for nine hours a week in a secular agency dedicated to social transformation, participating in a project within the agency on its own terms. In class students will explore issues related to partnership of ecclesial and civic organizations that pursue common goals with different motivations and ways in which social transformation can occur. Although the course will focus on social transformation in the city of Toronto, students are urged to develop analogies to the towns and villages they expect to serve after they have concluded their studies. Evaluation includes two written papers and a class presentation.

This course will engage the questions of interreligious dialogue on the questions of redemption and Nirvana by comparing the work of Lonergan, Girard in dialogue with contemporary Buddhism such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chordon. We will engage comparative questions such as desire, imitation, and responses to suffering and violence. 

This course will engage the questions of interreligious dialogue on the questions of redemption and Nirvana by comparing the work of Lonergan, Girard in dialogue with contemporary Buddhism such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chordon. We will engage comparative questions such as desire, imitation, and responses to suffering and violence. 

The aim of this course is threefold. 1. To expose the student to contemporary forms of critical and cultural analysis. 2. To use that analysis to look at spirituality. 3. To expose the student to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in a post-modern age.

For Basic Degree students there will be short papers, class presentations and class participation.   For Advanced Degree Students, in addition to the work done for the Basic Degree students there will be a major paper of 12-16 pages.

What is at stake in Canadian discourses of multiculturalism and postcolonialism for religious communities becoming intercultural? What is at stake and for whom? What is the purpose of Christian moral engagement and who is it for? These queries will foreground attention to theo-ethics of the politics of social location; the power of social difference; an ethics of ambiguity and perseverance; identities and epistemology in global, local and transnational frames; living at interstices of complex difference, dislocation and connection; and the negotiation of shared meanings through discourses of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexuality, and place.  In-class honing of collegial skills for intellectual life based on comprehension of and critical engagement with texts and being willing to be self-reflexive and to communicate one's own stance in relation to others. Seminar discussion format, some lectures. Book review, presentation, and final research paper.

The goal of Biblical Hebrew II is to provide both students training for designated ministry and those students who wish to continue in advanced degree studies with a working knowledge of biblical Hebrew.  The acquired skills may be used for the purposes of homiletical exegesis, scholarship pursuit, and the general pleasure of textual theological interpretations.  Classes are twice weekly, and consist of lecture, homework tutorial, quizzes and quiz review, translation work, and theological reflections posted on Twitter.  Evaluation: weekly quizzes; midterm exam; attendance and participation; final exam.

The course aims at distinguishing some of the more significant ways of conceptualizing human development in psychology and how they have influenced contemporary thinking about religious development. It will discuss the nature/nurture debate of religious development, that is, the various contextual factors and intra-psychic processes at work across the life span and their implication and influence in religious development. In the process it will explore some of the psychological issues involved in religious development and point out their applied relevance. Students will be asked to write several reports on assigned readings and a longer essay for the end of the term. A previous course in psychology and religion would be helpful but not essential.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality. This is a required core Religious Education course of St. Augustine's MRE candidates. Lectures, class discussions, written reflections on readings, theology of ministry paper, and practicum project. Prerequisite: Completion of ten courses in the MRE degree program.

This introductory course explores the thematic unity of the Old Testament under the heading of Covenantal Theology. Significant covenantal moments are studied in their historical manifestations, cultic realizations, and literary expressions (Abram, Sinai, David/Zion, Prophetic, Exile, Deuteronomic, Priestly-Noah/Abraham, Wisdom, New Testamental Period). Literary and rhetorical analysis, historical and textual criticism are employed as means of exploring the biblical texts. Lectures, readings, six study papers, group collaboration in defining two sets of some fifty technical terms each.

Students in the course will acquire a good basic knowledge of the rubrics and texts for Byzantine rites for Liturgy -- Chrysostom, Basil, and Pre-Sanctified -- and Office, and also of liturgical history and development of these texts, 1st - 14th C. As well, an introduction to Liturgical Theology, as defined by Fr. Alexander Schmemann is compared to Patristic mystagogical texts of 2nd - 14th C.