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Spring 2012
Buddhism and Christianity
LCT/LIR 3088/4093 | Tuesday 1:00-3:50am
"Transreligious discourse" is a new approach to interreligious studies that is interested in processes of transformation between religions with regard to their ways of life, doctrines, and rituals. Theoretically, it studies the possibility of such a transfer, not by comparison but by following the trajectories of mutual influences and traces of one religion (way of life, doctrine, or ritual) in the other or by examining their reflection in diverse theologies. Practically, it studies matters and ways of transfer. In this seminar, the perspective is upon Buddhism and Christianity, highlighting the mutual reception of various doctrines, which are considered central and irreplaceable in one religion or the other, and the creative transformation they issue in the other religion. Questions will involve: How are transreligious processes possible and how are they happening? What are the theological presuppositions, implications, and consequences when a tradition not only practically allows for such transfers but also reflects on them as part of its own development? Is there a Buddhist Christology? Is there a Christian doctrine of Emptiness? How do the diverse traditions dare to adopt mutually challenging notions of God and Nothingness? Is there a mutual concept of a "Buddha-Christ"?
Systematic Theology
LTH 3036/4065| Tuesday 8:30-11:20am
Theology means "God-Talk." But can we "talk" what must infinitely surpass our understanding? What would we say in face of the multiple possibilities to experience this infinite reality we name "God"? How would we think of the multiplicity of answers which were given to these experiences both within a certain tradition and between religions and cultures? Why should we try to express, and why has theology experimentally sought and found, modes of thought to address such questions instead of just being assured of certain experiences, beliefs, and convictions, or by remaining silent? In fact, Christian theology is a "creature" from a multicultural and interreligious milieu, in which it has asked, and still asks, the major questions that Christians, in their multiple contexts, have faced through time and addresses them by adventurously testing the most influential responses that Christians have given to them. This course will "seek understanding" (fides quaerens intellectum) of these questions by exploring the variety of Christian understandings of God, God's relation to the world, Christ, the Spirit, Trinity, creation, the intercultural and interreligious contexts of the church, and the quest for God's kingdom-to-come. The class encourages students to address these topics in relation to contemporary intellectual, cultural, ethical, social, and political issues, as well as its application to practical and ministerial situations.
Fall 2011
Eco-Process Theology
TH 302/402 | Wednesday 9-11:50am
Eco-Process Theology is not an application but the essence of a process theology that is concerned with the universal relationality of the world of events in their intertwining, evolution, emergence, and sustainability. The ecological question is pressing and a theological contribution urgent. In the series of great philosophical and theological contributions, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Alfred N. Whitehead occupy a special place in advocating an evolutionary ecology—not just as a scientific reality to be considered by theology but as deeper revelation of the nature of reality as such—that, if it really were taken seriously, must change our philosophical understanding of the world we live in and our theological reconstruction of religious orthodoxies. In contrasting their thought with others, e.g., Deep Ecology, a new conceptual and spiritual framework might arise that, in a profound sense, can be called "eco-centric" in nature. Their ecological impetus unites them in a new understanding of Divine Love as love of the Earth with all its theoretical, practical, and spiritual consequences to live in a Universe in Process.
Religious Relativity and World Theology
TH 342/426 and IR 326/426 | Wednesday 1-3:50pm
Religious Diversity is a fact and a problem. It is a fact of the complex reality of our world and it is a problem of the interaction between religions and even more within religions. The complex discussions of "religious plurality" in philosophies of religion and theologies of different religions have led to many different heated debates about the questions of religious truth: does one community or many represent its absoluteness; is it exclusive or inclusive? Its major theoretical aporia, however, is this: is religious diversity a welcomed or an unfortunate fact; is it based on the description of reality or is it a normative ideal? In other words: should we accept the plurality of religious traditions because we cannot avoid the fact of plurality or because it is a philosophical, theological, religious, and ethical imperative that we must be pluralistic in order to allow for Truth? This class will investigate the most prominent venues of addressing the plurality and unity of religions from the standpoint of positions of relativity and plurality of truth and paths of salvation/liberation as well as the "unity" of (all) religions in conceptualizations of a multireligious "world theology."
Spring 2011
Theology of the Body
TH 488 | Tue 9-11:50pm
Cultures and religions are about bodies—their multiple states and incredible plasticity—physically and categorically. Nevertheless, in philosophy and theology, the body has long played only a rudimentary role as me-on (something not to be), something to overcome or to be left behind—quite in opposition to key biblical notions such as the resurrection of the body and the soma pneumaticon.
Especially in their critique of the longstanding "metaphysics of presence," process thought, post-structuralist and deconstructionist scholarship, and gender studies have "uncovered" the profound bodily basis of all our philosophical and theological claims, in terms of both their epistemological and ontological preconditions and their social and political consequences.
This seminar will focus on three areas of thought: the gender-oriented work of Judith Butler (and her engagement with Foucault, Kristeva, and Irigaray); the critique of the development of the concept of the body and its contemporary reevaluation (in Casey, Derrida, Deleuze, and Whitehead); and, finally, the theological renewal of new conceptualizations of the "event of the body" in the context of sex and gender, multiplicity and diversity, the organic and the orgiastic, and inclusion and liberation.
Mysticism and Process Theology (TH308/418)
Sessions: Tue 1-3:50 p.m.
Mysticism is a name for a multiplicity of longstanding spiritual, subversive, and utterly creative traditions in the various philosophies and religions of the East and West, which take the experiential experiment with the Divine as the ultimate approach to understanding of the world and its meaning. Just what is mystic experience? And how does it inform and express itself in the various philosophical and religious understandings of the world? This seminar attempts a critical examination of the immanent resonance of this mystical approach to process theology, with its insistence on the philosophical method of experiential experiments with reality and God, and to a folio of outstanding thinkers from diverse religions (especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Baha'ism), Christian mystical thinkers like Nicholas of Cusa and Meister Eckhart, and to contemporary philosophy (especially Gorge Bataille and Gilles Deleuze) in their relevance to current philosophical and theological reconsiderations of the Divine.
Fall 2010
Whitehead and Deleuze
Tues 9-11:50am
Today, Whitehead’s philosophy is newly discovered to be in the line of ancestors of the postmodern, deconstructive or poststructuralist, French based “philosophy of difference”, which was co-initiated by Gilles Deleuze, for whom Whitehead’s Process and Reality was “one of the greatest philosophies of the 20th century.” The seminar will investigate their relationship by seeking to explore the potential for a mutual reconstruction of their thought regarding epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, theology, ethics and their relevance for process studies. This course is designed to maximize opportunities for discussion. Therefore, most of the time will be assigned to the study of important parts of the primary texts of these philosophers, their thorough reading and interpretation, creating a mosaic of references and a field of relations that will slowly build up to the realization of the respective “architecture” of their philosophies and the “plane of resonances.”
Eschatology: Apocalyptic and Counter-Apocalyptic Discourse
Wed 1-3:50pm
From the times of the late Hebrew Bible on, the eschatological hope for the Coming of God took an apocalyptic turn that became a defining moment for early Christianity and the development of its entire outlook on theology and politics. While the eschatological dimension was famously rediscovered in 20th century theology, thereby restructuring the whole body of theology, its apocalyptic implications were challenged greatly by process theology (and other movements) on a metaphysical basis, uncovering its devastating political implications. This seminar will follow the challenge of the apocalyptic discourse and the counter-apocalyptic discourse of contemporary theologies with an accent on the theopoetics of process theology.
Spring 2010
Theology of Creation
TH 374/474 | Tue 1-3:50 p.m.
Did creation come from nothing or from chaos or has it ever been? Is it historical or eternal? Is it an endless repeating process or will creation end in time? Is the act of creation the beginning of the end or the fulfillment of a previous end? Is it one universe or a multiverse? Important contemporary discussions on creator and creativity, creation and evolution, chaosmos and ecology, design and social constructions will be brought in as the class examines the contributions of religious traditions, philosophies, science, and contemporary theologies to questions of beginnings and becomings.
The Theology of Moltmann and Rahner
TH 439 | Tue 9-11:50 a.m.
In the rich history of Christian theology of the 20th century, two theologians have taken a special place: Jürgen Moltmann and Karl Rahner. Although not of the same persuasion or denomination, and also of different generations, their thought has attracted or influenced virtually every Christian theologian in one way or another, and, hence, has gained a kind of "universal" importance. We might not find it necessary to think like them, but we should at least always be ready to think with them. This course on the Theology of Moltmann and Rahner will explore their work in Systematic Theology, and also show why their theses and methods are indispensable for doing Systematic Theology after the 20th century. The course will include most of their major works and statements on topics ranging from the Doctrine of God and the Trinity, to Christology and Pneumatology, to Eschatology and Ecclesiology. Throughout the course, the discrimination and resonating differences of their central intuitions and style of thought will be of prime interest.
Fall 2009
Contemporary Catholic Theologies
REL 462TH / TH404 | Tue 9–11:50am, McManus 33 (CGU)
There are two ways to investigate the "essence" of Catholic theology: on the one hand, one could "define" what it means to be Catholic, and to be a Catholic theologian, and then measure the theologies under scrutiny regarding their orthodoxy, heterodoxy, or heresy. This is the "transcendental" way. On the other hand, one can also ask what contemporary Catholic theologians think and how they define their being Catholic. This more "empirical" way, which will be followed in this course, will allow us to "construct" the multiplicity of different theologies as a "measure" so as to understand the multiplicity of current Catholic theology and its relevance for contemporary theology in general and its "identity" in particular. In the tension of both ways, this course will introduce us to the "polydoxy" of Catholic theologies in their honest and passionate search for the ways in which to responsibly conceptualize what it means to be a Christian in today's multiplicity of societies, the current interaction of religions, and the urgent need to recognize the organic integrity of the Earth.
God as Poet of the World
TH 457 | Wed 9–11:50am, Craig 105 (CST)
With the advent of "process theology," in the history of theology, a new way of thinking (feeling) "God" appeared which in the interaction with several theological movements from the 1920s on created a whole new network of paradigms for God-talk. This seminar investigates how this new body of paradigms formed, and continues to form, while contrasting other theological, philosophical, political, and ecological developments; what its "novelty" is all about; of what importance it will be for inter-religious and inter-cultural contextualization in the future; and, finally, what "future" we might anticipate for itself judged by its internal complexity, essential openness, and inherent self-transcendence formed around the image of God as "Poet" of the world.
Systematic Theology
TH 336 | Tue 1–3:50pm, Butler 201 (CST)
Theology means "God-Talk." But can we "talk" about what must infinitely surpass our understanding? What would we say in the face of the multiple possibilities for experiencing this infinite reality we name "God"? How would we think of the multiplicity of answers which were given to these experiences, both within certain traditions and between religions and cultures? Why should we try to express, and why has theology experimentally sought and found, modes of thought for addressing such questions instead of finding rest in certain experiences, beliefs, and convictions, or even silence? In fact, Christian theology-itself a "creature" of a multicultural and interreligious milieu-has asked, and still asks, the major questions that Christians, in their multiple contexts, have faced through time, addressing and adventurously testing the most influential responses that Christians have given to them. Accordingly, this course will "seek an understanding" (fides quaerens intellectum) of these questions by exploring the variety of Christian understandings of God, God's relation to the world, Christ, the Spirit, Trinity, creation, the intercultural and interreligious contexts of the Church, and the quest for God's kingdom-to-come. The class encourages students to address these topics in relation to contemporary intellectual, cultural, ethical, social, and political issues, as well as their application to practical and ministerial situations.
Fall 2008
Transreligious Discourse: Buddhism and Christianity
TH 493 | Tue 9–11:50am, McManus 31 (CST)
“Transreligious Discourse” is a new approach to interreligious studies that is interested in processes of transformation between religions with regard to their ways of life, doctrines, and rituals. Theoretically, it studies the possibility of such a transfer, not by comparison but by following the trajectories of mutual influences and traces of one religion (way of life, doctrine, or ritual) in the other or by examining their reflection in diverse theologies. Practically, it studies matters and ways of transfer. In this seminar, the perspective is upon Buddhism and Christianity, highlighting the mutual reception of various doctrines, which are considered central and irreplaceable in one religion or the other, and the creative transformation they issue in the other religion. Questions will involve: How are transreligious processes possible and how are they happening? What are the theological presuppositions, implications, and consequences when a tradition not only practically allows for such transfers but also reflects on them as part of its own development? Is there a Buddhist Christology? Is there a Christian doctrine of Emptiness? How do the diverse traditions dare to adopt mutually challenging notions of God and Nothingness? Is there a mutual concept of a “Buddha-Christ”?
Religious Pluralism
TH 426 | Wed 9–11:50am, Craig 105 (CST)
Religious Diversity is a fact and a problem. It is a fact of the complex reality of our world and it is a problem of the interaction between religions and even more within religions. The complex discussions of religious plurality in philosophies of religion and theologies have led to many different heated debates about the questions of religious truth: does one community or many represent its absoluteness; is it exclusive or inclusive? Its major theoretical aporia, however, is this: is religious diversity a welcomed or an unfortunate fact; is it based on the description of reality or is it a normative ideal? In other words: should we accept the plurality of religious traditions because we cannot avoid the fact of plurality or because it is a philosophical, theological, religious, and ethical imperative that we must be pluralistic in order to allow for Truth? Questions addressed will include: What is the state of the debate on pluralism in general? Does it involve a specific religious problem or one of “reality” as such? What are the philosophical and theological directions taken in order to cope with, to oppose, or to advocate religious pluralism? How do the different pluralisms relate? What would be creative ways for future solutions in light of sensitivities to diverse religious traditions—within diverse traditions as well as between them—regarding questions of Truth, Salvation, and Peace?
Teilhard de Chardin, Rahner & Whitehead
TH 403 | Thu 1–3:50pm, Craig 110 (CST)
In the series of great (philosophical) theologians, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Karl Rahner, and Alfred N. Whitehead occupy a special place in advocating Evolution—not just as a scientific reality to be considered by theology but as deeper revelation of the nature of reality as such—that, if it really were taken seriously, must change our philosophical understanding of the world we live in and our theological reconstruction of Christian doctrine. These three thinkers not only relate through a historical line of thought—Teilhard has read Whitehead and Rahner, Teilhard—but they present a new conceptual and spiritual framework that, in a profound sense, can be called “eco-centric” in nature. Their ecological impetus unites them in a new understanding of Divine Love as love of the Earth with all its theoretical, practical, and spiritual consequences—to live in a Universe in Process.