What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ was both human and divine? How can the Christian divinity be one yet three? How are the sacraments such as baptism effective? Do we have freewill? These were some of the pressing questions the Church Fathers addressed in the early centuries of Christian history and their answers contributed to the Christian theological tradition for centuries to come. In this course we will examine some of the classic works of early Christian theology. Despite the often highly rhetorical and polemical character of their writings the Church Fathers nevertheless developed an intellectually rigorous field of knowledge, one that has had a significant intellectual historical as well as socio-political impact in the history of the Church. This is not a theological course but rather an introduction to some of the key texts in a historically significant mode of theological inquiry.
Religious Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks
Sections (Fall 2023)
RELST-UA 840-000 (19704)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Becker, Adam