Courses

This course introduces students to the history, sources, and basic structure of Christian theology. A survey of certain interrelationships between theology and other disciplines is provided as well as an introduction to contemporary approaches to God and topics such as Jesus Christ, sin, and redemption.

This course provides a survey of the contents of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and a practical introduction to the skills required to understand biblical texts. Attention is paid to diverse approaches to interpretation which are used in historical, literary, or theological study of the Bible.

This course examines the history, politics, and spirituality of transformative journey in both theory and practice. Interdisciplinary exploration of a diversity of sources, including sacred texts and secular literature, art, architecture and music, as well as contemporary pop culture, facilitates a meaningful understanding and experience of pilgrimage as a growing postmodern phenomenon with an ancient global history. This course offers the opportunity for individual and group fieldwork, investigating the material, corporeal and performative dimensions of theology.

This course provides a survey of the contents of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and a practical introduction to the skills required to understand biblical texts. Attention is paid to diverse approaches to interpretation which are used in historical, literary, or theological study of the Bible.

This course will introduce students to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Acts of the Apostles, Pauline Literature, Johannine Literature (gospel and letters), General Epistles, and the book of Revelation. Students will examine how the early Christian gospel writers re-interpreted the Hebrew Bible in their writing of the story of Jesus. The theological outlook of each canonical gospel will also be presented. We will investigate the beliefs and practices of the early Christians, as we journey through the book of Acts and the various New Testament letters (Pauline, Johannine and General). The course also explores the book of Revelation to uncover its symbols and their meaning.

This course is an introduction to the field of ethics in the context of Christian faith. Christian ethics is presented as an active quest towards understanding and guiding Christian moral living. There is a brief presentation of the historical background to Christian ethics, an exploration of the points of convergence with other religious traditions, as well as the interrelationship between morality and freedom. The course will include a reflection on the problem of evil as a diminishment of persons and societies as well as a section on moral development and moral maturity.

This course investigates the basic human search for meaning and value in the context of the variety of models of revelation. It considers how religious experience is understood in the light of the psychology of religion and faith.

This course examines the history, politics, and spirituality of transformative journey in both theory and practice. Interdisciplinary exploration of a diversity of sources, including sacred texts and secular literature, art, architecture and music, as well as contemporary pop culture, facilitates a meaningful understanding and experience of pilgrimage as a growing postmodern phenomenon with an ancient global history. This course offers the opportunity for individual and group fieldwork, investigating the material, corporeal and performative dimensions of theology.

Notes: Students who have received credit for IRST 228 may not take this course for credit.

This course focuses on the phenomenon of spirituality as a personal and social response to the human quest for self‑integration and self‑transcendence. It examines the roles of both religious tradition and secular culture in shaping approaches to the spiritual journey. Consideration of the characteristics of Christian spiritual traditions is complemented by reflection upon the meaning and variety of spiritualities present in the pluralistic postmodern culture.

The icon is both a theological medium and a theological message. The first is expressed by design, the latter by colour. The study of the icon offers the student an opportunity to explore theological meaning through image and symbolism as well as concept and reasoning.

This course studies the portrayal of women in biblical narratives with insights from feminist and women studies in the interpretation of the Bible. Students also explore the intersections of gender, sex, race, ethnicity and class in the stories of women in biblical texts. 

The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch. The course considers literary criticism pertaining to the composition of the Pentateuch, its themes, and their theological meanings.

This course offers an in-depth study of the Gospel of John, the three letters of John and the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse). Attention is given to Christology, salvation, belief and the role of the Spirit. The Book of Revelation is studied from a historical perspective with some discussion about its contemporary reception.

This course offers a study of Christianity from Late Antiquity to the dawn of the Reformation. It explores the history of the Christian Church in the West and in the East, the development of Christian thought and the formation of doctrine focusing on the most important theological figures of the period and history of movements and ideas.

Student work with primary sources on diverse topics including but not limited to the conversion of Europe; religious acculturation of pagan peoples; the power and appeal of Christian saints; Christian kingship; monastic, scholastic, and lay piety; pilgrimage; Crusade; dissent and institutional response; and the relationship to those outside the faith.

This course studies the biblical and later traditions about the person, nature, and work of Jesus Christ, from historical and doctrinal perpectives. The course examines the central role of Jesus Christ in ancient, medieval, and modern theology and culture. Texts studied include the Bible, theological texts from a variety of historical periods as well as other literary and artistic representations of Christ.

This course examines various ethical theories and their application to concrete issues challenging contemporary society. These may include issues in health care, the economy, and scientific and technological advances.

This course introduces students to the history, sources, and basic structure of Christian theology. A survey of certain interrelationships between theology and other disciplines is provided as well as an introduction to contemporary approaches to God and topics such as Jesus Christ, sin, and redemption.

This course provides a survey of the contents of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and a practical introduction to the skills required to understand biblical texts. Attention is paid to diverse approaches to interpretation which are used in historical, literary, or theological study of the Bible.

This course deals with the writings of the New Testament with an emphasis on both content and form. As well, students are introduced to the socio-political, economic, and cultural backdrops within which earliest Christianity arose and began to spread.

This course is a study of the historical origins of Christianity with a view to understanding the creative originality of the Christian tradition. The course focuses on the ways in which communities and individuals in the first centuries Common Era understood the Bible and interpreted its traditions to address their historical, social, and theological contexts, and their spiritual needs.

This course focuses on the use of the Bible in US politics (immigration, abortion, LGBTQ2+ rights, climate change, creationism, and other topics) through the study of the history of Christian conservatism in the United States. Biblical interpretation is examined in the context of the Christian Right and dominionist currents such as Christian Reconstructionism and the New Apostolic Reformation.

Notes: Students who have taken this course under a THEO 298 number may not take this course for credit.

This course explores a wide variety of ancient, modern, and contemporary artistic media — painting, sculpture, architecture, glass, music, literature, and multimedia — in order to uncover a theological understanding of artistic activity. It investigates the ways in which artists explore apprehensions of transcendence and the artistic imagination.

This course explores Indigenous spirituality through its various epistemologies (ways of knowing) and axiologies (ways of acting). A key component of the course is studying the emerging field of Indigenous methodologies. Students encounter some of the many expressions of Indigenous spirituality, as it is concretely embedded in all aspects of existence (physical, emotional) and in all our relations, that is, to the land, to human and non‑human animals, and to the spirit‑imbued world surrounding us. Consideration is also given to the relationship between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous spiritualities and methodologies.

This course introduces the prophetic, wisdom, and deuterocanonical books of the Hebrew Bible. Topics discussed are literary genres, historical contexts, and theological themes, as well as the phenomenon of prophecy in the ancient Near East, the historical settings for the biblical prophetic and wisdom literature, the language, and the message of these biblical books.

This course is an introduction to Paul and his letters. In studying these writings, students engage in close examination of parts of the text (exegesis) and also discover the history and context of earliest Christianity.

This course examines the double movement of reform and heresy in the Middle Ages. It focuses on the most significant movements of reform and dissent of this period, such as the Gregorian reform, the so-called heresies of the Year Thousand, the Waldenses, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, the Cathars, the Rhineland mystics, the Lollards, and the Hussites.

Notes: Students who have taken this course under a THEO 298 number may not take this course for credit.

This course examines the history, symbols, and images of ritual and liturgical communication in Christianity, especially in baptism and eucharist. These “mysteries,” as the Christian sacraments were originally called, are studied in the context of a Christian life.

This course presents major frameworks for ethical deliberation and the basic ethical concepts operative in bioethics. Providing students with an opportunity to identify, articulate, and analyze ethical issues arising in the bioethical context, it explores theological reflections on concrete bioethics issues, including beginning and end of life issues, ecosystems and health, in particular determinants of Indigenous health and genetic technology.