Our catalog of courses is complete. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
The student will study the foundational aspects of Christian Anthropology (the Catholic vision of what it means to be human). With this understanding, the student in this course will be challenged to apply such principles to being “in the world, not of the world,” with a critical mind of recognizing distortions regarding the human person that the world holds. Furthermore, the student will delve deeply into Trinitarian and Soteriological (how we are saved) theology in that we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinitarian God and in that Jesus’ death on the Cross gives the highest and deepest revelation of what it means to be human.
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th
Suggested credit: 1/2 semester credit in Theology
Description
Course Rationale: The student will study the foundational aspects of Christian Anthropology (the Catholic vision of what it means to be human). With this understanding, the student in this course will be challenged to apply such principles to being “in the world, not of the world,” with a critical mind of recognizing distortions regarding the human person that the world holds. Furthermore, the student will delve deeply into Trinitarian and Soteriological (how we are saved) theology in that we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinitarian God and in that Jesus’ death on the Cross gives the highest and deepest revelation of what it means to be human.
Course Goal: The student, through his/her embracing of this theological perspective, will be invited to grow in his/her humanity to become “St. Me,” the person he/she was made to be and whom he/she co-creates with God.
Course Reading: The reading will assist the student in delving into a deep understanding of the human person, along with its application to the moral life and spirituality.
Outline
Class 1: Foundational Introduction to Theology; Anthropology; Study of Man (man and woman); Foundational Introduction to Theology
Class 2: Study of Man; Solitude for Communion
Class 3: The Goal of Kenosis for Union and Communion with God, within ourselves, others, and creation. Proper understanding of salvation.
Class 4: The Sacramental View of Reality
Class 5: Nominalism’s Role in our Understanding of the Human Person/William of Ockham
Class 6: Man’s Conquest over Nature”—Francis Bacon’s Influence on Modernity
Class 7: Tough Questions and Loving Responses, all based on Anthropology
Class 8: Summation of Entire
Materials and Homework
Required Reading:
- The Bible—Gen 1-3; Rom 3:21-8:39;
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church #’s 249-421;
- The Documents of Vatican II—Gaudium et Spes, especially Part I;
- Redemptor Hominis (Pope John Paul’s 1st encyclical)
- Pope Benedict’s address at Regensburg;
- The Weight of Glory and Man or Rabbit, both by CS Lewis.
For those who want more of a challenge/more credit earned:
- CS Lewis’ The Abolition of Man;
- Thomas Howard’s Chance or the Dance;
- J. Budziszewski’s What We Can’t Not Know (Part I);
- Dr. Joyce Little’s The Catholic Church and the Culture War (esp. the part about egalitarianism).
Course Work:
Weekly Online Quizzes (To be finished before you start the next class and graded by your parents.)
Assigned Reading (Honor policy—Keep a Timesheet/notation of what you finished reading. At the 10th Week, give your parents this sheet showing everything you’ve read for credit).
Time Commitment to Study: A minimum of 3 hours a week (30 minutes a day) for reading, study, doing quizzes.
