FINALITÀ
The student will gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a human being, in light of their own and all of humanity’s relation to God. This will include our own and God’s relation to the whole cosmos and, in particular, to the world in which we live.
ARGOMENTI
The creation of man and the universe: creatio ex nihilo; sexual differentiation; Original justice, the Fall and humanity’s ongoing history; Theology and anthropology of Genesis 1and 2 and other biblical texts: man in relation to the cosmos, the animals, the angels and God; man as a relational, inter-personal being, whose ‘pre-destiny’ is Christ; Man the image of God (in Scripture and in Augustine), and Christ the center of all; The theology of original sin in relation to the theology of creation; Creation-centered and Redemption-centered views of the Incarnation (Aquinas, Scotus et al.); Creation and evolution, Christian anthropology and modern science; John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body.
Learning Outcomes: The students will grow personally in their understanding of the relation of every individual person and of all humanity to God, in accordance with the Church’s teaching. Besides encouraging them to deepen their own humanity, this will help them to engage more generously and effectively in their future ministries and commitments. That God is the Lover of Humanity will inspire them to live their lives for the benefit of others, both those who belong to the household of the faith and those who do not.
TESTI
Textbook: 1. HAFFNER P., Mystery of Creation (Leominster, 1995); 2. KUTTIANIMATTATHIL J., Theological Anthropology: A Christian Vision of Human Beings (Bangalore, 2009); SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Gaudium et Spes.
LWF-RCC, Joint Declaration on Justification by Faith of the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan 2000); BENEDICT XVI. ‘In the Beginning… Catholic Understanding of Creation and the Fall (London, n.d., -previous edition by Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995, with author as J. RATZINGER); DUFFY S.J., The Dynamics of Grace (Collegeville MN, Liturgical Press 1993); HAUGHT J.F., Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution (New York, 2001); HAYES Z., The Gift of Being: A Theology of Creation (Collegeville, Minnesota 2001); ORMEROD N., Creation, Grace and Redemption (New York, Maryknoll 2007); SACHS J.R., The Christian Vision of Humanity: Basic Christian Anthropology (Collegeville, Minnesota 1991); SCHÖNBORN C., Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith (San Francisco, 2007); WEST C., Theology of the Body Explained: A Commentary on John Paul II’s ‘Gospel of the Body’ (Leominster, 2003); WILEY T., Original Sin: Origins, Developments and Contemporary Meaning (New Jersey, 2002).