Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus Jan 9 2015.pdf

Course Syllabus: Theology of the Church

3 Credits

Course Description

This course describes how the Church is part of God’s plan of salvation. The course analyzes the structure of the Church as the Body of Christ. This leads into a comprehension of the way that the Church is at the service of mankind. The last part of the course covers the way in which the Church is a pilgrim upon this earth gathering mankind in to the heavenly banquet in the New Jerusalem. The person who completes this course will better understand the Church and so will be able to see more clearly the role of the Church in their life, in the life of their family, and in society at large.

Course Scope and Objectives

Students will be introduced to a detailed picture of the theology of "Church" in the Catholic understanding. This will be an introduction to terminology and relationships that comprise the theology of the Catholic Church. The textbook, The Splendor of the Church by Henri de Lubac S.J. and the relevant Church documents form an integral part of the course.

Textbooks (Required and Optional), Weblinks, and Helpful Resources

* Henri de Lubac, Splendor of the Church, Ignatius Press Paperback, 1999.

* Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), Second Vatican Council, 1964.

* On the Study of Holy Scripture (Providentissimus Deus), Pope Leo XIII, 1893 (available only at the Vatican website).

* On the Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church (Ecclesia de Eucharistia), John Paul II, 2003 (available only at the Vatican website).

* The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People (Christifideles Laici), John Paul II, 1988.

* In the Light of the Mystery of the Redemption (Redemptionis Donum), John Paul II, 1984 (available only at the Vatican website).

* Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), Second Vatican Council, 1965.

* On the Family (Familiaris Consortio), John Paul II, 1982.

* On Social Concern (Solicitudo Rei Socialis), John Paul II, 1987.

* Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria, Editrice Vaticana (Ed.) Edition: 2ND 00. (Optional)

* Ignatius Holy Bible, Catholic Edition Revised Standard Version, Ignatius Press Staff Edition. 2ND 06. (Optional)

Instructor Name and Office Hours and Help Desk

Instructor: Fr. Bevil Bramwell OMI

Email: use the message service in CANVAS

Office Hours: 9:00 -11:00 am EST Tuesdays

Help Desk and Additional Help:

In the online campus, general technical help, as well as course specific technical assistance is available. Just click on the HELP button. A chatbox opens and someone will greet you. In addition, the student life center, with daily support of student life coordinators, exists in the online campus to help students with CDU’s online learning environment.

Course Delivery and How to Study for this Course

This twelve week course is comprised of a weekly lecture in an audio and a written format as well as weekly reading assignments. The course requires the student to test themselves with quizzes, a weekly discussion question, two essay assignments, and one final examination. Students should expect to spend up to 12 hours a week preparing for discussion, responding to the instructor and fellow students, reading materials, preparing for and writing essays, and studying.

Requirements

Students are expected to view all lectures, read all assigned material, complete all written assignments, go through the weekly quizzes and participate in weekly online discussions on readings and lectures.

Assignments

Assignments will be presented in the following format if the student wants to receive a grade:

1. Information a student draws from the theology must be sourced to texts from this course. References to the Scriptures and to magisterial documents are inserted into the appropriate place in the text. So, for example, after a Scripture quote or after a comment on something in the Scriptures, include (Luke 10:2), for example; after a magisterial reference or an idea that can be found in a magisterial document, include (LG 26) or (RH 12), for example. Include full bibliographical details of magisterial documents (because a particular translation is cited, for example) in footnotes.

2. References to other sources should be footnoted. The exact format and punctuation of the footnote can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style or Kate Turabian's short version of the manual.

3. Quotations are always in quotation marks. A writer should understand that he/she is using a quotation, indicating how and why it substantiates or introduces an idea. The writer should follow up and expand on how the quote helps the argument and/or idea. Block quotations do not need quotation marks provided that they are documented as shown in the academic skills course and Turabian, A Manual for Writers.

4. Student writers should limit the use of longer quotes, quoting only material necessary to prove or support a point. Long passages from a particular author should be paraphrased in the text and put as a quote in a footnote so that it is clear to the reader that the thought is not original.

5. When writing for this class, students should assume that they are writing for two people – someone who knows nothing and someone who can handle this material at a high level. Keeping this consideration in mind will help students develop arguments both from the point of view of explaining terminology (which shows that the student knows what he/she is saying) and from building your argument logically.

In writing theology, it is good to read good articles regularly to help students develop their presentations. Joseph Ratzinger is a good benchmark as a writer.

Weekly Discussion

The course grade includes points for your work each week. Post your answers and comments in BLACK. I will post questions to develop the discussion, sometimes twice per day. I do not post on Sundays! You may also use the discussion room to ask questions. Please post your questions in RED so that I can see them quickly.

 

The Examination

The exam for the course consists of three parts: Part One consists of thirty short questions. These are taken from the weekly courses. They are worth 2 points each. Part Two consists of an essay question in which the student is given three optional topics and the student has to choose ONE and write a two page essay. (20 points) Part Three similarly consists of an essay question in which the student is given three optional topics and the student has to choose ONE and write a two page essay. (20 points)

Course Grade

The student's grade is the sum of a number of components: Weekly discussion 30%; Two assignments (15% each); Two quizzes (weeks 1 & 9) 10%; Final Examination 30%. You will be able to see your 'running grade' by clicking on the Grades button on the left of your screen. Just give me some time to do grading please!

 

Course Policies

Be sure to refer to the Student Handbook  for the:

* Learning Accommodations Policy

* Late Assignment Policy

* Academic Conduct Policy