Course description:
Believers have referred to the Church by many titles:  Mother, Sacrament, Pilgrim, Bride, Womb of Deification, Dangerous Memory of Jesus Christ.  During our time together we will explore in a very "catholic" way the significance of the Church's self-understanding, especially with regard to soteriology (salvation).  The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) will serve as a focus and case study.  It was not only a "watershed event" for the Roman Catholic Church, but one of the most significant religious events of the twentieth century.  It has had profound influence upon every aspect of the faith and life of the Church and it has been a cause of both inspiration and conflict.  In this class we'll study the cultural shifts and events that caused the convening of this august body and we'll seek to understand the ideologies that struggled for expression in its documents.  Specifically, we'll explore some of these documents as our primary texts in order to elucidate the changes they produced in the Church and the accompanying interpretations they inspired.

About Dr. John Switzer:
John Switzer is Assistant Professor of Theology at Spring Hill College, and is the Director of Graduate Programs in Theology and Ministry.  He is also the 2008-2009 Edward B. Moody, SJ, Teacher of the Year.  In 2006 he completed the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in theology and education at Boston College.  His primary areas of interest include historical, comparative, and pastoral theology as well as issues revolving around the challenge of interreligious understanding.  A popular speaker in churches and parishes throughout the southeast, his articles on theological, pastoral, and intercultural issues have appeared in numerous publications, including U.S. Catholic and National Catholic Reporter.  He is the author of two articles in the Encyclopedia of Love in the World Religions published by ABC-CLIO. 

THL544 Syllabus

Course description:
From its inception, the church has manifested itself to the world by coming together for the “breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42). Moreover, the Eucharist can be seen as the “summit and source” of the church’s life (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 10). The purpose of this course will be to use historical and theological analyses to explore the structure, meaning, and wider significance (i.e., ecumenical relationships and moral indices) of the Eucharist, both in the past and in the present. 

About Dr. Steve Wilson:
Dr. Steve Wilson is an Associate Professor of theology at Spring Hill.  He received his Ph.D. in Liturgical Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2001 after earning his Master of Divinity at Duke University.  He teaches liturgical and moral theology at the graduate and undergraduate levels.  “As my father said, I must have liked college so much that I decided to never leave,” Wilson jokingly says. In all seriousness, he adds, “I teach because I have the ability to transform people, and there is no high quite like when the proverbial light bulb goes off and a student understands something he or she did not before.”  Dr. Wilson believes that his main goal as a teacher is to “create an environment in which students can come to experience learning as a fun and rewarding activity.”  Outside the classrom he enjoys weightlifting, endurance sports (cycling and running) SCUBA diving, backpacking and playing guitar.

Textbooks:

• Robert Cabié. The Church at Prayer. Volume II: The Eucharist. Trans. Matthew J. O’Connell. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1986.

• R. C. D. Jasper and Geoffrey J. Cuming. Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed. Third Edition. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1987.

• Alexander Schmemann. The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom. Trans. Paul Kachur. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987.

Course description:
This course will be a survey of Aquinas’s thought as represented in his Summa Theologica (ST).  While we will survey all three parts of the ST, we will pay close attention to his metaphysics, with an eye towards understanding his conception of God and of humans.  The end of the class will focus on Aquinas’s understanding of some specific doctrines, such as the Atonement or the Incarnation.

About Dr. Christopher Dodsworth:
Dr. Chris Dodsworth is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Spring Hill College.  He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Michigan (2008), specializing in moral philosophy and philosophy of religion. Since arriving at SHC, he's taught Logic, Philosophy of Religion, Epistemology, and Bioethics.  Dr. Dodsworth is currently working on understanding the relationship between love of God and love of neighbor.  He is also working on the problem of divine hiddenness, and is extremely excited to be teaching his first MTS course.

*Registration is limited to students accepted into the Certificate of Spiritual Direction program.