Faith Seeking Understanding

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course is like an intermediate The Problem of God, except it focuses on problems of God and of faith in the Christian tradition specifically. We will be reading seven amazing books together, three of them “classics” from the tradition; the other four, although written too recently to be dubbed classics, are powerful texts that explore the dynamics of Christian faith in face of contemporary challenges. Each book was written in and for a time of crisis, when new ways ofunderstanding were required. The course does not presume faith: it should be interesting for those who identify as Christians and want to delve more deeply into that intellectual and spiritual tradition; for those who might be Christian nominally but do not really understand what that means; and for those from other religious traditions, or from no religious background, who want to learn more about Christian faith and its intellectual grounding. Texts: Julian of Norwich, Showings, or Revelation of Divine Love Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers Søren Kierkegaard, Fear & Trembling Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith James Cone, A Black Theology of Liberation Rosemary Haughton, The Passionate God Elizabeth Johnson, Creation and the Cross: The Mercy of God for a Planet in Peril