THEO 101: FUNDAMENTAL THEOLOGY II
The course is meant to equip students with the basics fundamentals for the study of the sacred sciences. It will treat in detail the specific meaning of Christian theology as well as the historical development of the term. The course will address in a systematic fashion, the key concepts in Roman Catholic Fundamental Theology namely, “that God exists (de religione [faith, belief] ), that He revealed himself in Christ (de revelatione), who in turn founded the Church (de Ecclesia Catholica). The course will serve as prolegomena to dogmatic/ systematic theology and other branches of theology.
Type of Mastery Expected:
Students should at the end of the course have acquired the organon for more serious work in Theology and, especially, they should begin to appreciate the sacred science as an integral whole. Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction (London: Blackwell, 1997) 154-7.
THEO 102: FUNDAMENTAL THEOLOGY II
This aspect of theology studies the source of Christian Theology as developed in Melchior Cano’s locis Theologicis. This section also treats of the various divisions of Christian Theology. Attention will be given to the controversy as to whether theology is possible outside of reason as a fundamental datum in natural theology; God as ultimate source of theology; theology after Vatican II; revelation; and types of theology.
THEO 103: FUNDAMENTAL MORAL
COURSE OBJECTIVE: To introduce students to the fundamentals of Catholic moral theology. Emphasis will be on laying the initial foundation for the study of moral theology, especially the principles of morality.
Topics to be covered;
1. Introduction to Moral Theology
- Range and Interest of Moral Theology
- Divisions of Moral Theology
- Sources of Moral Theology
- Moral Theology and Allied Subjects
2. Call for the Renewal of Moral Theology and why it was necessary
- Historical Background (From Trent to Vatican II)
- The Factors which rendered the classical moral theology ineffective.
- What does Vatican 11 say about renewal of moral theology
- What moral theology should be
3. Biblical Foundation of Christian Morality
- The morality of the Old Testament
- The morality of the New Testament.
4. Man’s ultimate end and his Happiness
THEO 104: FUNDAMENTAL MORAL THEO.
COURSE OBJECTIVE: Emphasis will be on the General Moral Theology, with particular attention to topics on Christian moral life, its objective and subjective norms, its formation and actions that enable man to proceed towards his ultimate end. Man is not expected to deviate from his ultimate end in his actions. When he disregards the obligations of the moral law and the commands of his conscience he acts wrongly, and commits sin. The course therefore, includes also those actions that deviate from Christian life.
Topics to Be Covered
- The Law – Notion of moral law, Revealed Divine law/Law in the Scripture, Natural moral law, Human Law, Each one of them is treated in detail.
- Conscience – Concept and Nature of Conscience, Moral Conscience and super ego, Synderesis, Binding force of Conscience, Formation of Certain Conscience, Freedom and Commitment of Conscience.
- Human Act – Concept and nature of human act, Obstacles of human acts, Moral qualification, which characterizes every human act in the object, in the end and in the circumstances including the foreseeable consequences. Sin Nature of sin, Division of sins, Sources of sin, Obligation to avoid sin.
- Fundamental option
THEO 105: FUNDAMENTAL SCRIPTURE
(Semesters I & II): This is the Course on the basics of the Sacred Scriptures and the Bible.
I: The Bible as the Word of God: Inspiration and Inerrancy (DV Chapters I -III). The Canon and Canonicity of the Bible. The Relationship between the Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Transmission of the Bible: Texts and Versions. 11: Hermeneutics: Interpretations of the Text, types of interpretations of the Bible; sensus plenior; Different types of Biblical Criticisms. Geography of the Land of the Bible, Physical and Human Geography, the Fertile Crescent, Routes, Rivers and Seas, Mountains, Deserts, Settlement Modes, etc.
THEO 105: FUNDAMENTAL SCRIPTURE
General Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity and to the Study of the New Testament
Task
- Exploring the literary, social and historical as well as cultural and religious environment in which Jesus lived and worked with the goal of ascertaining the influence these factors may have had in the shaping of the life and ministry of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel stories as well as in the life of the Early Church.
- Introducing the Gospels as “stories concerning Jesus” with the goal of ascertaining the images of Jesus portrayed in them and the development of faith in Jesus as “the Christ” and “the Son of God”
- Introducing and describing the methods of New Testament Exegesis with the goal of acquaintance with these methods, and motivation towards independent use and work with the methods
Times and Environment of the New Testament: History, Literature and Religion
- Literary Environment Jewish and Hellenistic Background (Political, Cultural and Social Setting)
- Religious Situation Second-Temple Judaism 0 Jewish Life and Socio-Religious-Political Groups
- Varieties of Second-Temple Judaism (Pharisees, Scrlbes, Sadducees, Essenes, Qumran Community, etc.)
- Messianic Expectations Jewish Hopes for the Present and Future
The Gospels
- Jesus and his Message about the Basileia of God
- The Quest for the Historical Jesus
- The “Jesus of History” and the “Christ of Faith”
- The Gospels as Interpretive Portraits of Jesus
Methods of New Testament Exegesis
- Scholarly Study of the New Testament: Why?
- Meaning and Evaluation of the Historical Critical Methods
- Tools for New Testament Study
- Procedure of the Traditional Historical Critical Methodology
- Alternative Methods
THEO 106: FUNDAMENTAL SCRIPTURE (NT)
The course comprises the following: Infancy Narrative Jesus Christ: Titles of Christology; Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus; Kingdom of God; NT Eschatology; The Parables of Jesus Miracles 1n the NT; Discipleship; The Bible and Inculturation: Challenges, Risks and Expectations in the embrace between the Good News and native Culture….; The NT, the Church and the issue Charismatic Movement/ Healing Ministry; Biblical Inspiration and Inerrancy; The Various Senses of the Bible.
THEO 107: INTRODUCTION TO SACRAMENTS
This course will be concerned with the sacramental economy of salvation. Attempts should be made to consider God’s self-communication and the human experience of the Divine. Jesus Christ will be highlighted as the highest point of Divine self-communication in history, and the importance of the Church as a universal sacrament of salvation should be exposed. All this will narrow down to the study of the general aspects of individual sacraments. The concept of sacrament and the historical development of this concept, the institution, necessity, constituent parts efficacy of the sacraments and the relationship between sacraments and sacramental will be significant subjects to be study here.
THEO 108: ECCLESIOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO ECUMENISM
A short history of the 20th Century Ecumenical Movements, introduces the students to: The Edinburgh Conference of 1910, efforts at Mission for Christian Unity in the 20th Century, and Ecumenical Movements: Ancient and Modern.
Particular reference is made to Protestantism and Ecumenism with Reference to: The Effect of the Oxford Movement, Protestants’ missionary experience in Africa, Independent African Churches: Ecumenism and Mission; Ecumenical dialogue in Africa, Protestant Attempts of Church Unions, Intra-Church unions, etc. Intra-Church Family Unions: Europe and America.
THEO 109: FUNDAMENTAL LITURGY
A brief anthropological and psychological overview of Religion will be presented as an introduction into idea of worship in general including the worship of Christians. It will however, be shown also that Christian worship transcends mere anthropological and psychological exigencies. Its true character will be made clear by explaining and commenting on the doctrine in number 5-13 of the constitution, sacrosanctum Concilium, hence it will be shown to be the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ. It will be seen that Christ is ipso facto present in the worship of Christians. It will be shown that through Christian worship, the church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, re-enacts the saving mysteries of Christ, and anticipates the life of the heavenly city when God shall be all in all. As an abiding manifestation of God’s action on earth, it will be shown that Christian worship involves the Church and God, the visible and invisible. Hence, its need for signs, symbols and rituals. From all this, an attempt will be made to define the Christian worship and to justify its designation as Liturgy, a significant term, with deep literary and scriptural roots loaded nevertheless with ambiguities picked up on its march through history.
THEO 101: PATROLOGY
INTRODUCTION: Here, students are acquainted with the notion of Patrology and its related disciplines of Ancient Christian Writings and Patristics. Then they are introduced to the Fathers of the Pre-Nicean Church as well as to the important primitive Christian writings. They are introduced to such sub-apostolic writings as the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and his letters, Justin and his apologetical writings, Irenaeus and his anti-heretical writings. Here they are introduced to such authors as Clement and Origen. Then they are presented with the beginning of Latin Theology through the literary activity of Tetullian.
RSI 101: ISLAM
This is an introductory course in Islam comprising: What is Islam; reasons why we study Islam; approach and attitude; pre-Islamic Arabia; the life of Muhammad; the Qur’an; the pillars of Islam; the pillars of faith; tradition and introduction of Islamic law; the rightly-guided Caliph, the Ummayads and the Abbasids.
BLH 101: BIBLICAL HEBREW
(Semesters I & II)
This is a fresher Course for beginners in Biblical Hebrew. It is designed to acquaint the students with the basic rudiments of Hebrew Language. Students are drilled to identify, write and pronounce the basic morphology, the consonants and vowels; have a mastery of common vocabulary, syllabification, stress/tonic, pretonic and propretonic reductions, knowledge of basic grammar and syntax covering nouns, adjectives, active participles, etc. ability to recognize and transliterate Hebrew Passages; translate short and simple sentences into and from Hebrew distinguishing attributive and predicative use of adjectives.
BLG 101: BIBLICAI. GREEK
This is a course of beginners in New Testament Greek. It is meant to acquaint students with rudiments of the Greek language. Specific goals of the Greek course in the First Year are as follows: Mastery of the basic morphology of the NT Greek, Command of a fundamental vocabulary, and knowledge of the more important points of syntax. It covers enough of the basic grammar of the Greek language to enable students to translate simple Greek texts into Greek and vice versa. The Gospel of Mark is read as part of the course.
PSY 101/102 THEMES IN HUMAN FORMATION
COURSE OBJECTIVE: To help each participant to scrutinize himself as a person and to come to a greater self-knowledge ‘ through developing self-awareness of strengthen and weaknesses, gifts and talents. This is achieved through exploration of such themes as: Family of origin autonomy, competence, moral development and value as well as self-identity. Method: lectures, personal reflection small group discussion etc.
101: FUNDAMENTAL CANON LAW
COURSE OBJECTIVE: To introduce the students to the development of canon law and the different fundamental concepts in canon law as found in Book I of the Code: canon law from the early church to date; the nature of ecclesiastical law; customs, general decrees and instruction; and administrative acts. Emphasis will be on the understanding of physical persons, juridical person and juridical acts. The Code of Canon Law is divided into seven books and canon law in the institution is a three-year programme. Hence, the course is in a three-year cycle, and efforts are made to touch the most important aspects germane for pastoral ministry. In-depth study is reserved for period of specialization. This is a brief study into the nature and different concepts of law in general and canon law in particular. Thereafter, the treat of Book I of the Code, the General Norms and some part of Book II, the people of God.
Book I: GENERALNORMS
It covers the first 203 canons of the code: the nature of ecclesiastical law, Customs, General decree, Instruction, Administrative Acts, Power of Governance, Ecclesiastical Office, Prescription and Computation of Time.
Book II: There is the treatment of the obligation and Rights of Christ’s Faithful, Canon 208-231; Association of Christ’s Faithful, 298-329.
MIS 101 MISSIOLOGY
Definition of Missiology; a short history of the development of missiology; Urban-University-Congregation for the Propagation of the faith; distinction between mission and activitas missionaries; Trinitarian origin of mission; OT notion of mission and conception of mission and vocation; mission and profession; link between OT and NT; Christ and mission; the mission of Christ; the Holy Spirit and mission; the Blessed Virgin Mary and Christian mission.
CCH 101: CHURCH HISTORY
With the life and ministry of Christ taken as the point of departure, this course traces the beginnings of the Church, the factors that affected her spread and the many challenges the nascent Church encountered as she struggled to take root. The greatest of these challenges was the persecutions. Detailed study of the many faces of persecution is to be undertaken with the View to showing its impact on the growth of the Church. We then go further to study the events factors and individuals that at different points, contributed to the shaping of the life and structure of the Church from the earliest centuries up till the 16th Century when the Church was ravaged by the scourges of Protestantism.
SPTH 101: SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY
New Testament Spirituality: Synoptic gospels; Johannine and Pauline spiritualities; Early Fathers; Latin and Greek; force of Christian encounter, gift, concepts of conversion, call and response, humility, definitions, O.T., N.T., views of humility in the Fathers -St. Augustine’s Sermons.