Living
Theology Edinburgh
Monday 21st – Friday 25th July 2008
A
non-residential summer school in
Catholic Theology
St Catharine’s
Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 9HH
In the morning participants choose two from a list of optional courses to enable them to pursue special interests in small groups. In the afternoon all follow the Core Course on a central topic of Catholic thought, which this year will be The Challenge of Atheism.
Participants are invited to bring a packed lunch each day, and soup and coffee are provided. The Eucharist is celebrated daily. Participants sign on to attend the full five-day programme from Monday to Friday, and cannot be accepted for only part of each day or part of the week. Early application is advisable in order to secure membership of the optional courses of one’s choice.
CORE COURSE
The Challenge of Atheism
John McDade SJ
There is a widespread assumption that ‘God is dead’ and that we now live in a post-religious society. But what the Christian community does not have is an adequate account of the character and roots of modern atheism and unbelief. There are different forms of atheism that need to be distinguished from one another: how well do we grasp what atheists say about the Christian religion and the culture it has generated? The plenary course will look at some of the philosophical, cultural and theological issues which shape this strong current in modern life
John McDade is a member of the Society of Jesus who gained his doctorate in theology at New College, University of Edinburgh. He is Principal of Heythrop College, University of London, where he also lectures in systematic theology. He is Vice-President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain.
OPTIONAL COURSES
Series A
A1 Reading Franz Kakfa
John McDade SJ
The stories of the Czech Jewish writer Franz Kafka present a highly original analysis of our modern human condition. His large novels The Trial and The Castle are generally regarded as key fictions of the early 20th Century, ambiguous parables in a Jewish tradition (although Kafka was not religiously observant), touching on central questions of guilt, aspiration and constraint. The course will be based on selections from The Collected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (Vintage Classics) and participants should have read ‘Metamorphosis’ and ‘The Penal Colony’ before the course begins. Please bring this edition to the classes. Also recommended: Ritchie Robertson, Kafka: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford Univ.Press, 2004).
A2 New Testament Christologies
Josette Zammit-Mangion IBVM
The writings of the New Testament provide us with different portrayals of the person of Christ and his unique role in the story of salvation. We will study the Christology of Mark, John, Paul and Hebrews, exploring their background within different Old Testament traditions and raising questions about the development of claims to the divinity of Christ within the framework of Jewish monotheism.
Josette Zammit-Mangion, a Loreto Sister, teaches at Heythrop College and is completing a doctorate at the University of Cambridge on Paul’s spirituality.
A3 Goodness and the Imagination
Peter Gallagher, SJ
Some artists seem to think that only portrayals of wickedness make interesting art. This course will consider ways in which authors like Dostoievski, Sigrid Undset and George Mackay Brown portray goodness and the ambition to be good. Are there ways in which a fine representation of good character and conduct can help readers to be good, or at least to avoid evil? What are the theological implications of aesthetic preoccupation with moral failure?
Peter Gallagher is a member of the Society of Jesus who studied philosophy in France before gaining his doctorate at King’s College, University of London. He teaches the history of philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London.
OPTIONAL COURSES
Series B
B1 A Reading Group on Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth
Anthony Meredith, S.J.
Pope Benedict’s recent book Jesus of Nazareth will be the subject of this course: there will be careful study of certain sections of the book in which the Holy Father considers central aspects of Christ’s understanding of himself and his mission. Try to read the book before the course and bring it to the classes. (From April 2008, it will be available in paperback.)
Anthony Meredith is a member of the Society of Jesus who spent many years teaching at Campion Hall, Oxford, before his move to London in 1992. He is assistant priest in Farm Street Church in Central London, and he also lectures at Heythrop College on the Fathers of the Church. His writings include The Theology of Tradition (1971), The Cappadocians (1995) and Gregory of Nyssa (1999).
B2 From Biblical 'Lady Wisdom' to Mary, Seat of Wisdom
Robert Murray SJ
'Wisdom Literature' in the Old Testament, its authors and addressees. Why a female figure? Relation to other cultures. Select readings in Proverbs, Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira ('Ecclesiasticus'), Wisdom of Solomon. Relation of the female Wisdom figure to God: Aspect, Creature, Daughter or Partner? Her role in creation and in guidance for kings. Why is she not mentioned in Gen. 1-2 ? Female Holy Spirit in early Syriac Christianity; 'her' hovering (cf. Gen 1:2) symbolized by priest's hands. Role of Mary: her Son is [Power and] Wisdom of God (Paul, 1 Cor. 1:24), from childhood (cf. Luke 2:52). With Jesus in her lap she is the 'seat of Wisdom' (as in her Litany and many icons); but could she not have received the Wisdom character when overshadowed by the Holy Spirit?
A Bible including the 'Deuterocanonical books' (Ben Sira, Solomon etc.) is absolutely necessary for this course. (I.e., obviously, a 'Catholic' Bible; but New RSV, Revised English Bible (and more) contain these books, so check for this if you are borrowing or buying a bible).
Robert Murray is a research fellow at Heythrop College and is the author The Cosmic Covenant, a major study of creation and covenant in the old testament. His specialisation is the symbolism of early Syriac Christianity.
B3 Are theSacraments really necessary?
Gero McLoughlin SJ
Drawing on the reflections of French theologian Louis-Marie Chauvet, the sessions of this course will concentrate on the language of sacramental theology; the sacraments and the Church; person and sacraments; sacraments of participation: Baptism and Eucharist; the sacramental theology of Vatican II. Central themes of the course will be the nature of symbol and the role of symbol in the union between the person and God, as well as the significance of ritual in the transformative process of the sacraments.
Gero McLoughlin has worked for more than 15 years in Jesuit spirituality centres and has devoted the last 12 years to developing and running training courses in Ignatian spirituality in the west of Scotland, Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen. He is also the Jesuit Province Promoter of Ignatian spirituality, assisting people working outside institutional settings todevelop their work in spirituality.
B4 Worship as transforming Practice
Michael Regan
The course will look at ways in which liturgy interacts with daily living under three headings: 1/ Lifecycle liturgy - rites that are used express commitment and transition' 2/ Liturgy and social justice - how liturgy connects with the peace and justice of the Kingdom of God; 3/ Liturgy for a new era - modern issues in developing a liturgy suited to the modern church
Michael Regan is a priest of the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh who studied at the University of Stirling, the Institut Cathol-ique in Paris and the University of Paris IV the Sorbonne. He is a former Vice-Rector and Lecturer in Liturgy and Sacramental Theology at the national seminary, Scotus College, and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. He is now parish priest of St John the Baptist, Corstorphine.
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