Who are we? How did we get this way? What is our nature, our destiny? Are we significant? Whence comes our consciousness, morality, spirituality - our personhood? Drawing from historical, philosophical, scientific, ethical, biblical, and theological sources, this course provides students with skills and tools to address such questions.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Additional readings, a research paper, and presentation to the
class, as well as more extensive examination to reflect
additional course requirements.
Athena Title
Human Nature in Christianity
Prerequisite
Third- or fourth-year student standing or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to understand the history and concepts within the field of "Christian anthropology" - the academic theological study of what it means to be human (anthropos).
By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze and evaluate various understandings of humanity's supposedly unique soulful or spiritual nature in light of contemporary biological and cognitive sciences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to understand, compare, and evaluate different ways in which human beings have been connected to divinity in Christianity, especially when humans are said to bear the image and likeness of God/Christ.
By the end of this course, students will be able to understand, compare, and evaluate portraits of the more ambiguous, ambivalent, and often negative aspects of our human condition, including the biblical concept of the knowledge of good and evil and the Christian doctrine(s) of (original) sin.
By the end of this course, students will be able to synthesize diverse perspectives concerning humankind's moral freedom and responsibility by exploring some of the ethical implications of the perspectives developed in the course. Topics include fundamental ethics, the option for the poor, ecology, reproductive ethics, and ethics of gender and sexuality.
