Prof. Terry Martin
Saint Mary's
College
Religious Studies 312
"Theologies of Love"
Christian talk about love has many sides, and that is precisely what makes
it both so difficult and so interesting. It is difficult, on the one
hand, because there are so many distinct voices and independent
perspectives involved in the dialogue that makes up Western and Christian
traditions on love: there are independent sources feeding later
reflections (Plato, Aristotle, but also Hebrew and Christian scriptures);
there are fusions or compromises worked out by those who inherit these
ancient sources (Augustine, among others); there are novel syntheses and
blends (in a mystic like Teresa of Avila, for instance); there are moments
of internal resistance, pitting one stream of thought against another
(most famously in reformation writings like Martin Luther, but also in
Soren Kierkegaard; and finally, there is external criticism (from
philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Max Scheler). But Christian
discourse on love is interesting, on the other hand, because so many key
questions are raised and yet remain contested: the nature of God's love
and the nature of human love for God; the place of neighbor love in
relation to application of equal regard; the place of mutuality in love;
the relation of love and justice; and so on. Drawing on readings from
the ancients down to our contemporaries, this course will allow students
to
reflect on key moments in the ongoing development of Christian thinking
about love.