Professor Terry Martin
Saint Mary's
College
Religious Studies 325
"Great Theologians"
Great theologians are those who have left us with "classic" theological
texts: Though rooted in their own times and situations, these classics
bear an "excess of meaning" which transcends their period, giving them a
certain timeless character. A classic text continues to make demands on
later readers, challenging them to understand their lives and their
worlds in new and more profound ways. Of course, not all theological
classics are well known; many are not. But if they are "classics," they
will--when read seriously--retain the power to speak to later
generations by disclosing something essential about reality and by
transforming the minds of those who engage them. The pupose of this
course is to converse with selected classics of Western religious
history--including Origen, Augustine, Aquinas, Eckhart, Luther, Erasmus,
and Schleiermacher. Each auther will be read historically (how did they
contribute to their original context?) and theologically (how do they
promote self-understaning for today's world?). This course is
appropriate for Religious Studies majors and minors, as well as interested
students who have completed their core requirements in Religious Studies.