An examination of the concept of God's self-revelation as disclosed in the story of Israel, Jesus, and the Church. The course will consider the nature of Sacred Scripture and study select texts from the Old and New Testaments that reveal how God's Word is disclosed in human words.

An examination of the relationship between liturgy and the Christian life. The course will consider such topics as the ecclesial and ritual nature of liturgy, the sacramental roots of the Christian life, the role of scripture in the liturgy, and liturgy as a cultural reality.

Why is the Christian life essentially one of community, and what kind of institutional organization is appropriate for this particular community? These were central questions addressed by Vatican II in its constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, and they remain central questions in ecumenical dialog seeking the unity of the Church today. This course will consider the life and shape of the Church at various points in its history, and the flourishing of study of the Church or 'ecclesiology' in the 20th century. It will closely examine the teaching of the Council itself and issues that have arisen in ecumenical discussion in recent decades on this topic.

This course is an examination of the Church in light of its dialog with the contemporary world in which believers live. The course will consider questions of spirituality, social ethics, and interreligious dialog.