Syllabus
1. Epistemological foundations of theological reflection on man
1.1 What place has reflection on man had in the history of theology?
1.2 What is the contribution of the constitution Gaudium et spes to Christian anthropology and where are its limits?
2. Man created by the triune God
2.1 What are the basic themes and perspectives of the theology of the creation of man?
2.2 What are the basic meanings of the statement that man was created in the image of God (biblical foundations; interpretation in history)?
2.3 What polarities are included in the concept of the imago Dei (man as person; body-soul polarity; male-female polarity; individual-community polarity; freedom-determination polarity)?
3. Original state, original sin, original guilt
3.1 What are the biblical foundations of this doctrine and what has been its development in the history of dogma and the history of theology?
3.2 What does it mean that man was created in holiness and righteousness, what are the extra-natural and supernatural gifts?
3.3 What does the doctrine of original sin and original guilt mean in terms of systematic theology?
4. Grace
4.1 What are the biblical foundations of this doctrine and what has been its development in the history of dogma and the history of theology?
4.2 What is the content of the doctrine of habitual grace, actual grace, predestination, justification, and merit?
Annotation
This course of theological anthropology introduces the student to why and how the triune God in Jesus Christ created man and how He brings this work to its intended end in spite of sin. It is thus concerned with how Christ, "precisely by revealing the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to himself and makes known to him the sublimity of his vocation" (Gaudium et spes, 22).