Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Philosophy for Understanding Theology

Unit Code: 
AP165
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit explores the philosophical underpinnings of some key theological turns in Christian history. Variants of Platonism provide the background against which the Hellenistic elements in the New Testament can be interpreted; subsequent Platonist developments inform Augustine’s thought, and thereby, much later, Luther’s. Similarly, Aristotle sets the scene for Thomas Aquinas; Kant for Schleiermacher and the nineteenth century liberal theologians; Hegel, in a different way, for Kierkegaard and Barth; Heidegger for Bultmann and Rahner. The unit gives the student an engagement with the philosophers concerned, both in their own right and as they provide a background for scriptural and theological contemporaries and successors.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. explain the difference between philosophical and theological approaches to exploring truth
  2. discuss the ways in which the particular philosophers studied have extensions of their philosophical claims that are essentially theological
  3. recognise the issues involved in assessing the theological merits and demerits of the various philosophical positions studied
  4. understand the relationship between the philosophers studied and the theological responses and reactions they generated in others
  5. recognise the ways in which secular-philosophical and religious-theological currents have flowed together in Christian history.
Lecturer/s: 
John Martis
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 1
Day: 
Thursday
Time: 
2:15 - 5:15
Location: 
Centre for Theology and Ministry
Unit Frequency: 
Annual
Years Offered: 
2010
Years Offered: 
2011
Years Offered: 
2012
Years Offered: 
2013
Years Offered: 
2014
Unit Fields
Courses: 
Advanced Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Bachelor of Theology
Courses: 
Diploma in Theology
Field: 
Field A Humanities
Disciplines: 
Philosophy
Department Name: 
Department of Philosophy
Unit Level
Undergraduate Level: 
1
Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
6
Total workload hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours for unit: 
108
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 x 2000 word essay

Weighting: 
50%
Assessment Type: 

1 x 2 hour written examination

Weighting: 
50%
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

  • Allen, Diogenes. Philosophy for understanding theology. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985.
  • Allen, Diogenes and Eric O. Springsted, eds. Primary readings in philosophy for understanding theology. Louisville: Westminister-John Knox Press, 1992. 
  • Brown, Colin. Philosophy and the Christian faith: a historical sketch from the middle ages to the present day. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1980.
  • Melchert, Norman. The great conversation: a historical introduction to philosophy. 3rd. ed. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Co, 1999; or 4th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2001.

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.