Phil 027 Biblical Philosophy (2 Credits)

Lecturer: Lanfranco FEDRIGOTTI

Description:

This course attempts to probe the philosophical element present in the Bible and thus unveil the existential depths of the Word of God. The approach will be both synchronic and diachronic: synchronically, the philosophy of the Bible is studied in its main themes: transcendence and immanence, creation, the unity and absoluteness of the human person, free will and responsibility, human history as meaningful and linear; diachronically, the enquiry will follow the biblical trajectory from Genesis to the Apocalypse, studying the philosophical import of the broken myths of Genesis, the legal texts of the Pentateuch, the historical narratives of the Former Prophets, the religious and social vision of the Latter Prophets, the Psalms, the Wisdom books, the tripartite anthropology of the Gospels and Apostolic Letters, the struggle of Job and the Apocalypse with the problem of evil. Hopefully, this course will help students to analyse critically present and past cultures and to derive useful guidelines for a healthy work of inculturation.

Reference Books:

1. NIEBUHR R., The Nature and Destiny of Man. (New York: Scribner, 1964)

2. WOLFF H.W., Anthropology of the Old Testament. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981)

Note:

Not offered this year.