Module: Christology

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Christology
Module Code	RET1017 (ITS: TP121)
Faculty	Theology, Philosophy & Music	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	7.5

Description

In this module, we will examine the specific Christian revelation of the Incarnate Christ and look at some of the many meanings, interpretations, models, and types of Christologies, from high to low Christologies, feminist-informed Christologies, post-Holocaust Christology, [so-called] classic Christologies, and Christologies from liberationist, political, postcolonial, and interreligious (non-Christian) perspectives. Some key questions of Christology include: 1. What is the relationship between Christology and revelation? 2. How should Christian Trinitarian belief inform one’s Christology? 3. How do the early Church Christological controversies inform Christology today? 4. Must Christology be linked to an exclusive soteriology? 5. How can one support a vibrant Christological belief and be open to what is commonly referred to as religious pluralism? 6. Why and how should one’s Christologies be informed by multiple perspectives and lenses? 7. How does a deeper awareness of first century Jewish beliefs at the time of Jesus influence one’s Christology? 8. How can and should Christology be informed and reformed after the Holocaust? 9. Why learn from non-Christian views of Jesus? What are the benefits toward one’s faith?

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify and evaluate the sources of information for a Christian understanding of Jesus the Christ.
2. Develop an understanding of the Jewish background of Jesus of Nazareth and subsequent related issues in Jewish-Christian relations.
3. Outline the distinctive features and historical context of Jesus’ ministry, mission, death and resurrection.
4. Demonstrate an ability to engage in and extrapolate from a close reading of key texts in the area of Christology.
5. Evaluate and engage with the presentation and critique of Jesus from non-Christian perspectives.
6. Analyze contextual Christologies from Asian, Latin American, and African contexts through a range of various mediums (theology, art, literature, and film).
7. Assess the need to develop a post-Auschwitz Christology.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	20	No Description
Assignment Completion	25	No Description
Directed learning	143	No Description
Total Workload: 188

Section Breakdown
CRN	20994	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale		Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category		Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Miriam Jane De Cock	Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Portfolio	Write 4 journal entries of roughly 800 words each on any 4 chapters of Christology: A Global Introduction. Note you can include/substitute major relevant readings also highlighted in the course outline and available on Loop, like Peter Admirand, "Landmines and Vegetables:The Hope and Perils of Recent Jewish Critiques of Christianity”	100%	Week 27

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

The Ministry of Jesus
Studies pluralist Gospel portraits of Jesus; the Jewish background of Jesus; the Reign of God as the background to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth; and atonement theories.

The Christ of Faith
Examines the development of the First Christologies and early Conciliar definitions.

Christology, Politics, and Liberation
Employs liberation and postcolonial approaches to Christology

Feminist-informed Christology
Turns to Feminist-informed and Cultural Studies analysis of gender and Christology

Jesus and Islam
Examines the meaning and status of Jesus in the Qur'an

Jesus, Judaism, and Post-Holocaust Christology
Looks at the impact of the Shoah on Christology

Jesus in Art, Film, and Literature
Evaluates and examines the depiction of Jesus in various mediums of art and literature from around the world and the role of localized contexts and histories on Christology.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen: 2016, Christology: A Global Introduction, 2nd (or 1st!), Baker, 978080103088
Elizabeth Johnson: 2011, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, Bloomsbury, 978144117462
Gerald O'Collins: 2009, Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus, 2nd, Oxford, 978019955787
Ched Myers: 2011, Binding the Strong Man, Orbis, 1570757976
Francesca Aran Murphy: 2018, The Oxford Handbook of Christology, PB, Oxford, 978-019880064
Gregory Barker: 2005, Jesus in the World’s Faiths: Leading Thinkers from Five Religions Reflect on His Meaning, Orbis, 978-157075573
Peter Phan: 2017, The Joy of Religious Pluralism: A Personal Journey, Orbis, 978-162698225
Roger Haight: 2007, The Future of Christology, Bloomsbury, 978-082642927
Amy-Jill Levine: 0, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi, HarperOne, 978-006156103
Tarif Khalidi: 2003, The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, Harvard University Press,
Jacob Neusner: 2007, A Rabbi Talks With Jesus. Revised Edition, McGill-Queen’s University Press,
Mustafa Akyol: 2017, The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims, St Martin's,
Thich Nhat Hanh: 2007, Living Buddha, Living Christ: 20th Anniversary Edition, Riverhead, 978-159448239

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None

CA is 100% but it wasn't letting me click this!