THCT309 - The Spirit in Word and Life

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THCT100 What Christians Believe ; THBS100 Introduction to the Bible

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit analyses Christian beliefs regarding the Trinitarian doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Students will engage significant topics such as the Holy Spirit's divine personhood as well as the Holy Spirit's role in the constitution of the church and effect in the lives and spirituality of Christians.

The unit examines the witness to the Holy Spirit in Scripture and the development of doctrinal formulations regarding the third person of the Trinity and the Spirit's role in the Christian life. The diversity of pneumatologies throughout history are explored, as well as the neglect in Western theology of the role of the Holy Spirit in the church. After an analysis of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the Holy Spirit, the unit explores and evaluates the revival of pneumatology in contemporary theology. The unit aims for students to explain theological perspectives and issues related to the Holy Spirit in different historical periods, and evaluate and apply a critical understanding of the Holy Spirit to the life of the church and diverse contexts.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Outline the fundamental elements of the scriptural witness regarding the Holy Spirit and evaluate their doctrinal development and neglect throughout church history (GA 5; GA8);

LO2 - Analyse the teaching of Vatican II on the Holy Spirit (GA4; GA5; GA8);

LO3 - Evaluate contemporary pneumatologies that emphasise the role of the Holy Spirit within the church, in other religions, in the “signs of the times” throughout history, and in creation (GA4; GA5; GA8).

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include:

• the early Christian biblical witness to the Holy Spirit;
• the doctrinal affirmations concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit;
• The role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation of Scripture and in Christian spirituality and praxis;
• the presence and neglect of the Holy Spirit in theology and church practice throughout history in Western Christianity;
• Vatican II’s emphases on the activity of the Spirit within and outside the Christian churches, including the importance of charisms in the church, the Spirit’s gift of sensus fidei to all the baptized and to the whole church, and the sensus fidelium in the teaching authority of the church;
• the contemporary revival of pneumatology regarding the Spirit within and outside the church, and within creation.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, online learning, video-conferencing, or supervision. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

The unit is normally offered in attendance mode or multi-mode. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities that support the achievement of the learning outcomes. Students are asked to critically reflect, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then apply what they have learned. Collaborative and peer learning is also emphasised.

THCT309 emphasises students as active, adult learners. Students are recognised as adult learners who engage best when what they are learning is relevant to them and gives them the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. In many ways, the student is the one who drives the learning forward, and their active participation in this unit is essential. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive experience, which helps students to develop critical thinking and reflection skills. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve an overall grade of Pass (50% or higher).

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.

Task 1 asks students to outline and reflect on the scriptural witness regarding the Holy Spirit and their doctrinal development, so to display achievement of Learning Outcome 1.

Task 2 asks students to critically analyse the documents of Vatican II, in order to demonstrate achievement of Learning Outcome 2.

Task 3 invites students to compare and evaluate contemporary theological approaches to the Holy Spirit in a specific context, in order for them to display achievement of Learning Outcome 3. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Congar, Yves. I Believe in the Holy Spirit. New York: Crossroad, 1997.

Dreyer, Elizabeth. Holy Power, Holy Presence: Rediscovering Medieval Metaphors for the Holy Spirit. New York: Paulist Press, 2007.

Edwards, Denis. Breath of Life: A Theology of the Creator Spirit. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2004.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996.

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti, ed. Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.

McIntyre, John. The Shape of Pneumatology: Studies in the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997.

O'Carroll, Michael. Veni Creator Spiritus: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Holy Spirit. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1990.

Rush, Ormond. The Eyes of Faith: The Sense of the Faithful and the Church's Reception of Revelation. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2009.

Shults, F. LeRon, and Andrea Hollingsworth. The Holy Spirit, Guides to theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008.

Thiselton, Anthony C. The Holy Spirit—in Biblical Teaching, through the Centuries, and Today. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2013.