This textbook is written to guide you through the process of critically reflecting upon what you believe and why you believe it, which is among the chief tasks of the discipline of Theology. The book is written primarily to an audience of American Undergraduate students taking a traditional 15-week Theology course. However, due to the perennial nature of questions of faith and meaning, the text should also be of value to those who do not fit into this category. The book does not assume that readers have any particular religious faith or prior experience with Theology. The text converses primarily with Christian and Catholic theological perspectives, but the book does not assume that readers personally identify as part of either of these traditions.
Luke Davis Townsend is an Assistant Professor of Theology and the Director of the Theology and Religious Education Programs at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Dr. Townsend holds a B.S. from Appalachian State University, an M.Div. from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University. His doctoral dissertation was entitled, In genere signi: The Development of Thomas Aquinas's Doctrine of Sacramental Signification. Dr. Townsend’s other publications include Commentary on the Sentences: Sacraments (co-produced with J.A. Wayne Hellmann and Timothy R. LeCroy) from Franciscan Institute Publications, “Deification in Aquinas: A Supplementum to The Ground of Union” in the Journal of Theological Studies by Oxford University Press, as well as numerous popular articles and invited book reviews.
Chapter 1 | What is Theology?
Chapter 2 | What is Faith?
Chapter 3 | What is a Worldview?
Chapter 4 | How Do You Answer Theological Questions?
Chapter 5 | What is Ultimate?
Chapter 6 | Does God Exist?
Chapter 7 | Why Is There Evil?
Chapter 8 | What is the World and How Did It Get Here?
Chapter 9 | What Are Human Beings?
Chapter 10 | How Do We Know What To Do and How Do We Act Rightly?
Chapter 11 | Who Is Jesus and How Does He Help Us?
Chapter 12 | How Do We Fix the Problems with Ourselves and Our World?
Chapter 13 | How Does Your Worldview Relate to Others?
Chapter 14 | Is This Life All There Is?