Undergraduate Divinity 2025-2026

What would the Perfect World look like? How is to be achieved? The history of religion, philosophy, and science shows us an interesting mix of answers to these questions that give witness to particular visions of the future. We will investigate different pictures of a perfect world as a way of understanding the many contrasts, controversies, and conjunctions that have developed historically and remain as resources for us to think about the perfect world today.

This course contains a survey of the biblical literature of the Hebrew Bible and of the critical methods involved in its study. The course surveys the content, theology, and history of formation of key books within the Hebrew Bible. It also presents and critically evaluates source-critical, redaction-critical, form-critical, and canonical approaches to the biblical texts.

The course will introduce you to the first five centuries of Christian life and belief. It traces the rise of Christianity from its origins as a Jewish sect to a position of cultural and religious dominance in the Roman Empire. It also looks at the development of central themes in early Christian theology and spirituality. The course consists of a series of lectures on key topics, and tutorial seminars on researching and presenting your work, and on various early Christian texts. The course also requires your own reading and research.

This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology around inclusion. How has the Christian tradition understood questions of disability, suffering and difference in what it means to be human? Can insights from historical theology offer perspectives on contemporary practice? We will explore these questions through a survey of the historical tradition reflecting on attitudes to those who might have been deemed disabled. These historical works can provide a dialogue with contemporary questions as we think about inclusion in the church and society.

This course will explore the language of the ancient Greeks with the view to connecting the Classics. This course will provide an overview of classical Greek and look to draw upon (adapted) texts, for example, of Plato, Euripides, Xenophon, Herodotus and fragments. This course will not only delve into ancient Greek language and grammar, but also the culture of the ancient Greek world.

This course is an introduction to classical biblical Hebrew without presupposing any prior knowledge. It involves the study of grammar and syntax and the translation of simple Hebrew prose texts. 

This course will look at magic in the ancient Greek, Roman and Ancient Near Eastern World. The course will explore the concept of magic and key themes associated with magical rituals and practitioners. 

This course is the second part of an introduction to classical biblical Hebrew. It involves the study of grammar and syntax and the translation of simple Hebrew prose texts. Only students who have taken DR1042 or equivalent are eligible to take this course. 

This course will build on the foundations laid in Ancient Greek Language 1, introducing further study of ancient Greek language, grammar, and culture of the ancient Greek World.

What do Christians believe? Why do they believe it? Can it (despite everything!) possibly be true? And if so, what difference does it make? Taking an 'insider's view' of Christian belief, this course asks what it means to think and to speak Christianly--about God, Jesus, creation, religion, human community and responsibility, death, life and other little things.

The New Testament is a small library of 27 texts, which have had a unique impact on Western civilization. This course explores the authors, situations, audiences, and themes of the texts of the New Testament; the diverse voices and genres across the New Testament; the relation of early Christian literature to its Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts; and an overview of some major critical debates and approaches relevant to New Testament Studies. This course is recommended preparation for the following Level 3/4 courses: The Practice of Biblical Interpretation; God & Salvation in the Gospels and Acts; and God & Salvation in the Letters of Paul.

This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology around inclusion. How has the Christian tradition understood questions of disability, suffering and difference in what it means to be human? Can insights from historical theology offer perspectives on contemporary practice? We will explore these questions through a survey of the historical tradition reflecting on attitudes to those who might have been deemed disadvantaged. These historical works can provide a dialogue with contemporary questions as we think about inclusion in the church and society.

The course will introduce you to the first five centuries of Christian life and belief. It traces the rise of Christianity from its origins as a Jewish sect to a position of cultural and religious dominance in the Roman Empire. It also looks at the development of central themes in early Christian theology and spirituality. The course consists of a series of lectures on key topics, and tutorial seminars on researching and presenting your work, and on various early Christian texts. The course also requires your own reading and research.

What would the Perfect World look like? How is to be achieved? The history of religion, philosophy, and science shows us an interesting mix of answers to these questions that give witness to particular visions of the future. We will investigate different pictures of a perfect world as a way of understanding the many contrasts, controversies, and conjunctions that have developed historically and remain as resources for us to think about the perfect world today.

This course contains a survey of the biblical literature of the Hebrew Bible and of the critical methods involved in its study. The course surveys the content, theology, and history of formation of key books within the Hebrew Bible. It also presents and critically evaluates source-critical, redaction-critical, form-critical, and canonical approaches to the biblical texts.

What do Christians believe? Why do they believe it? Can it (despite everything!) possibly be true? And if so, what difference does it make? Taking an 'insider's view' of Christian belief, this course asks what it means to think and to speak Christianly about God, Jesus, creation, religion, human community and responsibility, death, life and other little things.

The New Testament is a small library of 27 texts, which have had a unique impact on Western civilization. This course explores the authors, situations, audiences, and themes of the texts of the New Testament; the diverse voices and genres across the New Testament; the relation of early Christian literature to its Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts; and an overview of some major critical debates and approaches relevant to New Testament Studies. This course is recommended preparation for the following Level 3/4 courses: The Practice of Biblical Interpretation; God & Salvation in the Gospels and Acts; and God & Salvation in the Letters of Paul.

This course will look at magic in the ancient Greek, Roman and Ancient Near Eastern World. The course will explore the concept of magic and key themes associated with magical rituals and practitioners. 

The European Reformation was a time of immense ecclesiastical, social, intellectual and political transformation that changed the religious and cultural landscape of the West forever. By way of regular seminars, this course draws students into detailed exploration of critical events, developments, ideas and debates of this tumultuous period in history to consider the nature of the transformations which it bequeathed to subsequent centuries up to and including our own.

This course will explore the role of animals and monsters in the Ancient Near East, ancient Greek, Roman Worlds.

 

In this course students will take up the problem of the origins of evil in light of the science of human origins and evaluate attempts at a solution in light of the challenges posed by both theology and science.

This course will explore the ancient Greek, Roman and Near attitudes towards creation, cosmology and world view.

In this course we will be encountering the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth. Born in 1886, Barth was a pastor and an academic who lived through some of the most important events of the twentieth century: the First World War, the rise of Socialism, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the start of the Cold War. At each point, he was no merely passive observer: he was opposed in his first parish for supporting socialism; he was expelled from Nazi Germany for opposing Hitler; and he was mistrusted by the West for taken a neutral position in the Cold War. In our course, we will focus on the revolutionary theology that underpinned the views of this outspoken activist. Week by week, we will be exploring how across a whole series of doctrines – including revelation, creation, Christology, and ecclesiology – Barth offered revised and visionary accounts of traditional positions. This will allow us to understand how he both charted new theological terrain and caused great theological controversy. And it will help us appreciate how he changed forever the theological landscape.

The four canonical gospels and the book of Acts are generally recognized to be our most reliable sources for historical information about Jesus and the movement that he began. Yet, they are clearly also works shaped by the beliefs of their writers or editors and the needs of the communities for which they were composed. Reading such works requires us to reflect upon the character and significance of their theology and on how this is to be related to the historical dimension of the literature, including to the figure of the historical Jesus. This course will engage in detail with the range of approaches that are taken to the historical and theological interpretation of the gospels and Acts and particularly with the ways by which beliefs about the nature of God and salvation are transformed by ‘the Christ event’.      

The European Reformation was a time of immense ecclesiastical, social, intellectual and political transformation that changed the religious and cultural landscape of the West forever. By way of regular seminars, this course draws students into detailed exploration of critical events, developments, ideas and debates of this tumultuous period in history to consider the nature of the transformations which it bequeathed to subsequent centuries up to and including our own.

 

This course will explore the role of animals and monsters in the Ancient Near East, ancient Greek, Roman Worlds.

In this course students will take up the problem of the origins of evil in light of the science of human origins and evaluate attempts at a solution in light of the challenges posed by both theology and science.

This course will explore the ancient Greek, Roman and Near attitudes towards creation, cosmology and world view.

In this course we will be encountering the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth. Born in 1886, Barth was a pastor and an academic who lived through some of the most important events of the twentieth century: the First World War, the rise of Socialism, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the start of the Cold War. At each point, he was no merely passive observer: he was opposed in his first parish for supporting socialism; he was expelled from Nazi Germany for opposing Hitler; and he was mistrusted by the West for taken a neutral position in the Cold War. In our course, we will focus on the revolutionary theology that underpinned the views of this outspoken activist. Week by week, we will be exploring how across a whole series of doctrines – including revelation, creation, Christology, and ecclesiology – Barth offered revised and visionary accounts of traditional positions. This will allow us to understand how he both charted new theological terrain and caused great theological controversy. And it will help us appreciate how he changed forever the theological landscape.

The four canonical gospels and the book of Acts are generally recognized to be our most reliable sources for historical information about Jesus and the movement that he began. Yet, they are clearly also works shaped by the beliefs of their writers or editors and the needs of the communities for which they were composed. Reading such works requires us to reflect upon the character and significance of their theology and on how this is to be related to the historical dimension of the literature, including to the figure of the historical Jesus. This course will engage in detail with the range of approaches that are taken to the historical and theological interpretation of the gospels and Acts and particularly with the ways by which beliefs about the nature of God and salvation are transformed by ‘the Christ event’.      

This course involves the writing of a dissertation in one of the sub-disciplines in Divinity and Religious Studies. Independent Research work is done under the supervision of a member of staff. The dissertation is an extended essay, of no more than 10,000 words inclusive of references. Please note the 10,000 words does not include the bibliography