I've restarted this Catholic Thinkers course: Philosophy for Theologians. Catholic Thinkers used to be called International Catholic University -- it was founded by Ralph McInerny, a Catholic of prodigious energy, back in 1994. My husband and I used to watch some of their courses way back then, when they were things you ordered with an order form and watched on a VCR. From the site:
The aim of ICU is to make the Catholic intellectual, cultural and literary patrimony available to those unable to attend a traditional campus.
When I got online, I eventually discovered that they had a cool website and that even if you couldn't afford their digital courses, they often had free and extensive study guides in digital print. There is a self-study course guide on that site which suggests what courses to go through if you would want a systematic at-home graduate-level introduction to either philosophy or theology.
A couple of years ago, the organization made their materials free at Catholic Thinkers. They mention that they no longer offer degrees or credits but that Holy Apostles Seminary uses their materials extensively. The courses are by notable scholars -- for example, the one I'm going through is by Father Benedict Ashley, a Dominican of some fame. He died 10 years ago at the age of 98.
I'm not a theologian, except in the sense that everyone is one of some sort. Theologian-ish?
For the past couple of days, I've been reviewing the first few lectures, which I went through back in the spring. Life got in the way, as it does if you aren't actually taking formal courses! But then, I still have nightmares where I realize it's finals week and I haven't attended a single class! At least this way I'm not in danger of flunking anything.
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