Theology
Christ and the Revolution of God
What was the message of Jesus and why did it anger people to the point of wanting to kill him?
Today, bookstores are filled with ideas of how Jesus’ teachings can help us become well-off, well-liked, or both. Fewer are talking about Jesus’ teachings as counter-cultural and even revolutionary. Yet theologians increasingly are recognizing, or remembering, an unpopular conclusion: the Gospel presents a radical and challenging vision of the world that often contradicts values which society holds dear.
Jesus’ vision of the world is revealed in his proclamation of “the kingdom of God.” Thus when Jesus announces “the kingdom of God is at hand,” we should consider what specifically he means. What does God’s kingdom look like? What are the politics of that kingdom? What kind of regime is it? Is it compatible with contemporary regimes?
All of these questions are just the tip of the iceberg we will encounter. If you want easy answers, stay away. But, if you want to study and learn with Notre Dame’s eminent scholars of Scripture and Catholic tradition, then join us. We will not only delve into research into the historical and spiritual meanings of Jesus’ teaching; we also will see how the Church has interpreted those meanings over the centuries. In doing so, we will encounter the theological legacies of figures such as St. Benedict, St. Augustine, Sts. Clare and Francis, St. Ignatius, St. Therese of Lisieux, and Dorothy Day, just to name a few.
The world we will enter is exciting and profound. It is a world of inquiry begun in response to Christ himself, who asked his disciples – and asks us – the revolutionary question: “Who do you say that I am?”
Academic Directors
Michael Griffin received his Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame in 2004. His focus areas included the relationship between the Church and the world, Catholic social teaching, and dialogue between Christians and Jews. In addition to directing the Notre Dame Summer Experience in Theology, he also teaches at Holy Cross College in South Bend. He also coordinates the educational efforts of the Catholic Peace Fellowship, a national organization dedicated to the implementation of the Church’s teachings on war, peace, and conscience. Mike has been published in several articles on this and other topics in national Catholic journals, including articles in the Jesuit publication, America Magazine, and Catholic Digest.
Mike also did his undergraduate work at Notre Dame, graduating in 1993. From there he went to Washington, DC, for a year internship with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. From 1994 to 1998, he taught religious studies at Bishop McNamara High School just outside of Washington, D.C. At McNamara, he also coached the junior varsity baseball team. Over two years, their record was 3-35, so he decided to stick to the classroom. He hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and maintains an allegiance to the Cardinals, both in the Church and on the ball diamond.
Academic Co-Director
Matthew Potts hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan, though the last dozen years have carried far from the lovely shorelines of his home state. Matt attended Notre Dame as a member of its Arts and Letters Honors Program while an undergraduate, receiving a degree in English in 1999. Upon graduation, Matt entered military service as the Main Propulsion Officer onboard the forward deployed guided missile cruiser, USS Vincennes, in Yokosuka, Japan. Finding himself more a lover than a fighter, Matt returned to Notre Dame to work as an admissions officer for three years while rekindling a juvenile love for theology. Matt fell hard and fast for theology in those latter years at Notre Dame, and after flirting briefly with a Ph.D. in English, Matt answered a call to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church and for the last three years has studied theology at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
At Harvard, Matt has specialized in the intersection of ethics, theology, literature, and philosophy. He also helped establish a non-profit named The Touching Tiny Lives Foundation which supports anti-AIDS work in southern Africa, and has worked as a hospital chaplain in Michigan. He will graduate in June, having successfully defended a masters thesis which investigates the nature and possibility for forgiveness in theology and literature. He will be ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church June 9 and will commence a Ph.D. in religious studies at Harvard in the fall, before being ordained priest and assuming curacy of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts later this year.
Matt loves cooking and philosophy, short stories and mysticism, Tigers baseball and Irish football, and big, slobbery German dogs. He retains an odd fascination with woodchucks, and resents Mike Griffin’s Cardinals for stealing the 2006 World Series from him and his beloved Detroit side.
University of Notre Dame