Term 4 will focus on the Reformation. The Reformation was the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Its two important leaders were Martin Luther and John Calvin. Having far-reaching political, economic, and social effects, the Reformation became the basis for the founding of Protestantism, one of the three major branches of Christianity.
These slides are for people who attended the meeting. They are just an aide to discussion. They will be of little use if you did not attend.
SCHEDULE FOR TERM 4
Sunday 11th October
We finished up last term by looking at Aquinas’ view of Natural Law. We were also going to look at Francisco Suarez’s version of Natural Law, but we ran out of time. So, we will begin term 4 with Suarez’s version. His work is important because it served as a crucial transitional "hinge" connecting medieval scholasticism to early modern philosophy. Suarez was one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement. The School of Salamanca was a 16th- and 17th-century Spanish intellectual movement based at the University of Salamanca that revolutionized early modern thinking in economics, international law, and human rights. See link below for a short recap of Aquinas' view of Natural Law
Sunday 18th October
This week we will look at how Medieval Islamic Scholarship and the Renaissance could be seen as requirements for the Protestant Reformation. This perspective aligns with many modern historians who view the Reformation not as an isolated theological event, but as the culmination of centuries of intellectual, cultural, and technological shifts across the Mediterranean world.
Sunday 25th October
This week we will be looking at Martin Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide)
Sunday 1st November
Was the selling of indulgences just a corrupt fundraising tool? Preachers like Johann Tetzel promised that paying money could release souls from purgatory. Luther argued this replaced true sorrow for sin with a cheap financial transaction. How might Tetzel and Luther view carbon credits today?
Sunday 8th November
The topic for this week is Calvin and Calvinism
Sunday 15th November
What might Luther and Calvin think about payday loans and credit cards today
Sunday 22nd November
What impact might Luther’s Ninety-five Theses have if they used the internet back then instead of the printing press?
Sunday 29th November
The English Reformation
Sunday 6th December
Modern political philosophy emerged with a shift toward secularism and practical power. A central issue at this time was the problem of political obligation. Philosophers tried to answer the following question: Why should a citizen obey the laws of a secular state when those laws may conflict with religious or moral conscience?
SCHEDULE FOR TERM 3
Term 3 will focus on Middle to Late Medieval Philosophy from about 1100s–1500s. This period was dominated by Scholasticism. Scholasticism was not about a set of beliefs. It was a medieval European educational and philosophical method. This scholastic method aimed to reconcile classical philosophy with Christian theology using rigorous deductive logic based on established, authoritative texts.
Sunday 19th July 2026 at 5pm: Aristotle and the scholastic method 1: Logic
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What did Anselm mean by the motto "Faith seeking understanding"?
This week will be a basic introduction to the Scholastic method. This method drew heavily on Aristotle's philosophy. Take a look at the following short videos.
Sunday 26th July 2026 at 5pm: Aristotle and the scholastic method 2: Disputation.
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: Why were disputations so important for the Scholastics?
Take a look at the following video to see an example of a disputation.
Sunday 2nd August 2026 at 5pm: "This is my body:" what happens in the Eucharist?
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What does transubstantiation mean?
Sunday 9th August 2026 at 5pm: What is a human being?
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: Are we souls inhabiting bodies, or embodied persons?
Sunday 16th August 2026 at 5pm: Education during the Middle Ages
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What was Education like, inside and outside of universities, during the Middle Ages?
Sunday 23rd August 2026 at 5pm:
No meeting this week because it is the MCC Church AGM
Sunday 30th August 2026 at 5pm:Who was Hildegard of Bingen?
QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What did Hildegard of Bingen mean by the term "viriditas"
Sunday 6th September 2026 at 5pm:
The topic for this week is "Natural Law from Thomas Aquinas to Francisco Suárez."
Sunday 13th September 2026 at 5pm:
No meeting this week because it is the MCC Church Camp weekend
In Term 2 the focus was a on Early Medieval Philosophy
Early medieval philosophy is the period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the late 12th century, characterised by the effort to reconcile Christian faith with classical Greek reasoning. During this era, philosophy was often considered the "handmaiden of theology," a tool used to better understand religious doctrines
Sunday 3rd May 2026 at 5pm: Introduction to Early Medieval Philosophy
Useful Links
Sunday 10th May 2026 at 5pm: Augustine I - Augustine's Confessions - Influences, conversion, memory and time.
Useful Links
Sunday 17th May 2026: Augustine II — love, desire, and the search for wholeness
Sunday 24th May 2026 5pm: Boethius and the problem of universals.
Useful Links
Sunday 31st May: Desert Fathers and Mothers (using Rowan Williams, Silence and Honey Cakes)
Sunday 7th June: Bede — scripture, history, and the Christian imagination
Sunday 14th June: The Nature of God and the problem of evil
Sunday 21st June 2026: The problem of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom
QUESTION: Are we souls inhabiting bodies, or embodied persons?
