Theology Episodes

Fr. Gregory Pine explains Nicene Trinitarian theology and Chalcedonian Christology through key councils and controversies, showing how Christ’s incarnation and union with humanity unveil the path to salvation and divine participation.​

Fr. Reginald Lynch’s lecture explores Augustine’s account of the Trinitarian image and its reception by Aquinas, illuminating how the development of grace, human anthropology, and sacramental life shape the Christian journey toward likeness with God. This lecture was given on June 17th, 2025, at Schloss St. Emmeram. Will you hand on the Faith to those who need it the most? Give by October 31st to film the next season of Aquinas 101! https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/oct25podc...

Fr. Dominic Legge’s lecture traces the theological development of the concept of the Word through Augustine, Aristotle, and Aquinas, illuminating the evolution of Trinitarian analogy and the nature of human understanding in medieval philosophy.

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy explores the relationship between grace and nature, demonstrating how grace perfects, transforms, and preserves the continuity of human nature without destroying its fundamental reality.

Fr. Anselm Ramelow examines how technology shapes and reflects our relationship with God, cautioning against both idolizing technology and seeking salvation through it, while affirming its proper role as an instrument serving man's chosen ends. This lecture was given on June 11th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. Secular campuses are being transformed, but the students need your help! Your gift before September fifteenth can launch a new TI chapter and change lives. Visit thomist...

Prof. Jordan Wales critically examines the relationship between artificial intelligence and human personhood through the lens of Christian theology, exploring how AI challenges traditional notions of intelligence, consciousness, and relationality. This lecture was given on June 9th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Jordan Wales is Associate Professor and John and Helen Kuczmar...

Fr. Andrew Hofer explores the origins of the Christian just war tradition through Augustine’s anti-Manichean writings, examining the theological debates around violence, authority, and moral law within early Christianity.

Prof. Michael Krom explores Thomas Aquinas’s view on the relationship between religion and politics, discussing the distinction between obligations to political authority and to God, as reflected in the biblical command to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's."

Fr. Isaac Morales and Prof. Michael Root explore how Thomas Aquinas’ biblical commentaries on Matthew and 1 Corinthians illuminate the beatific vision, resurrection, and the role of Scripture in shaping Christian life through literal and spiritual interpretation.

Prof. Christopher Malloy defends the Catholic understanding of Mary’s role in salvation history, refuting common objections and demonstrating how her divine maternity, perpetual virginity, and immaculate grace magnify rather than diminish the glory of Christ.

Prof. Christopher Mooney's lecture confronts the philosophical objection that heaven would be unbearably boring due to its infinite duration, arguing instead that Christian eternity is fulfilled in the beatific vision of God, which offers infinite and undiminished joy.

Prof. Bruce Marshall presents a deep Catholic theological exploration of predestination, examining its biblical foundations, historical development, doctrinal boundaries, and the enduring tension between God’s sovereign will, grace, and human freedom.

Prof. Christopher Kaczor explores the relationship between positive psychology and Catholic theology, uncovering how empirical psychological findings on happiness align with and deepen spiritual practices like gratitude, service, and forgiveness.

Dr. Nathaniel Peters explores and compares the theological views of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas on justification, focusing on grace, faith, merit, and the fundamental differences shaping Catholic and Lutheran perspectives.

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy provides an in-depth exploration of charity as the highest theological virtue in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, laying foundational principles for understanding just war, peace, and the ordered structure of the Christian moral life.

Dr. Erik Dempsey explores the positions of Martin Luther and Thomas Aquinas against Pelagianism, highlighting their shared rejection of justification by human effort and their nuanced theological differences on grace, merit, and free will.

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., delves into St. Augustine's understanding of love for "confused lovers," drawing from the Confessions to explore the transformative power of God's grace and the ordering of human loves toward divine union.

Prof. Gina Noia explores the Catholic Church's nuanced teachings on birth control, responsible parenthood, and the moral distinctions between natural family planning, direct contraception, and sterilization, rooted in theological and philosophical reasoning.

Dr. Nathaniel Peters and Prof. Jane Peters explore the vocation of marriage as a transformative friendship, highlighting how the goods of marriage—offspring, fidelity, and sacrament—are elevated by grace to foster virtue, mutual delight, and a living witness to Christ’s love.

Prof. Michael Dauphinais explores the realism of the biblical view of sex and marriage, analyzing cultural challenges, scriptural diagnoses, and the transformative power of radical trust in God’s plan for relationships. This lecture was given on February 10th, 2025, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speaker: Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., serves as the Fr. Matthew Lamb Professor ...

Sr. Elinor Gardner explores the Christian understanding of virtue, emphasizing the theological and cardinal virtues as foundational to human excellence and the restoration of the image of God in man and woman.

Prof. Bruce Marshall explores the complex theological and philosophical challenges of predestination, examining its biblical foundations, Catholic doctrinal teachings, and the relationship between divine will, human freedom, and universal salvation.

Fr. Gregory Pine explains the Catholic doctrine of predestination, distinguishing it from Calvinist interpretations by emphasizing God’s gratuitous initiative, human participation through grace, and the ultimate purpose of creation as sharing in divine life.

Prof. Paul Gondreau explores whether God could truly experience human emotions and suffering by examining Christ’s full humanity, the Church’s response to heresies like docetism and monophysitism, and the Aristotelian-Thomistic understanding of human nature and passions. This lecture was given on March 7th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speaker: Paul Gondreau is p...