Introduction

Welcome to ACU National. We look forward to working with you as you undertake the Graduate Certificate in Catholic Studies. The course has been specifically designed in order to allow you to develop your knowledge and skills in the field of study that is broadly labelled ‘theology’ and, in the process, met the necessary requirement for accreditation to teach Religious Education in a Roman Catholic School in Victoria.

The following web based activity is a stepping-stone into the course. It provides you with the opportunity to explore four questions that lie at the core of the whole course:

• what is religion?;
• what is theology?;
• what is Scripture?;
• how should we read Scripture?

No doubt some of you will have already encountered these questions before, maybe in your own experiences and/or in a school community context. We strongly encourage you to see the activity as an opportunity both to gather together what you have already learnt and reflected upon regarding these questions and as an opportunity to consider anew how we might address these questions.

There are a few practical tips regarding the activity.

1. The whole activity has been designed so that it takes no more than 2 hours to complete. However, you are encouraged to complete it at your own pace and in a manner that you prefer. Hence, you can divide it into 4 separate parts, looking at one question at a time, or into two parts, dealing with question 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4, or all 4 questions at once.
2. Whatever way you choose, it is important to note that the activity has been designed so that it is undertaken in sequence, commencing with what is religion?, then what is theology?, followed by what is Scripture? and finishing with how should we read Scripture?
3. You will see that there are links to various web-pages throughout the activity. Please take the time to look at each one of these, as directed. You will note that most of the links will offer much more information than is specifically discussed in this activity. For those who have ‘spare time’ you might like to look at some of that material at a later stage. Certainly, each of the web links used in this activity will be helpful as you go on to undertake the four units in the course.
4. With each question there are several occasions where you are asked to provide responses/input. Please follow the links to the relevant page and type in your comments. Please bring a print out of those comments to our first face-to-face session of the first two units in the course. This is very important. We will be using the comments you make as a way of commencing our discussion in the first two units, Introducing the Scriptures (specifically questions 3 and 4) and Introducing Theology (specifically questions 1 and 2).

So, without further delay, let the journey begin!