Join us at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11 at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill with the presentations beginning at 7:30 p.m for the third talk in this Nov/Dec series, “Got Virtue? The Liberating & Mirthful Depth of Christian Belief.”

Is it possible to become a virtuous person? If so, how do you obtain the virtues in your life? Or to put in another way, how do you “get virtue”? It’s an old question, one that, for example, the philosopher Aristotle dealt with extensively in the Nicomachean Ethics around 350 B.C. He articulated and expanded upon an intuition that is held by many people, namely that virtue is acquired through habit, that is, through practicing the virtues until they form a virtuous character.  For many people such a path to a virtuous life, however, seems long, difficult, and perhaps even the cause for despair in light of the experience of moral failure. In this series we look at how Jesus Christ, who came into the world “full of Grace and Truth” (Jn. 1:14) in pursuit of you and your good, changes your assumptions about the pursuit of virtue. Join us to be “surprised by virtue” in light of the liberating Gospel of Grace.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

“The Theological Virtue of Hope”

Dr. Dominic Doyle, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Boston College

Got hope? If so, which kind? If not, where can it be found? This talk will unpack what Christians mean by the theological virtue of hope by exploring the following questions: Where does true hope come from and what is its goal? How is it similar to, yet different from, ordinary human hopes? What is the difference between hope, optimism, and presumption? How does it relate to the other theological virtues of faith and charity? Can positive psychology teach Christians anything about hope? There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion to tailor the talk to your interests and concerns.

Originally from London, Dominic studied theology at the University of Cambridge, then, after two years teaching literature and history at an international school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, came to Boston for graduate studies at Harvard University and Boston College. He now teaches theology at Boston College’s new School of Theology and Ministry. His research interests include theological anthropology, philosophical theology, and spirituality, with a particular interest in the medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas, and in the twentieth century Jesuit thinker, Karl Rahner. His first book, The Promise of Christian Humanism: Thomas Aquinas on Hope (Crossroad) has just come out and he plans to write a second book on Modern Heresies.