Darren E. Dahl , PhD
Introduction to Philosophy (PHI 100)
Introduction to Christian Theology (THEO 115)
Introduction to the Literature of Greece and Rome (CLS 201)
Recent and Current Electives in Philosophy and Theology: ‘Philosophy and the Question of God’ (THEO/PHI 215); ‘Theology of Augustine’ (THEO 480); ‘Theology of Karl Barth’ (THEO 488); Past Independent Studies: ‘Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship’ & ‘The Question of Evil in the Novels of Dostoevsky’
Teaching Philosophy
Undergraduate Christian education is unique in its explicit commitment to transformation. We find this expressed well at the beginning of Hans-Georg Gadamer's "Truth and Method" where the first words come from the poet Rilke: "Catch only what you've thrown yourself, all is / mere skill and little gain; / but when you're suddenly the catcher of a ball / thrown by an eternal partner / with accurate and measured swing / towards you, to your center, in an arch / from the great bridgebuilding of God: / why catching then becomes a power: / not yours, a world's." Gadamer's great treatise brings to light the moment of summons and appropriation that is at the heart of transformative Christian education. In all genuine experiences of learning we are summoned to be open to the Other who animates a deep spiritual and intellectual tradition dedicated to the formation of selves in community. Such a summons requires, in turn, a moment of appropriation. This is the crucial - and exciting! - moment when the student takes up for herself the content of this summons and speaks it anew in her own voice.
Background
I am originally from southern Saskatchewan and have spent the better part of my adult life in Saskatoon, with a detour through southern Ontario for graduate studies. Before coming to Briercrest, I was an Adjunct Professor at St. Thomas More College and a Senior Fellow in the Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies Program at the University of Saskatchewan. If I were asked, I would say that my favourite past time is golf, my favourite fictional person is Hercule Poirot, and my favourite real person is my wife Kate, who is a published and award-winning author of short stories and an avid reviewer of books.
Education
Ph.D., McMaster University (2011)
M.A., University of Guelph (2001)
M.Div., Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon (1998)
B.A., History, University of Saskatchewan (1993)
Research
My research focuses on topics that arise at the intersection of Western philosophy and the patristic, medieval, and modern traditions of Christian theology. As much "philosophical theology" as "philosophy of religion", my work explores the creative space opened by the ancient and ongoing exchange between the followers of Plato and the followers of Christ. Within this great exchange, I work specifically in the tradition of 19th and 20th century European metaphysics, phenomenology, and theology.
Publications
Review - Channing L. Crisler and Robert L. Plummer (eds.), Always Reforming: Reflections on Martin Luther & Biblical Studies (Lexham Press, 2021) in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, forthcoming.
Review – Adam Graves, The Phenomenology of Revelation in Heidegger, Marion, and Ricoeur (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) in Philosophy in Review Vol. 42:1 (February 2022), 13-16.
Review - Martin Koci and Jason W. Alvis (eds.), Transforming the Theological Turn: Phenomenology with Emmanuel Falque (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) in Philosophy in Review 41:3 (August 2021), 201-203.
Review - Brian Gregor, Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics of Religion: Rebirth of the Capable Self (Lexington Books, 2019) in Philosophy in Review, vol. 40:3 (August 2020), 115-117.
Article - “The Origin in Traces: Diversity and Universality in Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology of Religion,” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion (2019) 86: 99-110.
Chapter - “Evil and Moral Failing in [Thomas Aquinas’] De Malo,” in ‘Disputed Questions on Evil’: A Critical Guide, with Carl N. Still, ed. Michael V. Dougherty (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016), pp. 146-163.
Article - “Augustine Contra Cicero: Evaluation, Affirmation, and the Freedom of the Will.” Consensus 32:1 (2007), 43-63.
Review - Jean-Luc Marion, The Crossing of the Visible, trans. James K.A. Smith (Stanford University Press, 2004), in Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de Langue Française, 14:1 (2004), 110-115.
Article - “Criticizing ‘Secular Criticism’: Reading Religion in Edward Said and Kathryn Tanner.” Studies in Religion 31: 3-4 (2002), 359-371.
Article - “Being Together: Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Human Being and Theological Ethics.” Consensus 23:2 (1997), 73-89.