St. Joseph's College, University of AlbertaEdmontonCanada

Paul Flaman A person with a beard

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Professor of Christian Theology

 

Note: this webpage is being updated and under development

 

 

Email:  pflaman@ualberta.ca
Office: # 1-24, St. Joseph's College; Telephone: (780) 492-7681; Fax: (780) 492-8145
Mailing Address: St. Joseph's College, University of Alberta, 11325-89 Ave. NW, Edmonton, ABCANADA, T6G 2J5


Teaching

Courses I Teach Regularly

(For more information on the Chrtc courses below which I teach through St. Joseph’s College, the University of Alberta, below and other courses
offered by St. Joseph's College click here or send me an email.  Note: the actual courses contain more materials than are provided on this website but what is provided here should give you a good idea of what is covered in each of these courses.)


 

Chrtc 292

Spirituality For Today’s Christian

For more information including the Course Syllabus, Slides and Lecture Material see Chrtc 292

 

Chrtc 351

Sex, Love and Marriage:
Christian Perspectives

For more information including the Course Syllabus, Slides and Lecture Material see Chrtc 351

 

Chrtc 352

Bioethical Issues: Christian Perspectives

For more information including the Course Syllabus, Slides and Lecture Material see Chrtc 352

 

Chrtc 390

Neuroscience, the Person and Christian Theology

For more information including the Course Syllabus, Slides and Lecture Material see Chrtc 390

(This course was originally developed with Dr. Heather Looy and received a 2001 Templeton Science and Religion Course Award)

Application for New Course Award

 

MPS 120 and STP 461

Introduction to Moral Theology

I have not taught this course at St. Joseph’s College but at Newman Theological College in Edmonton. For more information including the Course Syllabus, Slides and Lecture Material see MPS 120 / STP 461

Current Research Interests

  • Human Sexuality, Christian Marriage, and Family Life 
  • Various Bioethical Issues 
  • Method in Christian Ethics / Moral Theology 
  • Persons in the Light of Neuroscience, Philosophy and Christian Theology 
  • Christian Spirituality 

To return to the beginning click here

Some of my Publications

1)  Books:

  • Spiritual Reflections, Prayers and Songs (2022) Online (the songs except for the last one are compositions of mine and include the lyrics, chords and youtube video links)
  • Sex, Love and Marriage in the Light of Following Jesus (Ottawa: Justin Press, 2015).  More Information
  • Homosexuality and Following Jesus. Toronto and New York: BPS Books, Oct. 2011. More Information
  • Genetic Engineering, Christian Values and Catholic Teaching. New York: Paulist Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8091-4089-6. This book can be ordered from any bookstore. More Information
  • Premarital Sex and Love: In the Light of Human Experience and Following Jesus (1999). For more information including the "Table of Contents" and book online click Online
  • Family Unity: A Christian Perspective. Muenster, SK: St. Peter's Press, 1st ed. 1985 and 2nd ed. 1986. Online

2)  Some Articles:

  • "Contemporary Family Life and Jesus", Salt: Journal of the Religious Studies and Moral Education Council; The Alberta Teacher's Association, Fall 1990, pp. 28-31.
  • "Abortion's Solution: God's Love in Human Hearts", Salt: journal of the Religious Studies and Moral Education Council; The Alberta Teacher's Assn., Spring/Summer 1990, pp.28-31.
  • "When Did I Begin? Another Critical Response to Norman Ford", The Linacre Quarterly, November 1991, pp. 39-55.
  • "Christian Sexual Ethics: A Comparison of Three Approaches by Contemporary Catholic Scholars", accepted in June 1992 for publication in a special edition of The Canadian Catholic Review.  This special edition, however was canceled due to funding problems and the regular edition of this journal did not publish articles this long. Article Online
  • "Organ and Tissue Transplants: Some Ethical Issues", in Topics in Bioethics For Science and Religion Teachers: Readings and Study Guide , ed. by Mervyn A. Lynch and Naomi Stinson (Edmonton: Edmonton Catholic Schools and St. Albert Catholic Schools, 1994), pp. 31-46.  Article Online
  • A number of book reviews in The Canadian Catholic Review.
  • "Is Living Together Really a Good Way to Test or Prepare for Marriage?" in Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Autumn 2000, 12-19.
  • "Wholesome Sex Education," in Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Autumn 2000, 25-35.
  • "Making Good Choices," in Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Spring 2001, 2-15.
  • "Moral Discernment and Culpability," Linacre Quarterly, February 2004, 34-46.
  • "Christian Anthropology With Respect to Sex, Marriage and Love," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Spring 2004, 3-22.
  • "Friendship and Dating," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholar, Spring 2005, pp. 21-26.
  • "Choosing a Marriage Partner," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholar, Summer 2005, pp. 3-12.
  • "Choosing a Marriage Partner," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Summer 2005, pp. 3-12.
  • "Chrysostom and Augustine on Sex, Marriage and Love," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Spring/Summer 2006, pp. 12-38.
  • "Aquinas on Sex, Marriage and Love," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Spring/Summer 2006, pp. 54-75.
  • "Masturbation: A Catholic Moral and Pastoral Approach," Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Winter-Spring 2008, pp. 59-73.
  • "The Human Soul: A Catholic Theological Response to Non-Reductive Physicalism." This paper was presented at the Metanexus Institute Conference in MadridSpain on 16 July 2008 and is published online: http://www.metanexus.net/conference2008/articles/Default.aspx?id=10463
  • "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: A Christian Response," Journal of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Canada), Winter-Spring 2009, pp. 7-47.
  • "Health Policy and Ethics: A Catholic Contribution in a Pluralistic Society," The Linacre Quarterly: Philosophy and Ethics of Medical Practice (Journal of the Catholic Medical Association), Aug. 2010, pp. 256-279.
  • "Neuroscience, Christian Theology and a Fuller Understanding of the Human Person," Religious Education, May/June 2011, pp. 252-56.
  • "Science and the Magisterium: Galileo and Some Subsequent Developments," Journal of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Canada), Winter-Spring 2011, pp. 5-41.
  • “Another Response to Todd Salzman and Michael Lawler’s The Sexual Person,” The Linacre Quarterly 80 (3), August 2013, pp. 239-63.
  • “Donation: Human Tissues and Body Parts” (4,000 words), Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics, ed. by Henk ten Have, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_153-2; Online:  http://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2/page/3#page-1
  • “Evolution, the Origin of Human Persons, and Original Sin: Physical Continuity with an Ontological Leap,” The Heythrop Journal, first published online 7 Nov. 2014, pp. 1-16, DOI: 10.1111/heyj.12237; then in print: May 2016, Vol. 57, Issue 3, pp. 568-583.
  • “John Paul II’s Moral and Pastoral Approach,” Fidelitas: Journal of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Canada), Summer/Fall 2014, pp. 107-46.

·         John Janez Miklavcic, Ph.D., and Paul Flaman, S.T.D., Personhood Status of the Human Zygote, Embryo, Foetus,The Linacre Quarterly, 84 (2) 2017, 130–144; also published online 31 May 2017, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00243639.2017.1299896;

·         “Mercy: A Comparison of the Approaches of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis,” Fidelitas: Journal of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Canada), Summer/Fall 2017, Vol. IX, no. 2, pp. 6-59.

·         “Pope Francis and the Dubia: How Can Clarity and Unity be Promoted,” Fidelitas: Journal of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (Canada), Winter-Spring 2018, pp. 11-58.

·         “Does a Person Continue to Exist After Death?” Fidelitas: Journal of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Summer-Fall 2018 and Winter-Spring 2019 Double Issue, pp. 11-52.

 

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Personal Information

Academic Degrees

  • B.A. (Honours in English), The University of SaskatchewanSaskatoonCanada (1974);
  • S.T.B., The Pontifical University of St. Thomas AquinasRome (1979);
  • S.T.L., The Pontifical University of St. Thomas AquinasRome (1981);
  • S.T.D. (Doctorate in Theology), The Pontifical University of St. Thomas AquinasRome (1985).

About Myself

I have been at St. Joseph's College since July 1983, teaching various courses in Christian Theology in the areas of Catechetics; Bioethics; Sex, Love and Marriage; Christian Spirituality; Neuroscience, the Person and Christian Theology; and special topics courses in Christian theology including at the Master’s and Ph.D. levels.  Over the last decade or so I have also been teaching occasional sessional courses at Newman Theological College, Edmonton, in the areas of Bioethics, Marriage and Moral Theology, as well as facilitating about one weekend a year for the Archdiocese of Edmonton’s Permanent Diaconate Program.

 

I grew up on a farm North of Regina, Saskatchewan, near Southey (named after the English poet Robert Southey). I have been married to a beautiful woman Maggie since 1983. We are blessed with three young adult children and a grandson. I enjoy time with my family and friends, playing golf, chess, ping pong, squash, a variety of good music, and so forth. Recently I have gotten back into playing guitar and keyboard and singing in a Church choir.

Some Links

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Last Updated: March 2022.