Dr. Matthew Ramage

Dr. Matthew Ramage

Position Title: Professor
Department: Theology
Office: Ferrell Academic Center 312
Phone: 913.360.7565
Contact Dr. Matthew Ramage


Dr. Matthew Ramage is Professor of Theology at Benedictine College where he is co-director of its Center for Integral Ecology. His research and writing concentrates especially on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, the wedding of ancient and modern methods of biblical interpretation, the dialogue between faith and science, and stewardship of creation. In addition to his other scholarly and outreach endeavors, Dr. Ramage is author, co-author, or translator of over fifteen books, including Dark Passages of the Bible (CUA Press, 2013), Jesus, Interpreted (CUA Press, 2017), The Experiment of Faith (CUA Press, 2020), and Christ’s Church and World Religions (Sophia Institute Press, 2020). His latest book, From the Dust of the Earth: Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Theory of Evolution, was published by CUA Press in 2022. When he is not teaching or writing, Dr. Ramage enjoys exploring the great outdoors with his wife and seven children, tending his orchard, leading educational trips abroad, and aspiring to be a barbeque pitmaster.  For more on Dr. Ramage’s work, visit his website www.matthewramage.com.

Dr. Ramage’s full CV is available here.

Degrees

Ph.D., Systematic Theology (minor: Biblical Studies)

Ave Maria University, 2009

M.A., Theology and Christian Ministry

Franciscan University of Steubenville

B.A., Religious Studies (minor in Philosophy)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

B.Phil., Studies in Philosophy

Pontifical Lateran University

Areas of Specialization

Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI

Bible (Gospels, Pentateuch, Wisdom Literature, Theodicy)

Faith & Science

Theology of Creation & Integral Ecology

Theological Virtues

Theology of Religions

St. Thomas Aquinas

Eschatology

Classes

  • Integral Ecology
  • Honors Capstone: Biblical Protology
  • Senior Seminar: Theology of Creation
  • Senior Seminar: Reading Genesis 1-11 with Faith and Reason
  • Senior Seminar: Genesis 1-11 through the Ages
  • Senior Seminar: Amoris Laetitia & the Catholic Tradition
  • Senior Seminar: Apologetics of Benedict XVI
  • Senior Seminar: Theology of Scripture
  • Faith and Science—Honors
  • Creation and Evolution—Honors
  • Theology of the Environment
  • Eschatology—Honors
  • Historical Jesus and Christian Origins
  • Christianity & World Religions
  • Old Testament II: Wisdom Literature
  • New Testament I: Synoptic Gospels
  • Old Testament I: Pentateuch
  • Biblical Hebrew II
  • Biblical Hebrew I
  • Christian Moral Life
  • Introduction to Theology
  • Historical Jesus
  • Studies in Judaism
  • Spiritual Theology
  • Gospel of Matthew
  • Intermediate Latin
  • Elementary Latin
  • Divine Pedagogy
  • Papacy & the New Evangelization
  • Great Books: Eastern World
  • Freshman Seminar

Monographs

From the Dust of the Earth: Benedict XVI, the Bible, and the Science of Human Origins. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2022.

The Experiment of Faith: Pope Benedict XVI on Living the Theological Virtues in a Secular Age. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2020.

Christ's Church, and World Religions.  Course E of the Spirit of Truth high school textbook series.  Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2020. 

Jesus, Interpreted: Benedict XVI, Bart Ehrman, and the Historical Truth of the GospelsWashington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2017.

Dark Passages of the Bible: Engaging Scripture with Benedict XVI and Thomas Aquinas. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2013.

Towards a Theology of Scripture: Joseph Ratzinger’s “Method C” Hermeneutic and Sacra Doctrina on the Afterlife in the Old Testament (Ph.D. diss.). Ann Arbor, MI: UMI, 2009.

Contributing author

A Larger Idea of Divine Skill: Newman and Ratzinger on the Fittingness and Epistemic Status of Evolutionary Creation.” Forthcoming in a volume from Catholic University of America Press on the thought of St. John Henry Newman and Joseph Ratzinger.

Cambridge Companion to Joseph Ratzinger. Forthcoming from Cambridge University Press.

Chapter: “Scripture and Tradition.”

Joseph Ratzinger Lexicon. Forthcoming international collaboration from Ignatius Press.

Entry: “The Gospels in the Works of Joseph Ratzinger”  

Hope and Death: Christian Responses. Forthcoming from Emmaus Academic, 2022.

Chapter: “Evolution and Eschatology: Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega of All Creation in the Thought of Joseph Ratzinger.”

The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era. Word on Fire Institute, 2022.

Chapter: “Dark Passages of the Bible”

Thomas Aquinas and the Crisis of Christology.  Forthcoming from Sapientia Press.

Chapter: “Putting the Last Adam First: Aquinas, Ratzinger, and Human Origins in Light of Kenotic Christology”

Thomas Aquinas the Biblical Theologian.  Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Academic (forthcoming).

Chapter: “Unless You Believe, You Will Not Understand: Biblical Faith according to Thomas Aquinas and Benedict XVI”

 Ressourcement after Vatican II: Essays in Honor of Joseph Fessio, S.J. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2019.

Chapter: “The Theological Mind and Method of Pope Benedict XVI as Revealed in His Catechetical Instructions”

The Reception of Vatican II. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Chapter: “Reception of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism”

Wisdom and the Renewal of Catholic Theology: Essays in Honor of Matthew L. Lamb.  Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016.

Chapter: “Biblical Inspiration in the Theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Father Matthew Lamb.”

Reading Sacred Scripture with Thomas Aquinas: Hermeneutical Tools and New Perspectives. Textes et Études du Moyen Âge Series. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2015.

Chapter: “In the Beginning: Aquinas, Benedict XVI, and the Book of Genesis.” 

Translator or Co-translator

Collected essays of Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P.  Forthcoming from an academic publisher.

Christ and Spirituality in St. Thomas Aquinas, Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2011.

The Eucharist Project.  An international team project aimed at making available all the eucharistic passages found in the Church Fathers.   

Other Teaching, Writing, Speaking, and Media Appearances

A full summary of Dr. Ramage’s teaching, writing, speaking along with multimedia links can be found on his personal website www.matthewramage.com.

Location