Systematic/Doctrinal Theology Commons^™

"Jesus Thrown Everything Off Balance": Grace And Redemption In Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", Abbie C. Harris

Papers & Publications: Interdisciplinary Journal of Undergraduate Research

By creating flawed, hypocritical, and sometimes mad characters, Flannery O’Connor demonstrates the religious decay of the South in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” While they appear to be quite different on the surface, Grandma and The Misfit are both the same at the core: sinners in need of Christ’s redemption. The Misfit is blatantly sinful and enraged at the concept of God’s grace, and Grandma masks her sinfulness with respectability and chooses to treat God as something that she can accept or ignore depending on her situation, a common practice of “good ...

A Critical Examination Of Key Claims Karl Rahner Makes About His Thesis Of The Anonymous Christian, Brantly C. Millegan

School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects

An anonymous Christian, according to Karl Rahner, is someone who does not profess the Christian faith, perhaps even denying the existence of God, and yet is nonetheless justified by the grace of Christ. Rahner argues that there is no room for doubt among Catholic theologians that anonymous Christians can exist, that they do exist, and that in fact the vast majority of people in the world (if not all people) are anonymous Christians. He cites the teachings of the Second Vatican Council in support of his claims, though he concedes that his thesis cannot be found in divine revelation. In ...

Creating In Our Own Image: Artificial Intelligence And The Image Of God, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

There is remarkable convergence between twentieth-century interpretations of the image of God (imago Dei), what it means for human beings to be created in God's image, and approaches toward creating in our own image in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Both fields have viewed the intersection between God and humanity or humanity and computers in terms of either (1) a property or set of properties such as intelligence, (2) the functions we engage in or are capable of, or (3) the relationships we establish and maintain. Each of these three approaches reflects a different understanding of what stands ...

Irenaeus Of Lyons: A Defense Of Recapitulation, Mathew Thomas Hollen

Seminary Masters Theses

Abstract This work sets out to explain the atonement theory of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus’ atonement theology is often described simply as “Christus Victor” but I argue that is simply a narrow sliver of the wider atonement theory of recapitulation. In this thesis I systematically try to expound what it is Irenaeus believed and why he believed it. In the first chapter I explain the problem at hand and a short biography of the bishop. In the second chapter I seek to summarize the Gnostic school of Valentinianism, which is the key opponent against Irenaeus writes in his best-known work ...

The Passible Potter And The Contingent Clay: A Theological Study Of Jeremiah 18:1–10, John C. Peckham

John C. Peckham

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Scripture And Tradition According To The Council Of Trent, Matthew L. Selby

School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects

On April 8, 1546, the Council of Trent in its Fourth Session on Scripture and Tradition decreed, “This truth and rule [of the Gospel] are contained in written books and [et] in unwritten traditions.” With this dogmatic statement, Trent affirmed that the Gospel (i.e. revelation) is contained in both Scripture and Tradition, in contradistinction to the Protestant claim that it is contained in Scripture alone (i.e.sola scriptura). Yet, the decree remained rather ambiguous on exactly how revelation is contained in both of them, begging the question of what the Council affirmed, if anything, about the nature of ...

Gustavo Gutierrez's Understanding Of The Kingdom Of God In The Light Of The Second Vatican Council, Victor Figueroa-Villarreal

Dissertations

The proclamation of the Kingdom of God has been reformulated in every age and interpreted accordingly with regard to time and place. Traditionally within Roman Catholicism the Kingdom of God was identified with the church. This view produced a triumphalist attitude within the Roman Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council brought a new attitude of openness toward the modern world, and with it the council opened the door for Roman Catholic liberation theologians to look for new ways to find what they regarded as the just solutions to the problems of Latin America.

The purpose of this research is to ...

Inculturation Of The Liturgy In Local Churches: Case Of The Diocese Of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Touchard Tignoua Goula

School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects

The main focus in the present study is on liturgical inculturation in local churches, with particular attention to the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. In fact, liturgies in local churches are profoundly marked by cultural traits and therefore, liturgical inculturation has been a constant aspect of Christianity from its very beginnings. Indeed, Christian liturgy has the capacity to adapt in every local church. The full understanding of this affirmation requires a deep search of the origin of Christian liturgy, its development throughout history, and an illustration in a specific context.

Hence, in the first section ...

The Evil Of Lying And Its Definition: Studies In Thomistic Realism, Andrew Jaspers

School of Divinity Master’s Theses and Projects

In times of social crisis, moral reasoning about lying becomes more urgent. This is because the desire for justification for routine lying is suddenly needed, as hostile governments force citizens to swear allegiance to propositions or practices that violate their consciences. To safeguard their profession, their religion, or even their lives, people seek to avoid the threatened penalties by compromising with the aggressor. Their desire is to maintain a good conscience and avoid harm while giving their conscience’s aggressor some indication of cooperation or acquiescence. Catholic moral theology, particularly in the Early Modern Period (1450-1700), offered reasoning about how ...

The Impact Of A Functional Understanding Of The Image Of God On Mission, Gary Hubbard

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to apply the work of biblical scholars regarding the functional image of God to the mission of the Church in order to argue for a comprehensive understanding of mission. By demonstrating continuity between God's creation purposes for humanity and his post-Fall work among his people, this study will seek to demonstrate that the Lord has always desired that his image bearers participate in the missio Dei. Furthermore, by explaining how Christ restores the imago Dei in the Church, this work will show that the mission of the Church is comprehensive, involving active participation ...