Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Philosophy Of Michael Polanyi: From The Discoveries Of Science To The Contemplation Of God, Vincent M. Smiles

Forum Lectures

Human uniqueness revolves around our knowing. All knowing is "tacit" (Michael Polanyi) and leads to "indwelling" of mind in reality, as of reality in mind. This is why we always "know more than we can tell," which corresponds with another old adage, "the whole is more than the sum of the parts." This presentation will try to show that the vast spectrum of knowing is continuous, running from discoveries of the inanimate world, through biology and the humanities and arts, and even to "the face of God."

“Thus Seyden Sadde Folk” : Chaucer’S Oxford Clerk On Theological Controversy In The 14th Century, Molly K. Kluever

Forum Lectures

Of all of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Clerk’s Tale is perhaps the most disturbing. The alarmingly submissive Griselda and her husband-cum-tormenter Walter have horrified and frustrated scholars with their irrational behavior for centuries. Although considered a teller of one of Chaucer’s “religious tales,” the Clerk’s seeming ambivalence about his tale’s moral has rendered most, if not all, theological readings unsatisfying and inconclusive. For this reason, the Clerk’s Tale has primarily been studied for the glimpse it provides into medieval gender politics. My research, however, attempts to situate the tale within its theological context by paying more attention to its …

Review Of Essential Catholic Social Thought, William J. Collinge

The Journal of Social Encounters

Bernard V. Brady titles his textbook Essential Catholic Social Thought to indicate that his focus extends beyond documents of the Church’s magisterium, usually designated “Catholic social teaching” (CST), but his emphasis is on those documents nonetheless. I will comment on this book from my perspective as a teacher for twenty years of a course called “Catholic Social Teaching.” My course is addressed to upper-level undergraduates in a Catholic university and specifically to those majoring in international studies (though it is open to others), but I hope these comments will be helpful to anyone who is considering Brady’s book for teaching …

Review Of The Practice Of Islam In America: An Introduction, Aisha Ghani

The Journal of Social Encounters

The demand, indeed urgency, within the American Academy for courses on Islam has perhaps never been greater than at current. Yet, the very conditions that create this urgency also produce anxieties for those fulfilling this pedagogical role. The challenge confronting many of us - knowing that our students will enter the classroom with ideas/questions about Islam stemming, in large part, from what they’ve encountered through popular media and the news – is how to carry out this work in a way that both acknowledges this abiding, even if delimiting, contemporary context without allowing our teaching to be subsumed by it. …

Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Disobedience And The Duty To Obey The Law: Where Do We Go From Here?, Walter J. Kendall

The Journal of Social Encounters

Not so long ago, several friends joined approximately 40,000 others in DC demanding action on climate change and opposing the Keystone pipeline. They left Illinois committed to breaking the law and getting arrested in front of the White House, as they put it, in the spirit of Dr. King. The law they broke when they got there was an anti-trespass type ordinance. They sat and waited to be ordered to move. They refused. They were arrested, fined and released the same day.

Being a lawyer, the son of a New York City police officer, and sometimes an activist I couldn't …

Africa Faith And Justice Network And The Damages Of Land Grabbing: The Case Of The Brewaniase Community, Ghana, Sr. Eucharia Madueke

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay discusses the procurement of farmland around the town of Brewaniase in the Volta Region of Ghana by the New York based agribusiness Herakles Farm (HF). The essay highlights some of the repercussions of land grabbing by foreign corporations that seek only profit and do not fulfill promises made to locals who lease their land for a better life. It provides information on the efforts of Africa Faith & Justice Network (AFJN), a faith-based Washington DC non-governmental organization, to enable the local communities to avert land grabs and its damages. The essay aims to help African communities and individuals …

Interfaith Dialogue And Comparative Theology: A Theoretical Approach To A Practical Dilemma, Michael Atkinson

The Journal of Social Encounters

Interfaith dialogue is based on the premise that there is more that unites than divides us. Epistemological humility, acceptance of religious plurality or the need for unity itself have all been presented as unifying pathways across disparate religious traditions. Despite such approaches, conceptual understandings of interfaith dialogue have not kept pace with practice. This theoretical paper argues that interfaith dialogical theory profits from a deep understanding of moral psychology and social learning theory. The former posits that a sense of ‘fairness’ and ‘universal care’ are aligned with religious acceptance. On the other hand, values of sanctity, loyalty and authority promote …

Cultivating Inclusive And Peaceful Communities: Multi-Faith Sources Of Inspiration, Mary Dana Hinton

The Journal of Social Encounters

Leaders, educators, clergy and laypeople engaged in the work of peacemaking must acknowledge the powerful role religion can play in the peacebuilding effort. However, we cannot limit our peacebuilding conversation to religious communities. Educational institutions also have a uniquely compelling role to play in the work of peacebuilding. This essay reviews why and how educational institutions must engage in this work; explores emerging best practices in this area; and concludes with a call to action.

Importantly, the essay highlights the importance, power and capacity of interfaith dialogue and education to support peacebuilding. Interfaith education and dialogue is not a call …

“The People Of Aram Shall Go Into Exile”: Practical And Theological Dilemmas Of Middle Eastern Churches Since The Beginning Of The Syrian War, Wilbert Van Saane

The Journal of Social Encounters

This paper discusses the way in which Christian churches in the Middle East have responded to the Syrian War. It signals some practical and theological dilemmas that these churches have faced since the conflict in Syria broke out. The description of these dilemmas is primarily based on interviews with a representative sample of church leaders. Analysis of these dilemmas sheds light on the way the churches of the Middle East have contributed to peaceful resolutions of the Syrian conflict, or failed to do so. Before going into the practical and theological dilemmas of the churches, the article provides a short …

The Conflicts That Pave The Way For Peace: Lebanese Poet And Philosopher Mikhail Naimy, Suha Naimy

The Journal of Social Encounters

Mikhail Naimy is a twentieth century Lebanese author and philosopher whose writings verge towards the mystical and the metaphysical. Naimy’s philosophy is a synthesis of his own life conflicts and his built premises and drawn conclusions that trivialize materialism, following the steps of Christ. Among Naimy’s first conflicts was leaving of his hometown Baskinta and its highland Shakhroub for Nazareth to continue his education, and the estrangement he felt that was alleviated by a touch of God. Some of the other conflicts in Naimy’s life were the love affairs that yielded to the understanding that true love should be beyond …

Foundations For Muslim-Christian Dialogue And Peacemaking: Ideas About God, Faith, And Prayer, Jon Armajani

The Journal of Social Encounters

In this essay, I discuss God, faith, and sacred texts (including the Bible, Quran, and Hadith), and some ways that they constitute foundations for peacemaking between Christians and Muslims. The essay presents my personal, ethnic, and religious background in order to contextualize the ideas which the essay analyzes, and then describes three Christian theological approaches to non-Christian religions. Those approaches are particularist (or exclusivist), inclusivist, and pluralist. The essay discusses the historical background and significance of Vatican II, which took place between 1962 and 1965, and Nostra Aetate, published in 1965. The essay then analyzes three theological principles which undergird …

Introduction To Essays From The Conference On Religion, Politics, And Peacemaking, Jon Armajani, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

The following essays by Jon Armajani, Suha Naimy, Wilbert van Saane, Paul Haidostian, and Mary Dana Hinton were presented at the conference “Religion, Politics, and Peacemaking” that took place on the campus of Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota in October 2018. The conference’s co-sponsors were the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University, the Department of Peace Studies of the College of Saint Benedict / Saint John’s University, and Haigazian University, with funding provided by the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota.

The essays approach religion, politics, and peacemaking from several disciplinary perspectives including …

Converting Consumerism: A Liturgical-Ethical Application Of Critical Realism, Benjamin Durheim

Theology Faculty Publications

Critical realism as a lens of thought is not new to theological inquiry, but recently a growing number of theologians have been using its conceptual frameworks to guide their thought on how social structures function theologically, and how ethics might function in light of its insights. This article pulls these developments into the nexus of liturgy and ethics, applying critical realist categories to contemporary understandings of how liturgical celebration (and the structures thereof) form, inform, and/or malform Christian ethical imaginations and practices. The article begins with a brief survey of the main tenets of critical realism and their histories in …

A Longview On Iran: Echoes From The Ancient Middle East, Jason M. Schlude

Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

With its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps blacklisted, Iran responded in kind, classifying United States Central Command as a terrorist organization. In the midst of a buildup of U.S. military in the Gulf, President Rouhani indicated Iran’s willingness to return to its previous program to develop nuclear arms. Where will this lead? Ancient history provides an illuminating—if unsettling—perspective.

Something In The Dark Swallows, Amber Cigelske

Studio One

No abstract provided.

Sunrise, Cormac Quinn

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Lake Front, Cormac Quinn

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Figures, Alexus Jungles

Studio One

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Tuck And Spin, Kathleen Gunton

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No Rain In Quebec City, Bill Meissner

Studio One

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Psychopomp, Jherian Mitchell-Jones

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Immense As The Expanse Of Pleasure, Bill Wolak

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Winter Sun, Anna Garrison

Studio One

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Rivers End, Anna Garrison

Studio One

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Senior Walking Forest - Stock, Michael Lee Johnson

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A Farmers Welcome, Cormac Quinn

Studio One

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Doggo, Anna Garrison

Studio One

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Misty Mountains, Holly Ossanna

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Sailboats, Anna Garrison

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Cliffs, Holly Ossanna

Studio One

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