Christianity Commons^™

Priest, Writer, Mentor, Misfit: Understanding Henri Nouwen, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Two decades ago, on September 21, 1996, while on the way to St. Petersburg to shoot a documentary based on his acclaimed spiritual meditation, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen—priest, writer, professor, and pastoral mentor—died of a heart attack in his homeland of the Netherlands. His friends and countless admirers were stunned. Prolific author of more than three dozen books, and a much-called-upon speaker and preacher, Nouwen was a large presence in Catholic circles and a growing influence in Protestant ones as well. His loss was felt not only in his immediate community but around the world.

Review Of: Andrew R. Murphy (Ed.), The Blackwell Companion To Religion And Violence, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Blackwell Companions, and instalments from similar series, should be initially sized up according to their purpose and audience. Such hefty tomes present themselves first as reference books—as collections of articles by scholarly experts that treat the key methods, topics, historical developments, etc., in the field. Second, each Companion is addressed to students and teachers as a state-of-the-field resource that provides several benefits: a sound picture of the field, assessment of various theories and methods used in the field, a sense of the innovative developments and open questions, and plenty of information to follow up on. Finally, some Companions give primacy …

Neighbor-Love As A Keystone To Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Chapter by Brian Stiltner from a collection of essays edited by Marinus C. Iwuchukwu and Brian Stiltner.

"This is a collection of essays that address inter-faith dialogue between Muslims and Christians in America and Africa. It addresses the issues dealing with how some Christians depict America as founded on Christian principles, and how this might deter dialogue across different religions. The goal is to get people to converse, not as formulaic Muslims or Christians, but as people with complex, plural, and ever-changing identities that defuse religious antagonism"--Publisher website.

Review Of: T. J. Gorringe. The Common Good And The Global Emergency: God And The Built Environment, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Tim Gorringe follows up his positively reviewed 2002 book A Theology of the Built Environment with this offering from the same publisher. The former book was notable as a sustained attempt to think theologically about the ‘built environment’. The built environment is the context that humans construct for themselves through their industry and technology; it comprises all types of physical settlements (cities, suburbs, towns, and villages), roads and transportation systems, parks and outdoor spaces, and buildings of every sort. It matters to humans how we build social spaces, for this influences our individual flourishing and the common good. While any …

Seeing With Feeling, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

Book review by Michael W. Higgins.

Haughey, John C. In Search of the Whole: Twelve Essays on Faith and Academic Life. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2011.

Solitude And Journey: Two Central Themes In The Spirituality Of John Henry Newman, Ono Ekeh

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

John Henry Newman is widely known for his ideas on doctrinal development, education, conscience, and his reflections on faith and reason. However, it is important to remember that, among the many hats Newman wore, he was mostly a preacher and spiritual director. So in his role as a preacher, pastor, and spiritual leader, did he have a distinct spirituality? If so, what features or ideas would define Newman's spirituality? This paper will explore two prominent and pervasive themes in his spirituality looking primarily at his Parochial and Plain Sermons from his Anglican period and also at some of his Catholic …

Book Review: Daniel M. Bell, Jr., Just War As Christian Discipleship: Recentering The Tradition In The Church Rather Than The State, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

From his conversations in church settings and classrooms, Daniel M. Bell, Jr. has observed that Christians by and large do not know the church’s just war tradition very well, but that they are receptive to learning about it. Most theologians would likely agree that they know a number of Christians who are hungry to see better thinking and more effective action in response to war in our time. Bell, a Lutheran seminary professor and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, wrote this book to interpret ‘the just war tradition in terms of concrete practices that might contribute to the …

The Priestly Imagination: Thomas Merton And The Poetics Of Critique, Michael W. Higgins

Mission Integration & Ministry Publications

The article looks at the representation of ideals of the poet-priest in the works of Thomas Merton. It provides an analysis of Merton's poetics of critique. For Merton, John the Baptist represents the model anchorite as well as the first Cisterician and the greatest Trappist. The indivisible and comprehensive dimensions of Merton as a whole man are represented by John the Baptist, John of the Cross and John the Beloved. The two types of Merton's poetics of critique are ecclesial/monastic and societal.

The Blau Collection, The Library For Christian-Jewish Understanding: Dedication Ceremony, November 10, 2008, Center For Christian-Jewish Understanding

SHU Library Archives

Program for the Dedication Ceremony for The Blau Collection, Ryan Matura Library at Sacred Heart University, November 10, 2008.

The Essential Carlstadt: Fifteen Tracts By Andreas Bodenstein (Carlstadt) From Karlstadt (Book Review), John B. Roney

History Faculty Publications

Book review by John Roney.

Karlstadt, Andreas Rudolff-Bodenstein von. The Essential Carlstadt: Fifteen Tracts. Waterloo, Ont.; Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 1995. ISBN 9780836131161

Review Of: The Politics Of Human Frailty: A Theological Defence Of Political Liberalism, By Christopher J. Insole, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Against the grain of much contemporary Christian theology, Christopher Insole’s The Politics of Human Frailty takes on the challenge of theologically defending political liberalism. Specifically, he defends a strand of political liberalism ‘informed by the theological conviction that the human person is a creature incapable of its own perfection, although nonetheless called to and made for this perfection’ (p. vii). Insole, University Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge, attends to philosophers and theologians primarily in the British tradition, but also on the American side. Insole advances his argument mostly through readings of other authors. Positively, Insole …

To Remember, Repent, Renew, David L. Coppola

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The National Catholic Educational Association (1998) reports that 13.6% or 359,146, of all students in Catholic elementary, middle, and secondary schools are non-Catholic, manifesting the importance of educating Catholic school students to understand and appreciate the diversity of cultures and religions other than their own. This article examines some ways that Catholic schools can educate students about the Jewish Holocaust, or Shoah, and through its study embrace a truly Catholic approach.

Language, The Other And God: On Italo Calvino's Last Novels, Richard Grigg

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

To the extent that Italo Calvino's novels point us toward a God beyond the God who died with the advent of modern nihilism, they are an important resource for constructing just that kind of notion of the divine that is required by the contemporary cultural situation: a notion that is an alternative to both theism and atheism. While theism cannot withstand the corrosive forces integral to the modern world view, atheism makes the fatal mistake of supposing that there is no longer any dimension of ultimacy available to contemporary persons. The God we have been led to by Calvino's last …