Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Felix Culpa In Tolkien's Legendarium: A Catalyst For Character And Reader Transformation, Nathan C J Hood

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Examines the role of the felix culpa, or ‘happy fault’, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium. The article argues that this motif, originating within the Christian theological tradition, was adapted by Tolkien into the guiding structure of Middle-earth’s grand narrative. It shows the importance of the felix culpa in Tolkien’s secondary world by analysing the trope’s role in the Ainulindale and The Silmarillion. It then moves to consider the ways in which the presence of happy faults in The Lord of the Rings has a transformative impact upon the morality and spirituality of its characters and readers.

Dealing With The Fragmentation Of Knowledge: The Complex Grounds For Faith In Newman, Adorno, And Later, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This book blends historical, theological, and philosophical inquiries into what “modernity” means with the aim of showing how Newman can analyze, critique, and explain fruitful ways forward within a diverse range of subjects. First, it surveys historical and theological topics such as how Newman understood “modernity,” the sensus fidelium, the role of doubt and modern views of reason; Newman’s university ideal; and a return to the saint for much-needed anthropological insights. Second, the volume shows how Newman’s thought can be insightfully applied to key issues within church and society: the need to redefine “American” Catholicism, the challenge of secularization, the …

Uncertainty Before And After Faith: The Dynamics Of Belief In Theology And Literature, Brent Little

Dissertations

Although there has been much interdisciplinary scholarship surrounding the influence of various novelists' Catholic beliefs upon their work, there has been relatively little discussion about the nature of faith that emerges in their novels. For instance, is faith portrayed primarily as assent to conceptual statements of belief?

This dissertation will argue that faith, as portrayed by various Catholic novelists, is fundamentally a person's imaginative orientation to trust and hope in the presence of God's grace in creation and human life. I will approach this issue through the category of uncertainty, specifically uncertainty's relationship to faith, as this relationship emerges in …

The Many Ways Of Justice, Seamus Murphy S.J.

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Much of my background lies in social ministry, but after ordination the provincial decreed that I was to work in philosophy also. It seemed an odd mix at the time: philosophers tend to be squeamish about the rough-and-tumble of social action, while some social activists give the impression that garlic should be worn to ward off the anemia-inducing influence of philosophers. The combination has given a certain Janus-like quality to my life; but it has worked, and I have felt no need to look back.

Justice is the theme of my essay. Many of those in ministries such as education …

A Study Of The Historic Theories Of The Atonement, William F. Bromley

Graduate Thesis Collection

In one of his letters to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul sets forth as one of the basic facts of the primitive Gospel that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. "l In the same passage, he asserts that it is by this Gospel that men are saved - that is that there is a definite relationship between the death of Christ and the salvation of men. To define this relationship has been a task that has occupied the thinking of some of the greatest minds of the ages since the day that Jesus of Nazareth …