Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Twelfth Century Literal Bible Commentaries: Comparing Jewish And Christian, Devorah Schoenfeld

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the twelfth century, both Jewish and Christian Bible commentators began to emphasize literal, or historical, or contextual, approaches to interpreting scripture. These commentators wrote predominantly line‐by‐line commentaries that focused the reader's attention on linguistic questions in the biblical text. There was also a renewed interest in seeing the Bible in its own terms rather than exclusively through the lens of earlier midrashic or patristic commentaries, although those continued to play an important role. These developments happened at the same time for both Christian and Jewish scholars, who were often in conversation with each other about how to interpret the …

James Baldwin's Challenge To Catholic Theologians And The Church, Jon Nilson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Racism/white supremacy is seemingly ineradicable, despite its contradictions to the gospel and American ideals. James Baldwin perceived the reason: whites' fears of their own mortality. He did not demonstrate the truth of his claim, but Terror Management Theory (TMT) provides empirical confirmation for it. The Church has declared reconciliation to be the heart of its mission. So TMT must shape its new, effective strategies, like the processes that produced the two influential pastoral letters in the early 1980's.

Review Of "The Scandal Of White Complicity In Us Hyper-Incarceration: A Nonviolent Spirituality Of White Resistance", Jon Nilson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article reviews the book, The Scandal of White Complicity in US Hyper-Incarceration: a Nonviolent Spirituality of White Resistance, by Alex Mikulich, Laurie Cassidy, and Margaret Pfeil.

To Bible Or Not To Bible: How On Earth Does A Text Become Scripture? (In Jewish, Christian, And Derived Traditions), Edmondo Lupieri

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Christology And Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do?", Jon Nilson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article reviews the book, Christology and Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do?, edited by George Yancy.

The "Violence" Of The Canon: Revisiting Contemporary Notions Of Canonical Forms, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The historical conditions surrounding the processes of forming a canon are rarely examined directly, yet it is these processes which govern over the realm of religious representations and identity constructions. In light of recent critical scholarship, it is imperative to address theologically the role that the canon plays within a religious tradition. This essay demonstrates the cultural necessity of canonical forms despite their “monotheistic tendency” to subdivide the world into binary oppositions. By utilizing a scale of violence to determine the impact of the canonical form upon culture this essay offers an account of canons and their role in forming …

God & Being: An Enquiry, By George Pattison, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews the book God & Being: An Enquiry, by George Pattison.

The Rhetoric Of Gender In The Household Of God: Ephesians 5:21-33 And Its Place In Pauline Tradition, Lisa Marie Belz

Dissertations

This dissertation demonstrates that the author of Ephesians rewrote the household code of Col. 3:18-19 in order to conform it more to Paul's own ideals regarding mutuality in relationships between Christians.

Down To Earth Ethics: Exploring Relation And Environmental Responsibility, Matthew Gowans

Dissertations

This dissertation is aimed at exploring the question of direct engagement with the natural world as a way of establishing certain moral and ontological truths, particularly those connected to our current environmental struggles. Contrary to the wave of much of modern Western thinking, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Buber and Aldo Leopold demonstrate an ethics that is relational in nature, action oriented, and bound up in inexpressible wonder. Consequently, these thinkers are also critical of a world which bases the whole of reality solely on the logic of rational investigation and the material facts of science. The heart of ethical responsibility in …

Towards A Roman Catholic Soteriology For The Sinned-Against Creature: An Intercultural Dialogue Between The Soteriology Of Edward Schillebeeckx And Korean-American Theologies Of 'Han', Kevin Patrick Considine

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to point towards a Roman Catholic soteriology for the sinned-against creature that uses 'han' as a fundamental theological source. This dissertation is concerned with two main areas--Roman Catholic soteriology and intercultural theological dialogue--due to their growing importance in the 21st century in which globalization continues to be the driving force that organizes the economic, social, cultural, and political structures of the world, for the benefit of some and the dehumanization of many others.

I argue that Korean-American theologies and anthropologies of 'han' provide one important resource for supplementing and developing the relatively inadequate Roman …

Word Of Life, Word Of God: An Examination Of The Use Of The Term Logos In The Johannine Literature, Joseph Michael Latham

Dissertations

The term "logos" is employed in various ways in the Johannine literature, most famously in the Prologue of the Gospel of John. There the Logos is said to have existed in the beginning, to be with God, to be God, and to have become flesh in Jesus Christ.

Ed. L. Miller maintains that the body of the Gospel of John was composed first, then the First Epistle, and finally the Prologue. He contends that we can trace an increasing christological significance in the use of the term "logos" as we proceed from the body of the Gospel through the First …

Reverse Innovation From The Least Of Our Neighbors: Community Health Workers And U.S. Health Care, M Therese Lysaught

Institute of Pastoral Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In a recent New York Times article, Pauline Chen, MD, asks: “What We Can Learn from Third-World Health Care?” Chen rattles our assumption that the vector of aid and insight travels in one direction — from the U.S., with all our resources, knowledge and technology, to less fortunate places that need our help. Could the arrow point in the opposite direction? Could we who have everything learn from the widow and her mite?

Hans Urs Von Balthasar And Kenosis: The Pathway To Human Agency, Timothy J. Yoder

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the kenotic motif in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, particularly in light of his concern to protect human agency. This dissertation argues that Balthasar views kenotic spiritual practice as the pathway to achieve true human agency. This kenotic pathway to agency is placed in contrast to Balthasar's concept of original sin as an attempt by humanity to achieve agency on their own terms. The narrative of original sin results in two possible outcomes for Balthasar: a spiritual pathway toward the absorption of the self, which results in the annihilation of …

Hidden Treasure: The Epistemology Of Love According To Hans Urs On Balthasar, Timothy John Squier

Dissertations

Many contemporary thinkers have wrestled with the notion that Balthasar is unwilling to consider modern theology's starting point of the consciousness of the knower. Otherwise stated, some scholars argue that Balthasar's point of departure is the will (love) to the neglect of human consciousness (intellect). The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that a constructive analysis of Balthasar's doctrine of revelation brings to light an intricate epistemology that is critical to postmodern epistemological scholarship. By way of Neo-Scholasticism much conversation has taken place pertaining to the relationship between faith and reason within the human knower. Whereas the Neo-Scholastic tradition …

The Religion Of Consumption And Christian Neighbor Love, Christopher Porter

Dissertations

Loyola University Chicago

THE RELIGION OF CONSUMPTION AND CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOR LOVE

Consumerism is a word frequently used in various disciplines to express the variety of attitudes, motivations, and practices found among the middle and upper classes. It drives the global economy and influences individuals' socio-psychological perceptions. Some have gone so far as to call consumerism a religion, yet they have not substantiated this claim. This dissertation offers a framework that accounts for consumerism as a religion both as a person's ultimate concern and as a structuralized belief system. As such, it prescribes moral values that shape how people respond to …

John The Baptist And The Jewish Setting Of Matthew, Brian C. Dennert

Dissertations

Although recent discussions on the Gospel of Matthew have emphasized the document's setting within first-century Judaism, these studies have not analyzed how the figure of John the Baptist functions within this setting. The failure to address the significance of the Baptist for the Gospel's Jewish setting is striking because recent study on the historical Baptist has emphasized his ministry and place within first-century Judaism. Therefore, this dissertation places a perennial topic within a new framework, believing that attention to the Jewish setting of the Gospel may prompt fresh observations and explanations of the role of John the Baptist within the …

Religious Pluralism And The Catholic Church: Lonergan's Method And The Jacques Dupuis Controversy, Andrea J. Stapleton Berger

Dissertations

This project applies Lonergan's method to the controversy that resulted from the censure of Jacques Dupuis by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over his book, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism. The application of Lonergan's method reveals the potential for the resolution of the issues presented by Dupuis in the area of developing a Catholic theology of pluralism as well as the tension between the Catholic Magisterium and the work of Catholic theologians.

Review Of Piety And Responsibility: Patterns Of Unity In Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, And Vedanta Decika, Hugh Nicholson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The article reviews the book Piety and Responsibility: Patterns of Unity in Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, and Vedanta Desika by John Sheveland.

The “Violence” Of The Canon: Revisiting Contemporary Notions Of The Canonical, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The historical conditions surrounding the processes of forming a canon (its canonicity) are rarely examined directly, yet it is these processes which govern over the realm of (religious) representations and identity constructions. In light of several recent publications which have directly criticized the explicitly monotheistic scriptures, it has become imperative to address theologically the role which the canon plays within religious tradition. By focusing on the role of the canonical form in the works of Jan Assmann and René Girard, for example, this essay will demonstrate the cultural necessity of canonical forms despite their ‘monotheistic tendency’ to subdivide the world …

Motherhood And Love: Beyond The Gendered Stereotypes Of Theology, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews the book Motherhood and Love: Beyond the Gendered Stereotypes of Theology, by Cristina Grenholm.

Q 10:21-22 And Formative Christology, Olegs Andrejevs

Dissertations

Q 10:21-22 is the famous "Johannine Thunderbolt," a passage whose precise meaning and role in Q have long been debated by New Testament scholars with seemingly no consensus reached to this date. This crux interpretum presents the readers with a thanksgiving prayer by Jesus that appears particularly puzzling in its present context in the reconstructed Q. In his prayer Jesus appears to express gratitude to God, whom he calls Father, for something that contradicts the very purpose of the immediately preceding mission discourse (Q 10:2-16). In a shocking turn of events, Jesus appears to rejoice over the selective disclosure of …

Invoking Lakshmi: The Goddess Of Wealth In Song And Ceremony. By Constantina Rhodes. Albany: State University Of New York Press, 2010. Isbn 978-1-4384-3321-9, Pp. Xii, 279., Tracy Pintchman

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The New Voices Of Muslim Women Theologians, Marcia Hermansen

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This pioneering volume defines the contours of the emerging engagements of Muslim women scholars from around the world with the authoritative interpretive traditions of Islam, classical and contemporary. Muslima theology, here broadly defined to encompass a range of interpretive strategies and perspectives arising from multiple social locations, interrogates Islamic scripture and other forms of religious discourse to empower Muslim women of faith to speak for themselves in the interests of gender justice. Contributions provide an overview of the field at this juncture-ranging from pioneering Muslim scriptural feminism to detailed analyses of legal and mystical texts by a new international cohort …