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College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University

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Full-Text Articles in Religion

Saint John's Bible Gallery Anniversary Conference In London, England, Hannah Weldon Apr 2024

Saint John's Bible Gallery Anniversary Conference In London, England, Hannah Weldon

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

From November 4th to 11th, 2023, The Saint John's Bible Gallery Team celebrated the 25th anniversary of the commissioning of the Saint John's Bible by undergoing a pilgrimage through some of the most prominent Anglican institutions in the United Kingdom. On the evening of November 7th (my birthday) I attended the Anniversary Dinner Celebration and shared my valuable experiences as a student intern at the Saint John's Bible Gallery with my fellow attendees. Attending this special event allowed me the opportunity to connect and network with professionals in the gallery and museum industry, which is what I would like to …


A Case For Hope In A Warming World, Noreen L. Herzfeld Feb 2024

A Case For Hope In A Warming World, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Reuter Professorship of Science and Religion Publications

It is difficult to feel hopeful in a rapidly warming world. But hope is not just a feeling. It is an active verb, one that calls for courage, solidarity, a clear vision, and hard work. First, knowing that each fraction of a degree counts, humanity is called not to despair but to use every technology and means, technologies we already have. Second, we can be encouraged by a vision of a new world and society that works for everyone. Third, we can be heartened by nature’s resilience and an evolutionary theology that looks toward the future.


Challenging The Idea Of Divine Omnipotence: Jewish Voices And A Christian Response, John C. Merkle Jul 2022

Challenging The Idea Of Divine Omnipotence: Jewish Voices And A Christian Response, John C. Merkle

Theology Faculty Publications

It is a widespread assumption that among Jews, as also among Christians and Muslims, omnipotence is considered one of God's essential attributes. Many people also assume that the idea of divine suffering is a non-Jewish idea, but many Jews, including prominent philosophers and theologians, have challenged the idea of divine omnipotence, and many have spoken of God's suffering along with God's creatures and of needing help to redeem creation. In the first part of this essay, I focus on four Jewish religious thinkers—Abraham Joshua Heschel, Hans Jonas, Edward Feld, and Melissa Raphael—for whom the idea of divine omnipotence is problematic, …


Anger And Hope In Rural American Liturgy, Benjamin Durheim Jun 2022

Anger And Hope In Rural American Liturgy, Benjamin Durheim

Theology Faculty Publications

Sociologists and political scientists have published a number of studies recently dealing with the tumultuous and often angry ethos of rural and small-town America. However, while a number of scholars have recognized that the anger and resentment present in much of the atmosphere of rural and small-town America is multifaceted and deeper than a simple desire for policy change, very little scholarly work has focused specifically on the role of ritual in exacerbating or alleviating social anger in these contexts. This article argues that the liturgical cultivation of hope is a powerful antidote to the vitriol of the political atmosphere …


Music And Sound In Weihsien Internment Camp In Japanese-Occupied China, Zhihui Sophia Geng Jan 2022

Music And Sound In Weihsien Internment Camp In Japanese-Occupied China, Zhihui Sophia Geng

Asian Studies Faculty Publications

From the chapter's Introduction:
On 7 July 1937, Japanese forces based in Manchuria charged southward towards Beijing, invading north China and hence starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, transforming the Second Sino-Japanese War into the Pacific War. As a result of Pearl Harbor, the status of Allied citizens living in China at the time changed from neutral to ‘enemy aliens’. These Allied citizens included individuals and their families who worked in China as government officials, executives, engineers and Christian missionaries. They were forced into internment camps under the watchful eyes of the …


References To The Shepherd Of Hermas At The Monastery Of Gunda Gundē, Ted Erho, Ralph Lee Jan 2022

References To The Shepherd Of Hermas At The Monastery Of Gunda Gundē, Ted Erho, Ralph Lee

HMML Staff Publications

The monastery of Gunda Gundē played a significant historical role in preserving the Ethiopic translation of the Shepherd of Hermas, but its relationship to the book was not simply as a passive guardian. As witnessed through a few locally-produced commentary manuscripts referencing this work, at least some monks actively engaged theologically with it. Their interest in the Shepherd may have been stimulated in part by writings alluding to Hermas authored by the fourteenth-century Ethiopian theologian Retu‘a Hāymānot, copies of which were also held by the monastery.


A Minnesota Scholar Shows How We Could Find Common Ground With, And Through, Shia Islam, Jason M. Schlude Sep 2020

A Minnesota Scholar Shows How We Could Find Common Ground With, And Through, Shia Islam, Jason M. Schlude

Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Why Darwin Remains A Problem For Theism, John Houston Feb 2020

Why Darwin Remains A Problem For Theism, John Houston

Forum Lectures

Several recent works in theology have argued that evolutionary theory is compatible with theism. This, of course, is true: theism and evolutionary theory are indeed logically and metaphysically compatible. However, little is being demonstrated on behalf of theism when this conclusion is established. For, the logical and metaphysical compatibility of conceptual frameworks or narratives is a very low bar for attempting to analyze the world and its fundamental nature, and such compatibility tells us little about how the world really is. In this paper I focus on why Darwinian evolutionary theory, though logically and metaphysically compatible with theism, continues to …


Ezekiel's Priestly Imaginary: A Symbolic Or Idolatrous Reality?, Dale Launderville Osb Jan 2020

Ezekiel's Priestly Imaginary: A Symbolic Or Idolatrous Reality?, Dale Launderville Osb

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

The images and genres as well as the structure of the Book of Ezekiel aim to promote symbolic thinking in which the reader receives the word of Yhwh as an engagement with the divine Other. Such engagement fosters a priestly imaginary in which the Judean exiles are called to look beyond appearances as they wrestle with the contradictions generated by the exile and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The readers, like Ezekiel and the exiles, can become living symbols of Yhwh. Such symbolic thinking will be illustrated through a focus on chaps. 17-20 in which the tensions between individual …


Catholicism And Politics In A Fallen World: Understanding Human Imperfection As Relates To Political Institutions, George J. Doyle Jan 2020

Catholicism And Politics In A Fallen World: Understanding Human Imperfection As Relates To Political Institutions, George J. Doyle

CSB/SJU Distinguished Thesis

This thesis is composed of two primary parts, each involving discussion of Catholicism and political life. Part I critiques Thomas Aquinas’ theory of government in light of his theory of nature, with an emphasis on original sin as a defining attribute of the human person. The section concludes with an argument in favor of democracy rooted in Aquinas’s theory of human nature, as well as an understanding of the role of the Catholic Church in light of the claims made in this part of the thesis. Part II contains a political science study assessing factors that contribute to party identification …


The Philosophy Of Michael Polanyi: From The Discoveries Of Science To The Contemplation Of God, Vincent M. Smiles Dec 2019

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 Oct 2019

“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 …


Converting Consumerism: A Liturgical-Ethical Application Of Critical Realism, Benjamin Durheim May 2019

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 …


'Holy Seeing' From The Art Of The Saint John's Bible, Barbara Sutton May 2019

'Holy Seeing' From The Art Of The Saint John's Bible, Barbara Sutton

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Legacy Of Natural Species And Substantial Form For Thomistic Evolution, James R. Hofmann Feb 2019

The Legacy Of Natural Species And Substantial Form For Thomistic Evolution, James R. Hofmann

Forum Lectures

Exploration of theistic evolution within a Thomistic framework has taken on the label of Thomistic evolution. Although the conceptual boundaries of this approach are not precise, a historical trajectory of its scholastic methodology can be traced back to the views of Aquinas himself. An enduring central concept in this tradition has been the idea of substantial form. For Aquinas, distinct substantial forms were associated with the kinds of animals and plants that have no prior ancestry and are ascribed to God's production during the Genesis days of adornment. Later in the tradition, the early twentieth century Jesuit Erich Wasmann referred …


Ecumenical Ecclesiology In Its New Contexts: Considering The Transformed Relationship Between Roman Catholic Ecclesiology And Ecumenism, Kristin Colberg Sep 2018

Ecumenical Ecclesiology In Its New Contexts: Considering The Transformed Relationship Between Roman Catholic Ecclesiology And Ecumenism, Kristin Colberg

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

The quest for Christian unity is entering a new phase amidst the movement’s many voices, perspectives and tensions. Christians are witnessing the advent of an emerging ecumenical paradigm, which, because it is not fully realized, is still realizing its full definition. The paradigm operates in a global context rather than a Eurocentric one, and even as it is more global, it is simultaneously more local. It cultivates shared praxis while being less concerned with the comparison of dogmas. Ecclesiology is also entering a new paradigm which shares many features with its ecumenical counterpart, particularly its global perspective and interest in …


Wedding Bans: Why Do Parishes Turn Young Catholic Couples Away?, Michael Leonard Hahn May 2018

Wedding Bans: Why Do Parishes Turn Young Catholic Couples Away?, Michael Leonard Hahn

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Married Love And Responsible Parenthood: Changing The Discussion On The Ethics Of Birth Control, Hannah Renner Apr 2018

Married Love And Responsible Parenthood: Changing The Discussion On The Ethics Of Birth Control, Hannah Renner

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

The current framework in which The Catholic Church discusses birth control originates within a sexual ethic based on rules Christians are obligated to follow. After a careful, internal critique of the encyclical, there needs to be a change in this framework so that Christian sexual ethics is less focused on the rules and more focused on the values which Humanae Vitae embodies. These values are presently described as the unitive and procreative ends of marriage. However, with a transition from a rule-based sex ethic to a value-based sex ethic, these ends of marriage can be redefined in terms of married …


Christians, Pagans, And Death, Erin Baumer Apr 2018

Christians, Pagans, And Death, Erin Baumer

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

It is commonly believed that Christianity was a new and original religion, but in fact, many pagan religions contributed to Christianity's ideology. In my talk, I will focus on how these religions influenced Christian views of the afterlife, and with that, their views on what the soul is and what it means to be a "good" person.


The Craftsman Mirroring The Creator: Explorations In Theatrical Theology, Andrew Noah Apr 2018

The Craftsman Mirroring The Creator: Explorations In Theatrical Theology, Andrew Noah

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This will be my presentation given to theology faculty on Scholarship and Creativity Day required for the Theology Capstone course. I will be discussing the idea that when doing theology in a theatrical mode, it becomes a way to focus on God working in the world and our call as the audience to take part in the performance. Because God does not just exist in the abstract, but makes Godself known through the senses, theatre, as a sensual art, becomes the perfect mode to explore and make relevant God’s divine revelation.


Ecclessiology Today And Its Potential To Serve A Missionary Church, Kristin Colberg Jan 2018

Ecclessiology Today And Its Potential To Serve A Missionary Church, Kristin Colberg

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

This article engages the theme of the 2017 meeting of the American Society of Missiology: “Missiology’s Dialogue Partners: Practitioners and Scholars Conversing about the Future of Mission.” It seeks to contribute to that conversation by providing a survey of the discipline of ecclesiology with an eye towards how it might learn from the field of mission and how it might inform it. This exploration begins by defining some of the goals, methods, and boundaries of the field of ecclesiology. It then considers three critical issues at the forefront of ecclesiological work today: 1) questions emanating from the ecumenical sphere; 2) …


Informed And Formed By Theological Education, Kathleen A. Cahalan Jan 2018

Informed And Formed By Theological Education, Kathleen A. Cahalan

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

This essay explores the author’s experiences of both the contributions and the limits of the varied ways in which the meaning and purpose of theological education have been understood: as a habitus, as liberating praxis, as faith seeking understanding, as the clerical paradigm, as scholarship for the church, as spiritual practice, and as practical knowing. With appreciation for each, she concludes that theological education is a disciplined way of life in search of wisdom for our times.


The Path Toward Religious And Cultural Inclusivity: The Need For Critical Inquiry, Nina Marie Ricci Jan 2018

The Path Toward Religious And Cultural Inclusivity: The Need For Critical Inquiry, Nina Marie Ricci

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The following thesis seeks to explain the essential practice of critical inquiry in the religious sphere. It explores Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim attitudes on the subject of critical inquiry and assesses how these varying stances affect engagement in interreligious dialogue. The thesis presents the impact a religion has on a society’s perception of other religious and cultural practices. Overall the thesis argues for more open-minded attitudes and the need for religious and cultural inclusivity by promoting the proposition that practicing critical inquiry is a necessity to moving forward.


Let Your Light Shine: A Holistic Reflection On The Individual In A Community, Nicole C. Argudin Apr 2017

Let Your Light Shine: A Holistic Reflection On The Individual In A Community, Nicole C. Argudin

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

"Sic luceat lux vestra," or “Let your light Shine” This phrase from the Gospel of Mattew stresses the importance that we all have a light or a talent and we should shine our light for all. The problem though is when we live in the same community for so long, we start to lose our uniqueness and eventually become close-minded to new experiences. By encountering and learning from other communities, we are made aware of this issue and other strengths and weakness of our own community that we take for granted. My disclaimer about this paper is that it is …


Integrative Learning For Practical Wisdom, Kathleen A. Cahalan Jan 2017

Integrative Learning For Practical Wisdom, Kathleen A. Cahalan

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

Why is “the very kind of knowledge that people need to live well—what we call practical wisdom—the least understood, the hardest to learn, and often the most devalued kind of knowledge?”6 This essay will explore the second question: Why is practical wisdom the hardest kind of knowledge to learn?


Awakening Imagination: Glimpses Of Ignatian Spirituality In Seventeenth-Century French Hagiographic Theatre, Ana Fonseca Conboy Jan 2017

Awakening Imagination: Glimpses Of Ignatian Spirituality In Seventeenth-Century French Hagiographic Theatre, Ana Fonseca Conboy

Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) propose an active method of exercising spirituality through meditation, prayer, and imaginative contemplation. Beyond mere spectators, Ignatian disciples are invited to become actors in the scene unfolding in their sensory imaginations, in what Barthes calls the “récit christique” (Barthes 1971, 10). In that sense, the Exercises possess a performative force. The implicit freedom inspired in the exercitant, the person who performs the Exercises, echoes the call to the imagination of the spectator of seventeenth-century French hagiographic drama. Exercises promulgated throughout the four weeks of the spiritual retreat are reflected in …


Benedictine Communio: A Gift For The Church?, Michael Leonard Hahn Jan 2017

Benedictine Communio: A Gift For The Church?, Michael Leonard Hahn

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


“I Am The Mahar Of Your Mahars:” Cokhāmelā, The Modern Dalit Movement, And The Dalit Christian Theology, Chris Conway Jan 2017

“I Am The Mahar Of Your Mahars:” Cokhāmelā, The Modern Dalit Movement, And The Dalit Christian Theology, Chris Conway

School of Theology and Seminary Faculty Publications

Over the last century, Cokhāmelā’s place and prominence in the Modern Dalit Movement and Dalit Christian theology have waned significantly. As the liberating potential of his work failed to be actualized, and more recent Dalit figures like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and movements like Dalit Sahitya began to examine his work and life more critically, Cokhāmelā and his abhangas were found inadequate. Cokhāmelā became identified as one whose conscientisation remained incomplete, primarily because he failed to convert from Hinduism and saw his caste through the lens of karma. This essay re-examines Cokhāmelā’s life, death, and legacy so as to reassess his …


Transcendent Mind, Emergent Universe In The Thought Of Michael Polanyi, Vincent Smiles Jan 2017

Transcendent Mind, Emergent Universe In The Thought Of Michael Polanyi, Vincent Smiles

Theology Faculty Publications

This essay vindicates two major aspects of the science-based philosophy of Michael Polanyi: 1. His concept of tacit knowing, and 2. His concept of the multi-levelled character of reality. These two notions relate closely with one another, and together support the thesis to be argued here, that when it comes to understanding human beings, and most especially the human mind, science and religion have to meet on the common ground of the transcendent capacities of human beings, which are pointers to the transcendent character of the universe. The mind is an emergent of the universe, as are all of its …


Almsgiving As Patronage: The Role Of Patroness In Third Century North African Christianity, Charles A. Bobertz Jan 2017

Almsgiving As Patronage: The Role Of Patroness In Third Century North African Christianity, Charles A. Bobertz

Theology Faculty Publications

In the social world of the third century Roman Empire the most important determinant of political and social status and advancement was the giving and receiving of patronage. By means of a close study of two of Cyprian of Carthage’s well known treatises, De opere et eleemosynis (On Almsgiving) and De habitu virginum (On the Dress of Virgins) within the context of the larger social reality of the Roman patronage system, this study seeks to explore the level of status and authority that women benefactors (patronesses) may have enjoyed within parts of the early Christian Church and ultimately how such …