Religion Commons^™

To Imprecate Or Not: Psalm 137 And Its Appropriation In Music, Elizabeth Boase

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Psalm 137 opens with lament and closes with one of the most strident imprecations in the Psalter. Read against the backdrop of the Babylonian exile, the imprecation incorporates both Edom and Babylon, concluding with the words “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock.”

The closing verses have proven to be problematic for commentators. The tension is well expressed by R. Clifford, who states “Psalm 137 has the distinction of having one of the most beloved opening lines and the most horrifying closing line of any psalm. If the psalm ended at verse …

A Pastoral Paradigm Of Catholic Health Care, Mark Shaw

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Catholic hospitals and other health services provide invaluable care to many in the community. This article accentuates the pastoral nature of Catholic health care, which is definitive to its Catholic identity. Discussing contemporary Catholic health care in conjunction with the works of Henri Nouwen we explore the challenges faced by today’s Catholics in Catholic health care and respond to these issues. In support of the discussion are the results of qualitative research into the perceptions Perth Parishioners have of Catholic health care’s pastoral nature and Catholic identity. This research aims towards understanding the challenges facing catholic health care providing pastoral …

To Nourish Or Destroy?, Clare V. Johnson

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

“Good celebrations foster and nourish faith. Poor celebrations may weaken and destroy it” – this statement from Music in Catholic Worship, sums up well the instinct that many people have about the relationship between liturgy and faith. Those charged with the responsibility of planning and leading liturgical celebrations hold a sacred trust – to do everything in their power to ensure that the celebrations they plan and lead are in fact ‘good’ celebrations from the perspective of the worshipping assembly whose faith can be either nourished or destroyed by those celebrations, and from the perspective of the Church which has …

The Lord And Giver Of Life: The Person And Work Of The Holy Spirit In The Trinitarian Theology Of Colin E Gunton, Michael D. Stringer

Theses

Colin Gunton was one of the leading figures in a late twentieth century movement which sought to rejuvenate interest in systematic and trinitarian theology. Gunton’s theology was heavily influenced by the trinitarian thought of Karl Barth. As his thought matured, however, he was increasingly drawn to resources found in Irenaeus and the Cappadocian Fathers. Drawing from these patristic sources, Gunton sought to develop a trinitarian theology formulated upon personal and relational categories of thought as a corrective to the over-emphasis upon substantialist conceptuality in the Western tradition. He held that a doctrine of God that desires to remain consistent with …

Liberation At The Crossroads: Where Divinity And Humanity Embrace, Gregory J. Watson

Theses

This dissertation critically examines the concerns of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in relation to the methodological presuppositions in the works of Jon Sobrino, SJ. In the context of the poor of El Salvador, Sobrino formulates his Christology through the Jesus of history who preached the liberating praxis of the kingdom of God. By focusing on a low Christology, Sobrino intends to correct that high Christology, often favoured in comfortable places, that tends to ignore the truly historical and kenotic aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation. The study highlights the view that all theology is contextual …

The Relationships Between Ethical Climates, Ethical Ideology, And Organisational Commitment, Martinus P. Putranta

Theses

A critical problem which faces higher education institutions in Indonesia is that of being able to generate staff’s commitment notwithstanding the inability of the institutions to provide their staff with comparable remuneration. This research sought to ascertain the potential of alternatives to extrinsic rewards in facilitating staff’s commitment in the Indonesian Catholic higher education institutions context. Two ethics-related variables, namely, institutional ethical climates and staff’s ethical ideology were chosen as the possible predictors. The choice was deemed relevant in respect of the endeavours of the institutional leaders to introduce codes of ethics to their institutions. A conceptual model delineating the …

Socialisation Of The Islamic Terrorist: The Case Of Indonesia, Joshua Snider

Theses

As the world's largest Muslim country, the resurgence of Islamist religiosity in Indonesia over the past 10 years has been a source of great concern for security and terrorism analysts. In an effort to shift away from the sort of discourse the explains violent Islamist religiosity in Indonesia as an offshoot of Middle East politics and the policy demands of the Global War on Terror, my specific field of interest in this thesis surrounds processes of political socialization and what exactly drives the transformation process from those nominally influenced by various kinds of revisionist conservative theology to those that become …

Classified Timelines Of Vernacular Liturgy: Responsibility Timelines & Vernacular Liturgy, Russell Hardiman

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

These timelines focus attention on the use of the vernacular in the Roman Rite, especially developed in the Renewal and Reform of the Second Vatican Council. The extensive timelines have been broken into ten stages, drawing attention to a number of periods and reasons in the history of those eras for the unique experience of vernacular liturgy and the issues connected with it in the Western Catholic Church of our time.

The role and function of International Committee of English in the Liturgy (ICEL) over its forty year existence still has a major impact on the way we worship in …

Nurturing Faith Within The Catholic Home: A Perspective From Catholic Parents Who Do Not Access Catholic Schools, Carmela G. Suart

Theses

Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has regarded the family as the most influential factor in shaping and nurturing the faith of each generation. Within the family, parents are considered to be the first and primary educators of the faith of their children. Irrespective of years of genuine effort by the Catholic Church in Australia to support parents in their task of nurturing the faith of their children, the area of family catechesis still remains inadequately addressed, hence the significance of the study. The aim of this research was to investigate how Catholic parents, who do not send their children …

Blessing Of Hands: A Sacramental Experience, Angela Mccarthy

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Busy universities are not usually places where one can easily find the sacred but, for a private Catholic university, special celebrations can lead to a sacramental experience.

Such is the case at the University of Notre Dame (Fremantle campus) where the Blessing of Hands offers a sacramental experience to everyone who would like to participate. “Health is an important human value, and so in traditional religious cultures when health is lost there are always ritual means that attempt to restore it”.(1) While modern medicine has gone beyond using ritual means of healing as principal care, there is still a strong …

The Liturgical Year 2008: A Year To Remember?, Russell Hardiman

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

In late 2007 there were Press accounts drawing attention to the transfer the next year of the celebration of St Patrick’s Day to Saturday March 15th. For all its strengths, the Roman Liturgical Calendar for any single year is not as uniform or regular as many may presume or expect. There are many variable factors, most prominently the so called Moveable Feasts which are mostly connected with the cycles of the moon but need to be tied to a calendar date set by the sun. This means the date of Easter 2008 (March 23) is the earliest in 2008 years …

Phenomenology, Theology And Psychosis: Towards Compassion, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

The article argues for a phenomenological and theological perspective of psychosis. It draws especially upon Levinas’ philosophy as a way of looking at psychosis and responding with compassion. It aims to show that the world of psychosis parallels the Levinas’ negative characterisation of both ontology and the categories of objectivity, presence and Being. This suggests that the language of ontology itself holds insights into the experience of psychosis and perhaps further that the language of alterity (otherness) could be a possible response to it. Psychosis should not be understood as a ‘psychological problem’, but rather as an altered state of …

Walter Kasper’S Religious Quest For Jesus Christ, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Walter Kasper brings to light the religious quest for Jesus Christ in a secular, historical world. Taking up the turn towards anthropology and demythologisation, he sets out to rationally articulate the logic of faith in which Jesus is recognized as the Christ. Pursuing this quest, he develops a theological discourse on freedom, redemption, and self-transcendence.

Praying The Advent Season: Putting The Coming Of Christ Into Christmas Life, Russell Hardiman

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

It is now nearly a decade since a revision of the Roman Missal was predicted and now five and a half years since the Missal appeared in Latin. The process of translating the 1377 pages is an immense project. After all the turmoil within ICEL's structures, the work is going ahead. With Advent, the focus of new translations is in expressing fully the biblical references to the future Messiah in the orations. In the Roman Missal3, a new policy is set making the tri-fold form of Solemn Blessing a unique fixture of Advent. As Pope Benedict is asking, the sense …

Pastoral Care And Counselling: Towards A Post-Metaphysical Theology Of Friendship, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Conference Papers

The article sets out to develop an eschatological ethic of friendship to guide pastoral care and counselling towards a liberating practice. It uses post-metaphysical categories and terms from the ethical metaphysics of Emmanuel Levinas to enrich pastoral theology. The aim is to stretch compassion towards the future world of Isa 64: 4 and 1 Cor 2:9 in which we can announce a logos of friendship. By having such a sense of transcendence (an experience of a non-experience), compassion as friendship testifies to the Reign of God and to the very hope of encountering Christ in one another.

Book Review: Dan Cohn-Sherbok And Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok, An Encylopedia Of Judaism And Christianity, London, Dlt, 2004, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

The encyclopedia was first published in 1991 and has been reprinted again. This serves to emphasise its success in contributing to the understanding and friendship between Jews and Christians. The purpose is to inform Jews and Christians about one another’s philosophical and theological ideas, traditions, history, beliefs, symbols and practices. The authors have carefully brought out similarities and differences between Judaism and Christianity.

From Mother To Sister: The Development In The Understanding Of Mission In The Life And Writings Of St Thérèse Of Lisieux And Its Contemporary Relevance, Michelle Jones

Theses

This dissertation analyses the development in the understanding of mission in the life and writings of St Thérèse of Lisieux and considers its contemporary significance. The thesis is that Thérèse progressed from a ‘mother missiology’ to a ‘sister missiology.’ This missiological evolution is intrinsically united to Thérèse’s transcendence of the faith-categories of her era.

Initially, with her Catholic contemporaries, Thérèse regarded it as her duty to ‘mother’ unbelievers into divine life. This ‘mother missiology’ gradually became ‘sister missiology’ as two movements of grace, namely the emergence of the ‘little way’ and Thérèse’s intensifying union with Jesus, the kenotic Christ, took …

The Question Of The Meaning Of Religion: As Belonging-To Being-Human, Angus Brook

Theology Conference Papers

If the ‘studies in religion’ are to be reinvented, we should ask: what foundation for this reinvention? or What foundation is appropriate for this particular historical horizon? This paper will take one stance towards this issue of foundation – in relation to the question of the meaning of Religion as a notion.

I take this theme of reinvention to be an opportunity to pose the question of the meaning of Religion as foundational in three ways: as the foundational concept of the study of religion, as the question of the methodological foundation of studies in religion, and finally, the question …

Specialiter: The Language Of The Body And Bodies In The Letters Of Heloise, Carmel Posa

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Specialiter: A Theological Hermeneutic in the Letters of Heloise

It is possible to read both the love letters and the later correspondence of Heloise and Abelard from a theological and philosophical perspective of the body, particularly the “reasoning female body”, and bodies as articulated by the psychoanalytic perspective of sexual difference and alterity in the writings of French feminist and philosopher, Luce Irigaray. What becomes evident and highly significant, in this reading, could be referred to as Heloise’s distinctively “incarnational form of language”. Heloise’s is a language that refuses to erase the concepts of essential embodiment and sexual difference throughout …

Cybergnosticism? A Study Of Contemporary Christian Faith Communities In Cyberspace, Graham Hill

Theses

This dissertation explores the research question 'What gnostic-like elements are present within Christian faith communities?' The research methodology is qualitative. It involves the examination of Gnostic documents and secondary scholarly sources on Gnosticism, and the detailed analysis of primary source with texts presented at the seventeen designated online contemporary Christian faith communities.

The Triune Drama Of The Resurrection Levinas' Non-Phenomenology, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

The article aims to develop the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas as a valuable new perspective in understanding the triune drama of the Resurrection. Firstly, the juxtaposition of Levinas’ thought and Christian theology will be argued for, followed by a development of von Balthasar’s Trinitarian theology of the Resurrection. Especially, Levinas’ non-phenomenological notion of “otherness” will be used to offer an understanding of the Risen Christ’s “Otherness” as communicating the non-phenomenality of Holy Saturday to the disciples. As a result, we discover significant theological openings towards a vision of a Biblical God free from the constraints of ontological thinking and phenomenal …

Emmanuel Lévinas And Christian Theology, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

Faithful to the Talmudic tradition and seared by the experience of the Shoah, Levinas’s life work is both a polemic against Christianity and a proclamation of the Christianity envisaged by Matt 25. His writings inevitably touch on theological themes central to Christian tradition. The author examines four of these – God and love of neighbour, the paschal theme, cosmology, and Eucharist – to show how Levinas can throw new light on these mysteries of our faith, a light that shines from the crucible of kenotic love, both human and divine.

Our Cries In His Cry: Suffering And The Crucified God, Michael D. Stringer

Theses

This study examines Jurgen Moltmann's trinitarian theology of the cross in 'The Crucified God' (1974) in its relevance for the problem of human suffering.

Re-Thinking Cosmology Ethically And Theologically In The Light Of Emmanuel Lévinas' Phenomenology Of Evil, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Conference Papers

This article uses the ethical metaphysics of the French-Jewish Philosopher and Talmudic Scholar, Emmanuel Lévinas, to advance a Judeo-Christian theological approach to Cosmology. Although Lévinas has been long noted by Christian theologians, his writings have not yet been considered by Science and, in particular, cosmology. It is argued that Lévinas' phenomenology of Evil provides an important foundation for creating an ethical Judeo-Christian approach to cosmology. Constituting three moments, namely, (i) Evil as Excess, (ii) Evil as an intention and (iii) Evil as hatred of Evil, his phenomenology of evil unveils two important cosmological findings: (i) the nature of the universe …

Some Theological Implications Of Two Catholic Responses In Care And Prevention To The Hiv/Aids Pandemic In Korea And The Philippines, Yong-Seong Roh

Theses

Dialogues with two Catholic institutions in Korea and the Philippines concerned with those suffering from AIDS and working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS highlight the ambiguities and contradictions in both current knowledge and attitudes. Among the general public and church members there is considerable misunderstanding about the issues both the nature of the disease and the Church's moral teaching. Catholic institutions and secular based NGOs reveal the importance of interactive social networks in promoting positive responses in the face of widespread prejudice and stigmatization.

Suffering arising from HIV/AIDS presents a challenge to promote an ethics of relieving the misery …

Theological Reflections On Leadership In Christian Community, Gerard O'Neill

Theses

This paper examines the dynamics involved in Christian community, paying particular attention to the pivotal role leadership plays in nurturing and sustaining the life of the community. It begins by analysing the human need for community if people are to fulfill their potential both individually and communally. Time is devoted to understanding Christian community from a Scriptural perspective and a caution is sounded not to envisage Christian community in purely mechanistic terms. The doctrine of the trinity of God is used as a lens to view vital characteristics in the life of a Christian community. The theology of leadership is …

‘God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines’: Eros, Agape And The Witness Of Glory. An Encounter Between The Philosophy Of Emmanuel Lévinas And Feminist Liberation Theology, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

In the encounter between Levinas’ ethical metaphysics and feminist liberation theology, there is a divide between eros and agape. Levinas takes a grave view of agape in terms of one’s human responsibility that must always come before one’s freedom and self-concern. In response to a feminist liberation theological perception of eros, the article will engage Levinas’ uncompromising proclamation of disinterested love. It is a “crooked road” one follows along the journey of disinterestedness. Yet, perhaps by the very service of love, the wisdom of love will leads us straight to hearing the word of God in the face of the …

Material Cooperation And Catholic Institutions: An Inquiry Into Traditional Moral Principle And Its Meaning For Catholic Institutions Today, With Reference To Catholic Hospitals In Australia, Joseph C. Parkinson

Theses

This dissertation views the Principle of Legitimate Cooperation as a guiding norm for the activity of Catholic institutions in the world. It samples various expressions of the principle from the seventeenth century to the present day, noting the significance of the central terms ‘intrinsically evil acts’ and ‘sufficiently serious reason’, and suggests that while the principle traditionally applied to individual moral agents, it can also apply to institutions. Taking as starting-points the Second Vatican Council’s call for a renewal of moral theology and the Church’s post-conciliar view of itself as ‘Sacrament of Christ’, the dissertation sketches an essentially Christological and …

In Your Face I Hear The Word Of God: Lévinas And The Trinity, Glenn J. Morrison

Theology Papers and Journal Articles

When was the last time you recognised the Word of God in the face of another person? Or perhaps when was the last time you clearly saw the face of the other beyond those plastic masks -unconsciously moulded upon our faces during the process of enculturation, diffusion and the development of our self-consciousness? Recently, a disabled person travelling on her motorised wheelchair approached me at the station, and began talking to me about her cat that bites her. She told me how fond she is of this cat, and yet how hurt she feels about its strange behaviour. This cat …

Comparison And Evaluation Of The Moral Significance Of Emotions In Aquinas, The Manualists And Catholic Moral Theology 1960-1990, Thomas Ryan

Theses

This is a comparative study of the moral significance of emotions in Catholic Moral Theology. It is done with reference to Thomas Aquinas, to selected Manualist authors immediately prior to Vatican II, to representative Catholic theologians 1960-1990 and to a sample of contemporary writers from other disciplines. The project argues five points. Firstly, Aquinas sees emotions as designed to have a necessary and constructive significance in moral reasoning and moral development. In their habituated form as affective virtues, they enable a person to have the right emotional responses in terms of their object and intensity. Secondly, the Manualists, by a …