Catholic Studies Commons^™

Cognitive Dissonance And Cosmic Conflict: A Rules-Of-Engagement Framework For Thinking About Prayer, Providence, And Evil, John C. Peckham

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Many Christians experience severe cognitive dissonance when they try to reconcile belief that God is wholly good (omnibenevolent) and all-powerful (omnipotent) with the suffering and evil in this world. Would not anyone who is loving and kind and who is powerful enough to do so, act to prevent the horrible suffering in this world? This article attempts to address such cognitive dissonance by offering a rules-of-engagement framework for thinking about the problem of evil and the related issues of providence and prayer. Regarding providence, many ask why God does not act to prevent evils more often, or does so some …

Resurrection Of The Dead In Early Judaism: 200 Bce–Ce 200 [Review] / Elledge, Casey D., Jan A. Sigvartsen

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Book Review

Wood, Todd Charles, And Darrel R. Falk, The Fool And The Heretic: How Two Scientists Moved Beyond Labels To A Christian Dialog About Creation And Evolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019. 201 Pp. Softcover. Usd 16.99., Gary W. Burdick

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Arnold, Brian J. Justification In The Second Century. Waco, Tx: Baylor University Press, 2018. Xiv + 221 Pp. Softcover. Usd 39.95., Denis Fortin

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Schenk, Christine, Csj. Crispina And Her Sisters: Women And Authority In Early Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017. Xx + 459 Pp. Softcover. Usd 29.00., Carina O. Prestes

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

Worldviews: Concepts Or Narratives? An Integrative Definition To Assess Their Controlling Effect In The Biblical And Atheistic Evolutionary Models, Flavio Prestes Iii

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

What are worldviews? What are their characteristics? How do they work? This article offers tentative responses to these questions through the integration of concepts and narratives. Using the biblical and the atheistic evolutionary narratives as case studies, it also seeks to show how worldviews have a significant, though not absolute, controlling effect on one’s perception of reality.

Being Biblical In A Pluralistic Age

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

One way to define a disciple is “a follower of someone’s words.” In a pluralistic age, there are many words beckoning would-be disciples to particular ways of life, all promising some kind of wellness. These word-ways are ingredients of worldviews, a program or map for orienting oneself in the world. Worldviews answer core questions about human existence, often in the form of a story. This essay argues that contemporary pluralism is the result of abandoning the Bible as our control story, a loss that is as much a failure of what Charles Taylor calls the social imaginary. If this diagnosis …

Sanctuary/Temple In Genesis 1–3: A Reevaluation Of The Biblical Evidence, Jahisber Peñuela-Pineda

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Dissertation Abstract

The Theological Significance Of The Relations Of Freedom And Time In The Sciences And Humanities: An Evaluation Of The Contributions Of David Bohm And Pauli Pylkkö, Michael F. Younker

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Dissertation Abstract

Doubt, Faith & Certainty [Review] / Thiselton, Anthony C., Rebecca Murdock

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Book Review

Natura Sanat: On Ecological Aspects Of Healing Miracles In Kalwaria Pacławska, Poland, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska

Journal of Global Catholicism

The subject-matter of my article is a change affecting the discourse on miraculous healings in a Catholic Marian sanctuary – Kalwaria Pacławska – run by Franciscan friars in the South-Eastern Poland and a way in which those changes affect pilgrims’ bodies. In Kalwaria Pacławska there meet, intersect and compete various religious and secular discourses and they all influence emotions and bodily sensations accompanying pilgrimage to this sacred site. One of those discourses has been introduced to Kalwaria just recently. The central element of the sanctuary is the miraculous image of Virgin Mary which is the goal of numerous pilgrimages from …

Authors' Introduction, Kamila Baraniecka-Olszewska, Magdalena Lubanska

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Mercy Vs. Justice - Blood Of The Lamb, Ryan Murphy

Honors Projects

How did Christ's death save us? The Atonement is a Christian doctrine which has been heavily debated in how it should be understood since the beginnings of Christianity. This analysis covers the theological theories of the Atonement, narrates a Catholic layman's personal understanding that is based on scholarly research and is kept within the bounds of Catholic doctrine, and summarizes the thoughts and feelings of surveyed college-age Christians on the subject.

Listening To An/Other Voice: Gender, Creativity, And The Divine In The Works Of Female Christian Mystics And Women Surrealists, Stephanie Garboski

Honors Theses

This thesis will compare two groups, Christian women mystics and women surrealists, by analyzing select works by Hildegard of Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Leonora Carrington, and Dorothea Tanning. This analysis will involve a comparative, theoretical approach that draws connections between the way in which both groups utilize varying literary and artistic forms, symbols, and polyglottery. I will utilize Bourdieu’s terms of cultural production as a framework in which to better understand how women of both fields are used for their creativity and supposed connection to an/other, which is the source of inspiration native to each field, God and the unconscious. …

Seeing Witchcraft, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

When Christians in Zambia struggle with witchcraft, they also struggle with African cultural and religious concepts that deal with life’s ambiguities and that require discernment. It is not by working against the cultural and religious heritage, but by working with it, as far as possible, that the pastor can identify the broken relationships towards which many witchcraft discourses point. However, before we place the concepts of witchcraft into the realm of superstition (as are the trends of mission Christianity) or the demonic (as are the trends of charismatic Christianity), the Church has the duty to look at the concepts, stay …

The Devil Of The Missionary Church: The White Fathers And Catholic Evangelization In Zambia, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines how Western Catholic missionaries in Zambia dealt with claims of witchcraft and Satanism. Within an analytic frame that draws upon cultural history, theology, and anthropology the article also considers how African Christians appropriated missionary notions of the devil.

Learning Religion In The Presence Of The Other: Mission And Dialogue In World Catholicism, Matthias Scharer

Journal of Global Catholicism

Based on selected texts of the Second Vatican Council and related to the process of the Council and Church experiences thereafter, this article offers a brief insight into the theological method known as communicative theology (CT). One of the factors most challenging to mission and dialogue in world Catholicism is the perpetual presence of the “other” as a stranger. This learning religion in the presence of the “other” is not the exception; this article argues that it is, in fact, very typical of mission and dialogue in Africa as well as in Europe

Relationships Between Religious Denomination, Quality Of Life, Motivation And Meaning In Abeokuta, Nigeria, Mary Gloria Njoku, Babajide Gideon Adeyinka

Journal of Global Catholicism

Inter-disciplinary research that combines methods in psychology of the impact of religious change in Africa and theological approaches has been very scant in Nigeria. This study examines the relationship among religious denominations, quality of life, motivation and meaning in life in Abeokuta metropolis in Ogun State, Nigeria using psychological and religious tools. The study hypothesizes that members of the Roman Catholic denomination would differ from members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Living Faith Church in motivational factors and meaning making.

The Ecclesiology Of Pope Francis And The Future Of The Church In Africa, Bradford E. Hinze

Journal of Global Catholicism

A consideration of the future of African Catholicism in light of the ecclesiology of Pope Francis. The article explores how themes in Francis's ecclesiology work together to challenge centralization, clericalism, and triumphalism in the church by promoting practices of synodality and how these elements support the church’s mission to work against forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and the most fundamental matrix of colonial power by advancing radical democracy in society

Editor's Introduction, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview of African Catholicism. Part Two: Retrospect and Prospect, third issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism. A summary of the work of Bradford Hinze, Mary Gloria Njoku, Matthias Scharer, Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu, and Bernhard Udelhoven. Among the topics considered: African ecclesiology, African wellness and quality of life in Africa, interreligious dialogue in Africa, African Biblical scholarship, witchcraft and the Catholic Church.

Stewards Of God’S Mercy: Vocation And Priestly Ministry In Africa, Jordan Nyenyembe

Journal of Global Catholicism

A reflection on the tasks of priestly ministry in Africa with specific reference to the example and exhortation of Pope Francis. Among the issues addressed and critiqued are Western “cultic” understandings of the priest and the, the “Igwe Syndrome" which likens the priest to a chief.

Contested Moral Issues In Contemporary African Catholicism: Theological Proposals For A Hermeneutics Of Multiplicity And Inclusion, Stan Chu Ilo

Journal of Global Catholicism

Drawing upon the broad work of Vatican II and Pope Francis’ Evangelicum Gaudium the article proposes how a hermeneutic of multiplicity and inclusion could help hold in balance the tension between tradition and innovation, universal principles and specific contextual application for Catholicism in Africa. Among the issues addressed are cultural relativism, natural law theory, and polygamy.

Communicating The Justice And Peace Of God In Africa Today, Walter Ihejirika

Journal of Global Catholicism

Engaging with the work and theories of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, the article charts out a spirituality of communication within Nigerian Catholicism. Discussing the intersection between various forms of media and community, the article argues for the utilization of media in the pursuit of social justice and the dismantling of inequalities.

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to African Catholicism: Contemporary Issues: Volume: 1, Issue 2 of the Journal of Global Catholicism

Martin Luther And Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (“Outside Of The Church There Is No Salvation”): Did Luther Really Abandon Cyprian?, Darius Jankiewicz

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

"... careful study of the Luther’s writings reveals that, while he repudiated many Catholic ways of understanding and conducting church, and while he attempted to harmonize ecclesiastical structures and sacramental theology with the foundational principles of Protestantism, he was essentially unable to break away from medieval modes of thinking. Notwithstanding his rejection of the Catholic emphasis on the visible church, he struggled to free himself from reliance on institutional structures for salvation. Ultimately, Luther affirmed the necessity of the visible church for salvation. In His wisdom, Luther believed, God had decreed the church to be the means of grace, without …

Christian And Islamic Perspectives On The Ethical Dilemma Of In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf), Stephanie Sariles

Dialogue & Nexus

After defining IVF procedures and the associated biomedical ethics with each, I will compare and contrast Christian and Islamic perspectives on IVF. Christianity in general does not accept IVF, because it is an unnatural method of reproduction that can affect Christian traditions such as parenthood and marriage. Despite this view, Protestants, in particular, have opened up to IVF as a method for treating infertility. Islam fully accepts IVF provided the married couple follows Islamic law. Sunni Muslims do not accept gamete donation, but Shi’ite Muslims are more flexible with gamete donation and surrogacy.

Interfaith Inquiry: Learning From Community-Based Research, Pluralism, And Student-Faculty Collaboration, John C. Waldmeir, John C. Eby, Samantha E. Eckrich, Rebecca A. Edwards

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

Abstract

On Catholic college campuses, community outreach and inter-faith cooperation occurs most often under the direction of Student Life Offices, often with strong leadership provided by Campus Ministry. Within this more traditional approach, students learn a great deal about the value of both enterprises, though their learning remains largely undocumented, unassessed and, without the benefit of earned credit hours, unrewarded.

A team of faculty and students at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa are in the process of a following a different approach. After five years of coordinating interfaith conversations and scripture study with centers of worship throughout the Dubuque area, …

Contributors To Indian Catholicism: Interventions And Imaginings, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Contributors to Indian Catholicism: Interventions and Imaginings, the inaugural issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism.

Authority, Representation, And Offense: Dalit Catholics, Foot Washing, And The Study Of Global Catholicism, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

In reflecting on a sharp scholarly exchange at a conference, this article explores issues of authority, representation, and offense in global Catholic and South Asian Studies. Focusing on the act of foot washing by Dalit Catholics, the article examines how scholarly offense is linked to particular claims of representational authority. The article also puts this discussion within the context of contemporary debates about Western portrayals of Indian culture and society.

The Tying Of The Ceremonial Wedding Thread: A Feminist Analysis Of “Ritual” And “Tradition” Among Syro-Malabar Catholics In India, Sonja Thomas

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article presents a feminist analysis of patriarchy persisting in Catholicism of the Syro-Malabar rite in Kerala. The article specifically considers the impact of charismatic Catholicism on women of the Syro-Malabar rite and argues that it is important to interrogate this new face of religiosity in order to fully understand how certain rituals are allowed to change and be fluid, while others, especially concerning female sexuality, are enshrined as “tradition” which often restricts the parameters for women’s empowerment and may reinforce caste and patriarchal hegemonies preventing feminist solidarity across different religious- and caste-based groups.