Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Whosoever Will: A Review Essay, C. Fred Smith

Fred O. Smith Jr.

No abstract provided.

Beyond Ecological Democracy: Black Feminist Thought And The End Of Man, Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

They Fell Silent When We Stopped Listening: Apophatic Theology And 'Asking The Beasts', Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

The Catholic Enlightenment. The Forgotten History Of A Global Movement, Ulrich Lehner

Ulrich L. Lehner

No abstract provided.

Ethics As Grammar: Changing The Postmodern Subject, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

Wittgenstein, one of the most influential, and yet widely misunderstood, philosophers of our age, confronted his readers with aporias—linguistic puzzles—as a means of countering modern philosophical confusions over the nature of language without replicating the same confusions in his own writings. In Ethics as Grammar, Brad Kallenberg uses the writings of theological ethicist Stanley Hauerwas as a foil for demonstrating how Wittgenstein’s method can become concrete within the Christian tradition. Kallenberg shows that the aesthetic, political, and grammatical strands epitomizing Hauerwas’s thought are the result of his learning to do Christian ethics by thinking through Wittgenstein. Kallenberg argues that Wittgenstein’s …

Tradition-Based Rationality, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

The term “tradition-based rationality” derives from the works of Alasdair MacIntyre. Human reasoning, argued MacIntyre, is both tradition-constitutive and tradition-constituted. By the first phrase, he means that all reasoning, especially moral reasoning (i.e., thinking about what “good” means), involves people sharing a conceptual language (rather than a natural language like English or Chinese). For example, think of how widely three persons may differ on their use of the word “good” when applied to their jobs. The driver of a beer truck will claim his job is “good” because he is paid well; he is resoundingly welcomed wherever he goes; and …

Virtue Ethics, Nikki Coffey Tousley, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

Virtue ethics emphasizes the development of moral excellence in terms of character qualities called virtues. Virtue are (1) habituated dispositions involving both an affective desire for the good and the skill to both discern and act accordingly; (2) learned through practice within a tradition (i.e., a historical community with a rich account of the "good"); and (3) directed toward this tradition's particular conception of the good (making virtues "teleological"). From a Christian perspective, virtue ethics is an ethics of discipleship, which emphasizes the development of the habits, practices, and wisdom necessary to pursue the "good" exemplified by Christ. Reading Scripture …

Dynamical Similarity And The Problem Of Evil, Brad Kallenberg

Brad J. Kallenberg

Discussions of evil commonly fault God for not “doing something.” Defenders of God respond that God had good reasons for not “doing something.” Detractors observe that if a human being can snatch the toddler from the path of the oncoming bus, why does not God snatch the bus from the path of the oncoming toddler? The underlying assumption in such discussions is that God’s “doing something” is similar to humans’ “doing something.” If human beings bear the image of their Creator as the Abrahamic faiths maintain, it is natural to suppose that divine action is similar to human action. But …

Gregory Of Nyssa And Jacques Derrida On The Human-Animal Distinction In The Song Of Songs, Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

The Logos Of God And The End Of Man: Giorgio Agamben And The Gospel Of John On Animality As Light And Life., Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

Joining Or Changing The Conversation? Catholic Social Thought And Intellectual Property, Frank Pasquale

Frank A. Pasquale

No abstract provided.

Slaves To Contradictions: 13 Myths That Sustained Slavery, Wilson Huhn

Wilson R. Huhn

People have a fundamental need to think of themselves as “good people.” To achieve this we tell each other stories – we create myths – about ourselves and our society. These myths may be true or they may be false. The more discordant a myth is with reality, the more difficult it is to convince people to embrace it. In such cases to sustain the illusion of truth it may be necessary to develop an entire mythology – an integrated web of mutually supporting stories. This paper explores the system of myths that sustained the institution of slavery in the …

'Marvel At The Intelligence Of Unthinking Creatures!': Contemplative Animals In Gregory Of Nazianzus And Evagrius Of Pontus., Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

Hate Talk, Straight Thought And Wisdom: A Guide To Critical Thinking, Argumentation And Decision Making (Pdf), T. L. Brink

T. L. Brink

Jewish-Christian Studies On The Graduate Level, Lawrence E. Frizzell D.Phil.

Reverend Lawrence E. Frizzell, S.T.L., S.S.L., D.Phil.

This report reflects on work that prepares the next generation for their role as educators in Jewish-Christian studies and relations and was delivered at the Meeting of the Consultors of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and Representatives from Bishops Conferences Responsible for Dialogue with the Jews in Vatican City on October 30, 2012.

Blaise Pascal: From Birth To Rebirth To Apologist, Lew A. Weider

Lew A. Weider

No abstract provided.

Confidence In Christ And The Sin Unto Death -- When Should A Believer Not Pray? 1 John 5:13-21, Leo R. Percer

Leo Raines Percer

No abstract provided.

Gregory Of Nyssa On Language, Naming God's Creatures, And The Desire Of The Discursive Animal, Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward A Method For Systemic Change, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

When Pope John Paul II addressed the General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission in 1986, he encouraged the Assembly to “search out more than ever, with boldness, humility and skill, the causes of poverty and encourage short and long term solutions; adaptable and effective concrete solutions.” Building from Vincentian heritage and the wisdom of the Vincentian family, this paper uses Pragmatic Inquiry to construct a method - Vincentian Pragmatism - that will foster the kinds of systemic change that Pope John Paul II envisioned.

The Great Recession: Some Niebuhrian Reflections, Scott R. Paeth

Scott R. Paeth

"This moment of economic crisis has intersected with another moment, one of renewed interest in the thought of Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr’s wide- ranging intellectual curiosity touched frequently on questions of ethics and economics, particularly during the period of his own economic crisis in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash. Niebuhr’s insights during that period, which formed the core of what came to be known as his “Christian realist” approach to issues of Christianity and public morality, have something to say to us as we grapple with the questions of justice, economics, and social reform in the wake of …

Review Of Creaturely Theology -- Edited By Celia Deane-Drummond And David Clough, Eric D. Meyer

Eric Meyer

You Make All Things New, Scott R. Paeth

Scott R. Paeth

This article examines the way in which the theology of Jonathan Edwards can contrib- ute to the construction of a Christian approach to ecological ethics that maintains crucial elements of the Christian theological tradition. By way of comparison, the article begins with an examination of the work of Rosemary Radford Ruether, whose approach to dealing with the ecological implications of the Christian tradition diverges sharply from the perspective offered by Edwards, and provides a useful contrast to his approach. The article then turns to an extensive discussion of Edwards’ view of nature and the theology of creation, particularly the relationship …

Making Decisions Based On Mission And Values, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Golden Rule Ethics And The Death Of The Criminal Law's Special Part, Stuart Green

Stuart Green

This brief review of Crime and Culpability: A Theory of Criminal Law, by Larry Alexander and Kimberly Kessler Ferzan, with Stephen Morse, focuses on the authors’ proposal that the Special Part of the criminal law, the part that identifies and defines specific offenses, be radically stripped down in a manner that is reminiscent of the Golden Rule of Ethics, which, they say, offers a “clear” and “concise” guide to living ethically. Rather than a long list of specific prohibited forms of conduct (“don’t murder,” “don’t rape,” “don’t commit theft,” and the like), they argue, the criminal law should rely on …

Subsidiarity: Challenging The Top Down Bias, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

Global poverty has received significant attention in the past decade, particularly after the adoption of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals in 2002. Commentators and ethicists like Peter Singer have long held that the wealthy of the world have an obligation to help the poor. While the sentiments may be positive, there are real harms that have come from this kind of top down thinking. Subsidiarity, to the contrary, is a much more realistic and morally tenable approach to global poverty.

Becoming The New Operating System, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

Guided By Your Secret Life, Homer Massey

Homer Massey

The soul may be thought of as that part of the personality that processes an individual’s highest values. Humanly this may also be thought of as the conscience, an integral part of the soul. This short essay suggests that a Christian has a wonderful secret life within him that must be managed to help him through the day-to-day challenges of life.

Elijah Baker 1742-1798, Homer Massey

Homer Massey

A Baptist preacher is imprisoned and his case eventually dismissed. But rather than gaining his freedom he was put on a ship with orders to take him anywhere but America. He was literally "shanghaied" for the Lord.

Review: The Children Of God: The Inside Story, Edward Hindson

Edward Hindson

No abstract provided.

The Cultic Mentality, Edward Hindson

Edward Hindson

No abstract provided.