Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Second-Grade Children Speak: Artistic Expression Of Sin And Forgiveness In The Sacrament Of Reconciliation, Jennifer Beste

Theology Faculty Publications

Despite a long-standing historical debate in Catholicism about whether second grade is an age-appropriate time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there has been a virtual absence of Catholic children's own voices and perspectives about this sacrament and its spiritual and moral effects. Joining a growing number of religious scholars who stress the need to engage in child-centered research, I conducted a qualitative study interviewing Catholic second graders about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The purpose of this article is to analyze their drawings of this religious ritual. According to many psychologists and art therapists, children can best capture how they …

Entering Into The Profound Mystery: Yves Congar’S Via Media On The Salvation Of People Of Non-Christian Religions, Elizabeth M. Cunneen

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The twenty-first century Catholic Church is in the process of understanding its relation to the Second Vatican Council. Yves Congar, one of the most influential theologians at the council, had a theological career spanning over fifty years, and his theological insights remain pertinent to contemporary historical and cultural concerns. This paper describes Yves Congar’s particular ecclesiological, pneumatological and Christological insights in response to the question of the salvation of people of non-Christian religions. Congar seeks to find a via media, or middle way, which denies two extreme perspectives, one of which holds that explicit non-Christians are not saved, and …

Trinitarian Christology: The Grammar Of The Christian Faith And The Foundation For A Theology Of Religious Pluralism, Eric Christensen

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This essay explores the interaction of George Lindbeck’s cultural-linguistic model of religious knowledge and Jacques Dupuis’ trinitarian Christology as a model for a theology of religious pluralism. The goal is to provide a basic overview of how the work of these two thinkers might work together to articulate a theology of religious pluralsim. In summary, a cultural-linguistic model does not provide conclusions in advance for the theology of religions. Rather, it allows a freedom in which to explore how doctrines might be formulated in order to remain true to the inherited tradition, to contemporary religious experience, and to the situation …

Tribute To Dietrich Reinhart, Osb, Dale Launderville Osb

Obsculta

No abstract provided.

Proclaiming The Truth Of Beauty, Larry Fraher

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

An examination of the eschatological problem, defined as an over-emphasis on the individual nature of the end-times, asserting that the problem may be reconciled through an application of theological aesthetics, and a practical example of this application in the art of theSaint John’sBible.

"Who Do You Say That I Am?" The Role Of Story In Christology, Vernon W. Goodin

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

No abstract provided.

Community In The Theology Of Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, Nicholas Coffman

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This work began as a term paper for an Independent Learning Project with Dr. Cahoy and Ben Durheim. From our discussions, it became clear that on a literal level, Kierkegaard’s vision of Christianity is largely individualistic in emphasis. This work critiques this assertion through a wider engagement of several texts, illustrating the seminal Christian position of Kierkegaard. The analysis begins with secondary source appraisals of Kierkegaard as theologian, to clarify this endeavor as distinct from an exclusively philosophical pursuit. Next, Kierkegaard’s major psychological understandings are addressed, revealing hidden potential for the role of community in authentic faith. Finally, this work …

"The End Of Faith?" Science And Theology As Process, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

A spate of recent books would claim that science’s only role vis a vis theology is to discredit it. Sam Harris, in The End of Faith, credits religious faith as the source of much of the violence in today’s world. Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, views religion as, at best, a profound misunderstanding, and at worst a form of madness. Both find an antidote to such irrationality in science. To Harris and Dawkins religion is a body of accumulated knowledge. However, religion can also be thought of as a process, one based on experience, questions, and results. …

“You Can Become All Flame”: Do The Desert Fathers Have Anything To Say To Us Today?, Arlen M. Hanson

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This paper will examine Apophthegmata patrum, the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, in a critical manner, along with selected works from scholars of the Apophthegmata, in the light of recent “popular” treatments of the Apophthegmata, to discuss whether and what the Apophthegmata patrum might have to say to 21^st century Christians in the way of timeless truth despite apparent harshness, extremism found in the Apophthegmata, and the fact that approximately seventeen hundred years have fundamentally given us a vastly different way of seeing the world and ourselves in it.

Concealing To Reveal: Modesty In Pope John Paul Ii’S Theology Of The Body, Katinka Nadine Ellen Evers

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

Responding to a need in the sphere of serious academic scholarship to address the topic of modesty, this paper delves into that theme. It examines the use and importance of the term ‘modesty’ in relation to comparable words, providing a definition of modesty that is useful for further theological discussion. It then incorporates Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body as a helpful tool in understanding the concept of modesty. Finally, this paper concludes with some implications this theological exercise entails, both for the particular sphere of sexual morality, and the broader spectrum of anthropological questions such as the …

Sex In The City Of God, Diana Macalintal

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The Church does not canonize saints; it canonizes causes, lifestyles, and attitudes. This is increasingly evident in the causes for lay people, especially married couples. Although it has made recent strides toward a more balanced theology of sexuality, the Catholic Church will not be comfortable canonizing happily married, sexually active couples until Mary is valued as a disciple and not exclusively as a virgin. Through an examination and evaluation of the explicit and implicit theology of sexuality as found in Scripture, Church teaching, and the canonization process, this paper will propose a new theology of sexuality based on a re-visioning …

Gospeldharma: The Seven-Fold Sacrament Of Generous Interbeing, Paul Joseph Thoemke Oblsb

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

The Buddha’s dharma of the interdependent co-arising of all phenomena (this is because that is) is the unifying concept between Christianity and Buddhism. The vast, incomprehensible interconnection of all aspects of the cosmos with every other aspect can be described as “interbeing.” Furthermore, because each new manifestation depends completely on the passing away of every previous manifestation, we may also call this interbeing, this impermanence,“generosity.”

The Buddha’s dharma of interdependent co-arising reveals reality as it is; and it helps to reveal a sublime and profound unfolding of God’s relationship with the world. In light of the …

Terminator Or Super Mario: Human/Computer Hybrids, Actual And Virtual, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

Is a human/computer hybrid feasible: If so, in what ways would such hybridization affect our concept of what it means to be human? There are two forms of such hybridization, the actual and the virtual. Actual hybridization involves the implantation of mechanical devices in the human body. In actual hybridization the computer comes to us and to our body to enhance our functioning in our world. In virtual hybridization we go to the computer, projecting our minds into the world of cyberspace and being formed there. Perhaps the most common form of virtual hybridization is the immersion our children experience …

Creating In Our Own Image: Artificial Intelligence And The Image Of God, Noreen L. Herzfeld

Theology Faculty Publications

There is remarkable convergence between twentieth-century interpretations of the image of God (imago Dei), what it means for human beings to be created in God's image, and approaches toward creating in our own image in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Both fields have viewed the intersection between God and humanity or humanity and computers in terms of either (1) a property or set of properties such as intelligence, (2) the functions we engage in or are capable of, or (3) the relationships we establish and maintain. Each of these three approaches reflects a different understanding of what …

Descensus Christi Ad Inferos: Christ’S Descent To The Dead, Martin F. Connell

Theology Faculty Publications

The narrative of Christ’s descent was nearly omnipresent in the early Church. Yet a change of Latin vocabulary from “descensus ad inferos” (Christ’s descent to the dead) to “descensus ad inferna” (Christ’s descent into hell) prompted a change in what was proclaimed. The earlier stratum portrayed Christ preaching to those who, while on earth, did not hear the word of God, while the latter described the reconciliation of sinners. The author here considers the vitality of this creedal statement and what is lost when the descent is absent from Christian experience.

Grounded In Love: An Investigation Of The Fundamental Ignatian Teaching On Discernment Within The Tradition Of Askesis, Edward Horski

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

No abstract provided.

Jesus As "Son Of God", Christoph Franz Dobrowolski

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

For the purpose of this paper, the attempt will be made to see how some contemporary scholars have addressed how the New Testament writers came to describe and proclaim Jesus as "Son of God." The attempt will also be made to see through the New Testament writers' theological retrojections of this title, to question whether or not Jesus understood himself to be "Son of God" in the same terms. Furthermore, discrepancies between consciousness and knowledge will be discussed- as contemporary scholars have presented them- in terms of Jesus' probable understanding of his divine sonship.

Black Liberation Theology In The United States: An Historical Survey, Jennifer L. Decker

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

No abstract provided.