bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enfleshing Scripture through Literature
Authors: Maurer M. Sylvia 
Published: August 2016

AbstractCollege students seldom have an adequate backdrop against which to view and evaluate their present experiences and, consequently, are hindered in their growth into responsible adulthood. Although scripture could be an enlightening and stabilizing touchstone for their experiences, students are not sufficiently familiar with this unique aspect of their heritage nor their basic claim to it. By means of a course developed at Saint Mary's College, Winona, basic scriptural themes and experiences were identified and then perceived through their expression in literature. As a result students were stimulated to insights which promoted personal understanding and acceptance; the human experience initially brought forth in scripture, recalled and interpreted through literature, tended to surface as their personal story.
Voegelin's Noetic Differentiation: Religious Implications
Authors: Carmody John 
Published: August 2016

AbstractFor the past sixty years Eric Voegelin has probed the foundations of order and history. After explaining how Voegelin understands “order” and where he places the historical leaps in being that best disclose it, we fix our sights on the noetic differentiation of consciousness—the clarification of human reason launched by classical Greek philosophy. In Part One we expose Voegelin's view of noetic differentiation, beginning with his version of the classical discoveries by Plato and Aristotle. Next we trace the decline that came with the stoics and religion. Finally we conclude with the reality of differentiated reason and what it opens upon. In Part Two we apply this exposition to religion, pursuing the implications of Voegelin's noetic differentiation. The application takes us first to the eros for the divine ground that Voegelin's noesis manifests and the various ways that this eros shows itself in the different religious traditions. Second, the application shows the relevance of noetic differentiation for liberation theology and the theology of revelation.
Christian Human Rights Thought: Can Marxism Contribute?
Authors: Bancroft Nancy 
Published: August 2016

AbstractMarxist analyses can contribute to Christian human rights thought in four areas. First, Marx's anthropology emphasizes process and sociality over fixed or determining human qualities. The species-being concept counterbalances cynical forms of Christian “realism” and secular, genetic determinism. Second, Marx's analysis of rights under capitalism engenders the claim that human rights begin with the right to a non-exploitative social structure. The Marxist critique reinforces the biblical injunction against identification with an unjust status quo. Third, current Marxist analysis of the historical failure of socialism generates hope based on learning from the past. The analysis can help Christians to hope and work for earthly embodiment of human rights short of the Kingdom. Finally, Marxism and biblical thought converge in pointing to the oppressed as crucial for obtaining human rights. Christians and Marxists have common criteria for a human rights agenda.
Handing on the Tradition
Authors: Gaffney Kathleen McGovern 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe undergraduate course described introduces the academic study of religion. It summarizes basic Christian teaching on God, Salvation, Jesus Christ, Trinity, Church and Sacraments, Eschatology; promotes objective intellectual reflection on basic Christian teachings and on the religious experience that inspired them; introduces the student to academic religious literature, promotes informed dialogue among students of various religious traditions.
Development, Conversion, and Religious Education
Authors: Crysdale Cynthia S. W. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIn this article I address two intersecting and recurring debates that occur in discussions of religious education. The first issue has to do with the role of conversion in religious development. The second issue regards various educational philosophies and the priority they set on “content” or “process” in learning. After reviewing these debates I delineate the way in which I believe they intersect. By pointing out that development involves both “heritage” and “achievement” I clarify the relationship between conversion and development. Conversion involves both a transformation of the tradition one has inherited and the choosing of a direction for one's religious journey. Authentic religious education involves a healthy balance of tradition (content) and open-ended questioning (process). At the same time it must allow for the occurrence of conversion, a radical shift from inauthenticity, that may be startling and challenging to the educator, the educational system, and the tradition itself.
Teaching World Religions Through Their Scriptures
Authors: Biallas Leonard J. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractTextbooks on world religions offer a vast amount of factual information that often overwhelms undergraduate students. Because they get lost in detail, the students find it difficult to appropriate the religious traditions into their own experience. Is there a different approach to the religions—one that does not get too bogged down in historical dates or various philosophical movements, yet still remains academically respectable—that might better help them to appreciate the religious traditions? I want to suggest that one possible method might be to study selected key passages from the scriptures of the various religions, in particular their stories (rather than other literary forms). Such stories, whether narratives or parables, exist in the scriptures of all the major world religions. Carefully selected for their transformative and paradigmatic power, these stories easily lead into discussions of doctrines, rituals, ethics, and the other phenomenological dimensions of religion. More importantly, certain basic themes in these stories—desire for the direct experience of God, forgiveness, martyrdom, duty, balance of self-nature-society, and self-forgetfulness, for example—transcend their formulation in any one specific world religion. Student awareness of these and other archetypal themes is a healthy step in appropriating the cultural and spiritual life of their own religious traditions.
Left-Handed Theology and Inclusiveness
Authors: Jensen Gordon 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIn the concern for inclusiveness, one area that has been largely neglected is the discrimination against left-handedness. This paper looks briefly at some of the scriptural and social stigmas and implications attached to left-handedness. Using Luther's theology of the cross as its basis, a left-handed theology is introduced. Arguing for the need for a theology which focuses on those who are marginalized, a left-handed theology offers a model whereby God's left hand offers to those who are in “minority” positions grace and solidarity. This is contrasted to the right hand of God, which portrays a God of power, strength, and triumphalism. The hand of God which one chooses to relate to determines, then, how one does theology, and how a theological inclusiveness is developed.
Teaching Feminist Theology: A Male Perspective
Authors: Gillis Chester 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThis article describes the experience of a man teaching feminist theology to an undergraduate class. It offers insights into the encounters between a male teacher and a class of students comprised mostly of females. It examines how the students react to the issues raised by feminist theology and what corrections, criticisms, and contributions they make toward the subject and the teacher. While the article indicates a number of the difficulties involved in teaching this area of theological inquiry in general, and in particular for a man, it argues that there are important pedagogical and theological reasons for men to teach the subject.
The Lyre of Orpheus: Affectivity in the Teaching/Learning Process
Authors: Dreyer Elizabeth 
Published: August 2016

AbstractAll of us have memories—good and bad—of learning experiences. Ridicule or a rap on the knuckles produced fear and intimidation. A knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher may have opened the door to a life's work or even to a never-ending love for learning. One can be sure that affectivity was one key element in such experiences.When you think of the emotional, feeling aspects of learning experiences, what comes to mind? What is the setting? Who are the persons? What is the material? How would you describe the affective aspects of this experience? What elements were instrumental in eliciting strong feeling? What were the effects of this experience? Was it enjoyable? And finally, is this a common or rare type of experience in your life? With these questions in mind, let us reflect on several important aspects of the role of affectivity in the teaching/learning experience.My interest in affectivity emerged when I was a campus minister at a large university. Years of conversations with faculty and students about their faith experience produced a persistent question. Why did the emotions seem so non-functional in this arena? I began to wonder how persons understood and talked about affectivity before the Western emphasis on reason and strict empiricism became so pronounced. I discovered that scholars had described the medieval period as a time of intense emotion and longing, fierce passion and ardent desire. The first phase of my search ended in the thirteenth century with an analysis of affective language in the spiritual writings of the Franciscan professor at the University of Paris, Bonaventure.
Two Authors and Their Two Books Writ Twice: James Tunstead Burtchaell and Rosemary Haughton, Twenty-Five and Thirty Years on
Authors: McDonough William 
Published: August 2016

AbstractJames Tunstead Burtchaell had been teaching Rosemary Haughton's 1967 book The Transformation of Man for a number of years when he published Philemon's Problem in 1973. Now, with both authors having reworked their books in the last two years, we are given an opportunity to compare and contrast the development of Burtchaell's and Haughton's thinking on how grace transforms human beings. The present essay sees an intellectual convergence between Haughton and Burtchaell; it sees much to be grateful for in both books by both authors; and it claims that Haughton's new book has developed her thinking on grace's communal character further than Burtchaell's new book has developed his thinking on the same topic.
Wittgensteinian Fideism and Theology
Authors: Ommen Thomas B. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractAn important critique of a “public” model of theological discourse has appeared in the work of a group of thinkers in the analytic tradition sometimes called “Wittgensteinian Fideists.” This paper explores the model of theology representative of the Wittgensteinian Fideists, particularly that found in the work of D. Z. Phillips and Paul Holmer. Three themes are examined: the relationship between theology and ordinary language, the role of faith in theology, and the justification of theological claims. Each theme is then summarized and critically assessed in an effort to show the limitations in the Wittgensteinian model of theology and some of the ways in which an understanding of theological method can be carried beyond the point where the Wittgensteinian Fideists leave it.
Becker's Anthropology: The Shape of Finitude
Authors: Kopas Jane 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThis article examines the anthropoloy of Ernest Becker through the medium of his notion of creatureliness which represents a dominant focus, especially in his later work. Two elements stand out in this consideration—self-esteem, which as a motivation disguises creaturehood and makes it bearable, and the fear of death, which is the final confirmation of creaturehood. After examining Becker's treatment of these elements, the article explores several dimensions of a religious view of creatureliness which have not been taken up in order to show that Becker is dealing with finitude rather than creatureliness. A fuller treatment of creatureliness would require an approach that does justice to these dimensions, and, if one wishes as Becker does to demonstrate a convergence between religion and the social sciences, it would require a more coherently developed method of correlation. The article concludes with an examination of the spirituality that emerges for Becker out of his perspective on the human.
Spiritual Discernment in The Dialogue of Saint Catherine of Siena
Authors: Schneiders Sandra M. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe article is divided into two parts. The first deals with the subject of spiritual discernment in Christian tradition: its nature, importance in the spiritual life, and the aspects of the spiritual life on which it bears. The second part deals with Catherine of Siena's particular approach to the subject of discernment: an explanation of the three images she uses to illuminate the meaning and operation of discernment and an exploration of the theological sources of her teaching on this subject.
Meaning, Morals and the Existence of God
Authors: McCarthy Gerald 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThis essay is divided into two sections. Part I analyzes and compares in detail the arguments of Schubert Ogden and Hans Küng for the existence of God. Essentially, both Küng and Ogden argue that certain characteristic human activities (especially moral choices) presuppose a confidence (Ogden) or a basic trust (Küng) that our lives and reality of which our lives are a part are meaningful. They continue to argue that this confidence or this basic trust are only justifiable on the condition of belief in God. Hence, they conclude that a belief in God is presupposed by our moral choices. Part II critically evaluates the above argument by drawing on distinctions made by analytic philosophers (Baier, Nielsen, Ayer) in their discussions of what conditions are necessary and sufficient to make a life (or life) meaningful. The discussion with analytic philosophy is important because neither Küng nor Ogden take any notice of the arguments raised there.
Horizons on Fundamental Moral Theology
Authors: Curran Charles E. 
Published: August 2016

This article will evaluate five comparatively recent books dealing with fundamental moral theology. Anthologies or books treating specific topics in special moral theology will not be discussed. The purpose is to consider various contemporary approaches to fundamental moral theology and to evaluate these works both in themselves and in their utility as textbooks. The authors to be considered are: O'Connell, Maguire, McDonagh, Häring, and Böckle.As might be expected there are strengths and weaknesses in all these works. The primary interpretive key to be employed in this article is the Sitz im Leben of the book. The particular Sitz im Leben of each author helps to understand better what the book is trying to accomplish and at the same time serves to indicate some of the strengths and weaknesses of the particular volume.
The Pharisees in Recent Catholic Writing
Authors: Swidler Leonard 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe negative image of the Pharisees in the Christian tradition since the time of the Gospels is stark, to say the least. Ninety percent of the references to them in elementary Catholic textbooks and seventy-eight percent in secondary Catholic school texts are negative. Because this image is historically unwarranted and because the Pharisees are the forefathers of present-day rabbinic Judaism, correcting that distorted image both in Christian scholarship and popular education is essential to further Jewish-Christian dialogue. With Vatican II there was “turning around” in the official Catholic Church on the image of the Pharisees, and since that time numerous official Catholic documents have called for a balancing of the distorted image of the Pharisees. Some Catholic scholars, mostly in the United States, and to some extent in Germany, have begun that scholarly and popular education process. John Pawlikowski, Eugene Fisher, Clemens Thoma, and Franz Mussner stand out in this work. But much remains to be done to bring that new scholarship into the classroom, books, and liturgy.
Women in American Catholic History
Authors: Swidler Arlene 
Published: August 2016

Considering that History and Religious Studies are two of the areas in which feminist scholars have been most active, it is surprising how very little information is compiled in the area of American Catholic Women's History. Catholic Church historians, of course, have never found the laity of great interest, and the contemporary feminist movement has been strongly secular. Protestant and Jewish materials are more easily available, and even those books which purport to address women in American religion in general give only brief attention to Catholicisim, often by dealing solely with women in religious orders. So work on American Catholic women remains to be done.The one exception is books dealing with individual religious orders, partly because of the accessibility of the materials, though I have been gently admonished not to overestimate the order in convent archives. Studies moving wider to focus on sisters in general are still very few, and attempts to integrate these materials with lay women's history have barely begun. People interested in this field will find help in Elizabeth Kolmer, A.S.C., “Catholic Women Religious and Women's History: A Survey of the Literature,” American Quarterly 30 (1978), 639-51, and in the forthcoming book by Evangeline Thomas, C.S.J., Women Religious History Sources: A Guide to Archives (New York: Bowker).
Israel and Zion—Two Gendered Images: Biblical Speech Traditions and Their Contemporary Neglect
Authors: Schmitt John J. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe Bible has two different ways of speaking about two objects of God's love: Israel and Zion. Israel is masculine, and Zion/Jerusalem is feminine. The difference between the two is more visible in Hebrew which distinguishes masculine and feminine in the verbs as well as in the adjectives. Neglect of this gender distinction by calling Israel “she” leads to distortion of biblical speech and thought, and to misunderstanding the Bible's image for the relation between God and Israel. Recognition of biblical usage and its gendered expression ought to precede theological reflection.
A Future for Peru? Gustavo Gutiérrez and the Reasons for His Hope
Authors: Nickoloff James B. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe growing national crisis of Peru in which death seems to triumph over life, especially for the poor, has not dimmed the hope of Gustavo Gutiérrez and others for the ultimate success of the poor to achieve liberation from poverty and injustice. Hope, for Gutiérrez, is far from wishful thinking. The case for hope results from the application of a complex epistemology which includes social scientific analysis, the “utopian imagination,” and faith in the God of Jesus Christ to the present socio-ecclesial reality of Peru. Among the reasons for hope are the fact of the church's evangelization of the poor, the new spirituality coming to birth among the poor, the rejection of fear in the face of the mounting persecution and martyrdom of Christian believers, and the universal church's adoption of a preferential option for the poor.
Israel's God, the Psalms, and the City of Jerusalem: Life Experience and the Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer
Authors: Renckens Han , van Beeck Frans Jozef 
Published: August 2016

AbstractWedged in between interpretations of brief passages from Aquinas' introduction to his commentary on the Psalms and Johann Georg Hamann'sEntkleidung und Verklärung, this essay argues that Israel's conception of God (which North American culture is poorly equipped to appreciate) must determine the fundamental form of prayer. This basic form is: the offering up to God, in praise and entreaty, of the whole world as well as of ourselves, along with all of our historic experience.
Undergraduates Discover Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Authors: Ballweg John M. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractOne does not read far or engage in a discussion about the complexity of the modern world without sensing an evolutionary vision which reflects the thought of Teilhard de Chardin. College students who are introduced to the Teilhardian vision respond in positive and creative ways. Teaching such a course reveals insights into young people's reaction to the present and future implications of a high-tech society. In an age of increasing control over the forces of nature by human-kind, crucial questions emerge. Two concerns attract students to Teilhard: fear of the future in terms of the direction and quality of human life; and an interest in the relationship between religion and science, which indicates substantive attitudes of a younger generation toward faith in God. Whether there is agreement with Teilhard is not the question, but the fact that he has pressed us to face the issues.
The Infallibility of the Papal Magisterium as Presented in the Pastoral Letters of the Bishops of the United States after Vatican I
Authors: Hennessy Paul K. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractMuch of the confusion about the proper interpretation of the carefully formulated definition of Pastor Aeternus on the infallibility of the papal magisterium stems from improper presentations, even immediately after the Council. Only Archbishop Spalding of Baltimore took the time to nuance his presentation. The sympathy evoked worldwide among Catholics for the loss of the Papal States and the freedom of the Roman Pontiff also added to the confusion. The texts of the letters and statements of the bishops are important objects of study for anyone wishing to trace the course of “papal infallibility.”
Lion as Slain Lamb: On Reading Revelation Recursively
Authors: McDonald Patricia M. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractBecause of their communities' experiences and tendencies, New Testament writers such as Paul and Mark stress the death and resurrection of Jesus as the source and model of the Christian life. In the Book of Revelation, John's version of this is that the lion of the tribe of Judah indeed “conquers” but does so as the Lamb who was slain; the Christian witnessing that leads to the victory of Christ's followers may also entail their death. Yet the seer associates the Lamb imagery with that of ancient near eastern and classical versions of the conquest myth. Does John risk subverting his own purposes? The paper examines his presentation of the Lamb and suggests that he does indeed run such a risk, at least for the inattentive reader, but this does not justify neglect of such a creative and imaginative soteriology in which evil is overcome by the word of God.
The Mutual Transformation of Self and Symbol: Bede Griffiths and the Jesus Prayer
Authors: Trapnell Judson B. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractAt the height of modern questioning of the relevance of traditional symbols, Paul Ricoeur envisioned a reawakening to the plenitude of meaning available in symbols that would occur not through rejecting criticism but by moving through it. While many have found this vision of a “second naiveté” compelling, exemplars of it have remained few. This article proposes that insight into a contemporary reappropriation of symbols may be gained from an examination of Bede Griffiths' lifelong experience with one, Jesus Christ. Griffiths' contemplative and interreligious experience illustrate and advance the analyses of religious symbols offered by Ricoeur, Mircea Eliade, and David Tracy.