Christopher Asprey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199584703
- eISBN:
- 9780191723209
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584703.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book provides a detailed examination of Karl Barth's theology during the time he was professor at the University of Göttingen (1921–6). The analysis draws on a variety of posthumously published ...
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This book provides a detailed examination of Karl Barth's theology during the time he was professor at the University of Göttingen (1921–6). The analysis draws on a variety of posthumously published works by Barth (especially his academic lecture courses in dogmatics, exegesis, and historical theology), as well as on better known texts from the period, providing comparisons and contrasts with some of Barth's major contemporaries. A major task of the book is to examine in detail the Unterricht in der christlichen Religion (Göttingen Dogmatics), the only full dogmatics cycle Barth completed during his lifetime. A picture emerges of Barth's concerns during this period that is different from many other established accounts: rather than being ‘occasionalist’ or dualist, Barth's theology in the 1920s was characterised by an orientation towards the eschatological encounter between God and humankind. Barth's intention in the Göttingen Dogmatics was to introduce his students to their responsibility before the Word of God, all other theological topics then flowing towards or from the ‘dialogical’ moment of encounter between this Word and human beings. This reading is borne out by in-depth analyses of some of the major themes in the dogmatics: revelation, incarnation, resurrection, pneumatology, moral, and sacramental theology. While Barth's focus on the eschatological presence of God explains the freshness and immediacy of his writing in the 1920s, it is also shown at a number of points how this perspective generates various dilemmas in his theology, which remain unresolved during this period.Less
This book provides a detailed examination of Karl Barth's theology during the time he was professor at the University of Göttingen (1921–6). The analysis draws on a variety of posthumously published works by Barth (especially his academic lecture courses in dogmatics, exegesis, and historical theology), as well as on better known texts from the period, providing comparisons and contrasts with some of Barth's major contemporaries. A major task of the book is to examine in detail the Unterricht in der christlichen Religion (Göttingen Dogmatics), the only full dogmatics cycle Barth completed during his lifetime. A picture emerges of Barth's concerns during this period that is different from many other established accounts: rather than being ‘occasionalist’ or dualist, Barth's theology in the 1920s was characterised by an orientation towards the eschatological encounter between God and humankind. Barth's intention in the Göttingen Dogmatics was to introduce his students to their responsibility before the Word of God, all other theological topics then flowing towards or from the ‘dialogical’ moment of encounter between this Word and human beings. This reading is borne out by in-depth analyses of some of the major themes in the dogmatics: revelation, incarnation, resurrection, pneumatology, moral, and sacramental theology. While Barth's focus on the eschatological presence of God explains the freshness and immediacy of his writing in the 1920s, it is also shown at a number of points how this perspective generates various dilemmas in his theology, which remain unresolved during this period.
Roman Cholij
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199566976
- eISBN:
- 9780191701993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566976.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete ...
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This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.Less
This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. The book provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. The book refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional Byzantine church and state relationship, and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In this analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the book identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.
Geoffrey Rowell
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263326
- eISBN:
- 9780191682476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263326.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, History of Christianity
The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though ...
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The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though originating in a particular political challenge to the Church of England, was far-reaching in its effect. The continuity and catholic identity of Anglicanism was powerfully affirmed; sacramental worship was restored to a central place in Anglican devotion; religious orders were revived; and both in the mission field and in the slums, devoted priests laboured with new vigour and a new sense of the Church. This study of some of the major themes and personalities of the Catholic revival in Anglicanism highlights some of these aspects, and in particular, points to the close relationship between theology and sacramental spirituality which was at the heart of the movement. To recognize this central characteristic of the revival can contribute much, the book states, to the renewal of the Catholic tradition in Anglicanism today.Less
The year 1983 marked the 150th anniversary of John Keble's Assize Sermon, a sermon which Newman recognized as the beginning of the Oxford Movement. The religious revival which it signalled, though originating in a particular political challenge to the Church of England, was far-reaching in its effect. The continuity and catholic identity of Anglicanism was powerfully affirmed; sacramental worship was restored to a central place in Anglican devotion; religious orders were revived; and both in the mission field and in the slums, devoted priests laboured with new vigour and a new sense of the Church. This study of some of the major themes and personalities of the Catholic revival in Anglicanism highlights some of these aspects, and in particular, points to the close relationship between theology and sacramental spirituality which was at the heart of the movement. To recognize this central characteristic of the revival can contribute much, the book states, to the renewal of the Catholic tradition in Anglicanism today.
W. David Myers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195178067
- eISBN:
- 9780199784905
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195178068.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter explores changes in sacramental penance. It is shown that the form of confession prevalent today is a product of the High Middle Ages and the religious reforms of the Council of Trent. ...
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This chapter explores changes in sacramental penance. It is shown that the form of confession prevalent today is a product of the High Middle Ages and the religious reforms of the Council of Trent. Modern devotion to the sacrament signaled by frequent reception is a relatively recent phenomenon that has varied greatly since the Council of Trent.Less
This chapter explores changes in sacramental penance. It is shown that the form of confession prevalent today is a product of the High Middle Ages and the religious reforms of the Council of Trent. Modern devotion to the sacrament signaled by frequent reception is a relatively recent phenomenon that has varied greatly since the Council of Trent.
Michael P. Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of ...
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The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of aesthetics, lacks thematic and theological coherence. More often, the idea of a Catholic imagination functions at this time as a deeply felt intuition about the organic connections that exist among theological insights, cultural background, and literary expression. The book explores the many ways that the theological work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) provides the model, content, and optic for demonstrating the credibility and range of a Catholic imagination. Since Balthasar views arts and literatures precisely as theologies, the book surveys a broad array of poetry, drama, fiction, and film and sets these readings against the central aspects of Balthasar's theological program. A major consequence of this study is the recovery of the legitimate place of a distinct “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. The book also argues that Balthasar's voice both complements and challenges contemporary critical theory and contends that postmodern interpretive methodology, with its careful critique of entrenched philosophical assumptions and reiterated codes of meaning, is not the threat to theological meaning that many fear. On the contrary, postmodernism can provide both literary critics and theologians alike with the tools that assess, challenge, and celebrate the theological imagination as it is depicted in literary art today.Less
The turn of the millennium has brought with it a vigorous revival in the interdisciplinary study of theology and art. The notion of a Catholic imagination, however, as a specific category of aesthetics, lacks thematic and theological coherence. More often, the idea of a Catholic imagination functions at this time as a deeply felt intuition about the organic connections that exist among theological insights, cultural background, and literary expression. The book explores the many ways that the theological work of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) provides the model, content, and optic for demonstrating the credibility and range of a Catholic imagination. Since Balthasar views arts and literatures precisely as theologies, the book surveys a broad array of poetry, drama, fiction, and film and sets these readings against the central aspects of Balthasar's theological program. A major consequence of this study is the recovery of the legitimate place of a distinct “theological imagination” in the critical study of literary and narrative art. The book also argues that Balthasar's voice both complements and challenges contemporary critical theory and contends that postmodern interpretive methodology, with its careful critique of entrenched philosophical assumptions and reiterated codes of meaning, is not the threat to theological meaning that many fear. On the contrary, postmodernism can provide both literary critics and theologians alike with the tools that assess, challenge, and celebrate the theological imagination as it is depicted in literary art today.
Willis Jenkins
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328516
- eISBN:
- 9780199869862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328516.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter uses the rubric of ecological spiritualities to gather together proposals united by their appropriation of deification themes, where communion with creation becomes part of union with ...
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This chapter uses the rubric of ecological spiritualities to gather together proposals united by their appropriation of deification themes, where communion with creation becomes part of union with God. It argues that theological variety proliferates within a so-called “strategy of ecological spirituality”, but its approaches share a common practical rationale: each makes environmental issues matter for Christian experience by appealing to the ecological dimensions of fully Christian personhood. Underlying creation's integrity and faithful stewardship (the other two strategies), say theorists, there is a radical relation of personhood and environment. Environmental lament and redress begin from a primary spiritual communion of humanity and earth, assumed into personal experience with God. As they describe how grace can heal that communion, restoring ecological dimensions to personhood as humans become closer to God, approaches within this strategy draw on a background pattern of grace as deification. The strategy illuminates the way of the world into divine participation, as it describes the cosmic significance of personal communion. Used more and less intensively, the deification pattern shapes multiple theologies that deploy cosmology and anthropology to diagnose and practically address environmental issues.Less
This chapter uses the rubric of ecological spiritualities to gather together proposals united by their appropriation of deification themes, where communion with creation becomes part of union with God. It argues that theological variety proliferates within a so-called “strategy of ecological spirituality”, but its approaches share a common practical rationale: each makes environmental issues matter for Christian experience by appealing to the ecological dimensions of fully Christian personhood. Underlying creation's integrity and faithful stewardship (the other two strategies), say theorists, there is a radical relation of personhood and environment. Environmental lament and redress begin from a primary spiritual communion of humanity and earth, assumed into personal experience with God. As they describe how grace can heal that communion, restoring ecological dimensions to personhood as humans become closer to God, approaches within this strategy draw on a background pattern of grace as deification. The strategy illuminates the way of the world into divine participation, as it describes the cosmic significance of personal communion. Used more and less intensively, the deification pattern shapes multiple theologies that deploy cosmology and anthropology to diagnose and practically address environmental issues.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating ...
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In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating such a theological vision—the chapter also attempts to locate the particular phenomena of postmodernism and deconstruction within the intersection of theology and narrative art. Balthasar anticipates the tendency of current critical theory to privilege and emphasize the amorphous breadth of both linguistic and cultural expression; and he anticipates the critical tension between those who read Catholicism as theological truth and those that might read Catholicism as a “fluctuating signifier,” as a cultural and/or literary text. Under this general theme, a dialog is opened with such diverse critics as William Lynch, Paul Giles, Michel De Certeau, and Jacques Derrida. Like them, Balthasar's theology plots a route for appreciating the aesthetic complexity and theological possibility of a broadly canvassed intertextuality and interdisciplinarity. However, Balthasar's program also defends the critical uniqueness of certain theological commitments (e.g., the transcendentals, the Incarnation, and the trinitarian structure of being) and looks to the arts to demonstrate the formal expression and aesthetic span of these phenomena. The chapter concludes with the proposition that it is the recognition of these essential questions that both challenge and aid the articulation of a Catholic imagination and that a turn to representative work in literature, poetry, and film will aid in such an articulation.Less
In addition to laying out a general groundwork for the Catholic imagination as a critical lens—and suggesting a variety of ways that the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar aids critics in articulating such a theological vision—the chapter also attempts to locate the particular phenomena of postmodernism and deconstruction within the intersection of theology and narrative art. Balthasar anticipates the tendency of current critical theory to privilege and emphasize the amorphous breadth of both linguistic and cultural expression; and he anticipates the critical tension between those who read Catholicism as theological truth and those that might read Catholicism as a “fluctuating signifier,” as a cultural and/or literary text. Under this general theme, a dialog is opened with such diverse critics as William Lynch, Paul Giles, Michel De Certeau, and Jacques Derrida. Like them, Balthasar's theology plots a route for appreciating the aesthetic complexity and theological possibility of a broadly canvassed intertextuality and interdisciplinarity. However, Balthasar's program also defends the critical uniqueness of certain theological commitments (e.g., the transcendentals, the Incarnation, and the trinitarian structure of being) and looks to the arts to demonstrate the formal expression and aesthetic span of these phenomena. The chapter concludes with the proposition that it is the recognition of these essential questions that both challenge and aid the articulation of a Catholic imagination and that a turn to representative work in literature, poetry, and film will aid in such an articulation.
Michael Patrick Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195333527
- eISBN:
- 9780199868896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333527.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and ...
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The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and Theo‐logic) provides a critical “system” in which to read texts and begins to illustrate Balthasar's unique contribution to current discussions about the intersection between theology, history, philosophy, and narrative art. The chapter demonstrates that not only is Balthasar one of the most important Catholic theologians of the twentieth century, but also his work has practical contributions to make to discourses in critical theory. Like critical theory, Balthasar's work is theological, literary, anthropological, philosophical, psychological, political, and historical, which are critical theory's main components. In the spirit of the ressourcement theology that shaped him, Balthasar is primarily interested in renewing attention to older sources in order to critique the idealistic excesses of modernity. In this sense, Balthasar reveals a postmodern temperament: he too is concerned with issues of language and difference, with aporia, with plurality, with surplus, and with horizons of meaning, to name a few. The difference between Balthasar and the majority of critical theorists resides in ontological and theological orientation: it is therefore a difference of imagination and of grammar. The chapter elaborates on these and other dynamic relationships.Less
The chapter serves both as a brief biography of Balthasar and a protracted bibliography of his work. The consideration of Balthasar's monumental opus (The Glory of the Lord, Theo‐drama, and Theo‐logic) provides a critical “system” in which to read texts and begins to illustrate Balthasar's unique contribution to current discussions about the intersection between theology, history, philosophy, and narrative art. The chapter demonstrates that not only is Balthasar one of the most important Catholic theologians of the twentieth century, but also his work has practical contributions to make to discourses in critical theory. Like critical theory, Balthasar's work is theological, literary, anthropological, philosophical, psychological, political, and historical, which are critical theory's main components. In the spirit of the ressourcement theology that shaped him, Balthasar is primarily interested in renewing attention to older sources in order to critique the idealistic excesses of modernity. In this sense, Balthasar reveals a postmodern temperament: he too is concerned with issues of language and difference, with aporia, with plurality, with surplus, and with horizons of meaning, to name a few. The difference between Balthasar and the majority of critical theorists resides in ontological and theological orientation: it is therefore a difference of imagination and of grammar. The chapter elaborates on these and other dynamic relationships.
Gerald McKenny
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199582679
- eISBN:
- 9780191722981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199582679.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good ...
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If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good is already accomplished, what significance can human action possibly have? This chapter examines the meaning, reality, and limitations of human action in Barth's moral theology in light of the central notion of Christ's accomplishment of the good in our place. His fundamental claim is that God's grace does not nullify human action or deprive it of significance but rather establishes it by empowering it to be, in its very creaturely nature, an analogy of grace.Less
If Jesus Christ has accomplished the good in our place and summons us to confirm it in our own conduct, it is clear that there is a place for human action in Barth's moral theology. But if the good is already accomplished, what significance can human action possibly have? This chapter examines the meaning, reality, and limitations of human action in Barth's moral theology in light of the central notion of Christ's accomplishment of the good in our place. His fundamental claim is that God's grace does not nullify human action or deprive it of significance but rather establishes it by empowering it to be, in its very creaturely nature, an analogy of grace.
Thomas B. Dozeman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195367331
- eISBN:
- 9780199867417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367331.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The theology of holiness in the priestly literature is described in order to interpret the ordination to sacramental ritual as modeled by Moses. The research of J. Milgrom on holiness as a ritual ...
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The theology of holiness in the priestly literature is described in order to interpret the ordination to sacramental ritual as modeled by Moses. The research of J. Milgrom on holiness as a ritual resource will guide the study of Moses. The chapter includes an interpretation of the literary structure, the view of divine transcendence, and the way in which holiness invades the profane world through the sacramental fire of the glory of Yahweh in the priestly literature, as well as the influence of the priestly view of Moses in the New Testament literature.Less
The theology of holiness in the priestly literature is described in order to interpret the ordination to sacramental ritual as modeled by Moses. The research of J. Milgrom on holiness as a ritual resource will guide the study of Moses. The chapter includes an interpretation of the literary structure, the view of divine transcendence, and the way in which holiness invades the profane world through the sacramental fire of the glory of Yahweh in the priestly literature, as well as the influence of the priestly view of Moses in the New Testament literature.
D.L. D’AVRAY
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208143
- eISBN:
- 9780191716522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208143.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Gérard de Mailly. The underlying structure of the sermon can be expressed schematically as follows: heretics disapprove of marriage, but the Lord ...
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This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Gérard de Mailly. The underlying structure of the sermon can be expressed schematically as follows: heretics disapprove of marriage, but the Lord instituted it and strongly endorsed its goodness. There are four kinds of marriage: carnal, sacramental, spiritual, and eternal. This manuscript is a good illustration of the argument that mass production of sermons was possible thanks not only to professional scribes, but also to clerics writing to a professional standard but not for money. There are some small deviations from the standardized text which suggest that the scribe was engaging with the content rather than copying mechanically.Less
This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Gérard de Mailly. The underlying structure of the sermon can be expressed schematically as follows: heretics disapprove of marriage, but the Lord instituted it and strongly endorsed its goodness. There are four kinds of marriage: carnal, sacramental, spiritual, and eternal. This manuscript is a good illustration of the argument that mass production of sermons was possible thanks not only to professional scribes, but also to clerics writing to a professional standard but not for money. There are some small deviations from the standardized text which suggest that the scribe was engaging with the content rather than copying mechanically.
D.L. D’AVRAY
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208143
- eISBN:
- 9780191716522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208143.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Guibert de Tournai. One of the main points of the sermon is that ‘marriage is good, as the Lord demonstrated’. It talks about sacramental marriage, ...
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This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Guibert de Tournai. One of the main points of the sermon is that ‘marriage is good, as the Lord demonstrated’. It talks about sacramental marriage, eternal marriage, bodily marriage, and spiritual marriage. The starting point is the invitation to the marriage feast of Cana. Guibert launches into a forceful summary of how the Lord honoured human marriage, instituting it at the beginning of the world in paradise and, in the New Testament, gracing a marriage by a miracle as well as his bodily presence. Guibert goes on to repeat the topos that the Lord knew that heretics would condemn marriage, and refuted them by attending the wedding at Cana.Less
This chapter analyses the sermon delivered by Guibert de Tournai. One of the main points of the sermon is that ‘marriage is good, as the Lord demonstrated’. It talks about sacramental marriage, eternal marriage, bodily marriage, and spiritual marriage. The starting point is the invitation to the marriage feast of Cana. Guibert launches into a forceful summary of how the Lord honoured human marriage, instituting it at the beginning of the world in paradise and, in the New Testament, gracing a marriage by a miracle as well as his bodily presence. Guibert goes on to repeat the topos that the Lord knew that heretics would condemn marriage, and refuted them by attending the wedding at Cana.
Hans Boersma
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199229642
- eISBN:
- 9780191710773
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229642.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
In the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council, the movement of nouvelle théologie caused great controversy in the Catholic Church. The interpretation of the movement continues to be a ...
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In the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council, the movement of nouvelle théologie caused great controversy in the Catholic Church. The interpretation of the movement continues to be a matter of scholarly debate. This book argues that a return to mystery was the movement's deepest motivation. Countering the modern intellectualism of the neo-Thomist establishment, Jesuits from Lyons–Fourvière and Dominicans from Le Saulchoir turned to the Great Tradition for inspiration. There they found an approach to theology that did not suffer from the later neo-scholastic separation between nature and the supernatural. The nouvelle theologians were convinced that a ressourcement of the Church Fathers and of medieval theology would point the way to a sacramental reintegration of nature and the supernatural. This book begins by setting the historical context for nouvelle théologie with discussions of significant theologians and philosophers like Möhler, Blondel, Maréchal, and Rousselot. The exposition then moves to some of the most characteristic elements of the ressourcement movement: its reintegration of nature and the supernatural (de Lubac, Bouillard, Balthasar, and Chenu), its reintroduction of the spiritual interpretation of Scripture (de Lubac and Daniélou), its approach to Tradition as organically developing in history (Daniélou, Charlier, de Lubac, Congar), and its communion ecclesiology that regarded the Church as sacrament of Christ (de Lubac and Congar). Boersma argues that in each of these areas, the nouvelle theologians advocated a return to mystery by means of a sacramental ontology.Less
In the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council, the movement of nouvelle théologie caused great controversy in the Catholic Church. The interpretation of the movement continues to be a matter of scholarly debate. This book argues that a return to mystery was the movement's deepest motivation. Countering the modern intellectualism of the neo-Thomist establishment, Jesuits from Lyons–Fourvière and Dominicans from Le Saulchoir turned to the Great Tradition for inspiration. There they found an approach to theology that did not suffer from the later neo-scholastic separation between nature and the supernatural. The nouvelle theologians were convinced that a ressourcement of the Church Fathers and of medieval theology would point the way to a sacramental reintegration of nature and the supernatural. This book begins by setting the historical context for nouvelle théologie with discussions of significant theologians and philosophers like Möhler, Blondel, Maréchal, and Rousselot. The exposition then moves to some of the most characteristic elements of the ressourcement movement: its reintegration of nature and the supernatural (de Lubac, Bouillard, Balthasar, and Chenu), its reintroduction of the spiritual interpretation of Scripture (de Lubac and Daniélou), its approach to Tradition as organically developing in history (Daniélou, Charlier, de Lubac, Congar), and its communion ecclesiology that regarded the Church as sacrament of Christ (de Lubac and Congar). Boersma argues that in each of these areas, the nouvelle theologians advocated a return to mystery by means of a sacramental ontology.
Christopher Asprey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199584703
- eISBN:
- 9780191723209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584703.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Before turning to dogmatics in Göttingen, Barth delivered a number of academic lecture courses on Reformed theology, during which he sought to position himself as a Reformed theologian in relation to ...
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Before turning to dogmatics in Göttingen, Barth delivered a number of academic lecture courses on Reformed theology, during which he sought to position himself as a Reformed theologian in relation to the three magisterial Protestant reformers: Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. This chapter shows how Barth's account of the Reformation is distinguished by its attempt to refer well-known differences between the Lutherans and Reformed, on issues concerning the Christian life, back to the Protestant controversies over sacramental theology. The early Protestant tradition is thus conceived by Barth as a long-standing and unresolved dialectical dispute over revelation itself, a focus which prevented its discussions of the other issues from becoming subjectivist.Less
Before turning to dogmatics in Göttingen, Barth delivered a number of academic lecture courses on Reformed theology, during which he sought to position himself as a Reformed theologian in relation to the three magisterial Protestant reformers: Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. This chapter shows how Barth's account of the Reformation is distinguished by its attempt to refer well-known differences between the Lutherans and Reformed, on issues concerning the Christian life, back to the Protestant controversies over sacramental theology. The early Protestant tradition is thus conceived by Barth as a long-standing and unresolved dialectical dispute over revelation itself, a focus which prevented its discussions of the other issues from becoming subjectivist.
S. J. Connolly
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199543472
- eISBN:
- 9780191716553
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543472.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
The accession of James II gave Catholics a short-lived ascendancy, until the Glorious Revolution and the defeat of James's Irish supporters by William III. Immediately afterwards the Irish ...
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The accession of James II gave Catholics a short-lived ascendancy, until the Glorious Revolution and the defeat of James's Irish supporters by William III. Immediately afterwards the Irish parliament, taking advantage of the war time crisis in government finances, staked its claim to a share in the liberties associated with the Revolution. It also used its new bargaining power to demand penal laws against Irish Catholics. Protestant dissenters had played their part in the Protestant victory, but their rising numbers, due to continued Scottish immigration, created fear within the Anglican ruling class, leading to the imposition of the sacramental test.Less
The accession of James II gave Catholics a short-lived ascendancy, until the Glorious Revolution and the defeat of James's Irish supporters by William III. Immediately afterwards the Irish parliament, taking advantage of the war time crisis in government finances, staked its claim to a share in the liberties associated with the Revolution. It also used its new bargaining power to demand penal laws against Irish Catholics. Protestant dissenters had played their part in the Protestant victory, but their rising numbers, due to continued Scottish immigration, created fear within the Anglican ruling class, leading to the imposition of the sacramental test.
Peter J. Thuesen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195174274
- eISBN:
- 9780199872138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174274.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
The Introduction opens with two vignettes about recent tornadoes that struck Indiana and Illinois. For some Christians, the doctrine predestination resembles the capricious wrath of a twister: God ...
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The Introduction opens with two vignettes about recent tornadoes that struck Indiana and Illinois. For some Christians, the doctrine predestination resembles the capricious wrath of a twister: God elects certain persons for salvation while visiting destruction upon others. for other Christians, predestination is the rock of certainty—a doctrine of assurance in an unpredictable world. while most Catholic and Protestant thinkers have equated outright denial of predestination with atheism, they have disagreed mightily over whether God elects persons arbitrarily or based on some foreseen condition of merit or faith. This debate is the main focus of the book, which argues that predestination is the unacknowledged source of much American denominational division. The book further argues that predestinarianism has tended to work against sacramental understandings of Christianity in which grace is conveyed continually through ritual. The Introduction presents these arguments and previews the content of the six main chapters and Epilogue.Less
The Introduction opens with two vignettes about recent tornadoes that struck Indiana and Illinois. For some Christians, the doctrine predestination resembles the capricious wrath of a twister: God elects certain persons for salvation while visiting destruction upon others. for other Christians, predestination is the rock of certainty—a doctrine of assurance in an unpredictable world. while most Catholic and Protestant thinkers have equated outright denial of predestination with atheism, they have disagreed mightily over whether God elects persons arbitrarily or based on some foreseen condition of merit or faith. This debate is the main focus of the book, which argues that predestination is the unacknowledged source of much American denominational division. The book further argues that predestinarianism has tended to work against sacramental understandings of Christianity in which grace is conveyed continually through ritual. The Introduction presents these arguments and previews the content of the six main chapters and Epilogue.
Peter J. Thuesen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195174274
- eISBN:
- 9780199872138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174274.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American ...
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Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American Christians. In different ways, both of these immigrant groups domesticated the werewolf of predestination—Catholics by entrusting the fate of dead individuals partly to living family members, who sought the masses of the church and the intercession of local saints; Lutherans by reinterpreting their confessions to temper Luther's harshest predestinarian conclusions. This chapter examines the Catholic debate between Molinists and strict Thomists, and shows how purgatory and the sacramental system remained vital to Catholic predestinarianism. The chapter then turns to the Lutheran predestinarian controversy of the 1880s, which divided the “back‐to‐Luther” conservatives of the Missouri Synod from more liberal synods committed to a doctrine of election “in view of” faith. Finally, the chapter considers predestination's role in the 1999 Catholic‐Lutheran “Joint Declaration.”Less
Despite their longstanding mutual hostility, Catholics and Lutherans shared a history of internal strife over predestination and a robust sacramentalism that set them apart from other American Christians. In different ways, both of these immigrant groups domesticated the werewolf of predestination—Catholics by entrusting the fate of dead individuals partly to living family members, who sought the masses of the church and the intercession of local saints; Lutherans by reinterpreting their confessions to temper Luther's harshest predestinarian conclusions. This chapter examines the Catholic debate between Molinists and strict Thomists, and shows how purgatory and the sacramental system remained vital to Catholic predestinarianism. The chapter then turns to the Lutheran predestinarian controversy of the 1880s, which divided the “back‐to‐Luther” conservatives of the Missouri Synod from more liberal synods committed to a doctrine of election “in view of” faith. Finally, the chapter considers predestination's role in the 1999 Catholic‐Lutheran “Joint Declaration.”
Peter J. Thuesen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195174274
- eISBN:
- 9780199872138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174274.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
The Epilogue explores the new frontier of American religion: the Protestant megachurch, pioneered by figures like California pastor Rick Warren. Because megachurches downplay doctrinal distinctions ...
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The Epilogue explores the new frontier of American religion: the Protestant megachurch, pioneered by figures like California pastor Rick Warren. Because megachurches downplay doctrinal distinctions in order to reach the widest audience, they would seem to spell the demise of a dogma as technical as predestination. Yet though precisely delineated doctrines may be treated as outworn artifacts, a vaguer language of foreordination thrives in evangelicalism today. The bible of this perspective is Warren's Purpose‐Driven Life, which dances around predestination without actually using the word and which adopts as its premise that nothing in life (or death) is arbitrary. The Epilogue concludes with reflections on the loss of holy mysteries, whether sacramental or dogmatic, in the cultural progression from the Puritans to Warren. Many post‐denominational evangelicals, buoyed by the presumption that a simple resort to biblical “fact” dispels all ambiguities, purvey pat answers to predestinarian questions that once defined denominations.Less
The Epilogue explores the new frontier of American religion: the Protestant megachurch, pioneered by figures like California pastor Rick Warren. Because megachurches downplay doctrinal distinctions in order to reach the widest audience, they would seem to spell the demise of a dogma as technical as predestination. Yet though precisely delineated doctrines may be treated as outworn artifacts, a vaguer language of foreordination thrives in evangelicalism today. The bible of this perspective is Warren's Purpose‐Driven Life, which dances around predestination without actually using the word and which adopts as its premise that nothing in life (or death) is arbitrary. The Epilogue concludes with reflections on the loss of holy mysteries, whether sacramental or dogmatic, in the cultural progression from the Puritans to Warren. Many post‐denominational evangelicals, buoyed by the presumption that a simple resort to biblical “fact” dispels all ambiguities, purvey pat answers to predestinarian questions that once defined denominations.
Hans Boersma
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199229642
- eISBN:
- 9780191710773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229642.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Church History
This introductory chapter characterizes the nouvelle théologie leading up to Vatican II as a movement of ressourcement of the Tradition, interested in recovering a sacramental ontology that ...
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This introductory chapter characterizes the nouvelle théologie leading up to Vatican II as a movement of ressourcement of the Tradition, interested in recovering a sacramental ontology that maintained the co-inherence of sign and reality. In connection with a number of different theological topics, the nouvelle theologians were interested in reaffirming historical realities of the created order as divinely ordained sacramental means leading to eternal mysteries. Thus, the movement's protest against the scholasticism of neo-Thomism did not signal a desire to replay the Modernist Crisis, but rather a desire to return to mystery. With Catholics and Protestants being common heirs to problems arising from the separation between nature and the supernatural, nouvelle théologie offers great potential for ecumenism. The chapter provides a historical overview of the various controversies surrounding nouvelle théologie and concludes with an outline of the remainder of the book.Less
This introductory chapter characterizes the nouvelle théologie leading up to Vatican II as a movement of ressourcement of the Tradition, interested in recovering a sacramental ontology that maintained the co-inherence of sign and reality. In connection with a number of different theological topics, the nouvelle theologians were interested in reaffirming historical realities of the created order as divinely ordained sacramental means leading to eternal mysteries. Thus, the movement's protest against the scholasticism of neo-Thomism did not signal a desire to replay the Modernist Crisis, but rather a desire to return to mystery. With Catholics and Protestants being common heirs to problems arising from the separation between nature and the supernatural, nouvelle théologie offers great potential for ecumenism. The chapter provides a historical overview of the various controversies surrounding nouvelle théologie and concludes with an outline of the remainder of the book.
Richard Kieckhefer
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195154665
- eISBN:
- 9780199835676
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195154665.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Four questions can be asked appropriately about any church. First, what are its spatial dynamics and how do they promote the dynamism of worship? Second, what (if anything) is the centering focus ...
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Four questions can be asked appropriately about any church. First, what are its spatial dynamics and how do they promote the dynamism of worship? Second, what (if anything) is the centering focus that clarifies what is most important to worship? Third, what aesthetic impact is the building meant to promote? Fourth, in what way does the building convey a sense of symbolic resonance, linking the immediate experience of the worshiper with the broader experience of this community and of the Church through history? These matters are all approached differently in different traditions of church-building. A “classic sacramental church” uses longitudinal space to promote the kinetic dynamism of processions, has an altar as its centering focus, is designed to create a sense of interplay between the immanence of God and the transcendence of ordinary experience, and is rich in symbolic resonance. A “classic evangelical” church uses some form of auditorium space to promote the verbal dynamism of proclamation and response, has a pulpit as its centering focus, is designed as a dignified space for edification, and is economical in its symbolic resonance. A “modern communal” church juxtaposes a gathering space and a worship space so people may be formed as a community before acting as a worshiping community, takes the congregation itself as the focus of attention, is designed to promote a sense of hospitality, and tends toward moderation in symbolic resonance.Less
Four questions can be asked appropriately about any church. First, what are its spatial dynamics and how do they promote the dynamism of worship? Second, what (if anything) is the centering focus that clarifies what is most important to worship? Third, what aesthetic impact is the building meant to promote? Fourth, in what way does the building convey a sense of symbolic resonance, linking the immediate experience of the worshiper with the broader experience of this community and of the Church through history? These matters are all approached differently in different traditions of church-building. A “classic sacramental church” uses longitudinal space to promote the kinetic dynamism of processions, has an altar as its centering focus, is designed to create a sense of interplay between the immanence of God and the transcendence of ordinary experience, and is rich in symbolic resonance. A “classic evangelical” church uses some form of auditorium space to promote the verbal dynamism of proclamation and response, has a pulpit as its centering focus, is designed as a dignified space for edification, and is economical in its symbolic resonance. A “modern communal” church juxtaposes a gathering space and a worship space so people may be formed as a community before acting as a worshiping community, takes the congregation itself as the focus of attention, is designed to promote a sense of hospitality, and tends toward moderation in symbolic resonance.