Bukhara Paradox
Emelia Lute
The relationship between Vatican I and Vatican II is largely unexplored terrain in Christian theology. This lacuna in theological scholarship can be attributed, to a great extent, to the fact that the councils' teachings are widely considered incompatible. The church's inability to harmonize Vatican I's and Vatican II's teachings on ecclesiastical authority inhibits not only a more full reception of each council, but contributes to a sense that the church cannot offer a coherent presentation of some of its most central beliefs. This dissertation demonstrates fundamental compatibility between Vatican I and Vatican II by illustrating that they share many of the same intentions and concerns. It employs a method of distinguishing between each council's aims and the strategies in order to illustrate that the differences between them exist on the level of tone, emphasis and form rather that on the level of doctrine. This allows for a more appropriate understanding of their relationship which advances ecclesial self-understanding and promotes coherent Christian discourse. The first chapter engages the issue of Christian coherence as a means of indicating how understanding the relationship of Vatican I and Vatican II contributes to more effective presentations of the Christian message. The second chapter establishes the context in which Vatican I's documents can be read appropriately. Specifically, it looks at the historical and theological factors which contribute to the underlying intent which inform its texts. Chapter three focuses on the way in which Vatican II emerges from the unanswered questions of Vatican I and, in many ways, represents a continuation of its work, rather than a rejection or an overcoming of it. It argues that the differences which have come to define Vatican I's and Vatican II's relationship must be seen within a larger context of their continuity. Finally, chapter four illustrates that a stronger ecclesial self-understanding, made possible be properly relating Vatican I and Vatican II, can edify questions of reception in general and the contemporary debate over Vatican II's interpretation in particular.
Contesting the feminist critique of the dangers of Christianity's self-giving ethics, this book advances a feminist christology engaging the strength of self-giving power. Feminist theologians have established that the self-giving doctrines can disempower women and other oppressed persons, teaching passivity and evasion of one's own self-development. Christ's kenosis, or self-emptying on the cross offers a central example of sacrifice for others to the detriment of one's own self-care. And yet, in contrast to previous feminist theologies, this book argues for the power available in self-giving. This feminist christology affirms that we come into ourselves through our own kenosis. Drawing on diverse sources, including traditional voices like Luther or Balthasar, contemporary feminist theologians such as Rosemary Radford Ruether or Marcella Althaus-Reid, and studies of abuse survivors, this book explores passionate self-giving as a power for divine and human revelation, a power for resistance of abuse, and a power for the continued anointing of Christic presence in a postmodern context. Self-giving engages a force that differs from both the 'power in mutual relation' common to feminist theology and the 'power over' of patriarchal thought. Christic self-giving conveys a power for: for God's thriving in the world, and for our own.
Some look to it as the definition of reality and deny science; others see science alone as the arbiter of truth and deny the Bible. Both extremes are merely symptoms of a still wider debate on the place of ancient spiritual wisdom in a science-dominated world. Following the Reformation and Enlightenment, the Western world gained great power but lost its spiritual bearings. This book draws on numerous sources, ancient and modern, to examine what the missteps were that have brought us to a point of such confusion, and in doing so argues cogently against the modern philosophy of scientific materialism. With the aid of biblical stories and imagery it suggests how we might find our way back to balance, where ancient wisdom and modern science can together shed light on humans and their encompassing reality.
The letter of Innocent I to Decentius of Gubbio comes from the fourth century and is therefore very significant for studies of early Roman liturgical history - and is frequently quoted. Here the series provides the full text with an introduction, translation, and notes.
The True Wealth of Nations arises from the conviction that implementing a morally adequate vision of the economy will generate sustainable prosperity for all. It sets forth the beginnings of an architecture of analysis for relating economic life and Christian faith-intellectually and experientially-and helps social scientists, theologians, and all persons of faith to appreciate the true wealth of any nation.
True religion should, in some sense, be perfect, or at least we seem to expect that. But we are dealing with humans and their limited understanding. Even if we accept that God is perfect, we must confront theodicy and realize that our concept of perfection is defined by what we encounter on the earth. The capacity for self-transcendence confronts human beings with a paradox. We have a vision of "what ought to be' that is limitless, while we ourselves are finite beings. We can imagine perfection, but can we attain it?
Noreen Herzfeld is a mathematician, computer scientist, and theologian. A Quaker by choice with a Lutheran background, she teaches at a Catholic University. She has critically considered the limited nature of informational sciences and mathematics and now brings us to consider the limits of perfection in religion.
Celibacy is a commitment to remain unmarried and to renounce sexual relations, for a limited period or for a lifetime. Such a commitment places an individual outside human society in its usual form, and thus questions arise: What significance does such an individual, and such a choice, have for the human family and community as a whole? Is celibacy possible? Is there a socially constructive role for celibacy?
These questions guide Dale Launderville, OSB, in his study of celibacy in the ancient cultures of Israel, Mesopotamia, and Greece prior to Hellenism and the rise of Christianity. Launderville focuses especially on literary witnesses, because those enduring texts have helped to shape modern attitudes and can aid us in understanding the factors that may call forth the practice of celibacy in our own time. Readers will discover how celibacy fits within a context of relationships, and what kinds of relationships thus support a healthy and varied society, one aware of and oriented to its cosmic destiny.
This Festschrift consists of twelve chapters first delivered as papers forming the foundations of these chapters at a special conference in honor of Professor Humphreys, which took place in October 2007 at the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota. These chapters were written as a tribute to Professor Humphreys by twelve of his former graduate students and reflect the broad chronological and disciplinary scope of Professor Humphreys teaching and erudition. In geographical range, they stretch from Morocco to the Punjab; in time from the ancient Near East to the present; and in approach from hard-core political analysis to post-modernist and post-colonialist discourse. The chapters by Lindsay, Sizgorich, and Bigelow reflect on the persistent power of sacred figures in Islamic societies and the apparently disparate ways in which these figures manifest sanctity, as well as the complex political roles they play both ideologically and in everyday life. Cory's chapter on the ruined al-Bad palace of the Sa d sultans in Marrakesh is illustrated by exquisite color photos and diagrams, and Stockdale shows how art transmutes the tangible present into the mystical realm of an imagined past. The contributions of Jones, Hoffman, Keaney, and Armajani explore the ways in which Muslims have constructed their past and how Muslims draw on the past in order to define who they are as Muslims, while Khalid discusses the issues as Muslim reformers and modernists in Bukhara struggled to build their societies along lines both modern and Islamic, between the end of Czarist rule and the imposition of the Soviet system. Finally, there is the world of power politics to reconcile with the lofty ideals of justice that are explored in the contributions of Howes (in examining a medieval Islamic polity that strove to define earthly rule in transcendent terms) and Darling, who explores the metaphors of social harmony. The final chapter, Thoughts in Retrospect by Professor Humphreys, stands as an eloquent commentary on the contributions by his former students
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) is widely regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers of the twentieth century, and John Merkle is well known as a leading guide to Heschel's thought. In accessible and engaging language, Merkle's Approaching God: The Way of Abraham Joshua Heschel introduces readers to Heschel's life and works in the service of God and to the very heart of his theological perspective. This book clearly explains Heschel's reasons for affirming the reality and revelation of God, what he recommends as ways of responding to God, and why he thinks it is important to accept religious diversity as the will of God. Deeply rooted in tradition, Heschel's message was, in its day, both timely and ahead of its time. This book shows just how relevant his message is for those seeking God 'and an enlightened perspective on God' in the twenty-first century.
Voting your conscience can be a challenge. In our emotionally charged political environment, many people are asking about the role of faith in elections. Of course, faith should inform the political choices we make and the way we use our time to try to improve the world. It seems the loudest Catholic political voices fall in one of two choruses-that of "the left," advocating for social justice issues, and of "the right," claiming abortion as the single most important issue. In Vote Catholic, Bernard Evans helps us get beyond the sometimes deafening din of these choruses. He takes us to the heart of an important third voice-Catholic social teaching-and shows how this teaching can inform Catholics as they wrestle with political choices. Without putting forward a particular platform or advocating particular candidates or positions, he presents a clear set of principles from the teachings to guide our decision-making process. With special attention to the Catholic position on life and human dignity, Evans shows that the issues and the solutions are more complex than our "headline news" world suggests. Complex though the issues are, Evans's straightforward presentation will help readers go to the polls with faith and confidence.