Department Of Theology Research Articles

Twenty-five Years: Logos and My Catholic Life

Twenty-five YearsLogos and My Catholic Life David Paul Deavel Key Words religious conversion, Logos Journal This is the final issue of Logos for which I have served as editor. By the time you are reading this issue, I will have departed from St. Paul, Minnesota, to join the theology department at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. Leaving the University of St. Thomas for the University of St. Thomas sounds like the verbal equivalent of an M. C. Escher painting or perhaps the plot teaser for a bit of Philip K. Dick fanfiction written by a pious millennial nerd. I am long used to confusions of this sort. The editor of Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies is Adam Deville. Logos, Logos; Deavel, Deville. Confusions aside, I like to think of my move, however, as on one level just an inverted outdoor activity strategy. It’s not quite true, but some people say that everywhere you go, you spend about four months trying to stay indoors as much as possible. In Minnesota that period is the winter, while in Texas it is the summer. The truth is that I am extraordinarily excited about my new position and the possibilities inherent in it. St. Thomas in Houston is a newer (1947) and smaller (about 2,700 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students), but very dynamic institution. As a member of the theology department, I will have as colleagues Logos contributors [End Page 5] Thomas Harmon, Randy Smith, and Sr. Albert Marie Surmanski. My teaching will be in the graduate theology program, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s St. Mary’s Seminary, and the undergraduate core curriculum. I hope to contribute something to the work of Logos contributors James Matthew Wilson and Joshua Hren, who both joined the university last year to co-found a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program that is “committed expressly to a renewal of the craft of literature within the cosmic scope, long memory, and expansive vision of the Catholic literary and intellectual tradition.”1 There is a lot more to say about my new destination, but this essay is about this journal and my own life as a Catholic, both of which are celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary this year. The saying, often attributed to Albert Einstein, is, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” I cannot help but think that the coincidence of the first issue of Logos being issued in spring of 1997 and my own being received into the Catholic Church almost simultaneously has to do with the mischievously hidden workings of a God whose Providence puts things together in ways that are often not seen till much later. I will not say that my destiny was to pull the Red Pen Excalibur from a rock and preside at the Round Table of Logos editorial meetings, but one of the reasons I have loved every second of my nineteen years working on this journal (the last six as editor-in-chief) is that the vision that animates it—of seeing how the glory of Christ radiates from and illuminates both Catholic culture specifically and all human culture—is a large part of what drew me to Catholic faith specifically. My first recollection of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture came a little more than a year after I had been received into the Catholic Church. In the fall of 1998, I was beginning my second semester of graduate work in theology at Fordham University. That time seems another world in more ways than one. Then the internet was beginning to be useful to scholars but had not quite dominated our reading habits in the way it has now. I still had the habit of (and time for) wandering through the current periodicals section [End Page 6] of the university library and flipping through journals, magazines, and newspapers to see what there was in the wide world to know. After assembling a little stack of materials with articles I wished to read rather than skim, I would plop myself down into a chair, spread out, and feast intellectually for an hour or two...

Tribute: John Thomas Ford, C.S.C. (1932–2021)

TributeJohn Thomas Ford, C.S.C. (1932–2021)* Dr. Kenneth L. Parker The field of newman studies suffered the loss of a great scholar and mentor when Fr. John Ford, CSC passed from this life. He died peacefully on 29 December 2021 at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Indiana, after a protracted struggle with cancer, and a short bout with COVID, from which he was thought to have recovered. We do not begrudge him the next stage of his journey toward the Beatific Vision; yet, we mourn the loss of his encouraging presence, even as we celebrate the achievements of his life. Though he is best known among us as a leading North American scholar of the life, work, and influence of John Henry Newman, his life story reflects a diversity of interests and the many ways he influenced those who came into contact with him. While this tribute can only touch the surface of his rich and varied life, it is an effort to share with you some of the reasons to be thankful for Fr.John Ford's well-lived life, and to remember with gratitude his generosity of spirit and Christian example. John Thomas Ford was born on 21 November 1932 in Dallas, Texas, and was the only child of Thomas and Leonara (Senn) Ford. He attended elementary school at St. Vincent's School, led by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Logansport, Indiana, and graduated from Logansport High School in 1950. While attending the University of Notre Dame, Fr. Ford received his call to serve God as a Holy Cross priest and entered the Holy Cross Novitiate in Jordan, Minnesota on 15 August 1951, professed final vows on 16 August 1955, and was ordained a Holy Cross priest on 10 June 1959. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1955 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, he went on to Holy Cross College in Washington, DC to earn his master's degree in theology in 1959. In 1962, Fr. Ford received his doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome. In 1962, Fr. Ford taught theology at the University of Notre Dame and served as Prefect in Cavanaugh Hall before he left that fall to teach at Holy Cross College in Washington, DC until 1967. In 1964, he was appointed Assistant Superior at the Foreign Mission Seminary and later became Superior until 1968. From 1968 to 2018, Fr. Ford served on the faculty at Catholic University of America (CUA), in Washington, DC. [End Page 101] I first came to know Fr. Ford toward the end of his years as Chair of the Department of Theology at CUA (1977–1983). I was writing my PhD thesis under the supervision of Eamon Duffy at Cambridge University and anxious to find academic employment. Having applied unsuccessfully for a position in the history of Christian spirituality in his department, I wrote to Fr. Ford to ask advice on how to improve my application materials. He responded with a generous suggestion that we meet when he was in England later that year. He spent a day with me, offering sage advice and encouragement that saw me through the difficult process of beginning an academic career. My experience is but a single example of many lives he touched in that way. As the director of 63 dissertations, 16 on John Henry Newman, he knew the fears and frustrations of the young and managed their struggles with a pastoral touch. A notable dimension of Fr. Ford's life work was his passion for ecumenical dialogue. In the post-conciliar era, he served as a member of the United Methodist/Roman Catholic Bilateral Dialogue (1971–1977), the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches (1981–2011), the Roman Catholic observer-consultant for the Consultation on Church Union (1974–1988) and its Theology Commission (1982–1985), and the Reformed/Roman Catholic International Consultation (1987–1988). His work in the field of ecumenism was recognized in 2014 by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement with their Paul Wattson Christian Unity Award. His graduate students benefited from his ecumenical work through his course on The History...

Policy vs. Ethics.

Editor's Note: As Catholic ethics increasingly diverge from those of other religious traditions and from secular principles, it is important to explore how-if at all-Catholic physicians and institutions can work with those whose view of life and faith are very different. This article presents not only an historical vision of how the Ethical and Religious Directives came to be, it raises questions about just how Catholics go about moral reasoning when there are competing interests and principles at play. The author of the article, Warren T. Reich, was, at the time it was written, a Senior Research Scholar in Medical Ethics at the Kennedy Center for Bioethics, Georgetown University. He went on to be a founding member of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. He was also founder and director of the Project for the History of Care, and is Distinguished Research Professor of Religion and Ethics in the Georgetown University Theology Department and Professor Emeritus of Bioethics in the Georgetown University School of Medicine. This article was prepared for delivery at the Annual Meeting of the National Federation of Catholic Physicians' Guilds, New Orleans, November 27. 1971. The issues he raises and the conflicts he perceives are as relevant now as they were 50 years ago. Reich, Warren T. (1972) "Policy vs. Ethics, "The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 39: No. 1, Article 8. Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol39/iss1/8.

Spirituality, Diversity, and Ethical Decision-making: The Inclusive Wesleyan Quadrilateral Discernment Model

Archives > Volume 19 (2022) > Issue 1 > Item 08 DOI: 10.55521/10-019-108 Margo J. Heydt, Ed.D., LISW-SXavier Universityheydt@xavier.edu Timothy E. Severyn, MSW, MTS, MBAXavier Universityseverynte@xavier.edu Author Note: Marie J. Giblin, Ph.D., now retired from the Department of Theology at Xavier University, was the original co-developer of this model with M. J. Heydt and was the ethics theologian who conceived of […]

Dissertation Abstract: The Contribution of Paul Hiebert to Folk Religion: A Missiological Study among the Dendis of Northeast Benin

Completed in September 2022 with the department of Practical and Missional Theology of the University of the Free State, South Africa.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING ANXIETY AMONG THEOLOGY DEPARTMENT STUDENTS: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND ALLEVIATING STRATEGIES

The study investigated factors contributing to English for Theology students’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) and their strategies to alleviate it. This study was the continuation of a quantitative study involving 63 Theology student participants which found that their FLRA was significantly correlated with their reading achievement negatively. It was also conducted to fill the void in the FLRA literature in the Indonesian university context especially in Theology department necessitating learners to read a lot of passages in English, possibly quite anxiety-provoking for learners. Four selected participants from the previous quantitative study were interviewed and the data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The study found that low self-confidence, lack of peer support, low self-perceived language competence, low motivation, and unfamiliar vocabulary increased learners' FLRA. Teachers' various methods, emphasising group activities were found to reduce their FLRA whilst whole-class reading activities tended to increase their FLRA. Furthermore, the uses of various reading strategies taught in class to comprehend texts were reported to reduce their FLRA to a certain extent depending on the degree of success of learners in using the strategies. Implications, limitations, and suggested directions for future studies were mentioned in light of the study's findings.

To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri

To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri

Qumran, Early Judaism, and New Testament Interpretation

Qumran, Early Judaism, and New Testament Interpretation

Adaptation of young people from foreign countries based on the study of spiritual and moral subjects

The analysis of the adaptation of the students' youth from foreign countries within Russian society and the educational environment is presented in the current research. The authors study the problem of adaptation based on the case of the Don State Technical university which is providing activities on increasing the number of foreign students. Logically this university's politics lead to the engagement of the students from many foreign countries and the gradual formation of the multicultural and multi-confessional community within the campus. Despite the engagement of a large number of the representatives of different cultures the university, namely, the Orthodox culture and theology department has established the number of innovative educational methods and educational techniques which contribute to the adaptation of the foreign youth into Russian society. These new methods are based on the establishment of spiritual and moral subjects which were integrated into the educational process. The results of the cycle of the research activities have confirmed that these methods can be effectively used for the adaptation of the foreign students within Russian society.

Method and Purpose in Their Mutual Relation. Response to the Critical Review: Markidonov A. V. “I, as a reader, am confused...”. <i>Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy</i>, 2020, no. 3 (7), pp. 134-139

Method and Purpose in Their Mutual Relation. Response to the Critical Review: Markidonov A. V. “I, as a reader, am confused...”. <i>Proceedings of the Department of Theology of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy</i>, 2020, no. 3 (7), pp. 134-139

Department of Theology of the Academy of Catholic Theology (ATK) as a Dynamic Scientific Centre

Department of Theology of the Academy of Catholic Theology (ATK) as a Dynamic Scientific Centre

신학대학생들의 리더십 성격유형 연구

본 연구는 MBTI의 성격유형분류에 기초하여 미래의 교회 리더들이 될 신학대학생들의 리더십 성격유형을 파악하여 보다 더 효과적인 리더십을 발휘할 수 있는 학문적 토대를 마련하기 위해 진행되었다. 또한 성격유형을 기초로 신학대학생들에게 적합한 학습방법을 발견하고자 시도하였다. 신학대학생들에게 주도적으로 드러나는 성격유형에 근거한 리더십 스타일이 무엇인지를 파악하고 그 결과에 따라 교회와 기독교기관에서 가장 적절한 리더십을 발휘할 수 있는 아이디어들을 제공하게 될 것이다. 연구에 참여한 신학대학생들의 주요 성격심리유형은 ESFP였다. 이 유형은 대인관계에 있어 외향적이고 부드럽고 열정적이고 다른 사람에게도 열정을 불어넣는다. 하지만, 유혹과 중독에 쉽게 빠지는 성향이므로 절제능력과 더불어 일 처리에 있어서 보다 더 체계적이고 계획적이고 논리적으로 대처할 필요가 있다. 연구의 결과 신학대학생들의 리더십 성격유형은 성별에 따른 차이를 보였다. 가장 두드러진 차이는 사고형(T)과 직관형(N)에서 나타났다. 성별의 차이의 강점을 적절하게 조화를 이룬 리더십 발휘가 필요하였다. 연구에 참여한 신학대학생들의 성격유형에 대한 또 하나의 조언은 바로 학자적 성향을 개발시키는 과제였다. ESFP의 전반적인 성향이 감정적이고 외향적이고 감각적이므로 반대성향인 사고하고 묵상하고 연구하는 자세의 개발이 요구된다. 연구결과에 기초하여 신학대학생들의 교육방법도 제시하였다. ESFP형에 맞는 교육방법인 참여중심의 토론, 실험, 그리고 거꾸로 학습 등을 제안하였다. ESFP의 주 성향인 SP형이 비교적 학습을 계획하고 전략적으로 접근하는 것에 약점을 보이기에 이에 대해 인식하고 스스로 보완해나가는 것이 필요함을 제안하였다.

Teaching theology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Post-school education (PSE) in South Africa mostly takes place within an industrial-age factory environment as has been done for the past 50 years or longer. This is the case despite the fact that the world is on the brink of, or already part of, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), called by some an ‘emerging new world order’. Educating students today like we did it half a century ago has now become education to a ‘quickly vanishing world’. Although one may argue that the content of Theology will not be much affected by the 4IR, it is proposed that the way in which that content is communicated and educated should change drastically. Doing this will prepare our students to become relevant preachers or theologians in the current (post-)postmodern society. The proposed model in this article is called an outside-in model – contrasted to the current inside-out model of education – in which our students should be taught to develop a sense of deep learning, to effectively learn and work in and with groups, to use their mobile devices (cell phones and tablets) and social media within the environment of education and to discuss new ways of gathering God’s people.The question that each educator should ask themselves nowadays is: Am I really preparing my students for the future that they are facing?Contribution: A new way of teaching Theology in the 4IR is imperative for our students. This article suggests how it could be done. Although this entails willpower and persuading the mostly ‘old’ lecturers in Theology to engage with real technology, it is all about the student, because many of these students will become the lecturers of tomorrow. Our faculties or departments of Theology are therefore urged to fit themselves into the new mould and to train our future theologians in a 4IR way.

Lietuvių tarmių samprata Povilo Frydricho Ruigio gramatikoje Anfangsgrunde einer Littauischen Grammatick (1747): centras ir periferija

THE CONCEPT OF LITHUANIAN DIALECTS IN PAUL FRIEDRICH RUHIG’S GRAMMAR ANFANGSGRÜNDE EINER LITTAUISCHEN GRAMMATICK (1747): CENTER AND PERIPHERY Paul Friedrich Ruhig’s (Ruhigk, ~1721–~1784) grammar Anfangsgründe einer Littauischen Grammatick (1747, RG) is the fifth Lithuanian grammar book of Prussian Lithuania. It was written by a very young man (in 1747 he was probably around twenty five years old) who came from the famous Ruhig family, known for its work with the Lithuanian language. Ruhig wrote the grammar while working as a Docent in the Lithuanian Language Seminar that was established in 1718 at the University of Königsberg’s Theology Department. He based his writing on earlier grammar books and on his own pedagogical experience. Ruhig’s Grammar is primarily intended for those attending the Lithuanian Language Seminar.The aim of this article is to determine how Ruhig understood Lithuanian dialects, how he defined their territories, and how he explained some particularities differently than authors of previous grammar books. The article will also pay attention to some of the inaccurate interpretations of this work in contemporary linguistic studies. The research addresses several aspects: 1) territorial—spread of variations; 2) markedness—distinctiveness related to other variants; 3) normative—the relationship with written language. The article first provides an overview of dialects as an object of Lithuanian language research from the 17th–18th centuries, then turns to Ruhig’s concept of dialects, their categorizations and linguistic particularities. The research seeks to determine the sources that he used and how original, how substantiated, and how acceptable are his conclusions.

Department of Cultural Studies, Religious Studies and Theology, Chernivtsi National University: Where Are You Going

The author of the article presents the Department of Cultural Studies, Religious Studies and Theology of Chernivtsi National University in historical retrospect and perspective.

SLAVIC TRANSLATIONS OF BIBLE TEXTSOF THE 16 TH – EARLY 20 CENTURY: TO THE GLOBAL YEAR OF THE BIBLE TH

2020 A. D. has been declared Global Year of the Bible. The main goal of such an initiative is to promote translations and editions of Holy Scripture as well as to expand the cultural horizons of mankind. At all times, the Bible was one of the most popular books being translated into different languages and reprinted in all Christian countries. The Scientific Library of the Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University contains a valuable collection of biblical texts published in different languages. This article presents Slavic translations of the Bible and biblical texts. The presence of translations of biblical texts in the stocks of the of the Scientific Library of Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University can be regarded as an evidence of the development of the Library as an auxiliary subdivision of a higher education institution focused on providing the educational process with appropriate literature. Since Theology was a subject taught at Novorossiysky University, and professors of the department of Theology taught a compulsory course for students of all faculties and special courses on Christianity and other religions, biblical texts in translations were necessary for teaching University disciplines. Significantly fewer biblical texts were acquired by the Library in Soviet times, when Theology as a discipline was not available, but biblical texts were necessary in order to study the History of religion and Atheism. The experience of Christian churches shows that translations of Holy Scripture into modern literary language serve as an integral part of the dialogue between tradition and modernity: translations of the Bible and biblical texts are in demand not only for a more accessible perception of the Word of the Lord by believers, but also for studying the foundations and history of the Christian religion by everybody.

Рецензия на: Хенгель Мартин, Швемер Анна Мария. Иисус и иудаизм / Серия «Современная библеистика». М.: Издательство ББИ, 2016. xvi + 724 c. ISBN 978-5-89647-338-1

  Martin Hengel (1926–2009) and Anna Maria Schwemer, a seminal work by renowned New Testament professors at the University of Tübingen's Theology Department, Jesus and Judaism, was conceived as the first volume of a four-volume History of Early Christianity. It can be called a controversial study aimed against the repeated attempts by many Protestant theologians and historians of religion to separate Jesus of Nazareth from the history of the early Church, arguing that Christianity did not begin until after His death. Hengel / Schwemer, drawing on an extensive source base, strives to show Jesus and His preaching as a foundation and inalienable part of the earliest form of the Christian movement.

Wkład środowiska wielkopolskiego w rozwój patrologii

The proposed topic allows to learn about the scientific activity of the Wielkopolska researchers of the early Christian Church: Jan Sajdak (1882–1967), priest Józef Nowacki (1893–1964), priest Bronisaw Gadysz (1892–1943) and priest Ludwik Gadyszewski (1932–2009). They contributed to the development of patristics not only in Wielkopolska, but also in Poland and in the world. Wielkopolska is also associated with the Scriptures of the Fathers of the Church in which translations of writers of the first centuries of Christianity are published. Patrology textbooks have also been published. The most important of them was written by the priest Szczepan Piestoch and is intended especially for students of theology. Wielkopolska is also a Faculty of Theology which has been operating since 1998 at the University of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. It includes the Department of Patristic Theology and currently the Department of Patristic Theology and Church History. Under the supervision of the faculty lecturers doctoral theses, master’s and bachelor’s the- ses, as well as monographs related to the period of Christian antiquity are prepared.

Other Gods and Idols: The Relationship between the Worship of Other Gods and the Worship of Idols within the Old Testament

Other Gods and Idols: The Relationship between the Worship of Other Gods and the Worship of Idols within the Old Testament

The future of theology at public universities

In the recent past, we have seen a parting of the ways of the theological discipline and public universities in many places throughout Western Europe. In this article, firstly, some backgrounds of this development are briefly explored, taking the situation in the Netherlands as an example. Secondly, it is argued that from a Christian – and especially a Reformed – theological point of view that this development is suboptimal and should be regretted. Thirdly, two lines of argument for retaining a place for theology at public and largely secular contemporary universities are investigated: the first one, which attempts to align theology to the natural sciences, is found wanting; the second one, which situates theology in the realm of the humanities, is argued to be largely convincing. Following this finding, a case study was offered of how a theological faculty or department could be (re)structured in such a way that – without turning it into an allegedly ‘neutral’ religious studies department – it continues to occupy a viable place within contemporary public universities. It is argued that theological faculties might have to open up to a variety of religious perspectives (rather than hosting just one religious tradition) both for epistemic and political reasons. Finally, a brief suggestion was made as to how such a development might be justified from a Reformed theological perspective.