Immanent Divine Research Articles

Healing and Transformation: Lonergan, Girard and Buddhism

AbstractThis paper presents some comparative themes examining the anthropologies of Bernard Lonergan, René Girard and the four noble truths in Buddhism. It also engages some specific aspects from the Tibetan lineage of Buddhism represented by Pema Chödron (Canada), following her teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.The approach of the paper invokes the structure of John Thatamanil's The Immanent Divine: diagnosis, etiology, prognosis, prescription (solution) as an organizational way of presenting material on such diverse thinkers. Following an overview of these thinkers, I will highlight some of the themes such as suffering, violence, healing, compassion, and the role of affectivity in its relation to desire. It should become clear that such a practical approach to Buddhist-Christian dialogue provides a fruitful starting point and underscores the value of learning other religious traditions.

Henry David Thoreau's Anti‐Work Spirituality and a New Theological Ethic of Work

AbstractAlthough Henry David Thoreau stands outside the Christian canon, his outlook on the relations among spirituality, ecology, and economy highlights how Christian theologians can develop a theological work ethic in our era of economic and ecological precarity. He can furthermore help theologians counter the pro‐work bias in much Christian thought. In Walden, Thoreau shows that the best work is an ascetic practice that reveals and reaps the abundance of nature and connects the person to the immanent divine and thereby glimpsing eternity. Thoreau thus offers the outline of a transformed theology of work even as he challenges Protestant vocationalism in the early industrial era. He is therefore a fitting if challenging guide for formulating a theology of the self as agent and product of work, at a moment when the postindustrial ideal of work that is both meaningful and remunerative seems ever more unattainable while the negative impact of our work on nonhuman nature is ever more apparent.

The Lure of Pan(en)theism

This response to Karmen MacKendrick’s work follows the thematic trail of desire through Divine Enticement (2012), seeking to clarify the relationship in MacKendrick’s work between God and creation. While MacKendrick expresses an initial desire for an “immanent divine,” especially in relation to the work of St. Augustine, she later feels more drawn to “a world that in its beauty calls out the name of its creator” than to a world “in which the creator is simply present.” This brief engagement explores MacKendrick’s logic of seduction in relation to the panentheist and pantheist theologies of Cusa and Bruno, ultimately suggesting that “immanence” only collapses the distance of desire if creation is understood to be finite and self-identical.

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation and the Human Predicament. An East‐West Conversation. By John J. Thatamanil

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation and the Human Predicament. An East‐West Conversation. By John J. Thatamanil

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament: An East‐West Conversation by John J. Thatamanil

<i>The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament: An East‐West Conversation</i> by John J. Thatamanil

Reconstructing Advaita in John Thatamanil's "The Immanent Divine": Some Questions

The publication of John Thatamanil's The Immanent Divine allows us to ask many questions about projects in comparative theology and where they could lead us. I hope that my response to this interesting work will have the value of probing a little more into the tasks of comparative theology. There is no doubt that The Immanent Divine is a remarkable effort. it is also a book which taxes the academic reader who is probably not a specialist in Tillich and Advaita and the various versions of process theology, especially the distinctive version of Robert Neville. I will break down my response to this wide-ranging effort into several topics.

Response to Rambachan's "The Advaita Worldview" and Thatamanil's "The Immanent Divine"

In light of postcolonial and feminist criticism, it has become good form for scholars to "locate themselves" with regard to their subject matter by laying out their values and presuppositions to the extent possible. Because supposedly "objective" or "neutral" scholarship often reflects hegemonic interests, this practice ideally brings self-awareness about the discourses we carry into the hermeneutical process. Postcolonial discourse since Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) instructs that if Western academics are to continue representing the so-called East, they must at least acknowledge the dominance of Western and Christian presuppositions in this scholarly tradition.

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament: An East-West Conversation (review)

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament: An East-West Conversation (review)

Ecstasy and Nonduality: On Comparing Varieties of Immanence

For the benefit of those who have not read my book, let me offer a few framing remarks. I begin by noting that my initial working title for the book was Ecstasy and Nonduality, not The Immanent Divine. Although somewhat technical, the earlier title had the virtue of stipulating that my book compares two specific types of divine immanence. I root each sort of immanence in a fundamental scriptural locus within the Christian and Hindu traditions. In the Christian case, the scriptural text is Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs to deep for words" (NRSV). The King James reads, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." In the Hindu case, the scriptural text is the Upanishadic mahavakya, "Aham Brahmasmi" from Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10. In this Christian scripture, divine immanence is experienced as an ecstatic event accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit that grasps and prays through us when we know not how to pray. In the Hindu scripture, immanence is given by way of nonduality: one just is Brahman.

Review of John Thatamanil, The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament

John Thatamanil’s The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament (Fortress, 2006) excels in a new stage of inter-religious work: comparative theology for the sake of constructive theology. A major claim is that while initial comparative categories often illuminate what religions hold in common, so as to promote mutual acceptance, such categories over time fall short. Mutual communication must be deepened by mutual critique leading, at least ideally, to mutual transformation. Comparative work picks up steam when descriptive honesty, and the desire for theological coherence show how initial categories fail to be applicable or adequate or both. However, as thinkers continue to seek a consistent common vocabulary, they can come to rethink not only others’ tradition but their own (Thatamanil frequently footnotes Robert Neville and Francis X. Clooney for this approach—not surprising given their earlier joint participation in the Comparative Religions Project centered at Boston University. He also turns to John Cobb to develop the concept of mutual transformation).

Book Review: "The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament"

Book Review: "The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament"

Book Review: The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament—An East-West Conversation

Book Review: The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament—An East-West Conversation

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament – By John J. Thatamanil

The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament – By John J. Thatamanil

Narcissism

Twenty-nine newly recovering alcoholic outpatients drawn from a Minnesota-Model type treatment program in the United Kingdom completed the NPI narcissism scale and the “Steps Questionnaire.” Results showed the narcissistic “authority” subscale showed a very strong inverse relationship to level of personal acceptance of Steps 2 and 3 (the so called “God” steps) of the 12-Step program embodied by Alcoholics Anonymous. Also, the narcissistic “superiority” subscale showed a significant inverse association with acceptance of Step 3. The present results suggest that, relative to their more humble counterparts, recovering alcoholics who score high on narcissism are particularly reluctant to accept the spiritual aspect of the program of addiction recovery advocated by AA. In particular, results suggest self-centered outpatients are reluctant to surrender their willfulness and thereby accept help from a transcendent yet immanent Divine Source of power. We tentatively conclude narcissism, or lack of humility, might serve as a psychological barrier that inhibits the tendency to seek assistance from or become fully engaged in faith-based community self-help groups that might facilitate sobriety. As a result of their reluctance to accept empowerment from spiritual resources, narcissist alcoholic clients might be vulnerable to dropout or minimal engagement in professional treatment based on AA principles, as well as relapse.