Theology Of Grace Research Articles

A Negative Way: Dionysian Apophaticism and the Experiential

The experiential bias in modern understandings of spirituality has led to readings of the pre-modern texts of Pseudo-Dionysius as referring to “negative experiences” of faith. Denys Turner, Bernard McGinn, and others have outlined the mistaken “spiritual positivism” of such readings and their contrast with the negative dialectics of the classical apophatic tradition. Indeed, the philosophical parameters of the Christian mysticism of the Dionysian tradition would deny “mystical experience” to be “experience” as such. Nevertheless, several modern theologians have attempted to integrate interpretations of the experiential in Christian mysticism into their theology. These include Sara Coakley in the idea of spiritual sense in her theology of the body, Karl Rahner in the conception of spiritual touch within his theology of grace, and Louis Dupré’s view that there is religious significance in the experience of “emptiness” in modern-day atheism. I shall contrast these attempted integrations with the critique of “mystical experience” within classical understandings of apophaticism.

„Maryja pełna łaski” w nauczaniu św. Tomasza z Akwinu

We can find the Mariological texts of St Thomas Aquinas in only a few of his works. Nonetheless, in his teaching he focused on Mariological issues of importance to theology. This article aimed to present Aquinas’ theology on the question of the fullness of grace in the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the first part of this article, in addition to the general historical context, the basic content on Aquinas’ theology of grace is introduced. In the following chapters, the author of the article, based on the teaching of St Thomas, sought to present the effects produced by the presence of full grace in the life of Mary, followed by a discussion of its three forms, which St Thomas related to the stages of the life of the Mother of Jesus. In summary, firmly grounded in Christoligy, St Thomas’ Mariology links the truth of Mary’s ‘full grace’ to the literal presence of Christ in her womb. Consequently, Aquinas regards the Incarnation of Christ as the sole source of the graces received by the Mother of Jesus.

PERAN IMAM DALAM TEOLOGI RAHMAT THOMAS AQUINAS DAN RELEVANSINYA DENGAN DISKURSUS PROBLEMATIK HIDUP PARA IMAM MASA KINI

The long history of the Catholic Church shows that until after the Second Vatican Council, a priest was seen as an important mediator of God's grace. This article aims to describe the role of the priest in Thomas Aquinas’ Theology of Grace and its relevance for the problematic discourse on priests today. The sacrament of priesthood is a sign of special grace that enables priests to have the authority to offer sacrifices (celebrate the eucharist), forgive sins, bless, teach and sanctify. However, the problems or abuses committed by today’s priests appear to challenge the broad and respected consensus regarding the role of priests that has long been entrenched. The concept of the grace of the sacrament of priesthood continues to be challenged. The method used in this research is a qualitative descriptive method. The data source in research is the presentation of spoken or written words or sentences sourced from Church documents, books, research results, journal articles and also other written sources that can be accounted for. Based on the research results, it was found that, a priest is a link in creating good relationships, from God to humans and from humans to God. Therefore, amidst the problems of today’s priests, it is necessary to realize that the sacrament of priesthood does not necessarily make a priest holy and free to live without the challenges of the world. The free grace of the sacrament of priesthood requires the active participation of a priest to fulfill the reception of that grace, maintain and distribute it properly. To be able to carry out his duties as a distributor of grace in the world, anywhere, anytime and in any situation, priests must have deep and strong spiritual integrity and manifest faithful obedience to God and His Word.

Ernst Kantorowicz’s Synthronos: New Perspectives on Medieval Charisma

In this text, the author analyzes the notion of charisma that appears implicitly in the medieval political theology of Ernst H. Kantorowicz. The text to be analyzed is Synthronos, a manuscript from 1951 on the iconography of the sharing-throne between gods and kings, which the author was unable to publish before he died. The notion of charisma is surveyed in St. Paul’s theology of grace and Max Weber’s sociology of dominion in order to find a third way to broaden the definition of charisma. Finally, a new perspective is proposed, based on literary and artistic representations, along with visual rhetoric, as driving forces of the ruler’s gifts.

Beyond “The Anonymous Christian”: Reconsidering Rahner on Grace and Salvation

Karl Rahner acknowledged freely that “the anonymous Christian,” as a category, could be problematic. His interest, he stressed, was not in the term but in understanding the universality of God’s grace and the access of all people to grace. Reception of Rahner’s theology of salvation, however, has often neglected this broader framework to focus on the term itself. This article, which engages Rahner’s theology of grace in both its ecclesiological setting and its universal reach, argues that this theology can be an asset to dialogue even in the context of religious pluralism.

Liberation Theology and the Discernment Between Populisms

ABSTRACT This article looks at the political engagement of liberation theology, understood in terms of left populism, as an expression of a particular theology of grace which is in conflict with the theology of grace that underlies forms of right populism. Forms of populism, left and right, aim at creating a people. The theology of right populism can be seen as a theology of prosperity and entitlement, to create a people whose own interests are central. A liberation theology of grace, exemplified by Leonardo Boff points to a different understanding of grace as liberating and transforming gift, creating a people for others and a people of God.

Incongruous and Creative Grace: Reading Paul and the Gift with Martin Luther

AbstractPaul and the Gift by John Barclay advances an interpretation of Paul’s theology of grace that resonates with Martin Luther’s reading: God’s gift is God’s Son, Jesus Christ, given for and to the unworthy. To imagine Luther reading Paul and the Gift is thus to conjure images of deep and fundamental consensus. But questions remain. Is the law a cultural canon of worth that God’s gift of Christ ignores, or is it, as God’s law, a fixed judgement that God’s grace contravenes? Does God give only ‘without regard to worth’ and thus with a kind of divine indifference to cultural indices of value, or does the gift of Christ contradict the conditions of its receipts and thus come in a way that is actually incongruous? With these questions, Luther might push back against Barclay. With others he would ask Barclay to go further. Is not God’s incongruous grace also and characteristically creative? How is the gift of Christ that God gave present to and for recipients as the gift God now gives? In all these ways, Luther’s theology of the word poses questions to or invites expansions of Barclay’s theology of grace.

Incongruous Grace as Pattern of Experience

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between the theological concept of grace and the effects of grace on human beings in bodies and in time, in critical engagement with John Barclay’s account of Paul’s theology of grace in Paul and the Gift. It begins by showing how one of the book’s most significant contributions is its ‘thick’ description of the effects of incongruous grace in the world in terms of its socially transformative power in the formation of communities. It then argues that Barclay’s account is substantially less successful at giving a compelling account of the more rapid and immediate changes that Paul also associates with encounter with divine grace in the lives of Christians. The article concludes by showing how Barclay’s picture can be expanded and improved by examining how the ‘incongruity’ of grace functions to pattern experience in relatively sudden, emotionally immediate ways rather than just through the long‐term formation of a Christian habitus.

“…das lehret uns der Catholische allein seeligmachende Glaub…” Theology in the Sermons of Austrian and Hungarian Dominicans in the 18th century

Communication of religious knowledge, i.e., of principles of Catholic doctrine, has been considered to be a feature of Dominican preaching since the very beginning of the Order of Preachers. Although a preachers’ task is not identical to that of teachers, preachers ought to teach the people what they need to know to achieve salvation (munus docendi). The purpose of this article is to show that the friars of the Austro-Hungarian Dominican province of the 18th century were keenly aware of this role of preaching. This shall be accomplished by analyzing thirteenth sermons on saints delivered by nine preachers between the years 1704 and 1796. Theology of preaching, theology of grace, and ascetical and moral theology are the three key themes, which the sermons deal with.

Further Along the Fourth Stage of Meaning: Lonergan, Alterity and ‘Genuine’ Religion

The chapter on religion in Bernard Lonergan’s Method in Theology is a rich compilation of many ideas that were important to his thought throughout his career. It is at once a theory of ‘genuine’ religion, a theory of the distortions of such religion, and an expansion of his theology of grace into a wider ecumenical multi-religious or universalist context, to name a few. This essay draws upon that chapter to investigate a further development of Lonergan’s thought of a fourth stage of meaning to be added to his three stages of meaning. Among other things, the fourth stage of meaning anticipates a global age of inter-religious and social cooperation. It also enables one to avoid the danger of the third stage with an overemphasis on interiority by bringing emphases upon vertical and horizontal alterity. Moreover, in the context of Method in Theology as a whole, this theory also raises questions about the future of systematic theology in view of the emerging fourth stage as a distinct differentiated realm.

Development in Aquinas’s Theology of Grace and the Role of Saint Augustine

Rozwoj teologii laski Akwinaty i rola św. Augustyna Studium analizuje miejsce dojrzalej teologii laski świetego Augustyna w myśli i rozwoju świetego Tomasza z Akwinu w odniesieniu do tych samych tematow. Na początku autor dokonuje przeglądu Scriptum super sententiis Tomasza z Akwinu, podkreślając jego nacisk na formalne skutki laski i szerokie uznanie dla ludzkiej zaslugi. Nastepnie bada trzy znaczące kierunki rozwoju w Sumie teologicznej , zwracając uwage na wprowadzenie boskiego auxilium jako kategorii laski, wyraźnego nacisku na upadlą ludzką nature i przeformulowanego opisu zaslugi skoncentrowanego na boskim ordinatio . Artykul zwraca uwage na cytowane w Sumie teologicznej dziela antymasylijskie Augustyna. Konkluzją studium jest stwierdzenie, ze chociaz dojrzala teologia Tomasza pozostaje dluzna Augustynowi i św. Pawlowi, jednak oferuje ona rowniez przemyślane na nowo ramy laski, dzieki czemu stanowisko Augustyna dotyczące przeznaczenia, wytrwania i zaslugi jest bardziej realne dla trzynastowiecznej teologii.

God’s Gift in Ephesians: Dwelling in the Space of Divine Transcendence in the Face of Hopelessness and Dislocation

Abstract With a focus on Eph 4:7-16, the article highlights the significance of the concept of “gift” in Ephesians. John Barclay’s work helps to situate the Paul of Ephesians among Jewish theologians of grace, especially the perspective of the Qumran Hodayot with respect to the incongruity of divine mercy. Moreover, the results of recent analyses of Ephesians within the Roman Imperial context, including civic and familial concepts, are pushed to a new level of understanding. The study includes an examination of the link between ancient ideologies and practices related to gift giving and the delineation of social bonds and communal obligations where the depiction of the role of Christ as the giver of ministerial gifts plays a crucial role. Ultimately, the essay goes some way to close the perceived gap between the undisputed letters and Ephesians in term of a theology of grace.

A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies by Edward T. Oakes

A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies by Edward T. Oakes

¿Qué tan mala es la conciencia mala de Agustín (mala conscientia)?

The subject if this article is a brief discussion of the concept of «bad conscience» (mala conscientia) as opposed to «good conscience’ (bona conscientia) in the Works of Augustine, with specific reference to Augustine’s theology of grace. The article considers Augustine’s use of the concept in a wide range of his Works, especially in some sermons and also compares this use with the meaning of the earliest occurrences of the Word suneídhsiç /conscientia and related forms in ancient Greek literature. One of the findings of this comparison is that Augustine’s basic understanding of conscientia in the moral sense was remarkably similar to those early occurrences.

A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism ed. by Robert A. Maryks

Reviewed by: A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism ed. by Robert A. Maryks Francis X. McAloon S.J. (bio) A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism. Edited by Robert A. Maryks. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2017. 393 pp. $229.00 Today, many Jesuits would dismiss the term "Jesuit Mysticism" as oxymoronic. After all, Ignatian spirituality is an everyday spirituality whose exercises and examens suit busy people's lives filled with work-day activities, such as commuting, working, shopping, cooking, recreating, worshipping, and, squeezing in prayer time when possible. To the average Christian today, the term mysticism describes a privileged sort of prayer life not at all resembling their own lives, but rather, one associated with cloisters where professional elites—that is, mystics—enjoy a sort of monastic life that facilitates extraordinary spiritual experiences such as mystical marriage, locutions, levitations, and visions. From this perspective, certain figures like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross are mystics; even Ignatius of Loyola himself may have been a mystic (still debated among some), but the spirituality that Ignatius bestowed to his religious order, the Jesuits, and, by extension, to anyone directed through his Spiritual Exercises, is anything but cloistered, professional, or elitist. Instead, Ignatian spirituality requires no special mystical gifts, capacities, or religious vows, but simply presumes a life in which Christians pursue faith, hope, love, and justice. It seeks God's will in daily choices (great and small), searching for God in one's self and one's daily encounters with others. Rather than mystical, Ignatian spirituality serves as an everyday spirituality for everyday Christians! [End Page 168] A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism reminds us that this isn't necessarily so, especially when reading the tradition through the lenses of Jesuit history and post Vatican 2 developments in mystical theology, the academic discipline of Christian spirituality, and pastoral/practical theology. This fine collection of articles, edited by Robert A. Maryks, associate professor and director of Boston College's Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, highlights key moments in the historical appropriation of the Ignatian tradition, first in terms of lesser know seventeenth and eighteenth century Jesuits—such as Àvarez, Puente, Lallelemant, and Surin—and then through better known twentieth century authors Teilhard de Chardin, Bremond, Lubac, and Rahner. Ignatian scholars well versed in mystical theology, with its categories of interpretation and appropriation, will find these articles refreshing recaps of the centuries long, critical arguments as to whether Jesuit spirituality qualifies as mystical. Other readers less familiar with the discourse, especially those whose primary engagement with Ignatian spirituality is in terms of spiritual direction or Rahner's "everyday mysticism," may struggle through the early articles because they employ categories of interpretation and appropriation that rarely come into play in contemporary discourse. However, even this second readership would benefit from wrestling with perspectives which today seem outdated. Moreover, appended to each article are extended excerpts of primary materials, some rarely available in English and well worth the reading. Taken together, I highly recommend this edited volume for the light it casts on historical and contemporary engagements with Ignatian spirituality, both as an active contemplative tradition of prayer, and as a stepping stone into the mystical traditions of infused prayer and prayer of quiet. Summarizing the arguments of all 13 articles lies outside the scope of this review; instead, I will highlight a few significant contributions. Thinking now of the second readership mentioned above, I recommend beginning one's reading with the twentieth century contributors, especially the excellent piece by Harvey D. Egan, SJ, which covers the mystical theology of the Doctor Mysticus (teacher of mysticism), Karl Rahner. Egan, who publishes extensively on mysticism generally and Ignatian mysticism particularly, shows how Rahner's theology of grace and everyday mysticism "awakens people to their own inner depths" and dovetails nicely, if critically, with the "mysticism of the Classical Masters" (317ff). For example, in his treatment of the ages-old distinction between acquired contemplation (available to most) versus infused prayer (gifted to the few), Egan nicely explains how the traditional categories associated with the former (vocal prayer, meditation, affective prayer, and the prayer of simplicity), as well as those of the latter (an ineffable "immediate, indubitable consciousness of God's presence...

Vincent de Paul, The Lazarist Mission, and French Catholic Reform by Alison Forrestal

Reviewed by: Vincent de Paul, The Lazarist Mission, and French Catholic Reform by Alison Forrestal Brian Boosel O.S.B. Vincent de Paul, The Lazarist Mission, and French Catholic Reform. By Alison Forrestal. (New York: Oxford University Press. 2017. Pp. x, 312. $135.00. ISBN 978-0-19-878576-7.) In her masterful study, Vincent de Paul, The Lazarist Mission, and French Catholic Reform, Alison Forrestal reminds the reader of Vincent de Paul's missionary philosophy, namely, that a true missionary, "found everything good and indifferent, he accepts everything, he can do anything" (p. 101). Forrestal uses the [End Page 373] theme of mission and missionary activity to weave together carefully and with great clarity the life of Vincent de Paul (1581–1660). Her study begins with an analysis of de Paul's coming to know himself from his childhood experiences through his education and ordination as a priest. Forrestal illuminates the transformational moments in de Paul's life. Her study prepares the reader to experience the full dynamism of de Paul's missionary activity by setting up a background in which de Paul is schooled by such notable French clerics as Pierre Bérulle and Francis de Sales. One must note that Forrestal's research is well grounded in both secular and ecclesiastical archival sources. Forrestal presents the story of the Lazarist mission not only as a narrative, but also as an analysis of the statistics regarding the numbers of missionaries, the numbers of people being treated for various maladies, and the interaction between the de Paul's Congregation of the Mission and his fraternal collaboration with Louise de Marillac and the Daughters of Charity. Another strength of Forrestal's present study is the balance of the question of gender within her research. While the book is mainly a study of Vincent de Paul, Forrestal nonetheless explores de Paul's friendships and working relationships with women beginning with Madame de Gondi, his partnership with Louise de Marillac, and the mentoring relationships he fostered with Jane Frances de Chantal, and numerous other women religious. Forrestal's inclusion of a gendered narrative strengthens the study of Vincent de Paul while allowing the history of these pioneer missionary men and women to tell their own stories. Forrestal is careful to include in her study a discussion of Jansenism and the issues that it presented for early modern French Catholicism. Vincent de Paul was no stranger to the teaching of the Jansenists and even to some of the main players in the Jansenist movement. Forrestal details Vincent's theology of grace, which he offers as a counter to the Jansenistic teachings found in many parts of France in the seventeenth century. Overall, Alison Forrestal's exploration of the life of Vincent de Paul and the Lazarist Mission is fresh and presents a new facet within the larger study of Vincentiana. It should be noted that Forrestal has provided a wealth of information in a series of three appendices which chronicle the Lazarist houses established during de Paul's lifetime along with a list of significant benefactors and their donations toward the work of the Mission. Scholars of early modern French Catholicism will find in Forrestal's bibliography a treasure trove of sources in English, French, and other European languages. Any serious scholar of de Paul, de Marillac, the Catholic Reformation, or Early Modern France in general would benefit greatly from a thorough reading of Forrestal's research. [End Page 374] Brian Boosel O.S.B. Saint Vincent College Latrobe, Pennsylvania Copyright © 2019 The Catholic University of America Press

Divine Beneficence and Human Generosity in Second Temple Judaism: Reflections on John Barclay's Paul and the Gift

Divine Beneficence and Human Generosity in Second Temple Judaism:Reflections on John Barclay's Paul and the Gift Bradley C. Gregory In his recent landmark book, Paul and the Gift,1 John Barclay situates Paul's theology of grace within the ancient understanding of gift giving. In order to do this, he outlines six ways that gift giving or grace can be "perfected," understood in its "purest essence." A gift may be "perfected" in terms of superabundance (size, importance, permanence), its singularity (it is the defining characteristic of the giver), its priority (it comes before any initiative by the recipient), its incongruity (the recipient is unworthy of such a gift), its efficacy (it accomplishes the purpose for which it was given), and noncircularity (it is given without any expectation of return) (66–78). These different dimensions of gifts/grace provide a helpful schema for understanding how both ancient authors and their interpreters throughout history have understood what grace is and what it is not. For example, the different understandings of Paul found in Augustine and Luther largely stem from each of the latter's different conceptions of how grace is perfected. The upshot of this approach to grace for the study of Paul is twofold. First, in examining the anthropology and history of gift giving from antiquity to the present, Barclay shows that the "disinterested gift," one that is given with no expectation of return, is an almost exclusively modern, Western notion. In contrast, for the ancient person, gift giving always expected [End Page 183] some sort of reciprocal exchange because gift giving was always embedded in an interpersonal dynamic of creating and developing social ties (11–65). Thus, it is no surprise that, in the second part of the book, when Barclay explores how different Second Temple Jewish authors perfect divine grace, not a single one perfects noncircularity. In each of the five works, some sort of return is expected, even if it is "only" profound gratefulness to God. Second, by reading Second Temple works with these six different perfections in mind, Barclay shows convincingly that "grace is everywhere; but this does not mean that grace is everywhere the same" (319). For example, while Wisdom of Solomon and Philo do not perfect divine grace in terms of incongruity, the Qumran Hodayot and Pseudo-Philo do; yet all perfect grace in at least one way. In fact, each Second Temple Jewish author represents a different constellation of grace, perfecting it in different combinations of the six dimensions, and each perfection in different ways. In turning to Paul, then, it becomes quite clear that one cannot simply ask whether Paul agrees or disagrees with Second Temple Judaism on the topic of grace. Rather, the question is how his view of grace is situated among this diversity. On one hand, Paul is continuous with other ancient authors in not perfecting noncircularity. Like his contemporaries, he firmly believed that God's grace creates a new relational dynamic and demands a response from the recipients. On the other hand, Paul's view of divine grace as radically incongruous and centered on God's gift in Christ was largely discontinuous with ancient views of (human) gift giving, though in different ways in comparison to Judaism and Greco-Roman culture. Key to this aspect of Barclay's thesis is the claim that, for ancient authors, gift giving was routinely viewed as congruous in some way with the worth or status of the recipient, and then further, the question of how gift giving in early Judaism aligned with this broader Greco-Roman perspective. It is this aspect of Barclay's work that I would like to engage for this symposium. I hope the following discussion will help to supplement Barclay's treatment and to suggest some further ways that divine beneficence and human generosity are interrelated among some Second Temple Jewish authors.2 Social Worth and Well-Placed Gifts One aspect of gifts in the ancient world that Barclay rightfully highlights is that the status or worth of a potential recipient was generally a significant factor in the decision to give: "What distinguishes the sphere of gift [End Page 184] is not that it is 'unilateral,' but...

Edward T. Oakes, A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. 270. $28.00/£18.99.

Edward T. Oakes, A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), pp. 270. $28.00/£18.99.

A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies. By Edward T.Oakes, S.J. Pp. xxii, 248, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 2016, £18.99/$28.00.

A Theology of Grace in Six Controversies. By Edward T.Oakes, S.J. Pp. xxii, 248, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 2016, £18.99/$28.00.

THEOLOGY AND ENGLISH LITERATURE: FROM CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE TO ALEXANDER POPE

Generally, it is not obvious to people that theology has contributed a lot in the formation of English literature. So, this paper tries to picture and convince how the writings of English Literature writers have impacts and influences in themselves from the biblical theology. Writers like William Shakespeare uses the theology of grace in his play All’s Well that’s End Well. John Milton pens theology of Freedom of Choice. John Donne writes Trinitarian Theology.
 Christopher Marlowe shows the theology of Doctor Faustus, which shines under the title like purgatory the highest junction. Alexander Pope reflects the theology of participation in self Salvation and shows theodicy in his work. Theology and English literature go together.
 They are inseparable. Theology is interwoven in English Literature. It appears convincingly that William Shakespeare, John Milton, John Donne, Christopher Marlowe, and Alexander Pope have sufficiently left grains in their writings which compel to justify the significance of theology in English Literature. Thus, a high degree of significance the biblical theology immerges within the arena of English Literature which may be taught to the English literature readers with a well stuff of biblical theology which is very much beneficial for the understanding of English literature knower.