Historical Theology

CHURCH NEWS: NEW UNITY MOVEMENT STEPS PROPOSED

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW (distrbute freely without charge)

Against the unity prayer of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 17, divisions within Christianity have been common... more Against the unity prayer of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 17, divisions within Christianity have been common from the beginning. New steps for unity are outlined that provide grass-roots opportunities in local churches and communities.

Fundamental to the new unity movement are principles and a change in paradigm that give a fresh approach to the ancient problem of divisions among people who identify themselves as followers of Jesus.

QUAESTIO DISPUTATA SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM AND THE MEANING OF VATICAN II

by Massimo Faggioli

Engaging in the Debates from the Periphery: The Contributions of Neglected Oxford Movement Converts in the Infallibility Debates

by Donna Hawk-Reinhard

published in 'Authority, Dogma, and History:  the Role of the Oxford Movement Converts in the Infallibility Debates of the Nineteenth Century, 1835-1875,' edited by Kenneth Parker and Michael J Pahls (Academia Press, 2008)

From the Introduction:

"Donna Reinhard considers the contributions made by Oxford Movement converts... more From the Introduction:

"Donna Reinhard considers the contributions made by Oxford Movement converts who are typically neglected in the standard narratives of papal infallibility debates.  In this essay--a unique guide to little known converts--Reinhard not only considers the contributions of converts who wrote or were involved in publishing periodicals, but also those who influenced the infallibility debates through relationships, as confidants and correspondents.  Of the sixteen people highlighted in this essay, two Cambridge men and two women are included as members of the broader Oxford Movment who influenced the infallibility debates during their Catholic years."

The Role of Christian Spirituality in 13th Century Interpretations of the Fall of Constantinople: Relics and Icons as Interpretive Lenses

by Donna Hawk-Reinhard

Nature and Spirit in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas

by Joseph Morgan-Smith

Submitted for the course “Aquinas and Thomism,” with Dr. Simon Oliver, toward an MA in Systematic and Philosophical Theology from the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at The University of Nottingham

In this essay I am concerned with defending two theses. In the first part I will argue that, for Thomas Aquinas,... more In this essay I am concerned with defending two theses. In the first part I will argue that, for Thomas Aquinas, humans necessarily lack the natural capacity to reach our final telos in beatific vision. This deep human problem is intrinsic to Aquinas’ anthropology and is, therefore, logically prior prelapsarian. Then in the second part I will argue that both law and grace, (especially the theological virtues), which together for Aquinas constitute the solution to the problem, can rightly be labeled Spirit. The outcome is that law and virtue, which traditionally have been considered keystones of ethical theory, are found properly under the rubric of soteriology and pneumatology.

Evidencing the Eschaton: Progressive-Transformative Animal Welfare in the Church Fathers

by Ryan Patrick McLaughlin

Modern Theology 27, 1 (January 2011): 121-46

The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian... more The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.

Il caso: alcune riflessioni sul pensiero di sant'Agostino

by Pierluigi Sguazzardo

Published in Nuova Civiltà delle Macchine 27 (2009) 1, 85 - 89

Corpus Corpus Christi tra primo e secondo millennio. Alcune note sul rapporto tra Eucaristia e Chiesa nella teologia medievale (Sacramentum Caritatis, 15)

by Pierluigi Sguazzardo

Published in R. NARDIN – G. TANGORRA (edd.), Sacramentum Caritatis. Studi e commenti sull’Esortazione Apostolica postsinodale di Benedetto XVI, Lateran University Press, Roma 2008, 131 – 144

Saint Jerome: Theology of Language

by Thomas Hunt

in volume on Language of Theology in the Early Church, edd. Staale Johannes Kristiansen and Peder Solberg (Oslo, forthcoming, summer 2012)

This paper outlines Jerome's theology of language. This paper outlines Jerome's theology of language.

Tolkien and Thomas: Examining the Relationship between St Thomas Aquinas and J.R.R. Tolkien

by Amber Lee Baker

basic abstract/thesis proposal

A Strong Defense of Weak Impassibility

by Chester Delagneau

Edited by Impassibility paper, particularly footnotes 4, 29, & 84.

The Medieval Blood Sanction and the Divine Beneficence of Pain: 1100 - 1450

by Trisha Olson

As always, interested in comments and others' wisdom.

“Only the King Can Do It: Adaptation and Flexibility in Crusade Ideology in Sixteenth Century Spain,”

by Patrick O'Banion

Church History (forthcoming)

Reforming efforts at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the challenges of Protestantism, the rise of national states,... more Reforming efforts at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the challenges of Protestantism, the rise of national states, and the reassessment of just war doctrine, had initiated a moment of crisis for crusading by the mid-sixteenth century.  Indeed, historians have described these trends as signaling the end of the movement.  This article explores the theoretical underpinnings deployed by an elite group of Spanish theologian and churchmen in May of 1567 to shore up their monarch’s claim to a lucrative version of the crusade indulgence granted by popes since the fifteenth century.  By rehearsing traditional arguments, eschewing those they saw as obsolete, and deploying new ones, these theorists expose the remarkable adaptability of crusading.  The integrity of papally sanctioned holy war against the enemies of the faith collapsed in later centuries with the rise of international law and recognition of permanent divisions within the respublica Christiana.  Yet, the ability of sixteenth-century Spanish theorists to recast ideology in the face of shifting intellectual, cultural, and social tides indicates the continuing viability of crusading during a period of inchoateness.

Vis divinae gratiae, potentior utique natura. Tertullianovo pojetí Boží milosti [Vis divinae gratiae, potentior utique natura. Tertullian's Concept of Divine Grace], in Czech

by Petr Kitzler

in: L. Karfíková - J. A. Dus (eds.), Milost v patristice [Divine Grace in Patristics], Jihlava: Mlýn 2011, pp. 77-105. ISBN 978-80-86498-41-6.

Predicationes Palatinae: The Sermons in Vat. Pal. lat. 220 as an Insular Resource for the Christianization of Early Medieval Germany

by Tomás O'Sullivan

Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation: Saint Louis University, 2011. Committee: Dr. James R. Ginther, Dr. G. John Renard, and Dr. Charles D. Wright.

The Allegorical Exegesis of Bede: 'Figures in History and the Shape of the Self'

by Zachary (Zack) Guiliano

Masters thesis.

The exegesis of the Venerable Bede (672-735 CE) is "cut" from the same cloth as his theology of history and... more The exegesis of the Venerable Bede (672-735 CE) is "cut" from the same cloth as his theology of history and his understanding of human transformation. Bede's exegetical theory displays a concern with the verbal "garments" of Christian Scripture, expressed as Scriptures "shapes" (*figurae*) and "adornments" (*ornati*), and his exegetical practice demonstrates a similar preoccupation. his understanding of human transformation, expressed in his exegetical, homiletic, and historical practice, is similarly related to the concepts of *figura* and *ornatus*. Bede's readers are meant to pattern their ethical selves upon the historical figures of Scripture in order to become clothed with the virtues displayed therein. The thesis advances its argument primarily by engaging with Bede's rhetorical treatise "On Schemes and Tropes" and his biblical commentaries.

The thesis then explores the implications of Bede's thought on history, morality, and language for the ongoing study of his historiographical works and for the contemporary study of Scripture.

Et circumdabunt te doctores novi testamenti: Method and Theology in Hildegard's Expositiones Euangeliorum

by Zachary (Zack) Guiliano

Seminar draft; may revise for Hildegard section of ICMS 2013.

This paper examines Hildegard of Bingen's use of patristic sources and theology in her "Expositions of the... more This paper examines Hildegard of Bingen's use of patristic sources and theology in her "Expositions of the Gospels." Further, it argues, based on conclusions from the "Expositions" and other sections of her work, that Hildegard ties the use and teaching of the spiritual interpretation of Scripture to the restoration of the human person to the state of Paradise through the development of the virtues. It also considers how this understanding might explain Hildegard's understanding of her vocation as a teacher of Scripture in the twelfth century.

The Life in the Word and the Light of Humanity: The Exegetical Foundation of Hilary of Poitiers’ Doctrine of Divine Infinity

by Jarred Mercer

Pubished in 'Studia Patristica' (forthcoming)

The doctrine of divine infinity has been recognized as a primary theological and philosophical category in Hilary of... more The doctrine of divine infinity has been recognized as a primary theological and philosophical category in Hilary of Poitiers’ De Trinitate, but its true significance for Hilary’s own thought has yet to be thoroughly explored. This study seeks to demonstrate the exegetical foundation for Hilary’s understanding of divine infinity, namely his theological reading of John 1:4, which will yield a much fuller appreciation of the doctrine in the context of his work. His intertextual reading of John 1:4 demonstrates a key dynamic in his theology between the eternal birth of the Son and the creation of the world. The Son, as the living Image of the Living, has all life in himself through his eternal birth from the Father, because of which Hilary sees a potential creation of all things in the generation of the Son. Further, in light of this idea of potential creation, he makes an advancement not seen previously in the Christian tradition in his interpretation of Proverbs 8:22 by developing a positive reading of the eternal generation from the ‘creation’ language therein. Lastly, we shall examine the theological, and particularly soteriological, significance divine infinity has for Hilary. Only by recognizing the place of John 1:4 as the exegetical foundation for his understanding of divine infinity can one realize the full implications of this doctrine for Hilary.

The "New" Story of God: Job, Plato, and the Open View—A Review of The God Biographers

by T. C. Moore

A review of _The God Biographers_ by Larry Witham.

Augustus chazaaron erthett/y./ok wrunk Ihusth Krisztust. Az Augustus-teológia nyomai a Karthausi Névtelen karácsony éjjeli prédikációjában [Die Spuren der Augustus-Theologie in der Weihnachtspredigt des Anonymen Kartäusers], in: Plaustrum seculi. Tanulmányok régi prédikációirodalmunkról [Studien zur altungarischen Predigt], hg. von Ildikó Bárczi, Budapest 2004, S. 141-156

by Balázs J. Nemes

The History of the Theological Background of the Christ-Augustus Typology
(The Traces of the Augustus-Theology in... more The History of the Theological Background of the Christ-Augustus Typology
(The Traces of the Augustus-Theology in the Karthauzi Névtelen´s Christmas Eve Sermon)

In the Christmas Eve sermon of the Érdy Codex its writer comes to the conclusion that Augustus, Emperor of Rome is a prefiguration of Jesus Christ. This interpretation shows - according to the second grade of the medieval biblical hermeneutics – the locus allegoricus typological meaning. The typological explanation is based on the method of correspondence. One pole is the type, the other pole is the anti-type: the type foretells the anti-type, and the anti-type fulfills, moreover, exceeds the type. This knowledge must be taken into account when interpreting this sermon. The writer confirms this idea with arguments and historical facts (monarchy, peace, census). So Augustus is one of those who prepared Christ´s saviour work. This paper deals with the history of the theological background of this theme and Karthauzi Névtelen´s sources.