Nothing is more dangerous to be misunderstood than the
question, “What is the human being?” In an... more Nothing is more dangerous to be misunderstood than the question, “What is the human being?” In an era when this question is not only being misunderstood but even forgotten, wisdom delivered by the great thinkers and mystics of the past must be recovered. Edith Stein (1891–1942), a Jewish Carmelite mystical philosopher, offers great promise to resume asking the question of the human being. In Human and Divine Being, Donald Wallenfang gives a comprehensive summary of the theological anthropology of this heroic martyr to truth. Beginning with the theme of human vocation, Wallenfang leads the reader through a labyrinth of philosophical and theological vignettes: spiritual being, the human soul, material being, empathy, the logic of the cross, and the meaning of suffering. The question of the human being is asked in light of divine being by harnessing the fertile tension between the methods of phenomenology and metaphysics. Stein spurs us on to a rendezvous with the stream of “perennial philosophy” that has watered the landscape of thought since conscious time began. In the end, the meaning of human being is thrown into sharp relief against the darkness of all that is not authentically human.
The Sources and Theology of Alcuin's ‘De fide sanctae et individuae Trinitatis’
Traditio, 1991
While it is true for most literature, theological and otherwise, that an informed awareness regar... more While it is true for most literature, theological and otherwise, that an informed awareness regarding antecedents provides valuable perspective toward its interpretation, this is especially true for the theology of the Carolingian period. The Carolingians often used their source material in verbatim citations which remained unacknowledged. One has the impression of a kind of homemade theology, constructed out of bits and pieces of materials that were chosen partly because they were convenient or familiar. The result at its best had an appeal not unlike the patchwork quilt which has a unity and charism all its own even though it is cut predominantly from pieces which were not themselves the work of those designing the quilt. In order to appreciate the final effect achieved by such literature, it is crucial then to be able to identify not only the authors upon whom the writer is relying, but the precise patches of material which have been cut from each, so that we may observe the final effect as the result of a complex of decisions to select, combine, juxtapose, add to, adjust, comment upon, and otherwise utilize a large body of literary fragments.
I believe there are two sorts of interreligious friendships. One is a friendship that arises from... more I believe there are two sorts of interreligious friendships. One is a friendship that arises from a situation of intentional interreligious dialogue. Friendship arises as a result of the dialogue, in this case. The other is a when people of different religions are friends, and discussion of religious matters arises within the context of a preexisting, or at least concurrently existing, friendship. I am not sure if this makes any ultimate difference, but it feels to me as though it does.
This article aspires to make a modest contribution to the study of the De Trinitate of St. August... more This article aspires to make a modest contribution to the study of the De Trinitate of St. Augustine, by way of suggestion, though in a somewhat curious way. I hope to clarify some of the issues of intention and character of the De Trinitate largely by studying not that work, but another of Augustine's major works, the City of God. Because the largest concentration of patristic theology on the Trinity is in works directed against heretical Christians, such as Tertullian's Adversus Praxeam, Athanasius's Orations or Hilary's De Fide, and indeed, in part, Augustine's De Trinitate, we have come to think of the Trinity as a subject mainly for intra-Christian theological conversation. We can forget that the Trinity was also a subject taken up in ancient apologetics. One need only recall Justin Martyr's exposition and development of his Logos theology in his First and Second Apology as one of the most brilliant illustrations of how true this is. Justin, on the one hand, wants to show how faith in Christ is, with the philosophers and against pagan mythology, on the side of "reason" or logos, and yet he also wants to show, against pagan philosophy, how the doctrine of "Reason" Incarnate does not leave one with a "religion within the limits of pure reason alone," as though "Reason" itself could be fully known apart from Christ. Rather, the Incarnation of the Logos reveals the philosophical reasoning of even someone as great as Socrates as merely a "seed" of something whose full stature cannot be imagined apart from Christian faith that "Reason" became Incarnate in Christ, suffered and died for us. 1
... The adoptionism controversy provides an interesting example of two rival claims on Hilary, on... more ... The adoptionism controversy provides an interesting example of two rival claims on Hilary, one advanced in the last two decades of the eighth century by the adop-tionists Elipandus and Felix, and the other by Alcuin, Paulinus of Aquileia, and Pope Hadrian I. Elipandus taught ...
On the one hand, the patristic period was not, as a whole, a period characterized by sustained re... more On the one hand, the patristic period was not, as a whole, a period characterized by sustained reflection on the sacramentality of marriage. The idea of marriage as a "sacrament," in the more technical sense of the term we find developed in medieval and contemporary theologians, had not explicitly arisen. On the other hand, there was a continuous appreciation of marriage since the time of Jesus himself as we can see reflected in the canonical Gospels, and there can be found among the Fathers increasing attention to the meaning of Christian marriage, culminating in the late fourth and early fifth century reflections of John Chrysostom in the East, and of Augustine in the West. We have to be careful not to underestimate the contribution of the Fathers even if they did not speak the technical language of later ages. Their rich use of imagery and analogy in the context of exhortation and pastoral counsel is the basis for later developments and it can still serve as a resource for us. To the extent that Christian marriage is understood in terms of the love of Christ for the Church, inspired by Eph. 5.31-32 and related passages, to that extent it is, I would argue, understood as sacramental in this period. In the theology of the Fathers, there seem to be two complementary approaches. The first one might call the "ascetic" approach. It begins from a philosophical starting point. In the ancient world philosophy was a way of life, an ascetic path of self-control and discipline in the pursuit of the virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and courage. Marriage was a matter of ordering one's own passions and one's household according to the restraint and moderation proper to the philosophical pursuit of virtue. This ideal was "Christianized," with varying degrees of success, by authors as diverse as Clement of Alexandria and John Chrysostom. To the extent that the classical virtues come to be redefined in terms of
Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society, 2004
Both of these books, one by a Catholic author and one by a Protestant, offer Christian theologies... more Both of these books, one by a Catholic author and one by a Protestant, offer Christian theologies of religious pluralism. Both affirm religious pluralism as a good. At the same time, they attempt to preserve the centrality and uniqueness of the revelation given in Christ. Both books are deeply reflective; both amply repay the careful reader. The Dupuis is an especially profound attempt to probe the very foundations of the Christian, Catholic faith in the process of negotiating one of the most difficult and pressing issues in theology today. Both books identify three basic paradigms for previous theological discussion of the relation between Christianity and the religions: "exclusivism," "inclusivism," and "pluralism," to use Dupuis' nomenclature. Exclusivism reserves salvation to explicitly self-identified Christians. Inclusivism affirms that persons of good will of any religion can be saved, despite their adherence to a non-Christian religion, through some special, invisible inclusion in Christ or his church. The pluralist paradigm holds that the religions represent various paths to salvation. If God's salvation is mediated through Christ for Christian believers, it is mediated in other, equally valid ways in other religions with no need for Christ at all. Dupuis argues for a new alternative that he calls "inclusive pluralism" or "pluralistic inclusivism," attempting to preserve the Christocentric character typical of the inclusive paradigm while affirming
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Books by John Cavadini
question, “What is the human being?” In an era when this question
is not only being misunderstood but even forgotten, wisdom
delivered by the great thinkers and mystics of the past must be
recovered. Edith Stein (1891–1942), a Jewish Carmelite mystical
philosopher, offers great promise to resume asking the question of
the human being. In Human and Divine Being, Donald Wallenfang
gives a comprehensive summary of the theological anthropology
of this heroic martyr to truth. Beginning with the theme of human
vocation, Wallenfang leads the reader through a labyrinth of
philosophical and theological vignettes: spiritual being, the human
soul, material being, empathy, the logic of the cross, and the
meaning of suffering. The question of the human being is asked in
light of divine being by harnessing the fertile tension between the
methods of phenomenology and metaphysics. Stein spurs us on to
a rendezvous with the stream of “perennial philosophy” that has
watered the landscape of thought since conscious time began. In
the end, the meaning of human being is thrown into sharp relief
against the darkness of all that is not authentically human.
Papers by John Cavadini