Tag: theology
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Offer it up
Like many ARC members, I am old enough to have memories of growing up in the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church. Mandatory penitential acts, like abstaining from meat on Fridays, fasting on prescribed days, and giving up sweets for Lent were part and parcel of life. Friday abstinence was sufficiently well known as a marker of…
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Human growth and faith development
In a recent essay, the historical theologian John Dick draws on James W. Fowler’s Stages of Faith to explore how our faith changes and develops throughout life. Dick’s final questions seem particularly relevant to those of us interested in Church reform. Do our Church practices – liturgy, theology, doctrines and homilies – encourage faith development, or do…
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Does the Spirit speak in every heart?
We all think about the questions of religion – but usually do so in a very confused manner. Theology can help us do it better – and the more ably we think about religion, the more we can replace discord with discourse.
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The Unfinished God in an Unfinished Universe
In this article Ilia Delio looks at the quarrel between ‘Catholic’ and ‘Process’ theology. Thomas Aquinas, drawing on Aristotle and Democritus, the father of atomic theory who said that at bottom nothing changes, described God as perfect being itself. Alfred North Whitehead and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin stand with Heraclitus. For them, being is relational. To be is…
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History may not have the answers
Much of the debate around the ordination of women to the diaconate or priesthood hinges on the interpretation of the early history of the Church. Were the women referred to as deacons really admitted to the same role and status as men who bore the same title? Did women really preside over early eucharistic home…
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Are we misinterpreting the parable of the wedding feast?
The pairing of the Gospel reading for this Sunday with the passage from Isaiah about the feast to be provided by God naturally leads us to think of the king in Matthew’s parable as representing God. A commentary by Tobias Winright on the Catholic Moral Theology site cites one source that makes the alignment explicit:…
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Changing emphases in papal visits
This commentary from the Global Catholic website contrasts the different emphases that can be seen in the itineraries of Pope Leo’s travels. It can be seen as a consistent core message directed toward different audiences. In the Middle East and Africa he spoke to encourage the faithful in loving Christians lives in societies that sometimes…
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What Jesus Actually Said About Hell
“Mistranslation is only part of the reason we think today that Jesus preached about an eternal hell. The rest comes from cultural traditions both before and after him.” It is likely that Jesus saw it differently. It is also difficult to reconcile a notion of eternal damnation with the infinite love of God.
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Would a different question yield a different answer on the ordination of women?
This piece, Ordination of women: the Church is asking the wrong question, on the Global Catholic site is interesting reading. Essentially the argument is that when we ask “Can the Church ordain women?” we put the Church at the centre of discernment and immediately narrow the investigation. It goes on to suggest that a better,…
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Images of God
St Lucia Spirituality has announced the next of its Butterfly Series Reflections. The topic is Images of God: The changing images of God over time can lead us to wonder if we have been created in the image and likeness of God or if we have manoeuvred God into the image and likeness of ourselves.…