This thesis concerns the ideas of ‘dialogue’ and ‘fragment’ in the work of the American liberal Roman Catholic theologian David Tracy (bn. 1939). Dialogue (or ‘conversation’) established itself as a dominant idea for Tracy in the 1980s, whereas the centrality of fragments first emerged for Tracy in the late 1990s, to complicate and refine his earlier thinking. Despite this historical sequence, however, the organisation of this thesis is thematic rather than essentially chronological. The first three chapters focus on how in the later 1970s and 1980s Tracy adapted his ideas of conversation-dialogue from the thought of the German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer. Chapter Four examines some serious objections to Tracy’s concept of dialogic reason, before defending his basic choices and gesturing towards his more recent work as perhaps resolving real previous difficulties. Chapter Five explores the ‘ontological`’ thinking of Martin Heidegger, valuable for evaluating Tracy despite the latter’s determination to put his own thinking on a more empirical and pluralistic footing. Chapter Six tackles this theme of Tracy’s ongoingly ‘empirical’ sensibility, as well as the importance he has attached to the experiencing human ‘self.’ Tracy’s ideas of human experience and selfhood owe much to William James and to Bernard Lonergan. Chapter Seven examines ‘correlational’ concepts that Tracy has forged to facilitate Christian theology over the course of his career since Blessed Rage for Order (1975). As Tracy became philosophically and theologically uncomfortable with theism as the supposed essential horizon for theology (around 1990), so the idea of the ‘mystical-prophetic’ emerged to open a door into new horizons of thinking. Chapter Eight highlights an easily overlooked antecedent of the hermeneutical negativity that Tracy’s recent ideas of ‘fragments’ imply: in Gadamer’s sense of the Christina negative ‘sign’ of the Ecce Homo. Chapter Nine then focuses on Tracy’s ideas of thinking through fragments: their adequacy and possible consequences.

Selected fundamental-theological aspects of the Haré Krishna movement. In this work we try to give an overview of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Haré Krishna movement, ie the history, anthropology and theology of religious organizations selected by us. The whole thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter we are talking about fundamental theology and synthetically imagine its history, the state and the most important fundamental questions of theology, such as: imagine of a man in the Roman Catholic Church, God's revelation, fundamental Christology and ecclesiology fundamental. In this chapter we also transfer as divine revelation, Jesus Christ and the Church. In the following, the second chapter we talk about the Haré Krishna movement and symmetrical to the first chapter in this section deal with the image of man in the Haré Krishna movement, divine revelation, Krishna and Prabhupada and ISKCON as an institution that Prabhupada founded. In the last third chapter of this work fundamentally-theologically-evaluate the credibility of anthropology, divine revelation, Krishna, Prabhupada and ISKCON. In conclusion, this thesis will then only recall why we wrote this thesis.

The thesis deals with methods and quality of Fundamental theology teaching at theological faculties in Slovakia. Fundamental theology as a discipline on christian fundaments deepens knowledge of christology, ecclesiology, and revelation theology. The Holy script, tradition, pontifical and council documents and documents of papal counsels play an important role in this discipline too. In the history of fundamental theology the significant post is occupied also by the Second vatican council and its contribution to the Church. The aim of the thesis is collecting subject syllabi, structured lists of each theological program, all existing study materials, textbooks and distance learning materials of theological faculties in Slovakia. All information and materials obtained were appraised and considering other theological subjects and disciplines, the position of fundamental theology was defined. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

1 Aim of this Thesis. The aim of this thesis is to critically examine the understanding of the relationship between fundamental option and virtue ethics in the work of Karl Rahner. This is done in the light of: both the classical heritage of virtue ethics and its contemporary recovery in post modernity: both the pre-history of the fundamental option and the contemporary issues of post modernity surrounding it. The work of Karl Rahner has been chosen as the subject of this thesis because, first, as the pre-eminent post-conciliar Catholic theologian, he developed the leading theory of fundamental option based on fundamental freedom, and second, as a self confessed Thomist, he also included virtue theory within his theology. These two traditions in moral theology, of virtue theory and fundamental option theory, have not only developed in relative mutual isolation (the former largely confined to the English speaking world, the latter a product of continental moral theology) but they have also been seen in some quarters as irreconcilable. This thesis uses the example of Karl Rahner to provide a bridgehead between these two distanced ethical theories. The example of the reconciliation of these two traditions in the work of Karl Rahner will be pursued in the setting of postmodernity. This provides the opportunity to assess the continuing significance of the theology of Karl Rahner. 2 The Scope of the Thesis. The thesis begins by stating the problem under examination, that is, that there has been no sustained analysis of the link between virtue ethics and fundamental option in the work of Karl Rahner (or any other contemporary moral theologian). The setting for this thesis topic is briefly considered. First, the setting of postmodernity is examined and then second, the profound impact of the Second Vatican Council on contemporary moral theology is examined, in particular with regard to the development of the perspective of moral agency. In order to establish the link between virtue ethics and fundamental option, an understanding of these two approaches per se is developed, beginning with the precursors of fundamental option (in particular, the approach of Aquinas) and then the recovery of virtue and its classical antecedents, (in particular, Aristotle and Aquinas). Both these concerns have been influenced by the shift in moral theory from moral act to moral agency, with a concern for the moral dimension of the psychology and communitarian perspective of the human person. Attention is also given to the role of passions and the hexis/habitus controversy in virtue theory insofar as they impinge on the understanding of freedom in fundamental option. This general setting of the history of Christian ethics is then given a narrower focus with the work of Karl Rahner. Various aspects of his thought are examined, in particular his intellectual heritage, his transcendental anthropology, and his perspectives on moral theology. The focus is narrowed further to particular components of his theology, viz. his understanding of fundamental option, fundamental freedom, Ignatian mysticism, supernatural existential, virtue ethics, theology of grace and metaphysics of knowledge. The Rahnerian understanding of virtue ethics and fundamental option is considered further with regard to the issues raised in the contemporary debate on these subjects. His metaphysics of knowledge is also considered in relation to the contemporary concern of virtue epistemology and the rediscovery of metaphysics. The link between fundamental option and virtue ethics in the work of Karl Rahner is examined with reference to antecedents in Aquinas et alii and contemporary minimalist approaches. 3 Conclusions. Despite the fact that there is no systematic treatment of either fundamental option or virtue ethics in the Foundations of Christian Faith (Rahner's most systematic work) and further, that Rahner seemed unaware of the recovery of virtue ethics, it has been possible to establish in Rahner's work a link between fundamental option and virtue. The link is explicitly embedded in an an obscure way in diverse works but it is more importantly and implicitly preeminently dependent on the theological virtues. For example, faith is the exercise of a fundamental option for or against God, not a process of categorical choice or habit, but a state of fundamental freedom. What stands behind the exercise of faith, and the other theological virtues of hope and love are all the components of his transcendental anthropology, viz. fundamental freedom, supernatural existential, grace and metaphysic of knowledge. They all have as their terminus the virtue of faith, that is belief with absolute assent. Rahner also gives centrality to the virtues of hope and love. The three theological virtues are the three basic perfections of Christian existence which abide and last. They are interrelated, distinguishable yet possess a unity and condition one another. The theological virtues vis-a-vis the fundamental option are pre-eminent, have unity in diversity and are linked intimately with both the supernatural existential and fundamental option in grace and freedom. They are at the centre of Rahner's anthropology even if they are heavily camouflaged. They reflect Rahner's Thomist heritage, they lend themselves, via Rahner's metaphysic of knowledge, to a virtue epistemology, to a recovery of metaphysics and they contribute to a contemporary philosophical psychology in the setting of postmodernity and engagement with the leading concerns of postmodernism.

The thesis "Teilhard de Chardin's apologetics of Christianity" starts with a brief introduction to apologetics and fundamental theology in general, on the basis of Teilhard's thought, presents the main critical comments and addresses the methodological question of the approach to his thinking. In the main part, develops the structure of apologetics from the phenomenological description of the world's evolution, from the particles and animals through the emergence of consciousness and man. This is showed on the basis of the "law of complexity and consciousness", which shows the increase of consciousness with the increase of the complexity. And then, through noogenesis (evolution of the spirit), it reaches the point of Omega. The thesis addresses the question of the legitimacy of such extrapolation and continues to the philosophical deduction of Omega's characteristics, as essentially transcendent, to an entropy independent, attractive and present. From the philosophically introduced point of Omega, seeks to show the possibility of identifying Christ of revelation with the Omega point through the theological reflection, as proof and defense of the truth of Christianity. The thesis tries to critically evaluate the apologetics thus built, to elaborate the philosophical view and to evaluate the...

Trilogy Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI from the perspective of fundamental theology In this thesis, the author aims to finding interesting topics in the trilogy, Jesus of Nazareth of Pope Benedict XVI and their contribution to fundamental theology. The author takes into account the other sources from theological work of Joseph Ratzinger and his production as Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI. Work represents the view of Joseph Ratzinger on the use of empirical methods, particularly the historical-critical method in the study of the Scripture, the historical credibility of the Gospel of John and his authorship and the internal process of the text in Church. The thesis also discusses the benefits of the Gospel of John for internal knowledge of Jesus Christ and draws conclusions from the empirical reductionism for understanding Jesus' divinity. The author then discusses the topic of truth and love as the possibility of recognizing their source in God. Marginally mentions the role of the Virgin Mary and her helping to the study of Scripture and deepen relations between Christians and Christ.

Trilogy Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI from the perspective of fundamental theology In this thesis, the author aims to finding interesting topics in the trilogy, Jesus of Nazareth of Pope Benedict XVI and their contribution to fundamental theology. The author takes into account the other sources from theological work of Joseph Ratzinger and his production as Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI. Work represents the view of Joseph Ratzinger on the use of empirical methods, particularly the historical-critical method in the study of the Scripture, the historical credibility of the Gospel of John and his authorship and the internal process of the text in Church. The thesis also discusses the benefits of the Gospel of John for internal knowledge of Jesus Christ and draws conclusions from the empirical reductionism for understanding Jesus' divinity. The author then discusses the topic of truth and love as the possibility of recognizing their source in God. Marginally mentions the role of the Virgin Mary and her helping to the study of Scripture and deepen relations between Christians and Christ.

This disertation is mapping the main aspects of fundamental theology in the writings of the important American theologian, Cardinal Avery Dulles S.J. These are: Revelation, Faith and Church. The chapter about Cardinal's life story and writings as well as exposition of theological method in general focused on the Cardinal's own method in theology precedes the treatise of mentioned fundamental theology aspects. The method in question is the one of symbolic realism, which works with fundamental theology topics due to the model typologies (models of revelation, models of faith, and models of the church). Given theme of each typology is introduced as a theme of fundamental theology, later the detailed analysis is done and at the end the Dulles's own solution of the particular problem is presented. All mentioned themes prove some mutual relationships which together create the "inner dynamics of Christian life", which has its enjambments also in the whole history of salvation.