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No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1933.

<p> The following dissertation argues that James&rsquo;s will to believe is a call to believe that has at its origin a divine being. The will is not absolute but shaped by the call; however, the caller can also has at its origin the human being who calls God through prayers. On the other side, there is a divine being calling and hearing the calls; this divine being is a <i> weak</i> God, or as James states a finite God; however, I argue that the weakness of God is practical and not ontological. God in himself is omnipotent, thus, his weakness is from a human&rsquo;s understanding, God does not lack power in himself but he lacks power over us; out of respect to our freedom. </p><p> The first chapter discusses the caller and the called, the call is not always a religious call but it can be a human call, it is the human calling another human to live in an ethical community, moreover, the call can be originated from the self toward itself as in the form of a Heideggerian call. However, the call must be answered because it is a genuine option. The second chapter defines religion according to James as an experience related to feelings and differentiates between the first and second hand religion and between the religion of healthy-mindedness and sick souls. The third chapter studies the practical fruits of religion and the four marks of mystical experience. The fourth chapter examines the human answer to the divine call and defines the call to believe as a call to change the world and not a mere call to believe in a set of dogmas. The call to believe is a call to assume responsibilities as individuals and to live a moral and religious life.</p>

<p> Hans Urs von Balthasar was one of the most prominent Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century and has inspired a thriving ecosystem of secondary scholarship, with impassioned critics and determined defenders churning out a steady stream of scholarship as expansive as Balthasar&rsquo;s own massive body of work. This wealth of secondary scholarship is not, however, without a penumbral character. Due to the controversies that have&mdash;not without reason&mdash;plagued Balthasarian studies, it is often more akin to a war-strewn battleground than a lively and productive dialogue in various areas. By engaging with the work of Gilles Emery and Thomas Joseph White, this thesis explores the ways in which overly rigid interpretations&mdash;due to what I call readerly rigidity&mdash;can impede an attempt to productively read and present (and critique) Balthasar&rsquo;s theology. The goal herein is not to counter their critiques, but rather to challenge how those critiques are made.</p>

<p> This study argues that Lesslie Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture is best seen when viewed through the lens of his theology of missionary encounter. For this point to be made, two important aspects of Newbigin&rsquo;s thought must be systematized and related to each another. First, it will be shown that Newbigin has a theology of missionary encounter. Second, Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter will be shown to function as a lens to view his theology in general and his doctrine of Scripture in particular. Chapter 1 explains the research topic and the limits of the thesis. Chapter 2 shows the presence of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition that led to his theology of missionary encounter. Chapter 3 reveals the formative role that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter had on his theological method and theological project as a whole. Chapter 4 builds upon the previous two chapters by using Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter as a lens to view his doctrine of Scripture. Chapter 5 considers what the nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology reveals about Newbigin as a theologian.</p><p> Chapter 1, &ldquo;Introducing The Research Topic,&rdquo; introduces Lesslie Newbigin and the thesis of this research. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with the research focus, understanding of key concepts, and the delimits of the issues involved. First, attention is given to understanding the place of this dissertation within the literature and the personal journey that led to the writing of this dissertation. This chapter will highlight the importance of the topic by explaining the ways it contributes to the field of Newbigin studies as well as the discipline of theology in general.</p><p> Chapter 2 is an overview of Newbigin&rsquo;s life and work. This chapter demonstrates the presence of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition to engage in a missionary encounter that resulted in his theology of missionary encounter. By examining Newbigin&rsquo;s missionary theology, this chapter outlines the development of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition throughout his life. It is shown that his ambition to engage in a missionary encounter reached maturity later in his life as he articulated his theology of missionary encounter. At its core, Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter is aimed at helping the Church recover the gospel, indwell the biblical story, and challenge the axioms of the culture with the axioms of the Bible in order to live as a faithful witness. The missionary encounter, this challenging of competing stories, takes place within the individual lives of members in a local congregation. </p><p> In order to show that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter best mediates his doctrine of scripture, consideration must be given to understanding the form and function of his theology as a whole. Chapter 3, &ldquo;Newbigin&rsquo;s Theological Method,&rdquo; explores the structure of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology. After surveying the structure of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological method as a whole, the focus of this chapter narrows on a series of unpublished articles which Newbigin thought of as a sort of Dogmatics of his thought. The contextual nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology makes it clear that a robust understanding of what Newbigin believed about anything must be understood in relation to his desire to bring the gospel story to bear on the cultural story. The intended point is that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter has a permeating presence throughout the form and function of his theology as a whole.</p><p> Chapter 4, &ldquo;Systematizing Newbigin&rsquo;s Doctrine of Scripture,&rdquo; presents a systematization of Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture with the help of his theology of missionary encounter. Building upon the previous two chapters, this chapter utilizes Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter as a lens through which his doctrine of Scripture can be understood. The clarity of Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture emerges as his theology refracted through the lens of his theology of missionary encounter. Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture is presented in one summary sentence followed by seven categorical statements which are intended to exegete the summary sentence. Observing Newbigin&rsquo;s missionary encounter between gospel and culture provides the proper lens for seeing what Newbigin believed about Scripture. </p><p> Chapter 5, &ldquo;Newbigin&rsquo;s Public and Prophetic Theology,&rdquo; raises the question about what the nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology reveals about Newbigin as a theologian. This chapter provides a concluding summary of the research involved and clears some paths for future research. While demonstrating the usefulness of Newbigin as a dialogue partner this chapter provides some cautions for appropriating Newbigin&rsquo;s thought uncritically. Combining these different levels of analysis highlights the central role of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter in his theology.</p>

<p> This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the role of the sacred in engendering the courage to be embodied in adult survivors of severe sexual abuse. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to depth psychology and mystical theology that utilizes the theories of D. W. Winnicott, C. G. Jung, and T. Merton to illuminate the dynamics of embodiment in clinical practice, focusing primarily on the clinical dyad. Through exploring the similarities and differences between potential space and creativity (Winnicott), the Self and Psyche (Jung), and the Trinity and the Holy Spirit (Merton), this study establishes that the spirit and the body is a false dichotomy; therefore, the sacred should enhance the courage to connect more deeply with the body, not less. This study further demonstrates that the body is critical to the development of healthy subjectivity, and that the sacred should never be used as a means to dissociate from the body. This study concludes that hope, faith, and love fuel the capacity for courage in both patient and clinician, and in the third area that is co-created between them. The sacred participates through nurturing hope, faith, and love by appearing as images, affects, and synchronicities, which thereby presents the clinician with a delicate task: How best to bring such manifestations to the patient&rsquo;s awareness in order to nurture healthy embodied subjectivity in the survivor of severe sexual abuse. </p>

<p> This dissertation presents an in-depth investigation into the notion of paradox and its significance for Christian existence in the thought of the Danish philosopher and theologian S&oslash;ren Kierkegaard. The primary aim of the study is to explore and to develop various expressions of paradox in Kierkegaard&rsquo;s authorship in order to demonstrate the manner by which Kierkegaard employs paradox as a means of challenging his Christendom contemporaries to exist as authentic Christians, and more specifically to enter into the existential state I am identifying in this project as living within the sacred tension. With this aim in mind, I begin with a discussion of Kierkegaard&rsquo;s ethico-religious task in response to his Christendom culture and I provide a broad characterization of the notion of sacred tension as the telos of this task. For the majority of the study I then focus on four different expressions of paradox in Kierkegaard&rsquo;s thought. These four expressions are: paradox that is associated with the faith of Abraham (as presented in <i>Fear and Trembling</i>), paradox that is associated with the nature of the self and the task of selfhood (as presented in <i>The Sickness unto Death </i>), paradox that is associated with the God-man (as presented in <i> Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Unscientific Postscript</i>, and <i> Practice in Christianity</i>), and paradox that is associated with Christian love (as presented in <i>Works of Love</i>). In addition to arguing that Kierkegaard employs these expressions of paradox to help usher his contemporaries into a state of sacred tension, I also argue that such sacred tension can be understood in terms of various concrete Christian virtues. In this respect, I claim that Kierkegaard&rsquo;s ethico-religious task is not merely negative or deconstructive in nature, but rather it is infused with the robust positive content associated with Kierkegaard&rsquo;s particular understanding of Christianity. Viewing Kierkegaard&rsquo;s thought and writings in this manner helps to reaffirm the significance of the notion of paradox in Kierkegaard&rsquo;s thought and to highlight the value of the notion of sacred tension for a reassessment of both Kierkegaard&rsquo;s existentialism and its contemporary implications. </p>

The author presents a holistic interpretation of Soren Kierkegaard's diverse writings. The study is claimed to be philosophical in the sense that it considers Kierkegaard's ever-developing conception of Socrates as a significant clue for understanding his own thought. This view undergoes several changes and culminates in the ironic idea that Socrates himself has become a Christian. The bare suggestion that this is the case implies that irony and Christianity are in some sense compatible. / In Part One, the author explores Kierkegaard' s early academic works, From the Papers of One Still Living, The Concept of Irony, and Johannes Climacus. These provide the background for understanding the development of Kierkegaard's philosophical life-view, and are shown to be the source of the indirect and ironic methodology Kierkegaard employs throughout his authorship proper. / There follows, in Part Two, an interpretation of the nature of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous works, which are held to be both ironic and serious. Then, Kierkegaard's maieutic method is elucidated through the examination of the writings of Johannes Climacus and Anti-Climacus. / In Part Three, Kierkegaard's veronymous writings are treated according to a double objective. First, the author argues that these writings may be read as instances of ironic communication; but that, second, in addition to the method of irony, that of edification must be seen as equally central to Kierkegaard's overall productivity. However we take them, Kierkegaard's writings considered as a whole turn out to be undecidable. They may be read as both ironic and edifying, both aesthetic and religious. Only in this way, the author claims, may the freedom of Kierkegaard's readers be maintained. / This foregoing comprehensive interpretation brings Kierkegaard in close proximity to postmodernism, and the author suggests what it means to read Kierkegaard as a postmodern philosopher. In this conclusion the author is not in complete agreement with prominent deconstructionist criticisms. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3067. / Major Professor: E. F. Kaelin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

In what follows, I will argue that scientists should be brought into direct theological discourse. I have framed definitions for both theology and science in such a way as to respect substantive and functional priorities of various concerns within both disciplines. / Until recently science has been considered antithetical and irrelevant to theology. Historically the relationship between these two disciplines has been described in terms of conflict or separation due to incommensurability. This is one of a number of misrepresentations of science which I address. Science has been portrayed as dogmatic, completely separate, and even as atheistic. However, historical and crucial interactions between science and theology are extensive. / I argue that science is indeed relevant to theological discourse because scientists--through their objectives, methods and quest for the fundamentum res--address the question "What is going on here?". Theologians employ scientific information in the building of their systems and in the framing of world-views. / Scientists make the greatest contribution to our knowledge with novel discoveries. These discoveries influenced the development of more informed theological models (i.e., immanent, prosaic, natural, process and theologies of nature). Theology as a systematic discipline must remain cogent by including novel scientific data. / Drawing upon both life sciences and physics I argue that science and theology must now enter into polylogue for the data that we contend with generates many levels (dimensions) for creative exchange. This exchange must occur for theology to be taken seriously. A theological paradigm that is useful for these purposes and which emerged from scientific data is one of N-Dimensional Reality. The influence of science has led to the development of a number of different theological models expanding the horizons of our systems; now theological models are emerging from the sciences. / Science continues to add to our understanding of "What is going on here?" and theology uses this information in the framing of world views. The scientist is now needed as the partner of the theologian for a more informed analysis and conceptualization of our world view. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: A, page: 4483. / Major Professor: Charles W. Swain. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.