http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26135 Wed, 22 May 2013 10:05:28 GMT 2013-05-22T10:05:28Z http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26325 Title: Wrestling with holiness: sharing in the travail of creation Authors: Novello, Henry Leonard Abstract: The purpose of this essay, which is a sequel of an earlier essay titled ‘The New Creation and Doing the Truth’ (Novello, 2010), is to show that the idea of the holy contains a surplus of meaning above and beyond the meaning of moral goodness, and that an ontological view of holiness is required to acknowledge and safeguard this surplus of meaning. It will be argued that moral commands can be fulfilled only if we are united with the reality that commands them; that is, ‘Only if being precedes that which ought-to-be, can the ought-to-be be fulfilled’ (Tillich, 1959, 142). The essay will begin by presenting Rudolf Otto’s idea of the holy as coming to awareness in the human subject through the ‘numinous’ experience of boundless awe and wonder, which has roots both in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The second part will then discuss Christian responsibility and self-sacrifice, and will highlight in particular Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the cost of discipleship. The final concluding section will assert the need to appreciate knowledge of holiness as ‘connatural,’ not natural, and will refute an Aristotelian view of morality and justice which is based upon the principle of proportionality. Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26325 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26324 Title: The new creation and doing the truth: Christianity as more than a religion Authors: Novello, Henry Leonard Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to review Paul Tillich's understanding of Jesus Christ as the One in whom has appeared the New Being, and to examine Tillich’s conception of Christian truth as ‘saving truth,’ from which it will become apparent in what manner it can be said that Christianity is to be regarded as more than a religion. The first part of this essay will examine Tillich’s understanding of Christ as the New Being, the second part will discuss the meaning of doing the truth, and the conclusion will highlight two fundamental pitfalls to be avoided in respect of Christianity’s relation to contemporary culture. In particular, the intention will be to caution against an overly ‘integralist’ portrayal of Christian faith, which is a perennial tendency in Roman Catholicism. In the presentation of Tillich’s thought the essay will draw from his two works The Shaking of the Foundations and The New Being, which belong together as one piece. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26324 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26323 Title: Grace in evolutionary perspective: the furthering of nature Authors: Novello, Henry Leonard Abstract: The aim of this short reflection is to consider the fundamental issue of grace from the perspective of evolution: What light does an evolutionary view of the world shed on this problematic? If God creates through the evolutionary process, then clearly the rethinking of the doctrine of creation will also inform a theology of grace. Teilhard de Chardin, Karl Rahner, Denis Edwards, and George Coyne are examples of Catholic thinkers committed to doing theology in an evolutionary perspective by building on the concept of God’s continuous creation (creatio continua) that belongs to the Catholic theological tradition. They draw upon scientific knowledge of our evolving world, but they approach the scientific data as theologians seeking greater understanding of the faith. This is to say that they do not substitute science for religious faith, but they do see a legitimate dialogue between the two disciplines, each of which has its own realm of applicability. And with regard to this dialogue we must keep in mind that just as scientific theories are always incomplete, our religious understanding of God is also always incomplete, as the apophatic tradition of theology, represented by Pseudo Dionysius, makes abundantly clear. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26323 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26322 Title: Participating in the new creation: a theological appreciation of work Authors: Novello, Henry Leonard Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to offer an appraisal of John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (LE) by bringing his understanding of the meaning of labour into dialogue with Miroslav Volf’s proposed theology of work which is set forth in his book Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. The essay will show that there is a significant degree of overlap between these two thinkers on the subject of human work, but it will also seek to highlight some weaknesses in the encyclical that are overcome by Volf’s explicitly eschatological and pneumatological perspective of human work. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2328/26322 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z