Overly logical applications of some of Paul’s metaphors have led to widely accepted atonement theories that, because they project human legalistic and transactional thinking onto the image of God, have been egregiously contradictory to an authentic trinitarian and incarnational view of sacrifice and atonement. The Eastern emphasis on apophatic theology and theosis coupled with the

Bernard Lonergan claimed that his description of religious experience as “being in love unrestrictedly” differs merely notionally from the Scholastic idea of “sanctifying grace.” However, he did not offer the detailed explanation needed to establish the continuity between his development and the medieval category of “sanctifying grace.” His account of religious experience, therefore, remains ambiguous.

The article addresses the tension between two different approaches to Augustine’s esthetics: a contemplative esthetics of divine beauty and an incarnate esthetics of created beauty. An examination of Augustine’s theory of the imagination demonstrates the complementary nature of these two approaches. Contemporary theorists (such as Robert J. O’Connell and Carol Harrison) fail to provide an

The article discusses the interpretation of biblical theophanies in Byzantine hymns associated with the so-called Improperia tradition. After presenting the exegesis of specific theophanies as exemplified in hymns, the author argues that this type of exegesis is difficult to frame within the categories commonly used to describe patristic exegesis. He suggests that patristic scholars should

Gift theory offers a new perspective on the book of Job: God favors a universal gift ethic, Satan opts for an alienable gift economics, while Job’s friends endorse the principle of balanced reciprocity. The article depicts Job conflicted over the divine love culture and the culture promoted by his friends and Satan, but in the

The article proposes that Bernard Lonergan’s four-point hypothesis linking the four divine relations with four created participations in divine life can join with the theory of history proposed by Lonergan and developed by the author to form the unified field structure and so the starting point of a contemporary systematic theology. The hypothesis allows for

Because of its commitment to the Incarnation and the Resurrection, Catholic theology is impelled to deal productively with the issues of embodiment and particularity. These have been noticeably absent in postmodern discussions of religious experience, which tend to be abstract, “dis-embodied,” and dismissive of specific religious traditions. This symposium continues the important intervention of Catholic

The scientific claim that the costs of evolution are built into the process by which life emerges brings a new intensity to the old problem of evil. One partial response is to challenge the idea of an interventionist God who overturns or bypasses the laws of nature in favor of a God who works consistently

Inspired by two recent articles in this journal regarding the fact and nature of change at Vatican II, this article analyzes the nature of this change. Drawing on the author’s previous writings on ecclesiology and the social sciences, it argues that Vatican II was necessary to restore integrity to the mission of the Roman Catholic

The article explores the relation between the celebration of the Eucharist and the church’s mission to promote justice. The Eucharist’s eschatological orientation has profound implications both for understanding the eucharistic tradition and for developing inculturated and contextually appropriate forms of eucharistic celebration. Some implications impinge directly on the church’s mission to promote justice.