Böcker utgivna av University of Notre Dame Press

These research papers explore the creative interaction between evolutionary and molecular biology, philosophy and theology. They aim to support the engagement of constructive theology with the natural sciences and explore philosophical and theological elements in ongoing scientific research.

In Hidden Holiness, Michael Plekon challenges us to examine the concept of holiness. He argues that both Orthodox and Catholic churches understand saints to be individuals whose lives and deeds are unusual, extraordinary, or miraculous. Such a requirement for sainthood undermines, in his view, one of the basic messages of Christianity: that all people are called to holiness. Instead of focusing on the ecclesiastical process of recognizing saints, Plekon explores a more ordinary and less noticeable "e;hidden"e; holiness, one founded on the calling of all to be prophets and priests and witnesses to the Gospel. As Rowan Williams has insisted, people of faith need to find God's work in their culture and daily lives. With that in mind, Plekon identifies a fascinatingly diverse group of faithful who exemplify an everyday sanctity, as well as the tools they have used to enact their faith. Plekon calls upon contemporary writers-among them, Rowan Williams, Kathleen Norris, Sara Miles, Simone Weil, and Darcey Steinke-as well as such remarkable and controversial figures as Mother Teresa, Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day-to demonstrate ways to imagine a more diverse and everyday holiness. He also introduces four individuals of "e;hidden holiness"e;: a Yup'ik Alaskan, Olga Arsumquak Michael; the artist Joanna Reitlinger; the lay theologian Elisabeth Behr-Sigel; and human rights activist Paul Anderson. A generous and expansive treatment of the holy life, accessibly written for all readers, Plekon's book is sure to inspire us to recognize and celebrate the holiness hidden in the ordinary lives of those around us.

This work is an introduction to philosophical anthropology for students in a variety of disciplines, with emphasis on developing issues and problems with a phenomenological method, rather than presenting its material within a formal historical framework.

The Bible in the Latin West surveys the changes in the most important book in the western world, the Latin Bible. Dr. Gibson beings the survey in late antiquity, discussing the sumptuous volumes of the great senatorial houses of the fourth century and how they influenced the early great Bibles of northern Europe. The discussion then moves through the Carolingian period, with its increased interest in commentary to early vernacular versions, and goes on to reveal how in the eleventh and twelfth centuries the growing number of monastic and university readers made new demands on texts which led to the inclusion of glosses and other scholarly apparatus. Later, the combined influences of increased literacy and growing wealth among the population called for vernacular translations and devotional aids such as Books of Hours. Gibson completes the survey with a look at early printed Bibles. This is a useful volume for anyone being introduced to the firsthand study of texts and their transmission, as well as for graduate students in history, English, modern languages, classics, and religious studies, The Bible in the Latin West contains an introductory survey, 28 plates with facing descriptions and analyses, a glossary, and extensive bibliographic material.

A collection of 15 research papers exploring the implications of chaos and complexity in physical, chemical and biological systems for philosophical and theological issues regarding God's action in the world.

This volume of interdisciplinary essays focuses on the shifting points of intersection between the changing historical definitions of laity and sanctity. It features an examination of a series of individual lay "saints", in order to explore how these figures perceived their own lay status.

In this sourcebook, the editors bring together a varied selection of medieval documents on pastoral care. These materials - from administrative, theological, legal, historical and literary sources - are grouped thematically and offer a summary of the multifaceted lives of the parish clergymen.

This edition of the anonymously-authored, Middle English poem, "Pearl", is offered with a verse translation, Middle English text, and a commentary. On each page, the Middle English text is faced with a Modern English verse translation. The book is designed for classroom use, specialists and others.

This is a historical analysis of the Puerto Rican and Cuban American Catholic experience, beginning with their roots in the history of their homelands up to the closing of Vatican II. These people are difficult to assimilate into the Church as they do not see thenselves as permanently in the US.

An account of a personal journey exploring the evidence for, and implications of, human evolution. The author addresses spiritual questions on creation and the meaning of life, and reflects on the experience and effects on his thought of lecturing on controversial matters in American universities.

Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the few professional philosophers whose writings span both technical analytical philosophy and those general moral or intellectual questions that laymen often suppose to be the province of philosophy. This book attempts to expose this dichotomy and to link beliefs and moral theories with philosophical criticism.

Although scholarship has long recognized the centrality of the Trinity in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, no sustained treatment of this theme has been published until now. In this insightful new book, The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Brendan McInerny fills this gap, situating Balthasar's trinitarian theology in conversation with both the wider Christian theological tradition and his non-Christian intellectual contemporaries. Drawing from across Balthasar's extensive body of works, McInerny argues that Balthasar's vivid description of the immanent Trinity provides a way to speak of how "e;God is love"e; in himself, beyond his relationship to creatures. He then shows how Balthasar's speculation into the immanent Trinity serves as the substructure of his theology of deification. For Balthasar, what we say about the inner life of God matters because we are called to share in that very life through Christ and the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Finally, responding to the criticisms that Balthasar's speculations into the inner life of God are without warrant, McInerny argues that Balthasar's bold trinitarian claims are actually a vehicle for apophatic theology. Balthasar's vivid description of the triune God does not transgress the boundaries of theological discourse. Rather, it manifests God's ever-greater incomprehensibility through verbal excess, oxymoron, and paradox.

Matthew Briel examines, for the first time, the appropriation and modification of Thomas Aquinas's understanding of providence by fifteenth-century Greek Orthodox theologian Gennadios Scholarios. Briel investigates the intersection of Aquinas's theology, the legacy of Greek patristic and later theological traditions, and the use of Aristotle's philosophy by Latin and Greek Christian thinkers in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. A Greek Thomist reconsiders our current understanding of later Byzantine theology by reconfiguring the construction of what constitutes "e;orthodoxy"e; within a pro- or anti-Western paradigm. The fruit of this appropriation of Aquinas enriches extant sources for historical and contemporary assessments of Orthodox theology. Moreover, Scholarios's grafting of Thomas onto the later Greek theological tradition changes the account of grace and freedom in Thomistic moral theology. The particular kind of Thomism that Scholarios develops avoids the later vexing issues in the West of the de auxiliis controversy by replacing the Augustinian theology of grace with the highly developed Greek theological concept of synergy. A Greek Thomist is perfect for students and scholars of Greek Orthodoxy, Greek theological traditions, and the continued influence of Thomas Aquinas.

Making Market Women tells of the initial success and failure of a liberationist Catholic women's cooperative in central Ecuador. Jill DeTemple argues that when gender and religious identities are capitalized, they are made vulnerable. Using archival and ethnographic methods, she shares the story of the women involved in the cooperative, producing cheese and knitted goods for local markets, and places their stories in the larger context of both the cooperative and the community. DeTemple explores the impact of gender roles, the perception of women, the growing middle class, and the changing mode of Catholicism in their community. Although the initial success of the cooperative may have been due to the group's cohesion and Catholic identity, the ultimate failure of the enterprise left many women less secure in these ties. They keep their Catholic identity but blame the institutional church in some ways for the failure and are less confident in their ability as women to compete successfully in market economies. Because DeTemple examines not only the effects of gender and religion on development but also the effects of development, successful or unsuccessful, on the identities of those involved, this book will interest scholars of international development, religious studies, Latin American studies, anthropology, and women's studies.

Throughout this original and passionate book, Bob Pepperman Taylor presents a wide-ranging inquiry into the nature and implications of Henry David Thoreau's thought in Walden and Civil Disobedience. Taylor pursues this inquiry in three chapters, each focusing on a single theme: chapter 1 examines simplicity and the ethics of "e;voluntary poverty,"e; chapter 2 looks at civil disobedience and the role of "e;conscience"e; in democratic politics, and chapter 3 concentrates on what "e;nature"e; means to us today and whether we can truly "e;learn from nature."e; Taylor considers Thoreau's philosophy, and the philosophical problems he raises, from the perspective of a wide range of thinkers and commentators drawn from history, philosophy, the social sciences, and popular media, breathing new life into Walden and asking how it is alive for us today.In Lessons from Walden, Taylor allows all sides to have their say, even as he persistently steers the discussion back to a nuanced reading of Thoreau's actual position. With its tone of friendly urgency, this interdisciplinary tour de force will interest students and scholars of American literature, environmental ethics, and political theory, as well as environmental activists, concerned citizens, and anyone troubled with the future of democracy.

Engages Islam from deep within the Christian tradition by addressing the question of the prophethood of Muhammad. Anna Bonta Moreland calls for a retrieval of Thomistic thought on prophecy to view Muhammad within a Christian theology of revelation.

Pierre Manent is one of France's leading political philosophers. This first English translation of his profound and strikingly original book La loi naturelle et les droits de l'homme is a reflection on the central question of the Western political tradition.

In this original study, Joshua Brown seeks to demonstrate the fruitfulness of Chinese philosophy for Christian theology by using Confucianism to reread, reassess, and ultimately expand the Christology of the twentieth-century Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Taking up the critically important Confucian idea of xiao (filial piety), Brown argues that this concept can be used to engage anew Balthasar's treatment of the doctrine of Christ's filial obedience, thus leading us to new Christological insights. To this end, Brown first offers in-depth studies of the early Confucian idea of xiao and of Balthasar's Christology on their own terms and in their own contexts. He then proposes that Confucianism affirms certain aspects of Balthasar's insights into Christ's filial obedience. Brown also shows how the Confucian understanding of xiao provides reasons to criticize some of Balthasar's controversial claims, such as his account of intra-Trinitarian obedience. Ultimately, by rereading Balthasar's Christology through the lens of xiao, Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism employs Confucian and Balthasarian resources to push the Christological conversation forward. Students and scholars of systematic theology, theologically educated readers interested in the encounter between Christianity and Chinese culture, and comparative theologians will all want to read this exceptional book.

Scientists and philosophers have long struggled to answer the questions of when human life begins and when human life has inherent value. The phenomenon of identical (monozygotic) twinning presents a significant challenge to the view that human life and human personhood begin at conception. The fact that a single embryo can split to generate two (or more) genetically identical embryos seems to defy the notion that prior to splitting an embryo can be a single human individual. In Untangling Twinning, Maureen Condic looks at the questions raised by human twinning based on a unique synthesis of molecular developmental biology and Aristotelian philosophy. She begins with a brief historical analysis of the current scientific perspective on the embryo and proceeds to address the major philosophic and scientific concerns regarding human twinning and embryo fusion: Is the embryo one human or two (or even more)? Does the original embryo die, and if not, which of the twins is the original? Who are the parents of the twins? What do twins, chimeras, cloning, and asexual reproduction in humans mean? And what does the science of human embryology say about human ensoulment, human individuality, and human value? Condic's original approach makes a unique contribution to the discussion of human value and human individuality, and offers a clear, evidence-based resolution to questions raised by human twinning. The book is written for students and scholars of bioethics, scientists, theologians, and attorneys who are involved in questions surrounding the human embryo.

In the late nineteenth century, Spanish intellectuals and entrepreneurs became captivated with Hispanism, a movement of transatlantic rapprochement between Spain and Latin America. Not only was this movement envisioned as a form of cultural empire to symbolically compensate for Spain's colonial decline but it was also imagined as an opportunity to materially regain the Latin American markets. Paradoxically, a central trope of Hispanist discourse was the antimaterialistic character of Hispanic culture, allegedly the legacy of the moral superiority of Spanish colonialism in comparison with the commercial drive of modern colonial projects. This study examines how Spanish authors, economists, and entrepreneurs of various ideological backgrounds strove to reconcile the construction of Hispanic cultural identity with discourses of political economy and commercial interests surrounding the movement. Drawing from an interdisciplinary archive of literary essays, economic treatises, and political discourses, The Spirit of Hispanism revisits Peninsular Hispanism to underscore how the interlacing of cultural and commercial interests fundamentally shaped the Hispanist movement.The Spirit of Hispanism will appeal to scholars in Hispanic literary and cultural studies as well as historians and anthropologists who specialize in the history of Spain and Latin America.

Derry is the second largest city in Northern Ireland and has had a Catholic majority since 1850. It was witness to some of the most important events of the civil rights movement and the Troubles. Derry City examines Catholic Derry from the turn of the twentieth century to the end of the 1960s and the start of the Troubles. Plotting the relationships between community memory and historic change, Margo Shea provides a rich and nuanced account of the cultural, political, and social history of Derry using archival research, oral histories, landscape analysis, and public discourse. Looking through the lens of the memories Catholics cultivated and nurtured as well as those they contested, she illuminates Derry's Catholics' understandings of themselves and their Irish cultural and political identities through the decades that saw Home Rule, Partition, and four significant political redistricting schemes designed to maintain unionist political majorities in the largely Catholic and nationalist city. Shea weaves local history sources, community folklore, and political discourse together to demonstrate how people maintain their agency in the midst of political and cultural conflict. As a result, the book invites a reconsideration of the genesis of the Troubles and reframes discussions of the "e;problem"e; of Irish memory. It will be of interest to anyone interested in Derry and to students and scholars of memory, modern and contemporary British and Irish history, public history, the history of colonization, and popular cultural history.

Explores the origins and development of Argentina's two forms of nationalism by linking nationalist thought to ongoing debates over Argentine identity. Part I considers the period before 1930, examining the emergence and spread of new essentialist ideas of national identity. Part II analyses the rise of nationalist movements after 1930.

Sites of the Ascetic Self reconsiders contemporary debates about ethics and subjectivity in an extended engagement with the works of John Cassian (ca. 360-ca. 435), whose stories of extreme asceticism and transformative religious experience by desert elders helped to establish Christian monastic forms of life. Cassian's late ancient texts, written in the context of social, cultural, political, doctrinal, and environmental change, contribute to an ethics for fractured selves in uncertain times. In response to this environment, Cassian's practical asceticism provides a uniquely frank picture of human struggle in a world of contingency while also affirming human agency in ways that signaled a challenge to followers of his contemporary, Augustine of Hippo.Niki Kasumi Clements brings these historical and textual analyses of Cassian's monastic works into conversation with contemporary debates at the intersection of the philosophy of religion and queer and feminist theories. Rather than focusing on interiority and renunciation of self, as scholars such as Michel Foucault read Cassian, Clements analyzes Cassian's texts by foregrounding practices of the body, the emotions, and the community. By focusing on lived experience in the practical ethics of Cassian, Clements demonstrates the importance of analyzing constructions of ethics in terms of cultivation alongside critical constructions of power. By challenging modern assumptions about Cassian's asceticism, Sites of the Ascetic Self contributes to questions of ethics, subjectivity, and agency in the study of religion today.