DOCSLIB.ORG

A Theological Comparison of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Theological Comparison of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Truth and Politics: A Theological Comparison Of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology By Peter Samuel Kucer Washington, D.C. 2012 Truth and Politics: A Theological Comparison Of Joseph Ratzinger and John Milbank Peter Samuel Kucer, S.T.D. Director: Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D. Joseph Ratzinger and the Anglican scholar John Milbank have written extensively on the social and political order from a theological perspective. The main aspect which distinguishes Ratzinger’s theology of politics from Milbank’s political theology is how each theologian orients his thought on the question of truth, and most specifically how each theologian understands and relocates Vico’s claim that verum est factum (the truth is made). While Ratzinger is critical of Vico’s account of the socially constructed nature of truth, Milbank, on the other hand, embraces Vico in a way which validates it. The political consequences which logically follow these two philosophical approaches to Vico illustrate a central difference between Ratzinger and Milbank. As a result of these differing responses to Vico on truth, the dissertation argues that Ratzinger and Milbank take up different ways of relating socialism to the Trinitarian faith. Ratzinger’s critical appreciation of socialism, but rejection of all political models as expressive of Trinitarian faith, and Milbank’s promotion of socialism as integral to Trinitarian faith in practice are rooted in their reactions to Vico. In demonstrating these differences this study will show how their approaches to truth shape their philosophical and theological approaches to politics. This dissertation by Peter Samuel Kucer fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Systematic Theology approved by Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D., as Director, and by Brian V. Johnstone, C.SS.R., Ph.D., and Christopher Ruddy, Ph.D. as Readers. ____________________________________ Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D., Director ____________________________________ Brian V. Johnstone, C.SS.R., Ph.D., Reader ____________________________________ Christopher Ruddy, Ph.D., Reader ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 PRÉCIS ON GIOVANNI BATTISTA VICO’S CONCEPT OF TRUTH…….………………………………………………………………………......4 Chapter 1. RATZINGER ON TRUTH AS ESSENTIALLY UNCREATED: CORRESPONDENCE AND THE ANALOGY OF BEING …………………...26 Introduction ……………………………………………………………...26 1. Truth in God both One and Triune …………………………………..26 1.1 Greek Ontology ………………………………………………….......27 1.2 Essential Elements of Greek Ontology Wedded to Faith ….…..........29 1.3 The Mystery of Ultimate Truth as Constant and Dynamic ……….....33 2.0 Man’s Correspondence to Divine Truth within the Context of Twentieth Century Debates on the Analogy of Being ………………36 2.1 Przywara and the Analogy of Being ………………………...............39 2.2 Söhngen and the Analogy of Being ………………………………....41 3.0 Ratzinger’s Use of Analogy of Being, contra Vico, in Relationship to Truth as Correspondence…………………………………………….47 3.1 Like Przywara Ratzinger Views Analogy as a Fundamental Law of Being …………………………………………………………………….47 3.2 Man’s Correspondence to the “above-beyond” Dimension of Truth..51 3.3 Analogy of Attribution, Przywara’s ἀνá, and Faith ………………....55 3.4 Analogy of Being with Respect to the Analogy of Faith ………........57 3.5 Man’s Christological Correspondence to Moral Truth ……………...58 3.6 Man’s Christological Correspondence to Truth in Faith ……………60 Conclusion: ……………………………………………………………...62 2. RATZINGER ON TRUTH AS ILLUMINATED AND MEDIATED……...…...66 Introduction…………………………………………………….………...66 1.0 Truth as Illuminated………………………………………………….66 1.1 Illumination in Reason…………………………………………….…66 1.2 Illumination of Natural Law ………………………………………...70 1.3 Illumination through Beauty ………………………………………...75 1.4 Illumination of Faith ………………………………………………...77 1.5 Natural Light Distinguished from the Light of Faith ………………..80 1.6 Ultimate Truth Not to be Equated with Formless Light …………….82 2.0 Truth as Mediated …………………………………………………...83 2.1 The Church Mediates Truth Sacramentally …………………………84 iii 2.2 Individual Indwelling of Christ and the Corporate and Hierarchical Body of Christ ……………………………………………………….87 2.3 What and How the Church Mediates ………………………..……....92 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………..102 3. MILBANK ON TRUTH AS CREATED: CORRESPONDENCE AND THE ANALOGY OF CREATION …………..............................................................107 Introduction …………………………………………………………….107 1.0 Milbank’s defense of Vico ………………………………................107 1.1 Divine Truth is Created …………………………………………….107 1.2 Vico’s Hylozoism in Relationship to the Divine Conatus Principle ……………………………………………………………111 1.3 Milbank’s Development of Vico’s Hylozoism ………………...…..113 2.0 Man’s Correspondence to Truth …………………………...……....114 2.1 Analogy of Creation ………………………………………………..114 2.2 Analogy of Creation and Cause and Effect ……………………..….116 2.3 Vico’s Analogy of Creation as between Skepticism and Rationalism ……………………………………………………118 2.4 Analogy of Creation and Essence and Esse ……………………......119 2.5 Analogy of Creation and Language …………………………..……121 2.6 Analogy of Creation with respect to Law and Virtue ……..……….125 2.7 Analogy of Creation and Virtue ……………………........................128 3.0 Milbank’s Development of the Analogy of Creation in Theology and Social Theory (1990) …………………………………………..130 3.1 Eriugena’s and Nicholas of Cusa’s Analogy of Creation ……….....131 3.2 Analogy of Creation Defined with Respect to Difference ………....133 3.3 Difference within God …………………………………………..…135 3.4 Difference within Creation in Relationship to God …………...…...136 3.5 Differences within Created Beings in Relationship to One Another …………………………………………………………….137 3.6 A Christian Alternative Version of Postmodern Ontology ……..….139 3.7 A Correspondence Theory in which Truth is Created and not Mirrored …………………………………………………………....141 Conclusion ………………………………………….………………….143 4. MILBANK ON TRUTH AS ILLUMINATED AND MEDIATED …………...146 Introduction ......................................................................................…...146 1.0 Truth as Illuminated ………………………………………………..146 1.1 Vico and Illumination ……………………………………………...146 1.2 Illumination as Further Developed by Milbank ……………….…...148 1.2.1 Truth is Created within the City of God ………………………....149 1.2.2 Outside the City of God There is No Truth ………………….…..150 iv 1.2.3 Faith is Reason and Reason is Faith ……………………….…….158 2.0 Truth as Mediated ………………………………………………….160 2.1 Mediation of Christ ………………………………………………...161 2.2 Mediation of the Church …………………………………………...165 2.3 The Church is Democratic, Aristocratic and Monarchic ….……….166 2.4 What is Taught ……………………………………………………..168 2.5 The Church is Political …………………..........................................171 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………..175 5. RATZINGER AND MILBANK COMPARED ………………….....................181 Introduction …………………………………………………………….181 1.0 Ratzinger and Milbank on Truth …………………………………...181 2.0 Analogy of Being vs. Analogy of Creation ………………………..184 2.1 Ratzinger and Milbank on Man’s Analogous Correspondence to Truth ………………………………………………………………..187 3.0 Ratzinger and Milbank on Truth as Illuminated …………………...190 4.0 Ratzinger and Milbank on Truth as Mediated ……………………..195 5.0 Ratzinger and Milbank in Light of the Twentieth Century Nature and Grace Debates …………………………………………………...…201 5.1 Henri de Lubac …………………………………………………….202 5.2 Early Debates Over de Lubac’s Nature-Grace Position ……….......204 5.3 Contemporary Debates Over De Lubac’s Nature and Grace Position …………………………………………………………….205 5.3.1 Lawrence Feingold on Nature and Grace ………………………..206 5.3.2 Reinhard Hütter’s Development of Feingold’s Position ………....209 5.3.3 Steven A. Long’s Development of Feingold’s Position …………211 5.3.4 Nicholas J. Healy’s Defense of de Lubac ……………………......212 6.0 Milbank and Ratzinger on Nature and Grace ……………………...215 6.1 Nature and Grace as Radically Integrated …………………………215 6.2 Nature and Grace as Relatively Autonomous ……………………...218 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………..220 6. RATZINGER’S THEOLOGY OF POLITICS AND MILBANK’S POLITICAL THEOLOGY ……………………………………......................................................223 Introduction …………………………………………………………….223 1.0 Faith and Political Reason According to Ratzinger ………………..224 1.1 De Lubac’s Views on Nature and Grace Does Not Lead to Political Theology …………………………………………………………...224 1.2 The Church Preaches Moral Norms not a Political Norm …………231 1.3 Ratzinger’s Concept of Democratic Socialism …………………….234 1.4 The Primacy of Individual Conversion Over Structural Change …..238 1.5 Individual Conversion Leads to the Formation of a Supra-National v Ethic ………………………………………………………………..241 1.6 A Supranational Ethic Fostered by the Faith Upholds Freedom and Resists Tyranny …………………………………………………….243 2.0 Faith and Political Reason According to Milbank …………………247 2.1 De Lubac’s Views on Nature and Grace Lead to Political Theology…………………………………………………………....247 2.2 The Church as a Political Norm ……………………………………251 2.3 The Church is not to Encourage a Supra-National Ethic Shaped by Specific Moral Laws but Rather is to Promote such an Ethic Determined by the Practice of Ecclesial Socialism ………………..253 2.4 Milbank’s Ecclesial Socialism …………………………………….255
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Western Philosophy Rev
    Designed by John Cornet, Phoenix HS (Ore) Western Philosophy rev. September 2012 The very process of philosophy has been a driving force in the tranformation of the world. From the figure who dwells upon how to achieve power, to the minister who contemplates the paradox of the only truth (their faith) yet which is also stagnent, to the astronomers who are searching the stars for signs of other civilizations, to the revolutionaries who sought to construct a national government which would protect the rights of the minority, the very exercise of philosophy and philosophical thought is at a core of human nature. Philosophy addresses what are sometimes called the "big questions." These include questions of morality and ethics, ideology/faith,, politics, the truth of knowledge, the nature of reality, and the meaning of human existance (...just to name a few!) (Religion addresses some of the same questions, but while philosophy and religion overlap in some questions, they can and do differ significantly in the approach they take to answering them.) Subject Learning Outcomes Skills-Based Learning Outcomes Behavioral Expectations and Grading Policy Develop an appreciation for and enjoyment of Organize, maintain and learn how to study from a learning, particularly in how learning should subject-specific notebook Attendance, participation and cause us to question what we think we know Be able to demonstrate how to take notes (including being prepared are daily and have a willingness to entertain new utilizing two-column format) expectations perspectives on issues. Be able to engage in meaningful, substantive discussion A classroom culture of respect and Students will develop familiarity with major with others.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria Lee W. Sytsma Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Sytsma, Lee W., "Reconciling Universal Salvation and Freedom of Choice in Origen of Alexandria" (2018). Dissertations (1934 -). 769. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/769 RECONCILING UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA by Lee W. Sytsma, B.A., M.T.S. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2018 ABSTRACT RECONCILING UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN ORIGEN OF ALEXANDRIA Lee W. Sytsma, B.A., M.T.S. Marquette University, 2018 Origen has traditionally been famous for his universalism, but many scholars now express doubt that Origen believed in a universal and permanent apocatastasis. This is because many scholars are convinced that Origen’s teaching on moral autonomy (or freedom of choice) is logically incompatible with the notion that God foreordains every soul’s future destiny. Those few scholars who do argue that Origen believed in both moral autonomy and universal salvation either do not know how to reconcile these two views in Origen’s theology, or their proposed “solutions” are not convincing. In this dissertation I make two preliminary arguments which allow the question of logical compatibility to come into focus.
    [Show full text]
  • Works on Giambattista Vico in English from 1884 Through 2009
    Works on Giambattista Vico in English from 1884 through 2009 COMPILED BY MOLLY BLA C K VERENE TABLE OF CON T EN T S PART I. Books A. Monographs . .84 B. Collected Volumes . 98 C. Dissertations and Theses . 111 D. Journals......................................116 PART II. Essays A. Articles, Chapters, et cetera . 120 B. Entries in Reference Works . 177 C. Reviews and Abstracts of Works in Other Languages ..180 PART III. Translations A. English Translations ............................186 B. Reviews of Translations in Other Languages.........192 PART IV. Citations...................................195 APPENDIX. Bibliographies . .302 83 84 NEW VICO STUDIE S 27 (2009) PART I. BOOKS A. Monographs Adams, Henry Packwood. The Life and Writings of Giambattista Vico. London: Allen and Unwin, 1935; reprinted New York: Russell and Russell, 1970. REV I EWS : Gianturco, Elio. Italica 13 (1936): 132. Jessop, T. E. Philosophy 11 (1936): 216–18. Albano, Maeve Edith. Vico and Providence. Emory Vico Studies no. 1. Series ed. D. P. Verene. New York: Peter Lang, 1986. REV I EWS : Daniel, Stephen H. The Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography, n.s. 12 (1986): 148–49. Munzel, G. F. New Vico Studies 5 (1987): 173–75. Simon, L. Canadian Philosophical Reviews 8 (1988): 335–37. Avis, Paul. The Foundations of Modern Historical Thought: From Machiavelli to Vico. Beckenham (London): Croom Helm, 1986. REV I EWS : Goldie, M. History 72 (1987): 84–85. Haddock, Bruce A. New Vico Studies 5 (1987): 185–86. Bedani, Gino L. C. Vico Revisited: Orthodoxy, Naturalism and Science in the ‘Scienza nuova.’ Oxford: Berg, 1989. REV I EWS : Costa, Gustavo. New Vico Studies 8 (1990): 90–92.
    [Show full text]
  • Giambattista Vico Y La Hermenéutica Social Cinta Moebio 4: 128-145
    Toledo, U. 1998. Giambattista Vico y la hermenéutica social Cinta moebio 4: 128-145 www.moebio.uchile.cl/04/vico.htm Giambattista Vico y la Hermenéutica Social Ulises Toledo Nickels. Doctor (c) en Filosofía. Profesor Universidad San Sebastián. Concepción "Uno de los signos de los escritores de genio es que lo que dicen, puede, a veces, tocar un nervio central en las mentes o los sentimientos de los hombre que pertenecen a otras épocas, culturas o perspectivas, y establecen trenes de pensamiento y arrastran consecuencias que no se les ocurrieron o pudieron no ocurrírseles a tales escritores y todavía menos preocupar sus mentes" Isaiah Berlin "Vico de hecho lo dice ya todo; pero la abstracción e interpretación conceptual la deja a cargo de la posterioridad" Richard Peters Protosociología y Heterogénesis de los Fines (*) El pensador napolitano Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) de reconocida autoridad en el campo de la investigación histórica es considerado, también, el inaugurador de la Filosofía de la Historia en una época en la cual aún no existía una denominación específica para designar ese tipo de estudio (1). No obstante, en el presente trabajo proponemos que su mérito es más extenso y profundo; de hecho anticipa ideas (2) que posteriormente alcanzan un amplio desarrollo por parte de filósofos, historiadores, politólogos, psicólogos y cientistas sociales. Se mencionan los nombres de Hegel, Dilthtey, Spengler, Niebhur, Mommsen, la teoría sobre Homero de Wolf, la interpretación de la mitología de Bachofen, la reconstrucción del pasado en base a etimologías de Grimm, el entendimiento histórico de las leyes de Savigny y el de la ciudad antigua y el feudalismo de Foustel de Coulanges, la teoría sobre la lucha de clases de Marx y Sorel.
    [Show full text]
  • Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J
    Bryn Mawr College Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Students 2017 The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? Daniel J. Crosby Bryn Mawr College, [email protected] Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Citation Crosby, Daniel J., "The yT ranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria?" (2017). Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 4. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 This paper is posted at Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College. http://repository.brynmawr.edu/gsas_pubs/4 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Tyranny of Authority: Eternal Damnation in the Fragments of Clement of Alexandria? In the year 1715, John Potter published the most comprehensive edition of the extant writings of the Clement of Alexandria, the second-century Church Father who is most famous for his apologetic Protrepticus and intensely philosophical Stromata. Potter’s edition includes a collection of fragments, and among these fragments, this one is conspicuous: Ἀθάνατοι πᾶσαι αἱ ψυχαὶ, καὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν, αἷς ἄμεινον ἦν μὴ ἀφθάρτους εἶναι. Κολαζόμεναι γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀσβέτου πυρὸς ἀπεράντῳ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ μὴ θνήσκουσαι, ἐπὶ κακῷ τῷ ἑαυτῶν τέλος λαβεῖν οὐκ ἔχουσιν.1 All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked, for whom it is better that they were not deathless.
    [Show full text]
  • Universal Salvation and the Problem of Hell John R
    Theological Studies 52 (1991) CURRENT ESCHATOLOGY: UNIVERSAL SALVATION AND THE PROBLEM OF HELL JOHN R. SACHS, S.J. Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Mass. HE PURPOSE of this article is to take a fresh look at the ancient and Tmuch misunderstood theme of apocatastasis. Increasing contempo­ rary use of the apocalyptic language of hell, hand in hand with the alarming appeal and growth of fundamentalism, sectarianism, and inte- gralism, suggest the urgency of this endeavor. After first surveying the checkered history of this theme from biblical times to the present, I will, second, state and describe the central points of current Catholic theology on these issues. It manifests a remarkable degree of consensus. Third, I shall turn more closely to the highly original thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar, whose approach seems most challenging. Fourth, I shall raise a question concerning the ability of human freedom to reject God defin­ itively. Finally, my conclusion will stress how a properly understood Christian universalism is not only consonant with several central strands of Christian belief, but is also profoundly relevant to the religious and cultural developments of the present age. THE DOCTRINE OF APOCATASTASIS The doctrine of apocatastasis, commonly attributed to Origen, main­ tained that the entire creation, including sinners, the damned, and the devil, would finally be restored to a condition of eternal happiness and salvation. This was an important theme in early Christian eschatology.1 Even before the Christian era, of course, the idea of an apokatastasis paritàri was well known in ancient religion and philosophy. In Eastern thought especially, one finds a predominantly cyclical conception of time and history according to which the end always involves a return to the 1 See, for example, Brian E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philosophy of the Imagination in Vico and Malebranche
    STRUMENTI PER LA DIDATTICA E LA RICERCA – 86 – Paolo Fabiani The Philosophy of the Imagination in Vico and Malebranche Translated and Edited by Giorgio Pinton Firenze University Press 2009 the philosophy of the imagination in Vico and male- branche / paolo Fabiani. – Firenze : Firenze university press, 2009. (strumenti per la didattica e la ricerca ; 86) http://digital.casalini.it/97864530680 isBn 978-88-6453-066-6 (print) isBn 978-88-6453-068-0 (online) immagine di copertina: © elenaray | dreamstime.com progetto grafico di alberto pizarro Fernández © 2009 Firenze university press università degli studi di Firenze Firenze university press Borgo albizi, 28, 50122 Firenze, italy http://www.fupress.com/ Printed in Italy “In memory of my mother ... to honor the courage of my father” Paolo Fabiani “This is more than my book, it also represents Giorgio Pinton’s interpretation of the imagi- nation in early modern philosophy. In several places of my work he felt obliged to simplify the arguments to easy the reading; he did it in agreement with me. In a few others, he substituted, with intelligence and without forcing, the structure of the original academic version in a differ- ent narrative organization of the contents. He has done a great job. It is an honor for me that the most important translator of Vico’s Latin Works into Eng- lish translated and edited my first philosophical essay. I heartly thank Giorgio Pinton, a true master of philosophy; Alexander Bertland, a very good scholar in Vico studies; and the editorial staff of FUP, expecially
    [Show full text]
  • Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010
    The Paschal Dimension of the 40 Days as an interpretive key to a reading of the new and serious challenges to faith in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010 Kevin Doherty Doctor of Philosophy 2011 MATER DEI INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION A College of Dublin City University The Paschal Dimension of the 40 Days as an interpretive key to a reading of the new and serious challenges to faith in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland 1990-2010 Kevin Doherty M.A. (Spirituality) Moderator: Dr Brendan Leahy, DD Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2011 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Ph.D. is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. ID No: 53155831 Date: ' M l 2 - 0 1 DEDICATION To my parents Betty and Donal Doherty. The very first tellers of the Easter Story to me, and always the most faithful tellers of that Story. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thanks to all in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York who gave generously of their time and experience to facilitate this research: to Msgr Bob Brennan (Vicar General), Sr Mary Alice Piil (Director of Faith Formation), Marguerite Goglia (Associate Director, Children and Youth Formation), Lee Hlavecek, Carol Tannehill, Fr Jim Mannion, Msgr Bill Hanson. Also, to Fr Neil Carlin of the Columba Community in Donegal and Derry, a prophet of the contemporary Irish Church.
    [Show full text]
  • Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Cyprian of Carthage on Suffering: A
    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENAEUS OF LYONS, AND CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE ON SUFFERING: A COMPARATIVE AND CRITICAL STUDY OF THEIR WORKS THAT CONCERN THE APOLOGETIC USES OF SUFFERING IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THEOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS BY AARON GLENN KILBOURN LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA AUGUST 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Aaron Glenn Kilbourn All Rights Reserved ii APPROVAL SHEET JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENAEUS OF LYONS, AND CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE ON SUFFERING: A COMPARATIVE AND CRITICAL STUDY OF THEIR WORKS THA CONCERN THE APOLOGETIC USES OF SUFFERING IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY Aaron Glenn Kilbourn Read and approved by: Chairperson: _____________________________ Reader: _____________________________ Reader: _____________________________ Date: _____________________________ iii To my wife, Michelle, my children, Aubrey and Zack, as well as the congregation of First Baptist Church of Parker, SD. I thank our God that by His grace, your love, faithfulness, and prayers have all helped sustain each of my efforts for His glory. iv CONTENTS Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………ix Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………….x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..1 Personal Interest………………………………………………………………………8 The Need for the Study……………………………………………………………….9 Methodological Design……………………………………………………………….10 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………12 CHAPTER 2: THE CONCEPT OF SUFFERING IN THE BIBLE AND EARLY APOLOGISTS........................................................................................................................14
    [Show full text]
  • Vico and Descartes: from Rationalism to Historicism
    VICO AND DESCARTES VICO AND DESCARTES: FROM RATIONALISM TO HISTORICISM By FIORE GUIDO, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts (September) 1986 MASTER OF ARTS (1986) McMASTER UNIVERSITY (Philosophy) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Vico and Descartes: From Rationalism to Historicism AUTHOR: Fiore Guido, B.A. (University of Toronto) B.A. (McMaster University) M.A. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor Albert Shalom NUMBER OF PAGES: vii, 156 ii This work is dedicated to the solitary individual: Though he may have not understood, he and he alone would not have misunderstood. iii ------------ ABSTRACT In this work, we shall argue that the originality of Giambattista Vico in the history of anti-Cartesianism lies not simply, as it is generally believed, in his dissent from the anti-historical tenets of Cartesianism, but in his radical departure from the Cartesian conception of the universe. For Vico, in our view, was one of the very first, if not the first, thinker to recognise fully the implications of Cartesian mechanism and to, consequently, reject the Cartesian conception of nature and (correlatively) the Cartesian conception of man. His "nuova scienza", with its intrinsically dynamic universe and its fundamentally historical man, must therefore be understood as a fundamentally anti-Cartesian science of reality. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work owes its existence to the support and assistance of various individuals whose contribution must be acknowledged, though I alone am responsible for its imperfections. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Professor Albert Shalom, a great teacher and a truly compassionate individual, who willingly bore the burden of guiding an impulsive and insecure young scholar through the task of writing his first thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Mystery of the Bodhisattva
    Vincit Omnia Veritas II,2 Mystery of the Bodhisattva Frithjof Schuon Copyright© 2000 Frithjof Schuon Courtesy of World Wisdom This article has been published by World Wisdom (Bloomington, IN, USA) in Frithjof Schuon, Treasures of Buddhism. There is a side of Buddhism which makes it akin not only to Christianity, but also to the Semitic religions in general — paradoxically so, considering its nontheistic character — in the sense that its starting point is related to a human point of view rather than to the metaphysical nature of things. Indeed, when it is said that Existence is but suffering and that the Absolute is the cessation of suffering, and further that human perfection lies in "compassion for all living beings," this opens up a perspective that corresponds to our human situation and to our ultimate interests, no doubt, but it does not straightaway give the most direct possible definition of "that which is," if one may thus express it when thinking of both the manifested Universe and that which transcends it. Such an observation is not, however, of a kind that logically need disturb Buddhists,17 and this for two reasons: firstly, because they are not unaware of the fact that the doctrines of the Buddhas are only "celestial mirages" intended to catch, as in a golden net, the greatest possible number of creatures plunged in ignorance, suffering and transmigration, and that it is therefore the benefit of creatures and not the suchness of the Universe which determines the necessarily contingent form of the Message; and secondly, because Buddhism, within the framework of its own wisdom, goes beyond the formal "mythology" or the "letter" and ultimately transcends all possible human formulations, thus realizing an unsurpassable contemplative disinterestedness as do the Vedanta, Taoism and analogous doctrines.
    [Show full text]
  • GIAMBATTISTA VICO (1668-1744) Maria Teresa Maiullari1
    The following text was originally published in Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education (Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education), vol. XXIV, no. 3/4, 1994, p. 731-741. ©UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2000 This document may be reproduced free of charge as long as acknowledgment is made of the source. GIAMBATTISTA VICO (1668-1744) Maria Teresa Maiullari1 The inaugural discourses Vico was born in Naples on 23 June 1668, the son of Antonio Vico (1638-1706), a bookseller, and Candida Masullo (1633-99). He completed his elementary and secondary education at the Jesuit School. An intellectual conception common to many young men in the upper classes attending Jesuit schools during the eighteenth century marked the form and, in part, the content of Vico’s later meditations. The images and metaphors in his writings are taken from a biblical and classical repertoire. Vico’s Jesuit education led to the acquisition of an expressive vocabulary that he used to communicate new ideas about the concept and practice of education. After finishing his studies in ‘literature’ and completing a specialization in ‘rhetoric’, he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric at the Royal University of Naples. On 18 October 1699, at the age of 31, Vico gave the first of his ‘Inaugural Discourses’. Following the tradition of contemporary Italian universities, a lecture opened the academic year and clarified certain educational intentions of the teacher. From 1699 to 1706 Vico gave these Orazioni Inaugurali [Inaugural Discourses] which were collected and published in a volume ending with a ‘Final Dissertation’. This work is the fruit of the first phase of Vico’s thought.
    [Show full text]