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The Evangelization Station Hudson, Florida, USA E-Mail: Evangelization
these little ones to the mercy and loving providence of Baptism. Yet the Holy Office (now the Congregation for Our Heavenly Father. the Doctrine of the Faith) in 1958 provided as follows: Limbo Pastoral Concern The practice has arisen in some places of delaying The Church’s teaching is very compassionate and the conferring of Baptism for so-called reasons of ISSUE: What is Limbo? What does the Church teach consoling toward those who have had miscarriages or convenience or of a liturgical nature -- a practice concerning Limbo? who have suffered the deaths of young children before favored by some opinions, lacking solid foundation, they were baptized. The Church’s pastoral concern is concerning the eternal salvation of infants who die RESPONSE: Theologians developed the concept of especially needed in the context of embracing women without Baptism. limbo to explain the destiny of those who die without whose children have died through abortion. Therefore this Supreme Congregation, with the Baptism yet who have not committed actual sin. This Unfortunately, the Church’s outreach in this area has approval of the Holy Father, warns the faithful that concept is applied primarily to infants and children been unnecessarily confused by a mistranslation of Pope infants are to be baptized as soon as possible ... Pastors (including the unborn) who die before they are baptized. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (“The and preachers are exhorted to urge the fulfillment of this St. Thomas Aquinas taught that limbo is a place of Gospel of Life”). The English translation of paragraph obligation. perfect natural happiness, but without the supernatural 99, addressed to women who had an abortion, provides The current Code of Canon Law (canon 867) affirms vision of God (the “beatific vision”), to which no as follows: that parents should have their children baptized within creature has a natural right. -
Excerpt Farris Short.Pdf
An Introduction to Theological Anthropology HUMANS, BOTH CREATURELY AND DIVINE JOSHUA R. FARRIS K Joshua Farris, An Introduction to Theological Anthropology Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2020. Used by permission. _Farris_IntroTheoAnthro_BKB_djm.indd 5 1/23/20 11:33 AM Contents Foreword by Marc Cortez xi Preface: Humans— Creaturely and Divine xv Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction: Where Do We Begin? Humans, Prolegomena, and Method 1 1. What Am I? Creaturely and Redemptive Identity 19 2. What Am I and Where Did I Originate? Are We Apes, Humans, or Gods? 51 3. What Am I in Relation to God? The Image as Creaturely and Divine 79 4. What Does It Mean to Be Free? Freedom as Creaturely and Divine 109 5. Who Am I at Birth? Original Sin and Creaturely Failure 135 6. Who Am I in Christ? Humans, Descended and Ascended 161 7. Who Are We in Culture? Creaturely and Divine in Work, Race, and Disability 187 8. Who Are We as Male and Female? Humans as Gendered and Sexual 205 9. Why Am I Here? Creaturely Living, Dying, and the In- Between 231 10. Why Do I Exist? Creaturely Process and Divine Destiny 253 Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here? 283 ix Joshua Farris, An Introduction to Theological Anthropology Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2020. Used by permission. _Farris_IntroTheoAnthro_BKB_djm.indd 9 1/23/20 11:33 AM x Contents Appendix: Philosophy and Theology in Anthropology: A Review of Recent Literature 287 Bibliography 291 Suggested Readings 317 Author Index 329 Scripture Index 333 Subject Index 335 Joshua Farris, An Introduction to Theological Anthropology Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2020. -
2-22- the Four Last Things
St. Mark Seeker’s Study Guide February 22, 2017: The Four Last Things – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell The Four Last Things, death, judgment, heaven and hell, are realities of human life. Although our end in this world is not the most attractive topic of conversation, Christians should understand that death is a passage to new life. The Communion of the Saints is the unity of baptized Christians with all who have gone before us in the oneness of God. As Christians, we don’t just prepare for death, but we live that new life today in the sanctifying grace of our God. As we consider the Four Last things, we should do so in the context of faith. Death The Christian Life and Death: The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. Assisted suicide or euthanasia are not a morally responsible use of life. The dying should be accompanied and supported. No one ought to feel that they are a burden to others. Part of the challenge of the spiritual life is to both learn to love and to be loved. Why is it harder to be loved? Prayer for the Dying: The dying will be helped by the prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the Sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God” (CCC, no. 2299). Death: The final article of the Creed proclaims our belief in everlasting life. At the Catholic Rite of Commendation of the Dying, sometimes prayed at the Anointing of the Sick, we sometimes hear this prayer: “Go forth, Christian soul, from this world... -
Part 1--The Remembrance of Death
Part 1--The Remembrance of Death Part 1--The Remembrance of Death A TREATISE (UNFINISHED) UPON THESE WORDS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE Memorare novissima, & in aeternum non peccabis “Remember the last things, & thou shalt never sin.”—Ecclus. 7 . Made about the year of our Lord 1522, by Sir Thomas More then knight, and one of the Privy Council of King Henry VIII, and also Under-Treasurer of England. If there were any question among men whether the words of holy Scripture or the doctrine of any secular author were of greater force and effect to the weal and profit of man’s soul (though we should let pass so many short and weighty words spoken by the mouth of our Saviour Christ Himself, to Whose heavenly wisdom the wit of none earthly creature can be comparable) yet this only text written by the wise man in the seventh chapter of Ecclesiasticus is such that it containeth more fruitful advice and counsel to the forming and framing of man’s manners in virtue and avoiding of sin, than many whole and great volumes of the best of old philosophers or any other that ever wrote in secular literature. Long would it be to take the best of their words and compare it with these words of holy Writ. Let us consider the fruit and profit of this in itself: which thing, well advised and pondered, shall well declare that of none whole volume of secular literature shall arise so very fruitful doctrine. For what would a man give for a sure medicine that were of such strength that it should all his life keep him from sickness, namely 1 if he might by the avoiding of sickness be sure to continue his life one hundred years? So is it now that these words giveth us all a sure medicine (if we forsloth 2 not the receiving) by which we shall keep from sickness, not the body, which none health may long keep from death (for die we must in few years, live we never so long), but the soul, which here preserved from the sickness of sin, shall after this eternally live in joy and be preserved from the deadly life of everlasting pain. -
The Faith of Mary in Scripture
The Faith of Mary in Scripture Only one passage in Scripture associates Mary with the noun πίστις , “faith” in Greek, or the verb πιστεύειν , “to believe.” This passage is Luke 1:45, which reads: “Blessed is she who believed—ἡ πιστεύσασα (aor. ptc. fem.)—that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Here, the crucial point about Mary’s faith is that Mary is not praised for having believed in a set of doctrines or a dogma, but rather because she trusted the word of God. She trusted God to keep his promise. In other words, this passage is describing her faith as trust. Now, because the term “faith” is connected with Mary in only this verse in all of Scripture, the only way to gain further insight into her faith is by considering parallels drawn from other passages. One of these parallels concerns the very first word of Luke 1:45: µακαρία . This word places the praise and proclamation of Mary’s faith within the context of a macharism , or a beatitude: “Blessed is she…” The English translation, “blessed” does not render the meaning of µακάριος correctly, for this Greek adjective actually means “happy”—beatus in Latin; hence the word “beatitude,” rather than “blessing.” Because a macharism entails the promise of happiness and the promise of a concrete reward, we may conclude that Mary’s faith leads to a reward of happiness. The other only instance in the gospels where the adjective µακάριος is associated with the verb πιστεύειν is found in John 20:29, where the risen Jesus says to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Not only does this verse contain the last beatitude proclaimed by Jesus in the gospels, but it also refers to faith. -
07 Israel – the Challenge of Carnality
Chapter 7 ISRAEL – THE CHALLENGE OF CARNALITY LL eschatological opinions are open to perversion, even with regard to the three major A schools of interpretation. They have each attracted devotees who have strayed from the mainstream of the historic norm. Amillennialism has at times strayed in a Gnostic and Neo- Platonist direction with the result being a prospective amorphous, ethereal future kingdom, that which is spiritually nonsubstantial, that which presents difficulty for human comprehension. Postmillennialism has at times strayed into a political agenda, and more currently extreme preterism, that, in alignment with the Christian church, has anticipated a legislative establishment of the future kingdom. Premillennialism, in proclaiming a future earthly reign of Jesus Christ upon a renewed earth, has known associations with a carnal materialism that, in conveying worldliness, lacks spirituality. It is this charge against premillennialism that we are here concerned about for it certainly does have a degree of validity with regard to some deviant opinions. There are those who have given prominence to Israel’s prospective glorious dominion in Israel in predominantly political and sensationalist terms, yet this remains quite invalid in the light of a classic historic premillennial understanding, again with regard to incorporation of Israel’s future prospects. It was Augustine who, in opposing chiliasm while commenting on Revelation 20, characterized its outworking as, “the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only shock the feeling of the temperate, but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, [so that] such assertions can be believed only by the carnal. -
Thomas Aquinas on the Beatific Vision: a Christological Deficit1
© 2018 TheoLogica An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology S. I. BEATIFIC VISION DOI: https://doi.org/10.14428/thl.v2i2.14733 Thomas Aquinas on the Beatific Vision: A Christological Deficit1 HANS BOERSMA Regent College [email protected] Abstract: This article argues Aquinas’s doctrine of the beatific vision suffers from a twofold christological deficit: (1) Aquinas rarely alludes to an eternally continuing link (whether as cause or as means) between Christ’s beatific vision and ours; and (2) for Aquinas the beatific vision is not theophanic, that is to say, for Aquinas, Christ is not the object of the beatific vision; instead, he maintains the divine essence constitutes the object. Even if Aquinas were to have followed his “principle of the maximum” in the unfinished third part of the Summa and so had discussed Christ’s own beatific vision as the cause of the saints’ beatific vision, he would still have ended up with a christological deficit, inasmuch as Christ would still not be the means and the object of the saints’ beatific vision. For a more christologically robust way forward, I draw on John Owen and several other Puritan theologians, who treat the beatific vision as the climactic theophany. Keywords: Thomas Aquinas, John Owen, Beatific vision, Theophany, Eschatology Introduction: A Twofold Deficit The question before us is whether or not Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of the beatific vision suffers from a christological deficit. I maintain that it does; Fr. Simon Gaine argues it does not.2 Gaine describes Aquinas’s understanding of Christ’s role in the beatific vision by suggesting, “The saints’ beatific vision is causally dependent on his. -
Appendix 8 — Formulas of Catholic Doctrine
Appendix 8 — Formulas of Catholic Doctrine Appendix 8 — Formulas of Catholic Doctrine The Two Great Commandments of Love Ten Commandments (CCC Part 3, Section 2) (CCC 2196) 1. I am the LORD your God: you shall 1. You shall love the Lord your God not have strange gods before me. with all your heart, with all your 2. You shall not take the name of the soul, and with all your mind. LORD your God in vain. 2. You shall love your neighbor as 3. Remember to keep holy the LORD’s yourself. Day. 4. Honor your father and your mother. The Golden Rule (Mt. 7:12) (CCC 1970) 5. You shall not kill. Do to others as you would have them do to 6. You shall not commit adultery. you. 7. You shall not steal. The Theological Virtues (CCC 1841) 8. You shall not bear false witness 1. Faith against your neighbor. 2. Hope 9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s 3. Charity wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s The Cardinal Virtues (CCC 1805) goods. 1. Prudence 2. Justice The Beatitudes (CCC 1716; Mt. 5:3-12) 3. Fortitude Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 4. Temperance kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1831) be comforted. 1. Wisdom Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit 2. Understanding the earth. 3. Counsel Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for 4. Fortitude righteousness, for they will be 5. Knowledge satisfied. -
Pleasures of Gluttony Los Placeres De La Codicia Os Prazeres Da Gula
Pleasures of Gluttony Los placeres de la Codicia Os prazeres da Gula Burçin EROL 1 Abstract: In the late Middle Ages, especially in England, displaying an abundance of food and feasting became not only an act of pleasure but also a means of establishing status and wealth, despite gluttony being one of the seven deadly sins. In the fourteenth century – due to various reasons such as increased population, crop failure, the Black Death, and the disruption of food production by warfare – feasting, the displaying of food, and indulgence in gluttony was an indicator of wealth, riches, and high status for the upper class or the social climber as it is well indicated in the works of Chaucer and some of his contemporaries. Resumo: Especialmente na Idade Média Tardia, na Inglaterra, demonstrações de comida abundante e ceias se tornaram não somente um prazer, mas uma representação do estabelecimento de status e riqueza, apesar da gula ser proclamada um dos sete pecados capitais. No século XIV, devido a várias calamidades, como crescimento populacional, problemas na colheita , a peste negra e a quebra da produção de comida, o fornecimento e a ostentação de comida e indulgencia na gula foi um indicador de riqueza grande status para a classe alta ou para ascendentes sociais, como bem indicada nos trabalhos de Chaucer e alguns de seus contemporâneos. Keywords: Seven Deadly Sins – Gluttony – Pleasure – Middle English Literature. Palavras-chaves: Sete Pecados Capitais – Gula – Prazer – Literatura em Inglês Médio. 1 Prof. Dr., Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected] . -
Wesleyan Eschatological Implications for The
WESLEYAN ESCHATOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH’S ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER RELIGIONS The Thirteenth Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies Mission – Witness and Engagement Working Group August 12, 2013 Eschatology as Christian doctrine seeks to express the Church’s understanding of final events in the present age; the consummation of the created order when God will be “all in all;” and how the eschatological impacts contemporary life and reality. While some Wesleyan theologians have been reticent to address the subject, or reluctant to speculate on particular issues surrounding Christ’s second coming and millennial reign, there has been a consistent articulation of a Wesleyan vision of the “life everlasting” since the 18th century Methodist revival, with provisional implications drawn for the present age.1 Because John Wesley and his theological heirs believed “first evidences” of the “age to come” are being expressed already in the lives of Christians, adjectives like “realized,” “anticipated,” “inaugurated,” and “processive” are used to describe their eschatology.2 The purpose of my paper is twofold: (1) identify key features of this historic Wesleyan eschatological vision relevant for Christianity’s engagement with different religions and (2) explore their implications within the larger framework of the Church’s openness, dialogue and witness, and collaboration with other faiths. In the last twenty years there has been a renaissance among Wesleyan scholars attempting to connect Wesleyan “New Creation” eschatology with contemporary issues: ecclesial, social, economic, ecological, and inter-religious.3 Unfortunately, the work done on Christianity’s relationship with other religions, while helpful, has been limited in scope; usually restricted to the applicability of John Wesley’s eschatological views; to the 1John B. -
Atonement As Reunion: the Atonement and the Beatific Vision
Atonement as Reunion: The Atonement and the Beatific Vision David Andrew Worsley PhD University of York Philosophy August 2017 Abstract There is no doctrine more central to Christianity than the doctrine of the Atonement. However, there is also no doctrine more contested. I claim that these disputations stem from a failure to attend to what the Atonement is supposed to achieve, namely, maximal union with God at the beatific vision. I therefore argue that understanding the Christian doctrine of the beatific vision is key to understanding the nature of the Christian doctrine of the Atonement. I start by analysing the connection between union with God and the Doctrine of the Beatific Vision. On one recent model of union, Eleonore Stump’s, maximal union requires full knowledge of the other. At the beatific vision, it is supposed that we come to know God as God knows us, thereby meeting this criterion for union. I then explore an account of the problem the doctrine of the Atonement is supposed to resolve, namely, the problem of ‘willed loneliness’, where willed loneliness includes (1) the reflexive inability to share attention with the other, and (2) the sort of psychological fragmentation that makes it difficult or impossible to be fully known by someone else, where (1) and (2) are inimical to beholding the beatific vision. I use recent work in ethics to provide a plausible solution to this general problem of willed loneliness; however, I suggest the Christian doctrine of the Atonement must explain a particularly intractable case of willed loneliness, and therefore that this general framework is, by itself, explanatorily insufficient. -
St Augustine Says That All Men Agree in Desiring the Last End, the Overall Goal of Life, Which Is Happiness
Heaven Page 1 of 3 In the fall of 1622, in Japan, a tremendous persecution of the Catholics there took place. The priests, religious and sisters were especially sought out for torture and martyrdom. One day in Nagasaki, nine Catholics were martyred, among whom was a boy. This boy was tortured for eight days, to make him reveal the place where the religious were hidden; but he did nothing else than repeat the names of Jesus and Mary. The enraged executioners tore his skin and poured melted lead into his wounds. The boy suffered this cruelty while constantly saying, “Jesus and Mary! I desire to go to heaven and see my God. I desire to go to heaven and see my God.” The judges finally gave up and had him with his whole family burnt alive on October 2, 1622. I desire to go to heaven and see my God. What is the ultimate desire of our life, if not to go to heaven, to see God? We’re going to look a bit at the goal of our life, heaven, and we’re just barely going to be able to scratch the surface. The spiritual writer, Fr Jordan Aumann, points out that everything in creation, especially the human person, is ordained to the same ultimate end, the same goal: the glory of God. This is the reason for our existence. The means, however, by which we glorify God are twofold: our sanctification and our salvation. By taking these means, and giving glory to God we will find true happiness.