Carson McCullers : the tragedy of the grotesque

The dark truth of human loneliness and spiritual isolation is the central theme of Carson McCullers. In each of her novels, the characters seek a way to break through the barrier of isolation and that condition which makes all people an I rather than a we. This perception of loneliness is an aspect of life that McCullers deems universal. In considering the theme of spiritual isolation in her novels, Oliver Evans observes that "the essential loneliness of the individual in a world full of other individuals as lonely as himself is a paradox which intrigued Carson McCullers from the first...."1 McCullers herself explicitly states her central theme in the foreword to one of her plays, The Square Root of Wonderful

The Kindness of God: Metaphor, Gender, and Religious Language – By Janet Martin Soskice

This article is a review of the book The Kindness of God: Metaphor, Gender, and Religious Language by Janet Martin Soskice

Thomas and Barth in Convergence on Romans 1

This article summarizes research on the natural knowledge of God and the construal of sacred doctrine in question one of the Summa Theologiae and chapter 1 of Thomas's Romans commentary, with a comparison to Karl Barth. It takes as its challenge and motivation to uncover some of the affinities (indeed, to create a convergence) between Karl Barth and Thomas Aquinas just where both modern Barthians and modern Thomists would have thought convergence least likely: on the natural knowledge of God. It seeks to do so on the basis of their reading of Romans 1:20 in Barth's Shorter Commenta and Thomas's Super epistolam S. Pauli ad Romanos? where each of them ends up saying surprising things about the natural knowledge of God under the pressure of following Paul. Part II of the article simply asserts the reading of Thomas on Romans and takes theologian's licence to do so in theses defended elsewhere. Part III makes the comparison of the two commentaries (Barth's and Thomas's), arguing a convergence, and it too concludes in theses. Some readers may find the procedure circular. If so, I can only hope the circle is attractive enough to make them curious enough to seek more information. Part of what I hope to do is provide a reading of Thomas's theological procedure that resembles in a smaller way Barth's account of Anselm's

To Live Until We Die: An Overview of Death and Dying in America since the Eighteenth Century

Since man has walked upon this earth he has faced death. It is the final stage of the growth process and is inevitable. It begins the moment man enters this world. Yet, man still has an extremely difficult time accepting and dealing with death. People do not like to think and talk about it and politely change the conversation to a less morbid topic when it is introduced. In the past attention has been focused on the physical of the dying. The emotional, psychological, and social needs of the terminally ill and their families have been virtually ignored. However, changes in the attitudes towards death and the treatment of the dying are slowly taking root and growing. The total needs of the patient and the family have begun to be focused on in the last two decades. This paper will trace the attitudes of Americans toward death and dying since the eighteenth century. An understanding of the changes that have taken place is necessary to fully appreciate the efforts made today to treat the "total" person and the family. It will also report on people and organizations that have helped to change the attitude toward death and the treatment of the dying. A small scale study has been included to appraise the perceived value of those involved in a new program or movement known as the Hospice. The final chapter contains the opinions of the researcher. References and additional suggested readings for background information are included at the end of the paper. It should be noted initially that as used throughout this paper the term terminally ill refers to patients diagnosed as having incurable illnesses such as cancer and chronic heart disease

Nature with water and the Spirit: a response to Rowan Williams

For Paul, ‘nature’ works differently for free Jewish men (torah-observers) and others (slaves, Gentiles, women), so that in Paul ‘nature’ is a differentiated rather than universal philosophical concept. Paul so differentiates natures according to theological considerations we might call narrative. Stories about God's relations with Israel set the context in which Paul's use of ‘nature’ makes sense. ‘Nature’ is a character in a story of captivity observed in the light of release (Rom 1:17–18). The eucharist mobilizes the related concept of ‘body’ to enact a parallel story of captivity and release – the binding of Isaac and the crucifixion of Jesus – in which God exposes the worst that human beings can do (child sacrifice, execution of innocents) so that it can be healed. Nature is a character in a story liturgically enacted in baptism, eucharist, marriage. The character's changing circumstances are plotted by the Spirit in traditions Syriac, Latin, Greek, German, and Russian. (Nature is perfected by grace.) No mere scenery, nature is dynamic. A creature of the Spirit, it is to grow. Ontologies of nature depend on the narrative for which they seek conditions. This narrative requires a dynamic and differentiated account so that nature can serve the promise of blessing

Prayer, Christoformity, and the Author: New Sites of Discussion for Theology

You should read this book —and assign at least part of it in class (the most quotable quotes cluster, usefully, in the gorgeous Prelude)—because there is really nothing else like it. It really is an essay “On the Trinity.” And it really does contribute to the sexuality debates without attempting to solve them in their current terms. Meanwhile, the plates alone will justify the price. I find myself reverting to Coakley's view when students ask about the Trinity “why three?”—even when I have set out to say something else. You know how, as a teacher, you watch the students' eyes to see whether they have understood? You hear yourself abandoning the pat answers, the ones you might like for your colleagues to hear, and trying other things, just to get a purchase on that uncomprehending look in students' eyes. The understanding doesn't dawn until you give some version of Coakley's account. And then, whether you like it or not, you have something to defend, modify, or criticize, but in any case, and usually for the first time, you have something from which the students can go on. I say this not from lack of experience, but as someone who has written a whole book on the Holy Spirit

Isaac in the Eucharist

The story of Abraham's celebration and risk of Isaac is central to traditional Christian thought and worship, and with it the question of religious violence. Traditional Christian interpreters see the Trinity in a festive meal at which Abraham celebrates the promise with three mysterious visitors. They see Jesus in Isaac. And they enact the entire story when they take communion

The radical integration of science, religion, and poetry in the writings of Loren Eiseley and Richard Wilbur

In a postmodern world turning away from the rigid categories of the past and "the univocal literalism" (Tarnas) of the modern mind, Loren Eiseley and Richard Wilbur bridge the schism between religion and science. Their essays and poems reinvigorate the romantic reconciliation between the mind and nature, subject and object, because, like Goethe, Wilbur and Eiseley see the human mind as a product of nature and the agent of nature's self revelation

Physical, psychological and social predictors of locus of control among middle aged adults

Much as each culture outlines, defines and controls the general bounds of its group's behavior, the individual family unit establishes norms of behavior for its members. Authorities in the areas of sociology and psychology have placed emphasis upon the permanent effect of the interaction between family members on the young child. Research has revealed that much of a child's behavior is or has been motivated by the attitude of his parents. According to this theory, certain behavioral characteristics of the child can be traced to corresponding attitudes or behavior in one or both of his parents. Although a review of the literature reveals a profound relationship between certain parental attitudes and child behavior, there is an increasing need for more knowledge in relation to the degree of agreement or disagreement toward child-rearing methods of mother and father pairs, specifically, the factors that tend to affect this similarity or dissimilarity of attitudes

The Liturgical Body

I had feared that this might be a book to alienate all possible readers: too conservative in theology to suit social liberals, and too liberal in conclusions to suit social conservatives. I am therefore grateful for constructive engagement from both sides. Cahill is exactly right when she wonders if “perhaps Rogers’ aim is not so much to produce a systematic moral analysis, as to reshape the mental universe, to recolor the background screen, against which Christians consider the reality of Christian gay men and lesbians in committed relationships”. Indeed, I seek to recover a symbolic universe, a nuptial hermeneutics, to address the reality of all Christians in committed relationships, including same- and opposite-sex marriages, celibates in community, and the committed relationship of baptism. I am gratified when Wannenwetsch writes that “too often, ethical guidelines are directly aimed at so as to narrow down the rich doctrinal horizon to a window”, and that “Rogers’ exercise in ‘irregular dogmatics’ (a notion borrowed from Karl Barth) may be closer to the core of doctrinal theology”. Between the two reviewers I imagine that we have an ethicist and a theologian, a Catholic and a Protestant, a liberal and a conservative. Cahill wants more ethics and Wannenwetsch less moralism. It is an index of the re-thinking that I hope to provoke if both are impatient that I don’t go further. Indeed more will be needed, if an account of sexuality theologically to the right and socially to the left is to flourish. I hope that over time others more skilled in ethics and liturgics can help provide it. For this book is less about the ethical question what we are to do, than the theological question what God may be doing with us