A Critical Account of the Place of Divine Relations in the Theology of Vladimir Lossky

Vladimir Lossky has proven to be an influential theologian in the 20th century, shaping modern Orthodox theology and challenging Western thought. Key to his thought is how he interrelates the Trinity with apophaticism and the distinction he makes between the essences and energies of God. In doing so he critiques a Western view of the Trinity as found in the writings of Thomas Aquinas.Thus, given that he defines theology as complementary to mysticism, and since participation in the energies of the Trinity in deification is the goal of his theology, I shall engage in a critical account of whether his modern Orthodox Trinitarian theology enables him to express the reality of human participation in God or not. I note, as Rowan Williams does in an unpublished thesis, that when discussing the Trinity in Orthodox thought this appears to be ‘a doctrine which is the most radically inaccessible of all to the speculations of the discursive reason, the most totally given of dogmas’. Thus I shall be looking closely at how Lossky’s ‘understanding of theology as “apophatic” . . . is the regulating rule in his trinitarian theology and the understanding of trinitarian categories, such as nature and person’, and how ‘it is also the lens through which he views the filioque’

“Imaginative Apologetics: Theology, Philosophy, and the Catholic Tradition” edited by Andrew Davison

Review of Andrew Davison (ed.): Imaginative Apologetics: Theology, Philosophy, and the Catholic Tradition (London: SCM Press, 2011

Wisdom or foolishness? A critical examination of Eberhard Jüngel’s theology of the cross

The theology of Eberhard Jüngel endeavours to rethink the being of God and how humanity comes by knowledge of God from the crucifixion of Christ. By focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Jüngel proposes that a theology of the cross should be the basis of human knowledge of God as all can be said about the Trinity and christology must be said from the cross. As Jüngel holds that the humanity of Christ is the example and basis for humanity, the cross is also the source of information for Jüngel’s theological anthropology. This thesis seeks to determine whether Jüngel’s focus on the cross as the source of all theological knowledge results in a limited view of God, of Christ, and of humanity. In order to do this, the thesis looks at the history and context of Jüngel himself and why he is interested in basing a theology on the cross. The thesis also looks at the history of critical engagement with Jüngel, and the conclusions that those works have come to. The history of the theology of the cross is explored, from its provenance in Luther through to its rise during and after the Second World War. After detailing the history of the cross Jüngel’s own particular formulation is explicated, alongside Moltmann and Sölle who were the main exponents of a theology of the cross in Germany. Having done so, the effects of Jüngel’s theology of the cross on christology, the doctrine of God, and on anthropology are detailed, and it is argued that Jüngel’s theology of the cross restricts the activity of the person of Christ and that this restriction contradicts his emphasis on the perichoretic union of the Trinity, as well as restricting human action to a creative passivity. However, the thesis also explores the positive sides of Jüngel’s theology of the cross. Jüngel’s theology of the cross is the most theologically and philosophically rigorous of his time, and a theology of the cross is still needed as a normative control in theological thought. Furthermore, the thesis examines how Jüngel’s account of love can be used to advance his theology and repair some of the damage that the limits of his theology of the cross cause

C. L. Downing, Salvation from Cinema: The Medium is the Message. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. Pp. viii, 196. Pb. £33.99. ISBN 978-1-138-91394-3

Review of this book on theology and film for Modern Believing

Ricoeur at the Limits of Philosophy: God, Creation, and Evil, by Barnabas Aspray

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: ppub 2024-03-19, issued 2024-03-19Publication status: Publishe

Jaspers and Sartre: transcendence and the difference of the divine

From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2022-06-03, accepted 2023-03-31, epub 2023-05-05, issued 2023-05-05, published 2023-05-05, ppub 2024-01-02Publication status: Publishe

A Study of Character

In the later, ethically oriented writings of the philosopher Simone Weil, she develops her concept of attention. This involves using the body to train the mind and thus the soul, into an open, receptive state. This state is the first condition for any ethical action to take place. This article explores how Weil’s account of attention can provide a new perspective in philosophical and theological engagement with psychology, first in terms of moral psychology and virtue ethics, and second in statements on the malleability or plasticity of human nature. As Weil sees that human nature’s stress on activity tends to lead to suffering rather than ethical action, she proposes not ethical action per se, but an ethical attitude of attention instead. Habit-formation and character development can thus be approached differently as cultivating a state of openness rather than of particular virtues. This article will therefore explore the relationship of theology and psychology in terms of human nature as irremediably situated but also psychologically receptive for restoration

Reading Heidegger through the Cross

This article is concerned with how a particular concept of ontology switched from theistic to atheistic to theistic again due to the influences and disciples of Martin Heidegger. It is agreed that Heidegger took aspects of Christian thought, namely from Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, and Søren Kierkegaard, stripping them of their relation to God and instead orientating them to nothingness. Despite Heidegger’s methodological atheism, his ontology was taken up by a number of theologians such as Ernst Fuchs and Rudolf Bultmann, who in their turn influenced Eberhard Jüngel, who in turn mentioned the direct influence that Heidegger has on his thought. Whilst Jüngel acknowledges his debts to Heidegger in the area of ontology, Jüngel also seeks to incorporate the history of God into ontology, where the history of God as Trinity is defined by the passivity of Christ on the cross, and how that event redefines evil’s work in nothingness. This article initially explores how Heidegger formulated his account of ontology, then explores how Jüngel re-Christianized Heidegger’s ontology; evaluating what can be drawn from these shifts about the relationship between ontology and history