Ana Botelho ’23Major: Theology and PhilosophyFaculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Wahl, Theolog

Botelho, Ana

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Providence College DigitalCommons@Providence Theology Student Scholarship Theology 4-27-2023 The Dignity of Desire: Searching for the Place of Eros in Christian Theology Ana Botelho Providence College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/theology_students Botelho, Ana, "The Dignity of Desire: Searching for the Place of Eros in Christian Theology" (2023). Theology Student Scholarship. 6. https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/theology_students/6 This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theology at DigitalCommons@Providence. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theology Student Scholarship by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Providence. For more information, please contact dps@providence.edu. The Dignity of Desire: Searching for Eros’s Place in Christian Theology ANA BOTELHOADVISOR: MICHAEL WAHLBackground I. What prompted my interest? II. Summer Undergraduate Research Grant III. Research Questions ◦ What is eros? ◦ Is eros incompatible with Christian theology?IV. Research Objectives◦ Examine eros to answer Nietzsche’s critique of Christianity ◦ Search for a true Christian understanding of eros that is relevant in the present day  NietzscheNietzsche’s Critique:“Christianity gave Eros poison to drink; he did not die of it, certainly, but degenerated to Vice.” ** FRIEDRICH WILHELM NIETZSCHE, BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL: PRELUDE TO A PHILOSOPHY OF THE FUTURE (NEW YORK, NY: VINTAGE, 1989.): 92.D A FOOTERResponses to Nietzsche and Attempts to Rehabilitate ErosANDERS NYGREN Those who would subordinate or dismiss eros as a legitimate form of Christian love in favor of agape MODERN SEXUAL THEO-ETHICISTSThose who argue for the elevation and liberation of eros from its perceived lower position in Christian theology due to the importance and centrality of human sexualityThe “Middle” Ground of ChristianityPOPE JOHN PAUL II POPE BENEDICT XVI POPE FRANCISEncyclical Letter Deus Caritas EstMan and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body Post Synodal Apostolic ExhortationAmoris LaetitiaSearching for a Katholokos Meaning of Eros from the Three Positionso Eros is an essential part of human nature; it is a person’s most basic desire to be united with that which will ultimately fulfill one’s desireo This eros must be rightly ordered because “disciplined and purified [eros does not provide] just fleeting pleasure, but a certain foretaste of the pinnacle of our existence, of that beatitude for which our whole being yearns” * o A recovered concept of eros must always signify its ultimate transcendent end, while also remaining expressible in the world through human means because eros is a natural human desire * BENEDICT, XVI GOD IS LOVE–DEUS CARITAS EST: ENCYCLICAL LETTER, I §4Reimaging Eros in the Present DayDivine Eros and the human participation in divine eros The concept of eros as ontology: Human beings are transformed by their desires engaging in a cycle of “being” and “becoming”MICHELANGELO’S THE CREATION OF ADAMAcknowledgmentsI would like to thank: The Centered for Engaged Learning and The Summer Undergraduate Research CommitteeDr. Michael Wahl who acted as my advisor on this project The theology and philosophy departments for their wisdom and continued support My family for fostering my curiosity and always helping me to seek the truthMy best friend for inspiring me to pursue studying what I love 

The Dignity of Desire: Searching for the Place of Eros in Christian Theology

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The Dignity of Desire: Searching for the Place of Eros in Christian Theology

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