Faith, Reason and the Eucharist
Between doubts about “natural theology” and post-modern polemics against “modernity”, an older view that the existence of God can be known “by the natural light of reason” gets little hearing. Perhaps it is time to revisit these older views in light of Aquinas’ understanding of the rational powers as “bodily presence”, analogous to the power of signification found in music and, more profoundly, in the Eucharist; only within this broader conception of human reason can we speak of the existence of God as demonstrable by rational proof.
How the University of Chicago Opened My American Mind
Fr. Benedict Ashley’s life at the University of Chicago in the 1930’s included Trotskyite activism and participation in the first Great Books Seminar led by President Robert Maynard Hutchins. His lecture will consider liberal education in light of this history and the life of scholarship and inquiry it inspired.
“The Freedom of a Christian”
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson will deliver an Yves Simon lecture entitled, “The Freedom of a Christian.”
“The Christian Mystic in a Post-Modern Culture”
Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Theology Workshop and the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University Maria Clara Bingemer (Catholic University at Rio de Janeiro) Bernard McGinn (University of Chicago, Emeritus)
“Cardinal Lustiger and the New Springtime of the Church in Paris”
A close friend of Jean-Luc Marion, Cardinal Lustiger was nicknamed “le bulldozer” for his efforts to rebuild the Church as Archbishop of Paris. He established new parishes, founded the “Ãcole Cathedrale,” created Radio Notre-Dame, founded a center for cultural dialogue in a 13th-century monastery building on the Left Bank, and published best-selling books, among them Dare to Believe. Lustiger’s work was rooted in the “French School” of spirituality of Cardinal Pierre de Barulle and Jean-Jacques Olier (founder of the Sulpicians). Lustiger was committed to deepening the French Church’s reconciliation with democracy and to strengthening relations with the Jewish people, to whom…
A Carnal Love of Concepts or a Work of Mercy? The Intellectual Life and the Dominican Vocation
co-sponsored by the Committee on Social Thought and the Program in Medieval Studies In the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), study has a central place as it is an integral part of the religious life itself. What is the aim of studying theology and other sciences within a Christian vocation?
Dostoevsky’s Pilgrimage: Aesthetics and Ascesis in “The Brothers Karamazov”
Co-sponsored by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures Dostoevsky’s final novel, set partly in a monastery, continues to shape contemporary images of Orthodox Christian monasticism and ascetic practice. Bird will examine how well Dostoevsky actually knew this milieu and this tradition, and how profoundly his knowledge affected his writing of The Brothers Karamazov. This will serve as a case study for the broader question of the influence of the Orthodox Christian ascetic tradition on modern Russian aesthetics.
“Irenaeus: Bishop, Martyr, and Opponent of Gnosticism”
Thursday Evenings, Non-Credit Course, Autumn Quarter 2011 “The Age of the Church Fathers: From Pagan Philosophy to Christian Wisdom” Cobb Lecture Hall, Room 201 5811 S. Ellis Avenue Lecture, 7:00pm Informal Dinner, 6:30pm October 13 “Introduction: Why Study the Fathers?” Fr. Michael Heintz (University of Notre Dame) October 20 “Clement of Alexandria: Neo-Platonism and Christian Wisdom” Brian Daley, S.J. (University of Notre Dame) October 27 “Justin Martyr: Early Christian Engagement with Greek Philosophy” Aaron Canty (St. Xavier University) November 3 “Tertullian: What Does Athens Have to do with Jerusalem?” Msgr. Michael Heintz (University of Notre Dame) Tuesday, November 8, Social Sciences…
Symposium on “God, Freedom, and Public Life”
Co-sponsored by the Committee on Social Thought The Lumen Christi Institute is pleased to co-sponsor a symposium at the University of Chicago entitled “God, Freedom, and Public Life” on the occasion of the publication of Francis Cardinal George’s book God in Action: How Faith in God can Address the Challenges of the World. The symposium featured contributions from Jean Bethke Elshtain (University of Chicago), Hans Joas (University of Chicago), Martin Marty (University of Chicago), and Francis Cardinal George, OMI (Archbishop of Chicago).
“Humility in Bernard of Clairvaux and al-Ghazali: A Christian and A Muslim Perspective”