Symposium on Gary Anderson’s Sin: A History
In Sin: A History, Gary Anderson shows how changing conceptions of sin lay at the heart of the biblical tradition. Spanning two thousand years, the book demonstrates how sin, once conceived of as a physical burden, becomes, over time, eclipsed by economic metaphors. Transformed from a weight that an individual carried, this Jewish revolution in thought shaped the way the Christian church understood the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Apocalypse in Origen and the Origenian Tradition
This lecture will investigate the interpretation of the Book of Revelation, or Apocalypse, in Origen and the Origenian tradition. Why does Origen accept this book, whereas many Origenian exegetes do not? What role does Millenarianism play in this choice, and what kind of exegesis does Origen apply in order to accept the Apocalypse? In answering these questions and others, the lecture looks to two influences on Origen’s thought: Plato and St. Paul, especially 1 Cor. 15.
Symposium on Caritas in Veritate
Published upon the heels of the global financial collapse of 2008, Benedict XVI’s social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, has been received with great controversy in America. Conservatives have criticized the encyclical’s indictment of neoliberal policies while progressives have severed the encyclical’s social concerns from their origin in the sanctity of human life. This panel discussion of Caritas in Veritate will consider the encyclical in light of the tradition of Catholic social teaching, the political difficulties facing economic reform, and the challenge of inter-religious dialogue.
Spiritual Exercises and the Contemporary Academy
The work of Pierre Hadot and, in his later years, Michel Foucault on the ancient pagan and Christian practices of askesis, or “spiritual exercise,” has proven to be of interest not only to scholars of the late classical and early Christian era, but to a much broader range of humanists working across a variety of disciplines. One reason for this interest is the possibility that religious and non-religious contemporary academics might be able to incorporate the techniques and aims of spiritual exercise into their own scholarly work, thus imbuing their academic teaching and writing with an ethical, if not religious,…
“The Book of Genesis” Non-Credit Course
Intended for university students, faculty, and recent graduates. Others interested in attending, please contact info@lumenchristi.org Thursday, January 13 Genesis 1-2: “Creation: Grace upon Grace” If the Hebrew word for God were treated as an unknown (so that we learned its meaning from the text, instead of bringing our catechism with us to the reading), these verses would by themselves teach us most of the Divine Attributes. We are told of the creation of heaven and earth, the creation of man in the image of God, the naming of the beasts, the presentation of the woman and her namegiving, and the…
“Eriugena: The Medieval Irish Genius Between Augustine and Aquinas”
The Carolingian thinker Johannes Scottus Eriugena (810-877CE) is the author of numerous philosophical and theological works. Most famous among them is the Periphyseon or On Natures (864-866CE), a metaphysical dialogue drawing on the Greek and Latin patristic and classical traditions. Having been falsely condemned because of pantheism in 1225, Eriugena was only seriously studied in the twentieth century, which saw a major effort to complete all the critical editions of his works (until 2005). With all the modern tools in place, it is time to map out a vista of what the tradition of medieval Western thought would have looked like, had he not been excised…
“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)
A Philosophical Reading of the Prodigal Son
While the parable of the prodigal son has traditionally been read as a story about a wayward son in need of repentance or the conflict of two siblings over their just treatment, Hart will suggest that the father is the central character of the narrative. The phenomenological tradition is employed to shift the theological perspective of the parable toward a vision of the kingdom of God imagined through the forgiveness and unconditional love of the Father. This lecture was co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Theology Workshop.
“The Book of Ruth”
6:30pm Dinner 7:00pm Lecture Intended for university students, faculty, and recent graduates. Others interested in attending, please contact info@lumenchristi.org. The Book of Ruth is exceptional in the Old Testament for the candor and serenity with which it portrays the relations of Israelite to pagan, freeman to dependent, mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. This course of lectures and discussions will include a close reading of the four chapters that make up the book, with an eye to the theological concerns of the sacred author and the importance of the work for Jewish and Christian commentators. Thursday, March 31 Ruth Chapter One: Naomi’s sojourn in…
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?