9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
The Contested Body: Mystical Body of Christ Theologies in Early Twentieth Century Europe Presenter(s): Timothy R Gabrielli Advisor(s): William Portier Religious Studies Graduate Research
11:00 AM-11:30 AM LTC - Team Space
This paper, supported by a Graduate School Summer Fellowship, analyzes the burgeoning of mystical body of Christ theology in Europe during the first part of the twentieth century, particularly during the Great Depression and the Second World War. It argues that mystical body theology was a rather slippery image that theologians needed to “ground” in some more concrete reality. As such, what is referred to as the “virtual explosion” of mystical body theology in the 1920s and 1930s was not monolithic. A careful look at this “explosion” evinces various schools - mystical body theologies (plural) - centered on where or what made the mystical body of Christ more concrete in various cases. Roman theologians often grounded the mystical body of Christ firmly in the visible Roman Catholic Church. Some, mostly German, theologians grounded the mystical body in the nation-state. Karl Adam had this second tendency; he found, and developed, affinities between mystical body theology and the racial politics of the rising Nazi regime, emphasizing the purity of bloodlines and the strength of the body politic. Other, mostly French, theologians saw the mystical body of Christ as inseparable, indeed primarily grounded in, the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church. Lambert Beauduin, Henri de Lubac, and Virgil Michel (on this side of the Atlantic) stand in this last stream. This paper argues that the mystical body theology of this last group was the most fruitful, opening up avenues for Church reform rooted in solidarity.
Just War as Christian Discipleship: A Critical Examination Presenter(s): Herbert D Miller Advisor(s): Kelly S Johnson Religious Studies Graduate Research
1:20 PM-1:40 PM Marianist Hall Learning Space - 206
Christians have wrestled with the theological and ethical implications of participating in warfare from the earliest days of the faith. One can find within the Christian theological tradition support for a range of positions regarding war, from absolute pacifism to just war to holy crusade. Theologian Dan Bell’s book Just War as Christian Discipleship engages this tradition and argues that just war “is an expression of the Christian community; an outgrowth of its fundamental confessions, convictions, and practices; an extension of its consistent, day-to-day life and work on behalf of justice and love of neighbor (even enemies) in the time and realm of war.” Writing as a Christian theologian, Bell wants to make explicit a conviction that many Christians hold dear, namely that participation in war may not be an inherently evil act, but can be an act of love. In this session, I will discuss how Bell’s thesis stands in contrast to contemporary just war theories and what he can add to these discussions. I will conclude by highlighting a few concerns I have about his project.
The Wisdom of Style: experiments with genre in recent Christian theology Presenter(s): Matthew D Archer Advisor(s): Matthew W Levering Religious Studies Graduate Research
3:00 PM-3:20 PM Kennedy Union - 222
The question of genre is emerging as a crucial topic in Christian theology. Some authors are calling for a shift in academic theology towards a way of writing that is more attuned to the needs of local church communities. In addition, academic writing, in the form of papers at conferences, scholarly articles, and books, is not the only way that theologians work in their fields. Theologians sometimes write novels, poetry, or sermons along with their more academic-level output. This paper will ask two questions: (1) what can we learn about theology through looking at work by theologians in other genres? And (2) do these genres enable theologians to achieve certain insights that writing in a more academic form could not? This project looks at some works in nonacademic genres by professional academic theologians. It does not look at those who write chiefly as poets who also demonstrate a Christian perspective or works of literature that have themes that could be related to Christianity or explicitly draw on the Christian tradition. For this presentation, I will focus on two professional academic theologians: Rowan Williams and James McClendon. 122