Franciscan History and Fray Juan de Zumárraga

1949 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-263
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Soul ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Will ◽  
God's Image ◽  
Ingenious Method ◽  
The Church

Memoria Mea in generationes saeculorum. “My memory is unto everlasting generations” (Ecclus. 24:28). These words of the Wise Man come to mind as we are assembled at this Academic Session which is to signalize the Fourth Centenary of the Death of Don Fray Juan de Zumárraga, O.F.M., the first Bishop of Mexico City.Our Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, who followed closely in the footsteps of that Giant among the Fathers of the Church, the “Doctor Gratiae,” St. Augustine, assigns to the human Memory a place of exalted dignity and excelling power. Ranking it with the Intellect and the Will, the Celestial Patron of the Franciscan School traces this trinity of faculties of the human soul, by his ingenious method of exemplarism, to the image of the Triune God. “Eo est mens imago,” writes the illustrious Bishop of Hippo, “quo potest esse capax et particeps Deo.” In other words, the human mind is God’s image to the extent that it can grasp, and have a share with, God. “But,” continues the Seraphic Doctor, “God cannot be fully grasped by the soul unless He be loved; nor can He be loved unless He be known; nor again can He be known unless He be present to the soul. The first is achieved by the will; the second by the intellect; the third by the memory.” In this wise, Bonaventure argues, the will is appropriated to the Holy Spirit; the intellect to the Divine Son; the memory to the Eternal Father (cf. I Sent. Ill, II, I, I. Op. Omnia, Vol. 1, pp. 80–81).

Eugene IV and the First Dissolution of the Council of Basle

1967 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loy Bilderback
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Other ◽  
Essential Singularity ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Prime Determinant ◽  
The Will ◽  
Great Schism ◽  
The Church ◽  
Will Of God ◽  
Divine Guidance

The Council of Basle was officially charged with three basic concerns: the reform of the Church in head and members; the extirpation of heresy, particularly Bohemian Hussitism; and the attainment of peace among Christian Princes. Yet, the Council was most absorbed by, and is most remembered for, a fourth, unscheduled concern. From its outset, the prime determinant of the actions and decisions of the Council proved to be the problem of living and working with the Papacy. In retrospect it is easy to see that this problem was insoluble. One could not expect the efficient functioning of the Church if there was doubt or confusion about the will of God, and the presence of such doubt and confusion was certain so long as even two agencies could gain support for their contentions that they were directly recipient to the Holy Spirit. Singularity of headship was absolutely necessary to the orderly processes of the Church. Yet the contradiction of this essential singularity was implicit at Constance in the accommodation, by one another of the curialists, the protagonists of an absolute, papal monarchy, and the conciliarists, who sought divine guidance through periodic General Councils. This accommodation, in turn, was necessary if the doubt and confusion engendered by the Great Schism was to be resolved. At Basle, this contradiction was wrought into a conflict which attracted a variety of opportunists who could further their ancillary or extraneous ends through a posture of service to one side or the other, and in so doing they obfuscated the issues and prolonged the struggle.

Trinitarian Grace in Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miikka Ruokanen
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Divine Grace ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Will ◽  
Ex Nihilo ◽  
Core Idea ◽  
Relationship Of

Professor Miikka Ruokanen reveals the powerfully Trinitarian and participatory nature of Martin Luther’s conception of divine grace in his magnum opus The Bondage of the Will, largely ignored in the previous research. The study establishes a genuinely new understanding of Luther’s major treatise opening up its ecumenical potential. Luther’s debate with Erasmus signifies not only a disagreement concerning free will, but the dispute reveals two contrasting understandings of the very core idea of the Christian faith. For Erasmus, the relationship of the human being with God is based on the rationally and morally acceptable principles of fair play. For Luther, the human being is captivated by the overwhelming power of unfaith and transcendental evil, Satan; only the monergistic grace of the Triune God and the power of the Holy Spirit can liberate him/her. Ruokanen verifies the Trinitarian vision of salvation “by grace alone” as the center of Luther’s theology. This doctrine has three dimensions: (1) The conversion of the sinner and the birth of faith in Christ are effected by prevenient divine grace; justification “through faith alone,” is the sole work of God’s Spirit, comparable to creation ex nihilo. (2) Participation in the person, life, and divine properties of Christ, as well as participation in his salvific work, his cross, and resurrection, are possible solely because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer. Justification means simultaneously the forensic declaration of the guilty non-guilty on the basis of the atonement by Jesus’ cross, as well as a union with Christ in the Holy Spirit. (3) Sanctification means the gradual growth of love for God and neighbor enabled by the believer’s participation in divine love in the Holy Spirit. Ruokanen’s work offers a crucial modification and advance to the world-renowned Finnish school of Luther interpretation: Luther’s classic use of Pneumatological language avoids the problems caused by using an ontological language.

scholarly journals Wiara jako akt poznawczy. Analiza "Quaestiones" Ambrozjastra

Vox Patrum ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 387-397
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Babiarz
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Son Of God ◽  
Absolute Certainty ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Will ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

Ambrosiaster uses two forms for the definition of the concept of faith. The first one – in the sense of a noun: fides; the second one – from the perspective of the knowing subject: credere. Abraham’s act of faith, whose object is God, is shown as a cognitive model. The acceptance of God’s authority leads to recogniz­ing in Christ the Son of God. Believers receive in Baptism the gift the Holy Spirit and knowing the will of God. By participating in the fullness of His life, they are given access to the Eucharist. Knowability is one of God’s characteristics. Accepting this fact and submit­ting oneself to God’s guidance results in knowing the Trinity. Christ’s confidence in the Father is the basic principle of knowing through faith, and this translates into absolute certainty of the truthfulness of the conclusions. It is a duty of believ­ers to explore the truth. The Gospel, interpreted by the authority of the Church, remains the main source of revelation. The intensity of cognition influences the entirety of one’s life, manifests itself in the acceptance of all the truths of the faith and in creating harmony between faith and the virtues of love and hope.

The Relationship between Christ and the Spirit in a Christian Theology of Religions

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-280
Author(s):  
Benno Van Den Toren
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Theology Of Religions ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Triune God ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This article explores the recent turn in the theology of religions, visible in diverse quarters, to pneumatology as a way to foster a greater openness to the work of God the Holy Spirit in non-Christian religions. It gives particular attention to the work of Jacques Dupuis (Roman Catholic), George Khodr (Orthodox) and Clark Pinnock (Evangelical Protestant). It argues that recognition of the work of the Holy Spirit allows for an exploration of a variegated activity of God outside the boundaries of the church that cannot be reduced to his presence as Creator or as non-incarnate Word. It, therefore, also allows for dialogue in which commitment to God's supreme revelation in Christ can be combined with an openness to learn from other religious traditions. It does at the same time point to the need to frame the attention for the wider work of the Spirit in the context of the one plan of salvation of the triune God such as not to separate the “two hands of God.” It argues that the work of the Spirit outside the boundaries of the church remains directed to the eschatological salvation inaugurated by Christ and, therefore, also to the church as the “first fruits” of the eschaton and as the community where this salvation is proclaimed and embraced.

Eating with penitence: An essay on the local church eating responsibly

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-463
Author(s):  
David W. Priddy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Local Church ◽  
Industrial Agriculture ◽  
Specific Program ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Local Congregations ◽  
Ecological Concern ◽  
The Church

In this essay, I pose the question, “How might local congregations participate in food reform and agricultural renewal?” Given the problems of industrial agriculture and the wider ecological concern, this question is pressing. Instead of advocating a specific program, I focus on how the Church might address this question while keeping its commitment to being a repentant Church. First, I discuss the significance of attention and particularly the habit of attending to the Word and Sacrament. This posture, I argue, maintains the Church’s integrity, preventing it from merely branding itself or relying on its own resources. Second, I briefly explore the association of eating with the mission of the Church in the New Testament, highlighting the repeated theme of judgment and call to humility in the context of eating. Third, I draw out the importance of continual remorse over sin. This attitude is essential to the Church’s vocation and rightly appears in many historic liturgies. I argue that this posture should extend to the question of eating responsibly. Penitence demonstrates the Church’s relationship to the wider world and testifies to the source of the Church’s own life, the Holy Spirit, who does the work of renewal.

Yahweh, Women, and the Trinity

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-242
Author(s):  
Jay G. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
New Age ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Third Person ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Trinity

“Might it not be possible, just at this moment when the fortunes of the church seem to be at low ebb, that we may be entering a new age, an age in which the Holy Spirit will become far more central to the faith, an age when the third person of the Trinity will reveal to us more fully who she is?”

Aesthetics

2021 ◽  
pp. 295-308
Author(s):  
William Dyrness ◽  
Christi Wells
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Physical Beauty ◽  
Will Of God

Edwards’s aesthetics grounded in the ongoing work of God communicated in creation, not only lies at the centre of his thought but is increasingly recognized as one of his most original contributions to theology. Edwards’s reflection on God’s beauty emerged in the context of his work as a pastor, which allowed him to frame God’s dynamic presence in dramatic and multi-sensory categories. For Edwards Beauty glimpsed in the form of images formed in the mind reflects a consent of being; the visual beauty of symmetry and proportion is meant to move the heart to consent to the will of God reflected in creation—what Edwards calls respectively secondary and primary beauty. All creatures are types and shadows of spiritual realities; beauty and morality are linked, though only the Holy Spirit allows believers to consent to God’s self-disclosure in creation. Edwards’s neo-platonic framework allowed his reflections on the revivals to affirm physical beauty while subordinating its meaning to the spiritual, enhancing its role as revelation but diminishing its value as an end in itself.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document