Modele myślenia teologicznego

The article attempts to present the advantages of using models in theology in the context of contemporary methodological challenges. The use of renewed hermeneutics can help to reorganize theological thinking to avoid both treating the content of faith in a matter-of-fact manner and reducing it to personal experience. At the same time, fruits of this thinking can be presented in the form of theological models that are simplified representations of a more complex structure. They must not be overly reductive but as holistic, multifaceted, dynamic, and practical as possible. One of the important proposals is the nuptial model developed by Cardinal Angelo Scola. Using this model seems to be inspiring when applied to support, among other things, the correct understanding of sacramentology.

Napięcie między subiektywnym a obiektywnym. Rozpoznanie działania Ducha Świętego w tradycji zachodniej i wschodniej

Tension between personal experience and community discernment, a prophesy and Church’s teaching, judgement of conscience and trueness of moral doctrine is still alive. Ultimately, it is all about what in the Church is subjective and what is objective. This reconciled opposition is inscribed in the identity of Christianity. Evangelical testimony of disciples going to Jerusalem after encountering Jesus in Emmaus and theirs confrontation with Peter’s experience demonstrates a model of appropriate route: subjective does not transgress objective, personal it is in tone with ecclesiastical. Despite an agreement among Christians in terms of general direction, a diff erence at level of details between particular traditions is noticed. Without depreciating individual and discerned, Catholic Church invariably supports the necessity to acknowledge The Teaching Office of the Church and the power of bishops within diocese. Of course all faithful take part in carrying and development of the legacy, especially through testimony and creative dialogue. Synods, councils and other bodies serve an example. However they do not cover doctrinal and disciplinary issues. Formation, obedience and spiritual guidance are important at personal level. Recognition of bishop’s authority, adherence to the Tradition and cannons and obedience to spiritual guide (the elder) are key elements of Orthodox tradition. Special attention is given to conciliarity (synodality) on various levels of Church. On the other side, for the post-reformation communities the fundamental and practically the only rule is Sola Scriptura. Bible does not give answer to each particular question and does not describe every form of Holy Spirit’s action therefore different conclusions and options arise in various denominations. Undertaking the process of discernment itself, historical Churches follow more codified path of Church’s discernment such as synods, councils, conferences while evangelical communities accept even more individual approach, recommending of course pastoral prudence and consultations with pastor or elders of the congregation. It is especially necessary among Pentecostal Christians accepting the presence of charismatic gifts, to include prophecy.

Duch miłości w nauczaniu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego

Cardinal Wyszyński continues teaching about the Holy Spirit as love and as a gift, which comes from the Bible and patristic tradition (eg St. Augustine). The basic text of his reflections on the God of Love are the words from the First Letter of St. John: “God is love” (1 Jn 4: 8, 16). He reads these words, or the shortest definition of God, from the perspective of the Christian and his life experience. In the Holy Spirit, God communicates as love. To be gifted and loved by God means for man to elevate him to the supernatural order. The Holy Spirit, who in the interior life of God is the Love of the Father and the Son, in his self-giving to the world (ad extra), pours God’s love into human hearts (Rom 5: 5), enlivens and dynamises human life. Love as a proprium of the Holy Spirit is also the criterion of Christian identity and of the Church. Important threads of the discussed issue are also the spiritual motherhood of Mary and the establishment of her as the Temple and Bride of the Holy Spirit.

Eklezjalne i naukowe zadanie teologa w świetle instrukcji Donum Veritatis Kongregacji Nauki Wiary

In this article the instruction Donum veritatis on the vocation of the theologian in the Church, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on 24th May 1990, is treated as the benchmark for the undertaken reflection on the ecclesial and scientific dimension of theology. This document still constitutes an abundant source of guidelines concerning theology and the way in which it should be pursued by each and every Catholic theologian. The instruction draws the attention primarily to a personal vocation of the theologian who remains in the service of the fellowship of God’s People. It results from the very nature of the truth revealed by God which was mercifully conveyed to man so as to bring him to salvation. The gift of truth defines the nature of theology which is a scientific service to God’s truth and by the same token also to God’s People. One of the key elements of this service is the cooperation with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church while preserving its own autonomy. The principle of complementarity is a key factor in this respect and it also determines the ecclesial character of fulfi lling the vocation of the theologian.

Żyć mocą Ducha Bożego w Kościele

Our life as the Christen in the community ecclesial is the announcement about God, which gives the people the gifts of love, freedom, friendship and truth. Through the forgiveness and the activity of the salvation of God, love and friendship in man’s life makes the human world more divine. This Jesus accents in His proclamation about the kingdom divine, specially in the parables, where He presents the model of the world based on love, hope, faith and freedom as the world of deeds based on God. Therefore, with the power of God’s Spirit, man has to make his life based on the norm of divine, because only in God, with God and through God exists for man the possibility to life now on earth, and afterwards in the future in heaven. In this situation, the answer of the man of faith has to be the motivation to take up the “deed” of the renovation of self-life and the imitation of God. This constitutes as the Christian thought that the central point of the theological interpretation of the value of salvation is realized – hic et nun – as the historical and existential value of the human life in the right of the kingdom divine. The proclamation of Jesus about the “new life”, presents to man the values of the divine existence in the spiritual of the Church. On one hand, it is the gift of freedom and the liberation from sin, where the love of God is absolutely necessary. On the other hand, the “new life” opens for man the space of liberty of life, where God forgives the human offences and the sins, both past and present. Well now the resume of the call to imitate God is the acceptance of the divine gift, which changes the man himself, and all the people, who seek the help and good councils to live the norm divine. These witnesses in the human mentality the consciousness of the existence based on the divine laws, which have in themselves the dimension eschatological.

Ożywiająca obecność Ducha Świętego we wspólnotach Kościoła

The phenomenon of the action of the Holy Spirit has accompanied the Church throughout her history. After the Second Vatican Council, a special influence of the Holy Spirit is noted in the initiated new prayer movements and communities. This study aims to show the functioning of small communities, the mechanisms of personal and group activities that contribute to deepening the faith of believers.

Teologia jako wiedza praktyczna

Regardless of the solutions to the problem posed in this way, at least one is beyond discussion: in the practical dimension of systematic reflection of faith, it is about knowledge. Besides, it is theology that is the most appropriate way to defend knowledge against one-sided and partial approaches. It is determined by two issues that constitute an interpretative key in solving the problem posed: sense and context, as well as – in this perspective – two dimensions: cognition and free will. Therefore, in order to define the nature and importance of theology as practical knowledge, the problem of utilitarianism in science as such must first be solved. The turning point here is the Marxist appreciation of revolutionary praxis, which gives philosophy a new and practical meaning. It posed a particular challenge to theology and the objective nature of truth as a fundamental question in science. Both the Bible and the Christian systematic reflection of faith developed over the centuries clearly show that faith in Almighty God has a practical character. This means that faith cannot be reduced to knowledge only, just as faith cannot give up the problem of truth. In this sense, theology as practical knowledge, that is, on the basis of faith, a specific spiritual attitude and the choices that flow from it, is a proper understanding of the necessary participation of human reason, revelation and life in this event. From a Christological perspective, the best definition of theology as practical knowledge are the words from John’s Gospel: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14: 6). In such an approach, the practical dimension of reflection on faith is simply love – first as the perfect fulfillment of the Law (Rom 13:10), and then as caritas, that is, a gift that does not retreat from renunciation and suffering. This means the necessity in this problem of the revealed truth about the Holy Trinity, in which the relationships of giving and accepting in love are difficult to consider theoretically. Just as practical and theoretical knowledge should not be opposed, knowledge and wisdom should not be confronted or separated. For theology, as wisdom, not only knows, but also knows why it knows and what to do with what it knows; not only poses the question of how to live, but also answers them. In other words, the practical dimension of systematic reflection of faith is essential for theology to be not only debatable, but also kneeling and working.

Theologia perennis. O poznaniu teologicznym

Faith, which, by its very nature, wants to know the One it loves, results in theology – a love-inspired rational reflection on its own content. Hence, it is the guarantee and the motive for the permanence of theology as a cognitive eff ort, humbly and courageously reaching the Mystery of God Himself, who is the first to be known as the truth to the one who seeks for love and to subject what they see to the judgement of reason. In confrontation with the contemporary concept of epistemology, which considers only mathematical and natural cognition to be scientifically practised, theology convinces about the limits of reason and the methodologically necessary role of living, ecclesiastical faith. Such instrumentarium ensures a unique synthesis of objectivity and subjectivity in the cognitive process – the knowledge of the truth about reality demands personal involvement. Theology, which in fact values human reason, allowing it to reach out to the reality of the highest rank – God Himself – appears to be a great opportunity for today’s mankind, plagued by spiritual and intellectual confusion.

Pneumatologiczny wymiar Kościoła i teologii według Johna D. Zizioulasa

John D. Zizioulas’ publications do not include a special study of his Pneumatology, but his lectures on dogmatic theology contain a lot of material on the pneumatological vision of the Church. The foundation of the Church’s faith is the revealed and communicated truth of God, the preservation of which is a special task of the Holy Spirit. He is always active in community and creates communion, and all His gifts are for unity. The truth is revealed and secured only in the communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Zizioulas writes that it is the Holy Spirit who constitutes the true “essence of the Church”. Hence, Orthodox theologians often conceive of the Church as “an everlasting Pentecost event”. Thanks to the Son, we can get to know God, while the Holy Spirit reveals that God is communion. The great mistake of generations of dogmatists was to separate Christology from the science of God – and therefore from pneumatology. Salvation is realized in the Church, which is after all God’s people united in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of communion, and it is no exaggeration to identify the Kingdom of God with Himself. The Eucharist is communion and participation in the Blood of Christ, which is “full of the Holy Spirit” and shares in Christ – and at the same time “in the communion of the Holy Spirit”. In the face of christomonistic or charismatic constraints, Zizioulas reminds us that Christ does not build the Church without the Holy Spirit, and He does not come to the Church only when he is completely formed. The institution of the Church was established at a specifi c point in history, but is constantly constituted and renewed by the Holy Spirit. The Church receives everything from God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, but it is necessary to receive His gifts in the event of communion – and it is in the Holy Spirit that everything what happens is an event of communion.

Dogmat w historii

The article “Dogma from historical perspective” aims to present the complex and relational nature of the concept of dogma. The history of this Greek concept of δογμα, given in the first part of the article, demonstrates that the understanding of dogma has developed and deepened from patristic to modern times. Ultimately, the meaning of dogma in a broader and narrower sense is revealed by referring to Revelation, to Sacred Scripture and living Tradition, to the Church’s faith and salvific truth as well as to the phenomenon of human language. The reflection on the historicity of dogma in the second part of this article shows that not only does historicity not exclude dogmatic development, but it even assumes this development. Furthermore, the significance of dogma stems from the living Word of God, to which dogma is a witness and a transmitter.