Steve Fowl discusses teaching intro to theology and how that led him to theological interpretation of Scripture.

During Lent, we filmed a couple new videos. Here’s one by Fritz Bauerschmidt on Al-Ghazali’s Deliverance from Error.

I’ll be at Providence College’s “After Constantinianism” Conference this weekend. Be sure to say hi if you’re there too.

All the members of Loyola’s Department of Theology wishes all our friends out there a blessed Easter.

As he lived his life and exercised his ministry, it became clear to Jesus that his faith and commitment would bring him into confrontation with the religious and political powers of his day. “The hour has come,” Jesus declares —the hour for the dying and the lifting up that will draw all people to God.
This moment in the life of Jesus compares in significance to his baptism and his transfiguration in glory. At all three events, a voice from the heavens clarifies his identity and purpose. Even though God’s voice is not clearly understood by the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for Passover, there is no lack of clarity in Jesus’ perception of himself.
Although it would represent the most significant moment of his life, Jesus’ hour does not belong to him alone. Through this hour, all people are drawn to God through him: “A clean heart create for me, and a steadfast spirit renew within me,” the Psalmist says.
Yet this fact does not include all its implications. Jesus’ attitude toward his impending death is also worthy of our emulation. Instead of regarding himself as an unfortunate victim of Roman and Jewish intolerance, Jesus accepts his hour and his death as the ultimate sacrifice for gaining eternal life. Only those prepared to lose their lives, to fall to the ground and die, will know the gift of eternal life.
In his Letter to the Romans, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, declared, “I am the grain of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts that I many be found the pure bread of Christ. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?” Ignatius, like Jesus, fell to the ground and died, and by virtue of his witness, many came to believe.

We often speak of either “being in a good place” or “not being in a good place” as a guage of our mental or spiritual well-being. Along these lines, the readings for the fourth Sunday of Lent all emphasize the importance of place: Jerusalem or Babylon; at home or in exile; in life or in death; in the light or in darkness. The Old Testament readings describe actual physical places. These signify, on the one hand, the joy of God’s presence and of living up to one’s calling to be holy (so, Jerusalem) and, on the other hand, the experience of God’s absence, of the alienating effects of sin on the individual, and community (so, Babylon). Dwelling in Babylon, Israel teaches us to lament, and to long for return to the place of God’s dwelling. The New Testament readings pick up on what is said of these places in emphasizing that it is God’s initiative, not our own, that restores us to the land of the living. But they also remind us that we must participate with God in this restoration, and that especially important in all of this is what we ourselves desire: do we desire the same things that God desires for us? Continue reading →

John’s account of the “cleansing” of the Temple ends with the statement that Jesus “did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.” Jesus understands human nature because, as God, he is the author of that nature, knowing it in the way that only the artisan can know his or her work. Jesus understands human nature because, as truly human, he knows from within the experience of being human. Jesus, above all others, knows our natures better than we know them ourselves.

This is a statement both frightening and consoling. Continue reading →

We have a great round of MTS applicants for 2012/13 that we’re looking forward to getting to know better. If you hoped to apply, but missed our preferred deadline, don’t worry; we have a rolling application policy. Email or call us for more information, or just head over to our application site and get started on your app today. Apply here.

Lest we think that Lenten discipline should begin easily and gradually build to climax, the Church sets the binding of Isaac before us on the second Sunday of Lent. Among the many “tests” to which God puts His faithful in Scripture, this is perhaps the most frightening. Nor does our reading from the Epistle mitigate its force. If St. Paul reminds us that God spared Abraham the task, the apostle does so to emphasize that God did not spare Himself, and so handed His own Son over for us all. Who can imagine the passions that surged forth when our father heard the voice of the angel? All that was lost is found, and found to be blessèd. And yet even the great waves of consolation that surged over Abraham are but tiny currents on the surface of his undisturbed, oceanic faith.

In the Gospel, Peter, James, and John are led, as Scripture says of Abraham, to a great “height.” Tradition identifies this mountain as Mount Tabor, a large mesa Continue reading →

Yesterday’s debate between Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, proved to be a mixed bag for all interested parties. For those who were looking for a contentious debate, yesterday’s meeting was a complete let down, lacking the vitriol, heckling, and bombast we’ve come to love from engagements between Christian apologetists and members of the “New Athiesm.” Similarly, those that hoped for slam dunk or knockout arguments from either side were also to be dissappointed by Dawkins’ admission that he’s not a philosopher or that he doesn’t know what “epistemology” means, and Williams’ refusal to pursue a line of attack, instead of acknowledging ambiguities in the faith and pressing Dawkins’ on his own line of reasoning (a tactic he an Sir Anthony Kenny both used with Dawkins). As a spectacle, it was sorely lacking.

But as an engagement between a representative of the Christian faith and a representative of atheistic humanism and atheistic science, I think it was highly successful. Continue reading →

Lent 1 – Psalm 25:1-10, Mark 1:9-15

In the Psalm appointed for this first Sunday in Lent the Psalmist persistently asks to know God’s ways and to be led on God’s paths.  Convinced that all God’s paths are “steadfast love and faithfulness” for those who are willing to follow, the Psalmist seems eager to get moving in whichever way God leads.  Without question, this is the right disposition to have at the beginning of our Lenten journey.  The Psalmist wants to be led by God.  For me, actually wanting to be led by God is always the great hurdle to overcome at the start of this season.  Am I willing to subject my desires to God’s desires so that over time God’s desires become my own?
Continue reading →