Volume 11, Issue 1, February 1998
Articles
The Postmetaphysics of Religious Difference
Mervyn Frederick Bendle, pp.1-26
This article contests the dominant paradigm in the theology of religions which promotes a type of pluralism purporting to recognise a limited form of “otherness” and “difference” but which emerges upon analysis to obviate these by incorporating religions into a single theological or philosophical schema, reducing their concrete plurality and particularity to an abstract unity based on ontotheological presuppositions. It therefore proposes a perspective that draws upon contemporary post-metaphysical thought, particularly the work of Rosenzweig and Levinas. It suggests that the appropriate posture in the face of religious difference is one that valorises otherness and nurtures and sustains religious difference.
Creeds as Anti-Personnel Lines
Andrew Hamilton, pp.27-53
The recent excommunication of Tissa Balasuriya raised the question of the propriety of requiring Christians to subscribe to credal statements specially composed to meet their case. In this article the author reflects on two credal statements imposed on Nestorius and Berengarius. Both have been regarded as notorious heretics, and the credal statements tendered to them had significant subsequent influence. An examination of the effect of the two credal statements may suggest appropriate questions to put to the more recent use of such statements.
The Path to Perfection in Pseudo-Macarius and John Wesley
John C. English, pp.54-62
John Wesley read Macarius’ Homilies no later than 30 July 1736. He probably read them in a German translation provided by one of his pietist friends. Wesley was deeply impressed. He tried to give Macarius’ ideas a wider circulation by publishing portions of his Homilies in the Christian Library. In 1736, however, Macarius helped Wesley to clarify his attitude toward “mysticism” and reinforced some of his cherished ideas regarding Christian perfection.
Speaking in New Tongues: Karl Rahner’s Writings from the Grave
John Honner, pp.63-77
Karl Rahner’s last four years were no less productive than the preceding four decades. After his death in 1984 several collections of his works appeared in English. They show a heartfelt concern for the unfinished work of Vatican II, especially for the reform of the teaching office of the Church, for the future of Catholicism in a world Church, and for the future of Christianity among world religions and new humanisms. This article explores these critical issues in Rahner’s final writings and argues that, while the theology is not new, the conclusions are more pressing than before.
Book Reviews
Deep things out of darkness: the Book of Job and a new English translation
David Wolfers
Allan Moss pp.78-80
Signs and shadows: reading John 5-12
Francis J. Moloney
Judith Lieu pp.80-82
Die Christologische Erfüllung der Schrift im Johannesevangelium
A. Obermann
Francis J. Moloney pp.83-85
Romans: Sacra Pagina Series 6
Brendan Byrne
Francis J. Moloney pp.85-88
Studies in early Christology
Martin Hengel
John Painter pp.89-90
The Jesus question: the historical search
Robert Crotty
Andrew Hamilton pp.90-92
Recognition: advancing ecumenical thinking
Gerard Kelly
Michael Putney pp.92-94
The Eucharist: doing what Jesus did
Frank O’Loughlin
Andrew Hamilton pp.94-96
The future of Eucharist
Bernard Cooke
Andrew Hamilton pp.94-96
A grammar of responsibility
Gabriel Moran
Trevor Hogan pp.96-99
Bioethics: a primer for Christians
Gilbert Meilander
Elizabeth Hepburn pp.99-101
Lay ministry: a theological, spiritual and pastoral handbook
William J. Rademacher
Julian Fox pp.101-102
Charles Abel and the Kwato Mission of Papua New Guinea, 1891-1975
David Wetherell
T. P. Boland pp.103-104
A dynamic of hope: institutes of women religious in Australia
M. R. MacGinley
Catherine Thom pp.105-107
Thomas Carr, Archbishop of Melbourne
T. P. Boland
Austin Cooper pp.107-109
Dreamworks: a meeting of spirituality and psychology
Steve Price and David Haynes
Maryanne Confoy pp.109-111
Celibacy: a way of loving, living and serving
A. W. Richard Sipe
Maryanne Confoy pp.112-114
Religion in Australian culture: an anthropological view
Gideon Goosen
Denis Rochford pp.114-115
Religion and theology: a guide to current reference sources
<p>Lawrence D. McIntosh</p>
Francis J. Moloney pp.115-117
Mary of Galilee: the Marian heritage of the Early Church
Bertrand Buby
Marie Farrell pp.117-118
The imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis
Francis J. Moloney pp.118-119
On the love of God and other selected writings
St Bernard of Clairvaux
Francis J. Moloney pp.118-119
A treatise on interior peace
Ambrosia De Lombez
Francis J. Moloney pp.118-119
Compendium of Spirituality
E. De Cea (ed.)
Francis J. Moloney pp.120-120
From Tories at prayer to socialists at Mass: a history of St Peter’s Eastern Hill
Colin Holden
Austin Cooper pp.121-122
Contributors
MERVYN BENDLE lectures in the Sociology of Religion and Social Theory in the School of Psychology and Sociology, James Cook University, Townsville. He has Masters degrees in Religious Studies and Social Theory and his Ph.D. was on the postmetaphysics of religious difference in a globalising society. His most recent article was on the metatheory of poststructuralism.
ANDREW HAMILTON S.J. completed his doctorate in patristics at the University of Oxford and is a member of Jesuit Theological College in Melbourne. He lectures in Church History and Christology at the United Faculty of Theology at Melbourne and serves as historian and theologian for the Jesuit Refugee Service.
JOHN C. ENGLISH, M.Div. (Yale), Ph.D. (Vanderbilt) is Emeritus Professor of History, Baker University, Baldwin, Kansas. Among his interests are the role of religion in the English Enlightenment and John Wesley’s relationship to the Anglican and Catholic traditions. This present article was originally given as a paper at the international conference on Early Christian Spirituality held in Melbourne in 1996.
JOHN HONNER was a founding editor of Pacifica and has taught at the United Faculty of Theology since 1982. His earlier studies on Karl Rahner appeared in Heythrop journal (1981), Milltown studies (1983), and Theological studies (1985).
