London Living Theology 2007
at Heythrop College
"FREEDOM AND AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH"
Held on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October
Keynote Speakers
Rev John Hemer MHM
(who teaches Scripture at Allen Hall, London)
and
Dr Gerard J Hughes SJ
(who teaches Philosphy at Campion Hall, Oxford)
In addition to the Keynote Lectures, participants chose to attend ONE optional course which took place over the two days of the conference. The optional courses made use of audio-visual presentations and time for discussion.
Optional Courses
Course A:
The Authority of Conscience
Conscience and the 'superego'; what is a mature conscience?
With Dr Anna Abram
(who teaches Christian Ethics at Heythrop College, London)
Contemporary moral theologians point to ambiguities that exist in the understanding of conscience. We will attempt to deal with some of these ambiguities by distinguishing conscience from what it is not. One of the most common errors in thinking about conscience is to mistake it for what some Freudian psychologists mean when they speak of the ‘superego’. The superego is the result of the authority over us. It has an important place in the formation of conscience but only as a passing stage. What is the mature / well-formed conscience? In addressing this question we will make use of the fable of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and the story of Sir Thomas More recorded in Robert Bolt’s play A Man for All Seasons. Audio-visual presentations will aid the two sessions.
A select bibliography
- C.E. Curran, Readings in Moral Theology No. 14: Conscience, New York, Paulist Press, 2004.
- R.M. Gula, Reason Informed by Faith, Paulist Press, New York, 1989, especially chapters. 9-11.
Course B:
Treading gently on the Earth
Moving from domination to stewardship of creation
With Rev Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam SDB
(who teaches Philosophy at the Salesian Pontifical University, Rome)
The current environmental crisis that ravages the planet Earth and threatens its capacity to be a ‘home’ any longer for all living creatures, including humanity, calls for serious reflection on the fundamental question of human-nature relationship. Some of the underlying roots of the ecological crisis originate in an authoritarian relationship with the Earth, expressed in an attitude of ruthless domination over nature, as though humans were its absolute lords and masters. Environmental theology and creation spirituality, instead, call for a change of attitudes, inviting humans to see themselves as stewards of creation.
During the course, apart from lectures, ample space will be provided for personal reflection, group discussions and audio-visual presentations.
A select bibliography
- Basney, Lionel. An Earth-Careful Way of Life: Christian Stewardship and the Environmental Crisis. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2000.
- Boff, Leonardo. Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1997.
- Lovelock, James E. The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back – and How We Can Still Save Humanity. London: Allen Lane, 2006.
- McDaniel, Jay B. With Roots and Wings: Christianity in an Age of Ecology and Dialogue. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1995.
- McDonagh, Sean. The Greening of the Church. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1990.
- Moltmann, Jürgen. God in Creation: A New Theology of Creation and the Spirit of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.
- Wilson, Edward O. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. New York – London: W.W. Norton, 2006.
Course C:
‘Practical Theology?’ – The Authority of Praxis
With Dr Martin Poulsom SDB
(who teaches Philosophical Theology at Heythrop College, London)
Systematic Theologians tend to tell people that there is no such thing as Practical Theology, that the two terms just don’t go together. This course will explore whether that is the only response, by investigating interactions between theory and practice, mysticism and politics, and the cultural and ecclesial vocation(s) of the theologian. It will also explore the question of where mystics, politicians and theologians are to be found, challenging the popular preconception that these are necessarily specialist roles in church and society. The course aims to open up avenues of exploration that will help participants to appreciate that, in the end: ‘Not “Lord, Lord, Alleluia”, but praxis is decisive.’ (Edward Schillebeeckx, Jesus in our Western Culture: Mysticism, Ethics and Politics [London: SCM Press, 1987], p. 75.)
A select bibiliography
- Erik Borgman, ‘Gaudium et Spes: The Forgotten Future of a Revolutionary Document’, trans. by Natalie K. Watson, Concilium 2005.4, 48-56
- David Burrell, Friendship and Ways to Truth (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000), Chapter 2: Friends in Conversation: The Language and Practice of Faith (pp. 19-35)
- The Schillebeeckx Reader, ed. by Robert J. Schreiter (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1984), excerpt 76: The Christian Connection between Mysticism and Politics (pp. 272-274)
- Denys Turner, ‘Doing Theology in the University’, in Fields of Faith: Theology and Religious Studies for the Twenty-First Century, ed. by David F. Ford, Ben Quash and Janet Martin Soskice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 25-38
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