Since Vatican II, the key question that has developed in Catholic theology, often unstated or unrecognized, is, what is theology? The thesis presented here is that contemporary theologizing is “fractured” in many places and to varying degrees. These fractures can vary in seriousness between theologians, and a particular theologian may suffer from some fractures but not others. The fractures addressed here are between •theology and spirituality •theology and philosophy •theology and liturgy •the literal and spiritual senses of sacred scripture •theology, preaching, and apologetics •theology and ethics •theology and social theory •dogmatic and pastoral theology •theology and the “koinonial” Christian life •theologians and non-theologians • the generation gap between Gen X and Millennial/Post-Millennial Catholics, and •theology and the Magisterium. For each of these, an attempt is made to examine the symptoms, give a diagnosis, and write a prescription.

Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council so that the Church’s doctrine might be “more widely known, more deeply understood, and more penetrating in its effects.” However, since the close of the Council in 1965, the results are wanting. Rather than announcing the gospel boldly in the present age, the Church has been seemingly reduced to silence. How did she lose her voice? How did the structures of proclamation, intended to hand on the Catholic faith, devolve and even contribute to vaporizing a Catholic culture? Because He Has Spoken to Us traces such developments from fixed points drawn from the fluid theology of Karl Rahner to their postmodern condition—successive steps that usher in the crisis by subduing, dismissing, and silencing the tradition. This postconciliar anthropocentric structure can now be better understood, critiqued, and displaced by a Ratzingerian approach. Rather than embracing a “given” demanded by contemporary context, Ratzinger proposes the revelation of the Logos in Jesus Christ as the “given,” the true object of Christian faith. His alternate proposal requires the courage to face the full scope of the Christian structure, accessed through the Church’s tradition, and a willingness to proclaim the gospel personally and with humble confidence.

The Holy Spirit who worked on the first Christian Pentecost continues to work in the church and the world today. This being so, the field of pneumatology--the theology of the Holy Spirit--should pique the interest of both the "average" Christian and the academic theologian, perhaps more than it has in recent times. This collection of chapters brings pneumatology into conversation with a wide variety of disciplines, including scripture, patristic and medieval theology, and history. The result is a scholarly monograph that enriches both pneumatology and the fields with which each contributor engages. Furthermore, with its attention on the work of the Spirit in the sacraments and the life of the church, Pneumatology at the Beginning of the Third Millennium will help pastors and catechists in their ministries to understand more deeply the riches of the theology of the Third Person of the Trinity.

This book asks why tax policy is both attracted to and repelled by the idea of justice. Accepting the invitation of economist Henry Simons to acknowledge that tax justice is a theological concept, the work explores theological doctrines of taxation to answer the presenting question. The overall message of the book is that taxation is an instrument of justice, but only when taxes take into account multiple goods in society: the requirements of the government, the property rights of society’s members, and the material needs of the poor. It is argued that this answer to the presenting question is a theological and ethical answer in that it derives from the insistence of Christian thinkers that tax policy take into account material human need (necessitas). Without the necessitas component of the tax balance, tax systems end up honoring only one of the three components of the tax equation and cease to reflect a coherent idea of justice. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of tax law, economics, theology, and history.

This brief but ambitious book explores our relationship with nature through the imagery we use when we talk about Mother Nature. Employing the critical tools of religious studies, psychology, and gender studies, Catherine M. Roach examines the various manifestations of nature as "mother" and what that idea implies for the way we approach the natural world. Part One, "Nature as Good Mother," discusses the notion that nature is, or is like, a beneficent and nurturing mother who provides and maintains life. In studying the "green" slogan "Love Your Mother," Roach questions the effects -- for women and for the environment -- of imputing female gender to nature. She asks us to look at the associations that "motherhood" and "mothering" carry within a culture still shaped by patriarchy. She notes the danger of such an apparently pro-environmental slogan if "mother" evokes the bountiful, self-sacrificing provider who herself requires no care. Part Two, "Nature as Bad Mother," looks at the contrary notion of nature as a violent, threatening, and wrathful mother. This image arises most often when humans and technology are depicted as masters of unruly nature. Here Roach draws on theological reflection to analyze this ambivalence toward nature manifested in a fantasy that casts humans as gods. She explores the contributions of eco-theology and eco-psychology to a "heart of darkness" perspective. Finally, Part Three, "Nature as Hurt Mother," looks at possibilities and pitfalls of environmental healing inherent in the image of nature as a mother we have wounded and now seek to heal.

The twenty-third volume of RSSSR includes a landmark collection of papers on Theism and Non-Theism in Psychological Science, as well as papers on other key areas in the study of religion such as spirituality and social capital.

Spirituality and Dialectics is a passionate and rigorous argument against nihilism and a manifesto for the party of meaning and hope. It demonstrates how we can ground principles of meaning and value, against the aesthetic and intellectual hegemony of the enlightenment--culminating most currently through postmodernity, as a basis for the critique of all present injustice. What emerges is a vision of a new social order that permits the full development of human social capacities.

Miracles give hope to the hopeless and exemplify the intersection of the divine and the mundane. They have shaped world history and continue to influence us through their presence in films, television, novels, and popular culture. This encyclopedia provides a unique resource on the philosophical, historical, religious, and cross-cultural conceptions of miracles that cut across denominational lines. Multidisciplinary in approach, this informative yet entertaining encyclopedia covers major aspects of miraculous phenomena through more than 150 alphabetically arranged entries that document how humanity's belief in religious miracles over multiple places, periods, and faiths have affected society—even changed the course of history. Written for high school students and general readers, the coverage enables readers to learn about different civilizations and cultures, the controversies surrounding different beliefs, and the often uncomfortable engagement of religion with science. This single-volume book provides a one-stop ready-reference that addresses a broad variety of subject matter on miraculous phenomena and guides further investigations into the subject. Helpful illustrations and lucid explanations of the ancillary concepts associated with miraculous phenomena make learning about this topic more engaging. Readers will be able to link the doctrinal concepts, such as "grace" or "prayer," with the descriptions of miraculous events, especially those associated with saints or holy objects. The examination of the controversial aspects of different belief systems along with the book's balanced coverage of the interpretation of miracles will encourage students to weigh different explanations, thus fostering the development of their critical thinking skills.