Theological Research

Stały URI zbioruhttps://theo-logos.pl/handle/123456789/3707

Theological Research. The Journal of Systematic Theology to recenzowane czasopismo naukowe, publikowane w latach 2013-2020 na Wydziale Teologicznym Uniwersytetu Papieskiego Jana Pawła II, założone w celu promowania międzynarodowych badań w zakresie teologii systematycznej, czyli patrystyki, dogmatyki, teologii fundamentalnej i teologii moralnej.

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Apophatic and Mystical Realism. Nicholas’ of Cusa Lesson
Sikora, Piotr (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2016)
In my paper I consider the question, whether one can reconcile radical apophatic perspective with the realistic interpretation of religious discourse. Both are supported by very important religious intuitions, but seem to be mutually inconsistent. In order to show what form of “apophatic realism” is possible to hold, I analyze the thought of Nicolas of Cusa: fifteenth century mystic and philosopher, whose thought does justice to the deepest religious intuitions and can be inspiring, and – in its basic principles – also tenable, even in XXI century.
Between Ideology and Utopia. Recent Discussions on John Paul II’s Theology of the Nation
Rojek, Paweł (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2019)
In my book Liturgia dziejów [The Liturgy of History] I proposed an interpretation of the thought of John Paul II in terms of Polish messianism. The book sparked many interesting discussions. In this article, I attempt to address some doubts about my interpretation of John Paul II’s theology of the nation. First, I clear up certain misunderstandings related to the ontological status of the nation. Then, I defend the necessary political dimension of Christianity. Finally, I point out the essentially utopian nature of Polish messianism. I aim to show that – contrary to the suggestions of some critics – a properly understood theology of the nation of John Paul II does not lead to the subordination of religion to politics; just the opposite, it provides criteria for Christian evaluation for any political order.
Between Similarity and Non-similarity. The Nature of Theological Language in the Thought of Peter Abelard
Wąsek, Damian (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2016)
The aim of this paper is to answer to the following question: How should theological propositions, originating from the language used to describe creatures, be understood so as to avoid idolatry, that is reducing God to the category of contingent entities? Using the theory of similarities formulated by Peter Abelard, I pointed out that the risk of committing theological errors decreases when language formulas are treated as models, and their meaning is understood in a figurative way. Such an attitude enables us to acknowledge the fact that language can be only partially adequate to the subject under discussion, and makes us aware that we describe only one aspect of a given theological phenomenon, as the chosen model may not correspond to other aspects. Such understanding of the theological language calls for a constant reinterpretation of theological propositions. If images used in theology are linked to the structure of the world, each change in the scientific understanding of this structure brought by empirical sciences, should lead to changes in the language used by theology. Lack of such changes in the system of religious beliefs will lead to a decrease in the credibility of theology and push its truths towards the category of myths and fables.
Candidus, Marius Victorinus’ fictitious friend, and his doctrine of the “Logos”
Baron, Arkadiusz (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2013)
This article elaborates the term Logos in two fictitious letters of Candidus, which Marius Victorinus wrote to present Arian points of view concerning the Trinitarian debate in the middle of the 4th century. The article investigates these two short letters and their historical and theological sources to demonstrate Marius Victorinus’ knowledge and understanding of the Arian controversy and the mystery of the Triune God. Although he wrote these letters himself, this research seems to be a particularly important in the interpretation of Marius Victorinus’ theological views and arguments presented in his writings against the Arians, in which he undertakes the most difficult questions concerning the unbegotten and simultaneously begetting God.
Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist and Relational Ontology
Vainio, Olli-Pekka (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2020)
This paper argues for an interpretation of the real of presence of Christ in the Eucharist using relational ontology as the basic metaphysical theory. Relational ontology, in its one form, denies the existence of intrinsic properties so that things that exists are just instantiations of particular sets of properties that receive their essence from their relation to other things. If there are good reasons to accept relational ontology, it could potentially help one to solve certain problems in transubstantiation model, without giving up the idea of real presence.
Christian Anthropology Versus the New Anthropology and the Quest for Human Perfection
Kraj, Tomasz (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2014)
In the current debate, we witness a conflict between the Christian concept of man vs. concepts that justify in vitro fertilization (IVF), genetic enhancement, or the reassignment of sexuality. Modern concepts cannot disregard the historic perspective of the consistent doctrines that the Catholic Church has maintained throughout her 2000-year history and which constitute the precursors of contemporary bioethics. Although she has adjusted specifics occasionally to address new developments, she has always based doctrine on immutable core principles. The current conflict lies neither in the novelty of the new proposals, nor in a conflict between religious and lay worldviews, but rather in concepts of man and human perfection. Some human traits may be regarded as disordered and incompatible with a particular concept of human perfection. The new proposals tend to involve physical changes based on technological manipulation, with a goal of developing a superior being, while Christian proposals do not seek to manipulate man’s being, but to develop his existing potential within criteria of acceptable reason. The new proposals rely on a Cartesian view which constitutes a human as his mind (cogito ergo sum), which has dominion over his body including authority to reengineer it according to any project that mind conceives. In contrast, the Christian concept views the human subject as a unity of mind and body, which may not be reshaped to meet a questionable goal of human perfection. The technological tools within the new concepts are in no way superior to the more personal attributes like virtues, perfection of the human will, prayer, and ascesis within the Christian concept.
Christology and the ‘Scotist Rupture’
Riches, Aaron (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2013)
This essay engages the debate concerning the so-called ‘Scotist rupture’ from the point of view of Christology. The essay investigates John Duns Scotus’s development of Christological doctrine against the strong Cyrilline tendencies of Thomas Aquinas. In particular the essay explores how Scotus’s innovative doctrine of the ‘haecceity’ of Christ’s human nature entailed a self-sufficing conception of the ‘person’, having to do less with the mystery of rationality and ‘communion’, and more to do with a quasi-voluntaristic ‘power’ over oneself. In this light, Scotus’s Christological development is read as suggestively contributing to make possible a proto-liberal condition in which ‘agency’ (agere) and ‘right’ (ius) are construed as determinative of what it means to be and act as a person.
The Church Is Christ Present: Luther’s Theological Realism and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Understanding of the Church as Unity of Act and Being
Karttunen, Tomi (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2020)
Facing the challenge of modern individualism Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45) corrected the contemporary interpretation of Martin Luther’s theology regarding the sacramentality and communal understanding of the Church. From the perspective of philosophical theology he discussed the “transcendental” and “ontological” approaches to explicate the presence of God’s revelation in the Church through word and sacraments. Ecclesially and pastorally based theology required a participatory, ecclesially oriented ontology as the basis of theological epistemology. Philosophical concepts should be adapted in a theological context to explicate and construct theological content. For Bonhoeffer the Church was the place of revelation in which the human being could understand his or her existence in relation to others and lead a “personal life.” More clearly and systematically than Luther, Bonhoeffer saw the Church as the Body of Christ as the place of transformation into the shape of Christ. Every individualistic idea of the Church must be wrong. Communion, doctrine, and theology belonged together. The intentions of Luther and Bonhoeffer regarding the Church’s Christological and Pneumatological foundation as a sacramental communion in the Triune God, sent into the world in shared witness and service in mission and ministry still seems to have ecumenical potential concerning for example Lutheran and Catholic understandings of Church, ministry and Eucharist.
The Criteriological Meaning of the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification and its Ontological Underpinnings
O’Callaghan, Paul (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2020)
Lutheran authors throughout the XX century have attempted to apply the Pauline doctrine of “justification by faith alone” to the whole of Christian theology, life and spirituality, as a unique determinative, criteriological or hermeneutical principle. Justification would point to the action of God who in Christ saves sinful humans, thus going to the very core of Christian life and identity. However, the fundamental principle needs to go beyond a purely existential reading of the human situation which considers man primordially as a sinner, and God only as his Saviour. It needs to be ontologically founded, on the basis of God’s good creation. It needs to take into account the fact that man, alongside the experience of sinfulness and pardon, truly encounters the goodness of God both through the reality of creation and on account of personal filiation in Christ’s Spirit.
Der doktrinale Glaube und der Glaube aus der Begegnung
Dzidek, Tadeusz (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2015)
The paper’s title suggests that there is a tension any believer is destined to experience. Namely, every human being lives in the space spanned by his/her own experience of God, which can be called ‘a personal encounter’, and by the doctrine, that is, the structured content of religious beliefs suggested by his/ her religious community. The question this paper addresses is the following: what are the constellations in which the faith of a personal encounter and the faith expressed in the doctrine can go together?
The ecumenical aspect of the justification of the sinner
Medwid, Wojciech (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2015)
The aim of this article is to discuss the ecumenical aspect of justification. Martin Luther was of the opinion that the road to justification was only through faith and grace, expressed by the principle simul iustus et peccator. The Council of Trent emphasized that justification is not only the remission of sins but is also sanctification. Catholic-Lutheran ecumenical dialogue formally began after the Second Vatican Council, which resulted in a consensus regarding the basic truths of the doctrine of justification and likewise looked at the person of Martin Luther, his demands, and the reformation.
Elements of Ontology in Luther’s Lectures on Romans (1515–1516)
Žák, Ľubomír (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2020)
Abstract The author starts from the assumption that Martin Luther did not want to deny the importance of ontology (and metaphysics) for theology, but rather to regulate the meaning and use of the categories and main ontological concepts/terms in the perspective of the novum of God’s Revelation in Jesus Christ, (a novum) witnessed by the Holy Scripture as the origin of a being renewed through faith. By examining some passages of his Lectures on Romans (1515–1516), the article highlights the presence of some significant “ontological signals” of the reformer’s thought, in particular those that intend to express the being of the believer with concepts like “Exchange of Forms,” creatio ex nihilo, transitus and actus/motus. Furthermore, it shows that Luther understands these concepts in a relational key, that is, he considers the relationship between the triune Creator and His creature as absolutely essential for the understanding of the person’s being; a relationship that on the one hand is already given – and ontologically will never be interrupted – through every single act of creation (i.e. with the birth of every human being), and on the other hand is being implemented through the gift of faith in Christ, understood as a relationship of trusting acceptance of the triune Creator’s will of communion.
Ethique et Politique
Bruguès, Jean-Louis (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2014)
The lecture engages the debate concerning the relation between politics and ethics. Ethics is the guardian of good practice and policy the guardian of the quality of life in the community. The author discusses their mutual historical development paying special attention to two dates. First in 1789, when the Bastille was demolished and the Republic founded with a slogan of ethical content (“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”), but only in order to control it. The second date is 1989, the year in which the Berlin Wall fell, constitutes a turning point and the dominance of ethics over politics promoted by the triad: democracy, accountability, and human rights, which undoubtedly belong to the highest value. The problem with this is that ethical values can be used in an ideological way. In the final section, the Christian position on the proper relationship between ethics and policy and vice versa is discussed.
Greek Models of Life up to Plato’s Philosophy and its Influence on the Christian Life in the Early Church
Baron, Arkadiusz (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2015)
This article deals with the issue of ancient Greek models of life up to the time of Plato’s philosophy. The author presents in a brief way the ideals in the writing of Homer’s and Hesiod’s, in the Pericleus’ speech from the Peloponnesian war, the Spartans, Pythagoreans and Plato’s model of life and education. Next he tries to describe how and which of these models were assimilated by Christians in the first centuries and which were rejected. The purpose of this article is to show how important ancient Greek culture and philosophy was for Christians not to mention the Greek language in which the New Testament was written. Understanding the development of theology in the early Greek Church requires knowledge of ideals and values which were important for people before accepting the Jesus Gospel.
Gregory of Nyssa’s (Relational) Doctrine of Grace as an Ontology of History in Ecumenical Perspective
Maspero, Giulio (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2020)
The paper shows the relevance of Gregory of Nyssa’s Trinitarian ontology for Ecumenism. In fact, the Cappadocian’s rereading of the relationship between ontology and history makes it possible to combine dynamics and being in his reading of divinization as epektasis. This seems to be relevant from the perspective of Luther studies, as it shows that Tuomo Mannermaa’s interpretation of the Reformer’s thought could be interpreted as relational and not merely dialectical. In the end, it seems that the research on a true theological ontology and the deepening of the theology of history can be useful for a better understanding of Luther’s intention and inspiration in his doctrine on grace.
The historical dispute over Polish Messianism and John Paul II’s thought
Wawrzynowicz, Andrzej (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2019)
The paper addresses the problem of historical role and impact of John Paul II’s teachings on the dispute over Polish messianism which has been consistently present in the Polish literature and philosophy over the past two centuries. The article is an attempt to determine the pope’s actual contribution to the development of the idea of Polish messianism, and evaluate the ultimate significance of this contribution within a broad perspective of the evolution of Polish political thought during the latter part of the twentieth and early decades of the twenty first centuries. The starting point in the discussion is the contemporary historical-philosophical research in this field, and the final conclusions are oriented towards the philosophical qualification of the most recent attempts to revive the messianist ideology on the basis of papal thought.
Imago Christi or “just” Imago Mariae? Women and the Problem of Image and Imitation
Małek, Angelika Maria (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2017)
The main question discussed in this paper is: Can we say that, in the light of orthodox Catholic theology, woman is an image of Christ in a way equal to man? How Jesus and His Mother should be treated as examples for imitation for Christians of both sexes on this ground? The first part of the article explains the terms imago Dei and imago Christi, and connection between them in their biblical, dogmatical, and contemporary theological-anthropological context, the last one understood strictly as anthropology in documents of the Catholic Magisterium published during and after II Vatican Council. The second part concerns the problem of Jesus and Mary as models for men, and/or women in the present day, on the basis of Church documents, especially Mariological ones. The third part considers the problem of women as imago Christi in the light of Catholic feminist theology. Conclusions are proposed at the end of the paper.
Immutability of God in Christian Terms
Drzyżdżyk, Szymon; Kosińska, Zuzanna (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2014)
This article deals with the issue of the immutability of God in Himself. What is meant by “immutability” and why God should (or must) be immutable? Doesn’t He – whom Christians preach – contradict His immutability by showing interest in man? These questions, taken by a number of philosophers and theologians have appeared more or less frequently throughout history. The article is devoted to the immutability of God as one and the Holy Trinity on the grounds of Christianity. The article quotes the thoughts of representatives from the Church in the West and in the East – Tertullian and Origen. This thought formed in an era when Trinitarian heresy flourished and had a significant impact on the further development of theological reflection. Then the theological and philosophical position of Thomas Aquinas is taken into account as one who in his investigations on the nature of God used the components of ancient Greek philosophy.
In what Sense Can the Scientifically Driven Theology Be Considered as a Continuation of the Doctrinal Tradition?
Grygiel, Wojciech (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2018)
The central goal of the presented article is to show that the type of rationality proper to the method of the contemporary sciences yields a unique conceptual environment in which the spirit of rationality instilled to the theological thought by its encounter with the Greek philosophy finds its natural expansion. At the outset, the origins of the Greek rationality in the Ionian school of philosophy are briefly discussed in order to illuminate their adequacy for the exposition and defense of doctrine in the times of the early Church Fathers. Next, the specificity of the scholastic method of St. Thomas Aquinas briefly surveyed to indicate the nature of the unique harmony between faith and reason achieved by the Angelic Doctor. In the following step, the role of rationality in theology is gleaned through negative examples of its elimination as evident in nominalism and the subsequent Lutheran intervention. This is followed by a short discourse into of the origins and the specificity of the contemporary scientific method with particular emphasis on the method’s unique potential to expand and deepen the Greek rationality. Finally, a case study of the evolu‑ tionary theology is offered in which the implementation of the dynamic (evolutionary) picture of the Universe as the conceptual foundation opens up new and profound ways of understanding the Universe’s meaning and the meaning of man in particular. Thus the spirit of the hellenistic rationality in theology is not only preserved but also significantly enhanced.
The Influence of Aristotelianism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, and Stoicism on Human Life in the Early Church
Baron, Arkadiusz (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, 2015)
This article deals with the issue of ancient Greek models of life proposed by Aristotle, Epicurus and the Stoics. The author tries to describe how and which of these models were assimilated by Christian society during the first centuries and which were rejected. The purpose of this article is to show how important Aristotle’s, the Stoics and Epicurus’ philosophy was for Christians in the advancement of the Christian lifestyle among the Greek societies. Understanding the development of theology in the early Greek Church requires knowledge of the ideals and values that shaped the thinking and behavior of people before they heard about the Gospel of Jesus.

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