By Michael Deem

In this, my final installment on the Ressourcement movement in Catholic theology, I wish to briefly sketch the impact and historical endurance of the movement. While Henri de Lubac may rightly be described as the centerpiece of Ressourcement, he most certainly was not alone in infusing its spirit into Catholic life and thought. [...]

By Michael Deem
Henri de Lubac—French priest, scholar and cardinal—stands at the center of the Ressourcement movement in Catholic theology. While he certainly was not the progenitor of Ressourcement, there seems to be little doubt that de Lubac is its most important and influential exponent. When one attempts to lay hold of the very heart of [...]

This is the first of a multipart series by a guest blogger (and new friend), Michael Deem. Michael earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and his Master of Arts in Historical Theology at Saint Louis University. He is currently a Latin/Religion/Ancient History teacher and an instructor [...]

In the final section of Healy’s article, “Biblical Inspiration and the Christological Analogy,” she discusses the “Christological analogy” and its hermeneutical implications with the goal of moving us beyond the “false dichotomy between critical exegesis and Christian faith, so that the biblical text will once again be illumined as a means of access into the [...]

In section three, “The Vertical Dimension of Biblical Narrative and its Implications for Exegesis,” Healy opens by pointing out that in addition to what we have said in the previous two sections regarding narrative in general, we must add that the biblical view of history is “radically open to God,” hence, the vertical dimension. “For [...]

In section two, “The Mediating Function of Narrative,” Healy states that the most fitting literary genre to mediate history is narrate. “It [narrative] is the means by which event becomes word. Through narrative, a historical event is brought into a new, verbal mode of existence that renders it communicable to those who were not physically [...]

This is part I of a series of posts on an article by Mary E. Healy entitled, “Behind, in Front of … or Through the Text? The Christological Analogy and the Lost World of Biblical Truth.” Healy begins by noting the numerous criticisms of the historical-critical approach by contemporary (which includes postmodern) scholars. For example, [...]

“Over the last generation in Western culture, truth has been like the rope in a tug-of-war contest. On the one hand, some want to reduce all truth to ‘facts,’ things which can be proved in the way you can prove that oil is lighter than water, or even that two and two make four. [...]

In chapter 4 of N.T. Wright’s book, Simply Christian, he presents a nice illustration of the incomplete beauty that we encounter in our world in its present state. He describes a collector who was rummaging through an attic in a small Austrian town and happened to come across what seemed to be an unknown [...]

As was mentioned in a previous post, Socrates was vehemently opposed to musical innovation of any sort and claimed that there was some kind of direct connection with changes in music and changes in the law. Though it is not entirely clear what he means by this, presumably the danger in changing laws would upset [...]

Plato, using Socrates as his mouthpiece, manifests what appears to be an ambivalent relationship to music. On the one hand, Socrates tells us that music is superior to the other arts because “rhythm and harmony most of all insinuate themselves into the inmost part of the soul.”[1] On the other hand, because he believes that [...]

Socrates’ seemingly excessive strictures on music (particularly in the Republic) have engendered a number of interpretative rejoinders. One such response is the idea that music’s persuasive and cognitive powers cannot be sharply delimitated. This argument has been developed by Julias Elias and claims that music is essential for even the most rational among us (not [...]

By Dru Johnson
If we consider the implications of Part I and II, then we must come to terms with knowing as a fundamentally personal act that is skillful, embodied (even cognitive acts of knowing), and situated in space and time. Knowing is personal as a fiduciary relationship with the known. In other words, you have [...]