A Theological Journey

by LaFont, Ghislain

• ISBN13: 9780814652138
• ISBN10: 0814652131
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-01
• Publisher: Michael Glazier

Summary

From the earliest proclamation of the Gospel to the present, Benedictine theologian Ghislain Lafont traces the development of the Christian faith. In A Theological Journey, now available in this superb translation by John Burkhard, O.F.M. Conv., Lafont explores key doctrines of the faith as they developed in answer to the needs and questions of people in each age. He then engages the questions and risks of today's world, inviting us to consider our place as Christians in history and in an increasingly globalized world. In the final analysis, Lafont's theological journey aims at inspiring us to hope in the midst of a world marked by conflict, pain, and suffering.

Author Biography

Ghislain Lafont has taught theology in his monastic community as well as at the Athenaeum San Anselmo and the Gregorian University, both in Rome.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction: The Road Traveled	p. 1
From Salvation to Reflection	p. 1
Our Proposed Itinerary	p. 5
The Scriptures	p. 7
Scriptural Principles	p. 7
Awaiting Christ	p. 7
Saint Paul	p. 10
The Synoptic Gospels	p. 12
Saint John	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 14
The Period of the "Fathers" and of the "Councils': Spiritual Worship and Mystical Theology	p. 15
The Encounter with Hellenistic Culture	p. 15
Christ	p. 17
Understanding the Scriptures	p. 19
The Divine Names	p. 20
The Contribution of Philosophy	p. 21
The Way to Orthodoxy	p. 22
The Question of Evil	p. 23
The Church	p. 25
Conclusion	p. 25
The Middle Ages: The Road to Christian Humanism	p. 29
The Renewal of the Old Paradigm	p. 30
Jesus' Humanity in Its Weakness	p. 30
The Movement of the "Spiritual Franciscans"	p. 32
Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)	p. 32
Acclimation to the New Thinking	p. 34
Human Autonomy	p. 34
The Scope of Language	p. 35
Aristotle	p. 36
Averroist Thought in the Universities	p. 37
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)	p. 37
The Question of Evil	p. 39
Conclusions	p. 40
Confrontation	p. 40
Evaluation by the Church	p. 41
Christian Reflection: Setting Off the Human	p. 42
The Modern Period: The Enigma of Motion	p. 45
A Decisive Turning Point	p. 45
Transition from Antiquity to Modernity	p. 45
A Hypothesis Regarding Modernity	p. 48
Stages of Modernity	p. 48
Triumphant and Wretched Modernity	p. 50
Triumphant Modernity	p. 50
The Nominalist Option	p. 50
The New Shape of the World	p. 51
The Mastery of the Human	p. 51
The Awareness of Time and History	p. 53
The Social Contract	p. 55
Theology that is Rational	p. 56
Wretched Modernity	p. 58
The Anti-Modern Reform	p. 59
The Modernity of the Reform	p. 60
Conclusion to Triumphant and Wretched Modernity	p. 62
Dialectical Modernity	p. 63
The Return of Theology	p. 63
Dialectical Materialism	p. 65
Catholicism in Disarray	p. 68
Conclusion: Critical Modernity	p. 70
Theology in Outline	p. 73
An Overview of the Route Traveled	p. 73
A Hypothesis: Desire, Tragedy, and "Tragic Misfortune"	p. 76
Time and Divine Covenant	p. 79
Christianity and a Space for Memory	p. 79
The End-Time	p. 80
Anthropology	p. 81
Tragedy, Love, and Death	p. 81
"Tragic Misfortune": Human Failure	p. 83
Christ	p. 85
The Death and Resurrection of Christ: Tragedy	p. 85
The Impact of Human Failure and the Nature of Redemption: "Tragic Misfortune"	p. 86
God	p. 87
The Language of Revelation and Trinitarian Love	p. 89
The Limits of Talk about "Kenosis"	p. 90
Brief Reflections on the Suffering of God	p. 91
Church and the World	p. 94
Liturgy	p. 94
Ethics	p. 95
Conclusion	p. 99
Creation and Being	p. 101
Ethics	p. 103
Metaphysics	p. 106
Creation	p. 109
The Being of God	p. 110
The Sacraments	p. 113
Conclusion	p. 114
Conclusion: Open to the Future	p. 117
Toward a World in the Form of Christendom	p. 119
Toward a World in the Form of Globalization	p. 121
A Glossary of Terms	p. 127
Writings in English by and about Ghislain Lafont, O.S.B.	p. 137
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 139
Index of Names	p. 145
Index of Subjects	p. 147
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