Search results for ""author j. haers""

In today’s scattering world, challenged as it is by climate change, pollution and other forms of environmental degradation, developing an adequate theology of creation is not just an armchair luxury, but a vital task, a mission in which we are implicated whether we like it or not. Such an adequate theology of creation should allow theologians and believers in general to enter into processes of personal and social transformation that bring about justice between human beings and a sustainable relationship of humankind with non-human reality. The contributions to this volume take up the difficult task of developing an adequate theology of creation for our times. They seek to reflect on creation in our scattering world from multiple and diverse perspectives, engaging Scripture, old and new traditions, philosophy, ethics, science, Christology, ecclesiology, sacraments and the liturgy. The wealth and heterogeneity of perspectives gathered in this collection is a gift to be explored and cherished. The articles gathered in this book contribute to an urgently needed re-articulation of the idea of creation and offer to theologians the occasion to sound their own voice in the forum of those who attempt to answer the great challenges posed by the times in which we live.

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This volume is the fruit of the twelfth LEST-conference (Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology), which took place between 23 and 26 October 2019. The theme was “Theos & Polis: Political Theology as Discernment”. Current global challenges – climate change, extreme poverty, large refugee camps, violence and abuse, failing democracies and the rise of populism – were the starting point for choosing this conference theme. The choice of the theme was also influenced by the theo-political concerns of people in churches worldwide and of a new generation of junior scholars and students in theology: How to theologically understand and respond to political situations that affect faith communities? How to shape a theology that both responds to local, socio-economic contexts and acknowledges being part of a global movement? How to engage with the politics of synodality as a new task for church and theology today? Part One (Understanding Political Theology as Discernment) could be seen as providing the theological and theoretical foundations for seeing, judging, and acting theo-politically. In Part Two (Discerning Political Theology in the Face of Trauma and Conflict), political theology is discerned in concrete situations. Part Three (Conversing with Political Theologians) presents ongoing discussions with modern philosophers and theologians who have impacted the development of political theology until today.

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This study brings together the reflections of international scholars on the state of contemporary christology, that branch of theology which reflects on the person and significance of Jesus of Nazereth. It begins by inquiring into christology's starting point, especially in the light of the many portraits of Jesus which now claim a place in the debate. It then moves to a consideration of some of the 'classical' sources which have shaped christology, including the Bible and patristic literature. The significance of the transition from the classical world to our pluralistic context is taken up in a series of essays which examine Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, African and Native American considerations of Christ. In a concluding section, scholars investigate the attempts made by contemporary theologians to translate faith in Christ into a concrete agenda for life in specific contexts. This comprehensive study highlights the plurality which characterizes contemporary christology, and the richness and complexity of the Myriad Christ.

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This collection of articles presents the main contributions to the third LEST (Louvain Encounters in Systematic Theology) conference, held at the K.U.Leuven's Faculty of Theology, November 2001. Its theme, "Theology and Conversation: Towards a Relational Theology", continues the explorations in contemporary theology as set out in the 1997 LEST I conference on "The Myriad Christ" (BETL 152) and in the 1999 LEST II conference on "Sacramental Presence in Postmodern Context" (BETL 160). In LEST III also, the plurality and diversity of theological approaches play a major role and the question is raised whether the contemporary theological endeavour in a global world contains in itself the tools to respectfully and constructively approach this diversity. The ideas of relation and conversation, as found in the theologies of the Trinity and of creation, as presupposed in ecclesial praxis, and as articulated in reflections that take their bearings from spiritual experience, provide a powerful means for renewed theological reflection capable of confronting plurality and diversity.

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"Omnes Gentes" is a collaborative effort between "Missio"-Belgium, the International "Lumen Vitae" Institute for Catechesis and Pastoral Studies (Brussels), the Faculty of Theology (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven), and the Faculte de theologie et de droit canonique (Universite Catholique Louvain-la-Neuve). "Omnes Gentes" believes that the Gospel about Jesus Christ constitutes a challenging and life giving message for all people.The first part of this volume, "A Mission Statement for Today's Christians," contains the contributions of the first "Omnes Gentes" conference (2003). As the title suggests, this conference intended to make a statement on the missionary task of all Christians. In many contributions by Belgian and international scholars it is emphasized that mission is no longer seen as a unidirectional movement, starting from the Western Church, and that the Church in Belgium and Europe is a missionary Church as well.In the second part of this volume, "Rituals for Life," the contributions of the second "Omnes Gentes" conference (2004) are gathered. The fruitful exchanges between scholars from Belgium, Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ucraine and the United States made it possible to reflect on the anthropological, ritual, liturgical and theological dimensions of a "lively" Christian liturgy.

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