Repositório RCAAP

With the creation of the moving image at the end of the 19th Century a new way of representing and expressing the Religious was born. The cinema industry rapidly understood that film has a powerful way to attract new audiences and transformed the explicit religious message into an implicit theological discourse of the fictional film. Today, the concept of “cinema” needs to be rethought and expanded, as well as the notion of “Transcendental” since the strong reality effect of the film image can allow a true religious experience for the spectator.

This text addresses the question of how throughout History mankind has kept alive the quest for ultimate meaning for our existence upon earth. Cultures and religions give different answers to this search. All of them, yet, remain provisional answers, in spite of all religious revelation. Therefore, the question has always kept being asked in many times and places, enacted by multiple voices, inside and outside the actual spiritual or religious frames. This all pervasive interrogative dimension seems thus to emerge in multiple forms from inside all cultural contexts. Literature, for example, as well as other forms of art, is one of the spaces, where signs of this search for the Invisible are present: both by means of affirmation and negation, of refusal or doubt, metaphysical concerns and modes of unquietness about the Divine are present in many literary texts. Focusing on some of the poetry and fictional narrative from the last and the current centuries in Portugal, this paper provides a few examples of how this path for further meaning and for a nameless Divine is dealt with and textually inscribed.

One of the best avenues towards a fruitful fundamental-theological investigation lies in aesthetics, namely, in art and literature, with particular emphasis put on poetry and fiction, because these are means of expressing deep meaning in the sickness and anguish, as well as in the joys and the wonders of humankind. The literature of the Japanese writer Shusaku Endõ (1923-1996) expresses such anguish and wonders in the characters of his novels, raising theological themes that are «burning-points» in our society. In the present paper we introduce the novel Chinmoku [Silence], which is an extract from Chapter III of a doctoral dissertation in theology with the title Transcultural Theodicy in the Fiction of Shusaku Endõ, defended at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, in December 2008.

The present article seeks to revisit the question of theological methods. It begins with a general consideration, of a phenomenological and hermeneutical order, concerning the relationship between method and knowledge of the truth, in order to explore subsequently the typical elements of theological method, concentrating on the concepts/dimension of auditus fidei, actio fidei, intellectus fidei and ontologia fidei. To terminate, there is a discussion of the characteristics of theological discourse, as analogical discourse, which raises the question of the pertinence and limits of the very method, as an endless path, which leads us to a ‘place’ different from itself. Taken as a whole, there is an exploration above all of the relationship between tradition, pragmatics, criticism and metaphysics.

Fundamental theology should always be prepared to ‘provide the reason for our hope’ (1 P 3,15) in the face of each new situation that presents itself to the Christian faith. In accordance with its double function, it aims to reinterpret the faith in new historical contexts and, at the same time, found its discourse on the continuous revelation of the Scriptures. The author raises the question of the point of departure in theology, in the face of the present-day context of post-Christian societies, though marked by religious revival. It continues by dealing with the Christian conception of religious experience, from the perspective of the ‘end’ of religion. Finally, in its search for the ‘theological place’ of the Scriptures, if follows two paths: the methodological proposal of the theology of culture (Paul Tillich), the third way in the confrontation ‘secularism’ and ‘biblicism’; and the method of the Latin-American liberation theologies, with the problem of the use of socio-analytical mediations (Clodovis Boff ). Inherent to the problems of method, arises the fundamental question of the interpretative status of theology and of the Christian faith itself.

In six points the author presents the fundamental elements of Origen’s exegetic method. The idea of continuous inspiration between the Old and New Testaments necessarily leads us to accept the existence of two levels of meaning: the literal and the spiritual. The first of these is reached through recourse to exegetic technique in the true sense and the second through the gift of an identical experience to that of the Biblical hagiographer: eodem spiritu. Having been given “to us men and for our salvation”, Scripture in itself contains a utilitas (opheleia) which should reach the whole man and every man. Thus is established both a vertical comprehension of the text, formulated as an opening to the mysterium salutis, and a horizontal comprehension, linked to the progress of the historia salutis. As well as these, a determining factor is the christological principle: quid non est absumptum non est redemptum, which permits a connection between Scripture and the other two presences of the Word of God in history, identified with the actual person of Jesus of Nazareth and with the sacramentum of the Church. The author considers the exegetic journey of Origen to be fundamentally directed towards mystery. We are drawn towards him with a pedagogic attention to the capacities of each of us, in that essential commitment to the sequela Christi.

The present text seeks to go into the ecumenical dimension of theology, which ought to be present in all theological work, but which also centres very particularly on certain theological questions. ‘Ecumenical theology’ is thus presented as a means of reflecting theologically containing specific elements of a hermeneutic, methodological and spiritual order, though basically within a framework of systematic theology. The article begins with a brief analysis of forms of relating and of confessional discussion which preceded what we now know as ‘ecumenical theology’ – a diachronic, historical perspective, not forgetting its current relevance. It goes on to draw attention, secondly, to some of the principal features that, in terms of spiritual attitude, methodological choices and a hermeneutical perspective, characterise an ecumenical theology. There follows, as a third point, a specific reflection on ecumenical theology as a hermeneutic of unity in diversity. This hermeneutical task, which takes in not only texts, but a whole set of experiential elements of transmission and witness of faith, is characterised by two fundamental orientations: a hermeneutic of unity in search of the truth and a hermeneutic capable of comprehending and integrating difference. As a singular case of the concretisation of an ecumenical theology and, at the same time, as a place for the verification of its difficulties in methodological and hermeneutical terms, a fourth section tackles the task of the reception of the results of the theological dialogue. In this context, on the one hand, the importance of reception is underlined, alongside its conditions and demands, and, on the other, attention is drawn to certain priority tasks for theological reflection, with a view to the future. From this follows, by way of conclusion, an analysis of the core question of the objective of the unity to be created. Here emerges the urgency of clarifying in ecumenical dialogue the indeclinable demands of the unity to be created, which cannot occur without a deeper and more open consideration of the question of the presence of Christ’s Church in history.

This article seeks to investigate the reasons why, throughout the last century, in the field of pastoral theology, recourse to accounts of life in the earliest Christian communities proved to be so successful as an instrument for constructing the figure of the Church in the present and the future. An analysis of two paradigmatic cases serves as a starting point for a reading of the question that here is fundamental: how to construct the hermeneutic operation that enables Christianity to inhabit a culture and to proclaim its message. The article concludes by pointing to the purpose of all this methodological reflection: to provide Christianity with instruments to inhabit urban culture and its transformations. An example is given: the efforts of the Diocese of Milan, during the incumbency of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.

Interest in life stories of ordinary people is becoming more and more widespread since the XIX century (in fields like literature, history, sociology, arts, and so on). Does this matter interest in any way theology? The author, after introducing briefly the methods using life stories in sociology and making reference to Paul Ricoeur, proposes three possible ways of using those stories in theology. In fact, such use can help us: firstly, to understand people that we meet at a pastoral level; secondly, to re-examine a classical theological question, taking into account the experience of Christians; thirdly, to contribute to the formation of active participants in the Church. The author insists particularly on the second aspect, by referring to his doctoral thesis. He proposes a way of proceeding that consists of going back and forth between commentaries of the Bible and commentaries of life stories, around a theological question.

What is the social doctrine of the Church in the constitution of a system of social action? Do religious beliefs structure a way of life, as suggested by an analysis of Max Weber in The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism? This article seeks to show how Max Weber thought and presented the factors that favour a rational practice whose paradigm is ‘the worldly asceticism of Protestantism’ articulating this thought with the way in which the Church’s social doctrine induces a conduct of life in society.

One of the challenges set by feminist theologies, following the path of political and liberation theologies, consists in the recognition that there can be no knowledge without examining the perspective of whence it comes. As such, human experience, in the case of feminist theologies, the experience of believing women, constitutes the place whence comes its discourse about God. The present text seeks to equate the various forms of relating these experiences with plural theological discourses, as well as the impact of these discourses for the identity of the Church itself.

Current understanding of sacramental theology comes close to the patristic mens, because it broadens the range of meaning of the term and of the notion of sacrament in relation to the sacramental septenary. In truth, sacramental theology has refound its salvation-historical dimension and contributed to overcoming an ‘individualistic’ vision of the sacrament as a ‘means of grace’, in favour of the ecclesial conception of liturgical celebration. Sacramentality is not only a sector of theology, but particularly a dimension that traverses theology in all its aspects. In tackling this theme, the present article analyses the work of four contemporary writers: Odo Casel, Karl Rahner, Edward Schillebeeckx and Louis-Marie Chauvet, considered as particularly expressive authors for an examination of the theological-liturgical-sacramental question.

Joseph Ratzinger shows that it is only through the witness of those that have known Jesus directly and have interpreted Him in the light of faith that we gain access to Him as a real figure, just as he existed in history, the true ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. In this way it is possible to overcome the rationalist separation between the ‘historical Jesus’ and the ‘Christ of faith’.

The theological debate about the Trinity presents, in the contemporary period, a remarkable vitality. Commonly perceived as a kind of «celestial theorem», the trinitarian doctrine has come, with the contribution of the theological reflection, to recover an existencial centrality correspondent to the centrality that has always enjoyed in the Symbol of the christian faith. This article intends to present an overview of the contemporary renewal of the trinitarian theology, in three moments: 1. describing the theological context in which this renewal takes place; 2. systematizing the most significant acquisitions of this theological renewal; and 3. opening possible perspectives for further reflection.

This study constitutes a record of the argumentation used by Joseph Ratzinger in his treatise on eschatology and of his contribution to the deconstruction of an assumed presupposition in eschatology, particularly in the context of Protestant theology, but which has also found considerable adherence in Catholic theology, according to which Christian eschatology owes something to schemes of Greek thinking. In his attempt do deplatonise eschatology, Ratzinger came progressively to the view that ecclesial feeling is critically separate from the Greek scheme of things and that in its anthropological conception of the soul-body relationship it is essentially Christian, thus underlining the novelty of the Christian concept of Man in his metaphysical constitution, with considerable consequences for eschatology and very particularly for intermediate eschatology. Ecclesial feeling emerges as a theological criterion and a principle of verification of the truth or untruth of theories. The present text seeks to emphasise the contribution of Ratzinger’s study to eschatology, as much from the point of view of method as from the systematic point of view.

With his different statements to the question of a new evangelisation in the profoundly pluralistic European context, to the question of the Church-State relationship between separation and cooperation and to the question of the contribution of the Church to European political ethics Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI has designed a very comprehensive and consistent theological and pastoral concept that deserves full attention inside and outside the Church.

What is the specifically political meaning of Benedict XVI’s pontificate? Throughout his life, this Pope has offered a number of deep reflections on political issues broadly understood. His originality seems to reside in his concern with the role of Catholics as Catholics in Western countries where religion in general, and Catholicism in particular, is in retreat. In the second part of this short essay I explore the work of John of Salisbury, which was recommended by the Pope himself, and try to make certain parallels between the political thought of both.

O artigo apresenta os antecedentes do actual recurso às ciências sociais pela exegese bíblica, que alcança o seu apogeu a partir de 1970. O pressuposto básico deste horizonte metodológico é a necessidade de explicitar os modelos teóricos com que nos avizinhamos dos textos e assinalar os que se ajustam melhor à sua natureza. Descrevem-se com numerosos exemplos as ferramentas da antropologia cultural, da sociologia e da psicologia social. Por fim alinham-se algumas pistas hermenêuticas sobre as repercussões para uma consideração crente e teológica dos textos.

The present article begins by listing the most important Bible editions currently circulating among Christians in Brazil. Although some editions are more present in some churches than others, there are certain editions that circulate among Christians of various churches, and hence they have not been presented as being Catholic, or Protestant or Evangelical. Among the editions mentioned, eight have been selected either because they have greater circulation or because of some other factor that makes them important. The text of Jn 1,1-5 of the chosen editions is presented for comparison among them. These comparisons lead not so much to conclusions as to a series of observations in respect of these editions. In any case, it emerges clearly that we are dealing here with an important area of research with regard to the history of reception of the Biblical text in Brazil.

A meditation on the nature of the image and on the room for liberty and for interpretation that it establishes, the nature of which is precarious and controversial. It is a matter of some urgency to reflect on the conditions in which visibilities are currently created and sustained by the industries of production of the visible and to raise questions regarding the original political condition of ‘sharing the visible’. In the midst of so many images, will there not be ever fewer images (worthy of the name)?