Incarnation, Resurrection and the Doctrine of the Trinity: A Comparison of Thomas F. Torrance and Roger Haight

Abstract:  By comparing the thought of T.F. Torrance and Roger Haight, this article shows that whenever the starting-point for interpreting the resurrection is not Jesus himself as the incarnate Word, then Christology and soteriology are undermined because of a faulty understanding of the Trinity, with the result that salvation is equated with the human religious quest for meaning. Because the incarnation and resurrection are intimately connected, this article suggests that any docetic view of the one will lead to a docetic view of the other. And this has soteriological implications: if Jesus is not seen as the only Savior, then we must somehow save ourselves.     

Complicating marginalisation: the case of Mormon and nonreligious college students in a predominantly Mormon context

There is now compelling evidence that both nonreligious individuals and members of minority religions report feeling marginalised in the United States. However, to date, no one has explored whether a shift from minority status to majority status influences perceptions of marginalisation. In this paper, we explore whether Mormons, members of a minority religion in the USA who perceive marginalisation nationally, contribute to the marginalisation of other minority religious/nonreligious groups when they are the numerical majority. Using data from a survey fielded at a predominantly Mormon university in a predominantly Mormon community in the American West, our data suggest that nonreligious students in a predominantly Mormon context report significantly higher levels of perceived marginalisation. Our findings illustrate that minority status is an important determinant of perceived marginalisation and that numerical minority or majority status should be taken into consideration when examining perceptions of marginalisation.     

Radical Orthodoxy, Luther, and the Challenge of Western Secularization

This "Theology Update" analyzes the Radical Orthodoxy of John Milbank in light of Martin Luther's dialectic between Law and Gospel. Milbank and his colleagues attack contemporary secularized culture in a manner parallel to Luther's attack on the 16^th century Holy Roman Empire for being soulless, aggressive, litigious, materialistic, and finally nihilistic. By re–engaging the battle between Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, the radical orthodox party seeks to become post–modern by making a half turn back to the pre–modern Thomas, for whom philosophy and theology were integrated, subject was united to object, and being could be understood as relational because the Trinity is relational. Luther is mistakenly dismissed when reducing him to Scotus' nominalism, however. Lutheranism complements radical orthodoxy's analysis of secularized culture; yet Lutheranism maintains an integrity to faith–as the presence of Christ–that this new school fails to grant.     

托马斯伦理学中的柏拉图主义因素--论托马斯对synderesis与conscientia的区分

托马斯伦理学总体上看虽然主要源于亚里士多德,但这并不排除它在个别理论问题上有其他理论渊源.据此笔者认为,托马斯伦理学中也不乏柏拉图主义因素.本文一方面试图厘清托马斯对于synderesis与conscientia所作的区分,另一方面深人审视这种区分的历史渊源,以期从一个侧面把托马斯伦理学中的柏拉图主义因素彰显出来.