Crossing Tables and Queering Deification

Abstract

To respond to the dominating force of religio-cultural salvation in the U.S., this article analyzes two disparate tables and the bodies associated with them: the Unsung Founders memorial at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Eucharistic table in the work of seventh century Christian monk Maximus the Confessor. Drawing on Sara Ahmed's methodological exploration of how tables orient bodies, I constructively "cross" the racial, gendered, and economically marginalized bodies represented by the monument and the body of Christ on the Eucharistic table. The product of this crossing queers Maximus's doctrine of deification, or union with God, which opens a site of resistance to contemporary notions of this specific privatized and personally responsible salvation. Further, this combination betrays Maximus's theological assumptions that only normative bodies have access to God.     

Justification as Declaration and Deification

Theological accounts of the way God justifies sinners often struggle to combine forensic or declarative ideas about justification with transformationist ones. Luther seems to have especially steep problems here, not because he fails to think of justification as transformation – indeed deification – but because his forensic claims seem to take back what he says about transformation. Yet in the end Luther shows how forensic and transformationist ideas of even the boldest sort can cohere. At one level the concept of justifying faith as union with Christ extra nos combines the two, but their deeper unity is trinitarian: it lies in the Father's eternal verdict on the work of his incarnate Son, whose death and resurrection win for us the coming of the Spirit.     

Religious Toleration and Organisational Typologies

In Britain at least, secularisation has proceeded to the point where the characteristics that conventionally divide churches, denominations, sects, and cults as types of religious organisation have largely disappeared. Drawing on survey data and newspaper reports collected over the last three decades, we argue that societal hostility now focuses so narrowly on tangential aspects of religion that the characteristic of existing in a high degree of tension with the wider environment (which is central to most definitions of the sect) is increasingly rare and is now likely to be applied to churches and denominations. The article concludes with a suggestion for a new typology.     

Before Deification Became Eastern: Newman's Ecumenical Retrieval

John Henry Newman spearheaded one of the first modern retrievals of the Christian doctrine of deification. This article argues that, precisely because of the early date of Newman's rehabilitation, his treatment is not tinted by the polemics surrounding theosis that developed in the late nineteenth century between Eastern and Western Christianity. To Newman, deification is not an Eastern doctrine, it is not cause for division between East and West, and it does not supplant justification. Instead, it arises from a broad patristic consensus, it is a tool for union among the churches, and it provides resources for understanding justification properly.     

Typologies and Meanings of Prayer Among Patients

Journal of Religion and Health - Religion often aids patients, but critical questions arise concerning how patients approach issues regarding prayer. In-depth interviews suggest 12 key patient...     

Violent Delinquency: An Examination of Psychopathic Typologies

This study sought to determine the combined effects of psychopathy, low intellectual functioning, and love deprivation on violent delinquency. Low-intellectual-functioning psychopaths were significantly more violent than were low or high-intellectual-functioning nonpsychopaths or high-intellectual-functioning psychopaths. Love deprivation was more strongly related to violence than was psychopathy/intellectual functioning, and severely love-deprived, low-intellectual-functioning psychopaths were the most violent.     

On Typologies for Relating Science and Religion

Geoffrey Cantor and Chris Kenny have criticized attempts to classify various ways of relating science and religion. They hold that all typologies are too simple and too static to illuminate the complex and changing historical interactions of science and religion. I argue that typologies serve a useful pedagogical function even though every particular interaction must be seen in its historical context. I acknowledge the problems in making distinctions between categories of classification and examine some alternative typologies that have been proposed. I leave as an open question whether my fourfold typology is applicable to differing religious traditions. Finally I consider some parallels between typologies for science‐religion interactions and typologies for relationships between religions. Can our discussions be both interdisciplinary and interreligious without the danger of imposing the conceptual framework of one discipline or religious tradition on another discipline or tradition?     

Validating Childhood Maltreatment Typologies Using Data Linkage

This data linkage study aims to examine associations between subgroups of child maltreatment and a range of demographic (e.g., gender) familial (e.g., parental unemployment) and health outcomes. Structured interviews were conducted on 2,980 participants. Data were then linked with information drawn from Danish registries. Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated out-of-home-care was a shared risk for all forms of maltreatment relative to nonmaltreated controls. Sexual and co-occurring abuse groups had strong associations with psychiatric outcomes at age 21. Findings emphasize how a child’s early environment can impact health, highlighting the need for targeted interventions encompassing a range of risk factors at an early age.     

Ecumenical Hermeneutics through a Study of Missiological Typologies

This paper focuses on the hermeneutical recognition that happens during the cross‐cultural transmission of the gospel. The dynamics of mission are traced from hermeneutic through communication and the understanding of the Other, to action, and to the realization of gospel in community.     

Genetic Engineering,Virtue-First Enhancement,and Deification in Neo-Irenaean Theodicy

This article seeks to provide a unified explanation to two profound challenges to Christian belief: the existence of evil and Darwin’s theory of natural selection. It is argued that an understanding of the full implications of our evolutionary past in conjunction with the Irenaean theodicy provides us with the best answer to these challenges. The traditional Irenaean theodicy emphasizes the importance of education for soul building. Soul building can benefit from technologically enhancing the biological superstructure of our humanity. In particular, genetic engineering can enhance human virtue. The biological basis of our moral natures can be improved using genetic technologies, including (possibly) somatic and germline engineering. To plan for virtue-first enhancement—the Genetic Virtue Project, which focuses on genetic improvements to our moral natures—is of paramount importance for the neo-Irenaean theodicy.     

Typologies of Religiousness/Spirituality: Implications for Health and Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to develop empirically based typologies of religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and to determine whether the typologies were related to health and well-being. The study used a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,431). Using latent profile analysis, typologies were derived based on religious service attendance, prayer, positive religious coping, and daily spiritual experiences. Multivariate statistical tests were used to examine cluster differences in health and well-being. A four-class model was identified: highly religious, moderately religious, somewhat religious, and minimally religious or non-religious. The four classes were distinctively different in psychological well-being, in that the highly religious class was most likely to be happy and satisfied with finances and least likely to be psychologically distressed.     

Typologies of Alcohol Dependence. From Jellinek to Genetics and Beyond

The goal of typology research is to identify subtypes of alcohol dependent (AD) patients sharing fundamental characteristics and try to match each subtype, with the most precise treatment strategy. This review provides a comprehensive history of the literature on alcohol dependent subtypes starting from the earliest attempt made by Jellinek. The binary models identified most closely with Cloninger and Babor as well as the successively more complex classifications are discussed. Typology classification potentially useful in guiding the treatment of AD patients, especially in the case of the serotonergic medications. Contrasting data suggests that other factors could influence the response to a medication and/or that more complex typologies should be identified. In summary, typology models may assist in the ascertainment criteria for clinical trials performed in behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic interventions. Greater emphasis, however, must be made to more clearly delineate this field of research, while moving toward more standardized typologies.