Noah J. Toly and Daniel I. Block,eds. Keeping God's Earth: The Global Environment in Biblical Perspective

Abstract

Ted Peters rightly rejects, on biblical and theological grounds, the understanding of kenosis presumably endorsed by Niels Gregersen (and with him Jürgen Moltmann, John Polkinghorne and Arthur Peacocke) as divine withdrawal from creation (tsim tsum). That said, a second version of kenosis, one more consistent with Scripture and early patristic theology, meets Peters' criticism by presenting kenosis not as a creative withdrawal of divine power but as a self-negation on the part of God that results in the generation of created reality along with God's reappearance and presence in it, albeit in another form. This is the kenosis-plerosis model, one according to which God gives history its momentum and empowers finite beings as a consequence of God's own self-negation; this would make possible a way for Gregersen meaningfully to affirm God's action at higher levels of nature without violating nature's integrity, even though it does so in a heterodox way.     

The RNA World and Divine Action in and Through Quantum Mechanics

ABSTRACT

Life emerged on Earth approximately 4.1 billion years ago. Current scholarship on the origin of life supports the RNA world scenario, although controversy still goes on. This article examines the origin issue in light of a divine action theory proposed by Robert J. Russell. Although the author himself has not much considered the issue in light of the divine action, the article is still fruitful in the sense that the origin of life issue is now incorporated into the dialogue with divine action, and also that Russell’s divine action theory can be reconsidered in a new context.     

Toynbee's Frantic Quest for Survival

ABSTRACT

Data from life review interviews with elder Catholic women religious show that through prayer they are able to experience solitude and to feel connected with others. Their experience is not completely explained by either the disengagement theory nor by the newer theory of gerotranscendence. Because prayer connects them to others, they do not experience complete social withdrawal; rather, prayer functions as a modified social activity connecting them to their past, to God, to the community in which they live, as well as to the wider world. They also do not develop a new transcendent meta-perspective, but deepen into cherished life beliefs and practices, accepting and becoming more fully who they are as individuals and as older women.     

Transcendental Relationships? A Theological Reflection on Cybersex and Cyber-relationships

Abstract

Cybersex, i.e. sexual interactions through new media such as chat clients or email, is a phenomenon that combines two important developments of contemporary society: its increased mediatization through communication and information technologies (ICT), and the new importance that sexuality seems to have in many people's lives. Rather than an opposition between the offline and online world, a closer look at cybersex activities reveals a continuity between "real" and "virtual" realities. This paper proposes a theological reflection on some aspects of cybersex that have an immediate bearing on theological anthropology and its thinking about human existence in relation to a transcendent reality, God: the role of imagination, the relationship between body and mind, the transformed understanding of space and time and the dimension of play and fantasy in cybersex.     

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”: humour,religion and wellbeing

This essay explores the relationship between humour, religion, and wellbeing. It surveys some historical and contemporary psychological approaches to humour, and examines the empirical findings on the relationship between humour and health. It notes the historical antipathy between religion and humour, and argues that this is based on an incomplete analysis of the complexities of both religion and humour, including the chronological aspects of phase in the life of a religion or religious movement, and the capacity of humour both to conserve and subvert received wisdom of the faith tradition. Finally, it argues that aspects of both humour and religion are associated with transcendence, and that this maybe a helpful a conceptual bridge linking the two.     

Psychological-type theory and Christian theology: a conflict between implicit and explicit religions?

This study analyses the relationship between psychological-type theory and Christian theology through the lens of implicit religion, drawing on the conceptualisation of implicit religion proposed by Edward Bailey, on the methodology for identifying implicit religion proposed by Tatjana Schnell, and on an heuristic framework derived from systematic theology. The case is argued that psychological-type theory can be conceptualised as implicit religion and implicit theology in a way that enables dialogue (and conflict) between psychological-type theory and Christian theology to be reconceptualised within the established field of the theology of religions.     

EcoWellness: The Missing Factor in Holistic Wellness Models

A growing body of multidisciplinary literature has delineated the benefits that natural environments have on physical and mental health. Current wellness models in counseling do not specifically address the impact of nature on wellness or how the natural world can be integrated into counseling. The concept of EcoWellness is presented as the missing link in wellness models and counseling. Integrating EcoWellness in counseling provides new and potentially powerful interventions to enhance wellness across the life span.     

EMERGENCE FROM PHYSICS TO THEOLOGY: TOWARD A PANORAMIC VIEW

Abstract. At its best, the emergence debate provides a helpful model of what religion‐science scholarship can and should involve. (At its worst it represents the faddishness and bandwagon effects to which our field is also prone.) Those involved in the debate must pay close attention to concrete theories and results in the natural sciences. They rely on the careful conceptual distinctions that philosophers of science draw concerning complexity, novelty, and organization. The resulting views about human mentality and consciousness are tested against these results and checked for their adequacy to the phenomena of human experience. Emergentist theories of nature and personhood have entailments for one's theory of religion and for theological reflection; conversely, theological accounts may constrain one's interpretation of emergent phenomena. In my response to the four symposiasts I draw out these deeper dimensions of the emergence debate.     

Psychology of Religion: What One Needs to Know

This essay is an introduction to systematic nonsectarian psychology of religion—its nature and scope, and its history. Among major issues, the study of motivation for being religious and stages of religious development are discussed, as well as counseling and psychotherapy. I summarize current trends.     

Spirituality in Disability and Illness

Spirituality appears with increasing frequency in the research literature, and a paradigm involving mind-body-spirit interaction is emerging. The relationship of spirituality to disability and illness is at the center of a growing body of knowledge. A comprehensive literature review supported spirituality as coping method among individuals experiencing a variety of illnesses including hypertension, pulmonary disease, diabetes, chronic renal failure, surgery, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, polio and addictive illnesses. Additionally, spirituality is a resource when dealing with critical illness as well as terminal illness and end of life issues, and it is utilized by both patients, and family members. Discussion of research findings, implications for health care practice and future research is also presented.