Are the Bundle Theory and the Substratum Theory Really Twin Brothers?

In a recent paper, Jiri Benovsky argues that the bundle theory and the substratum theory, traditionally regarded as ‘deadly enemies’ in the metaphysics literature, are in fact ‘twin brothers’. That is, they turn out to be ‘equivalent for all theoretical purposes’ upon analysis. The only exception, according to Benovsky, is a particular version of the bundle theory whose distinguishing features render unappealing. In the present reply article, I critically analyse these undoubtedly relevant claims, and reject them.

Pope Benedict XVI and the Church in China

ABSTRACT

Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to the Church in China in 2007 emphasises the importance of papal authority, the relationship between local and universal churches, and the appointment of bishops. This article highlights Pope Benedict’s centrist ecclesiology, which had been normative for the Catholic Church since he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1981 to 2005). In spite of his conservative stance regarding church doctrine, he was open to dialogue with the Chinese authorities. He understood the complexities of the Chinese Church, the hardship and predicament faced by the faithful.     

Chapter 9: A Christian Education for the Spiritual Growth of Senior Adults

SUMMARY

Spiritual maturity among older adults is not automatic. The achievement of this most significant and worthy goal is, in part, an individual's choice. However, it is assisted by the deliberate efforts of Christian education, as a church seeks to meet the needs of seniors by appealing to their life concerns. How this is done may vary, but the needs and interests of senior adults dictate that it must be done. This article provides an overview of older adults' needs as they relate to spiritual development, and then offers some general suggestions a church might consider for guiding them toward spiritual maturity.     

显学、子学与义理之学:宋代易学特点概述

宋代是易学史上的重要阶段,出现了许多重要的易学著作,易学成为经学研究中的显学.宋代理学家几乎都是借易学建立自己的理学体系,经学研究因而呈现出子学的特征.同时,在易学研究的象数与义理的两大方向中,义理之学成为宋代易学的主流.     

Homo Hierarchicus and ecclesial order

Abstract

To argue that the concept of hierarchy is a profoundly theological concept is peculiarly difficult at the present time in which there is a general assumption that all hierarchies are hierarchies of power, intrinsically oppressive, and incompatible with human freedom. Consequently there is a deep-seated suspicion of the notion whenever it is invoked – not least in the context of church ‘order’. Such a suspicion would have been inexplicable to those writers from whom we gain our earliest knowledge of the Christian Church. Though we cannot, nor should we try to, recreate the conditions of earlier ages in which the concept was understood with a richness and depth that are lacking in our own age, it is vital to expose the contemporary misuse and degradation of the concept and see that, in the life of the Church, the concept of hierarchy is not intended to be an articulation of power, but an eschatological expression of order. The recognition of the inhuman abuse of the concept down the ages should not blind us to the truth that its purpose is to act sacramentally as a sign of the heavenly kingdom.     

Lumen Gentium No. 8, and Subsistit in, Again

Francis A. Sullivan says that the one Church of Christ continues to exist perfectly in the Catholic Church, and is present imperfectly in other churches and ecclesial communities. However, he thinks Lumen Gentium 8 also enables us to say that the many churches, non-Catholic and Catholic, are all in the one Church of Christ, since to say the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church means no more than "continues to exist in" the Catholic Church. In this way, he denies the identity of the one Church of Christ and the Catholic Church. We point out that magisterial documents since Vatican II have consistently refused this proposal, and have instead spoken only of the one Church being present or operative, according to degrees, in non-Catholic churches and communities. We argue that while it is true there is "ecclesial reality" outside the Catholic Church, in that there are elements of truth and sanctification outside of her, the one Church of Christ of which Vatican II expressly speaks is the Church with all the gifts of unity and instruments for salvation with which Christ endowed it. The Catholic Church is not contained in any larger divinely willed and dominically instituted ecclesial reality, and it is without qualification the one Church of Christ and the one Church of Christ is without qualification the Catholic Church.     

Aristotle on God as Principle of Genesis

Aristotle holds that there must be multiple forms of human being and those forms constitute a genos, this paper argues. Aristotle advances his claim by arguing that the strength of a polis rests on the existence of a spectrum of useful essential differences among its citizens. The paper rejects the notion that eîdos is a homonym, and argues that it signifies `form,' not `species.' Its theses are based on analysis of passages in the Ethics, Metaphysics, Politics and other works. The argument of the paper is compatible with `individual' or `particular' forms. The paper also proposes a solution to the issue of `natural slavery.'