Foundational Theology: A New Approach to Catholic Fundamental Theology

375 Pages·2015·4.234 MB·English

by  Neil Ormerod and Christiaan Jacobs-Vandegeer

Foundations and insights into CatholiC theology
J
a
C F o u n d a t i o n a l
o o
Fundamental theology is the starting point for the various disciplines within Catholic theology and b r
s m
is where solid foundations are established for engagement with historical, systematic, philosophical, -V e Theology
and sacramental/liturgical theology. In Foundational Theology, Neil Ormerod and Christiaan Jacobs- a r
o
Vandegeer ground foundational theology in the normative drive toward meaning, truth, goodness, n d
d
and beauty, appropriated through religious, moral, intellectual, and psychic conversions. This work e a
g n
maps out the implications of those fundamental orientations to the specific questions and topics of e d
the Catholic theological tradition: God, Trinity, revelation, and an array of doctrinal points of inves- e
r
tigation.
Praise for Foundational Theology
“This is a very welcome book, especially at a time when an international group of theologians is col-
laborating on a new systematics in the Lonergan tradition. The renewal of theology that Lonergan
hoped and worked for has perhaps finally begun to take place.”
robert m. doran, sJ, Marquette University
“This work is a lucid, sophisticated, and persuasive reformulation of the venerable discipline of fun-
damental theology. It issues from the conviction that the authentically converted subjectivity of the
theologian provides the grounds for the truly compelling objectivity of theology. As such, it is an at-
tractive—and challenging—invitation to theology for newcomers (not to mention a salutary remind-
er for old hands). Its collaborative spirit is evident not only in its composition, but also in its provision
of a secure base from which other theological approaches can advance their distinct contributions TF
o
with methodological clarity and effectiveness. By this generous and integrative approach, Founda- h
tional Theology allows theologians to spread out across diverse specialties to see their work as part u
of a shared enterprise, one that seeks to give a coherent account of all the breadth and richness of en
Christian hope.” od
dominiC F. doyle, Boston College a
l
t
“This is the book that many of us have been waiting for. Its appeal to a notion of conversion, using oi
both Lonergan and Doran, helps us treat what is truly foundational and, for Roman Catholics, to o
move beyond a pre-Vatican II attitude of ‘apologetics’ where we offer merely rational arguments to de- gn
fend the credibility of the faith. Furthermore, clarifying notions such as the meaning of meaning, the
a
scale of values, and how to treat the situation as a source of theology, helps us all negotiate the plethora y
l
of different styles of doing theology today, from Thomism, to theologies of aesthetics, to postcolonial
feminist and liberation theologies.”
gerard Whelan, sJ, Pontifical gregorian University
neil ormerod is professor of theology in the School of Theology and member of the Institute for
Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University in Strathfield, Australia.
Christiaan JaCobs-Vandegeer is a lecturer in the School of Theology and member of the Institute for
Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia.
a new approach to catholic Fundamental theology
Religion / SySTeMa TiC Theology
neil ormerod
and
Christiaan JaCobs-Vandegeer
Foundational Theology

Foundational Theology
Neil Ormerod and
Christiaan Jacobs-Vandegeer
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
FOUNDATIONAL THEOLOGY
A New Approach to Catholic Fundamental Theology
Copyright © 2015 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in
critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner
without prior written permission from the publisher.
Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/ or write to Permissions,
Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Cover image: Mosaic from apex of apse arch: Christ. Location: S. Apollinare in
Classe, Ravenna, Italy. Photo Credit: Scala / Art Resource, NY
Cover design: Tory Herman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Print ISBN: 978-1-4514-8041-2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-0188-1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
This book was produced using Pressbooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by
PrinceXML.
Contents
Preface vii
Gerald O’Collins, SJ
Foreword xi
1. Why Theological Foundations? 1
2. Religious Conversion 27
3. Moral Conversion and the Structure of the Good 59
4. Intellectual Conversion and Meaning, Truth, and 89
Reality
5. Psychic Conversion and the Question of Beauty 123
6. God 153
7. Revelation and Divine Self-Communication 193
8. Heuristic Anticipation of Doctrines 229
Trinity, Christology, and Ecclesiology
9. The Communicative Context 255
Secularism and Religious Pluralism
10. Theological Method 289
Bibliography 319
Index 333

Preface
GeraldO’Collins,SJ
Neil Ormerod recalls precisely the meal at which I suggested to
him the value of writing a book on fundamental theology from the
perspective of Bernard Lonergan. I had just published Rethinking
Fundamental Theology: Toward a New Fundamental Theology,1 which
ended with three questions, the last question being: “How might
Lonergan’s method and, in particular, his reflections on ‘foundations’
reshape the whole discipline of fundamental theology in the third
millennium?” (343). I did not myself presume to “wrap it all up” by
attemptingtoanswerthisandtwootherquestions,whichconcerned,
respectively, a debate on historical interpretation between Hans-
GeorgGadamerandJürgenHabermasanddebatesoverthefounding
of the church.
Reading this joint work of Neil and his colleague, Christiaan
Jacobs-Vandegeer,Ihavefounditasignificantcontributionnotonly
to Lonergan studies but also to the development of fundamental
1.Gerard O’Collins, Rethinking Fundamental Theology: Toward a New Fundamental Theology
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
vii
Foundational Theology
theology. It has grown out of the conviction that conversion, in its
various forms, is the foundational reality of theology.
The book puts into sharp focus for fundamental theology not
onlywhatLonerganproposedaboutreligious,moral,andintellectual
conversion but also what Robert Doran later added about psychic
conversion and the aesthetic concerns of Hans Urs von Balthasar.
Such a fourfold conversion will enable theologians to see with the
eyes of religious love. Unconverted theologians remain theologians
who will never fulfill their mission. As the foreword to this book
puts it, they resemble “an empty gong booming, full of sound and
fury, but lacking the one thing essential.” Converted theologians,
however, are “the foundation from which all sound theology
emerges,” as our two authors state below.
If I were to name my favorite chapter in this work, which Neil
and Christiaan have coauthored, I would pick chapter 5, “Psychic
Conversion and the Question of Beauty.” Through the experience
of beauty, the splendor of meaning, truth, and value can capture
and hold our attention. What Doran has proposed about psychic
conversion and von Balthasar has developed at length about the
claims of beauty should shape deeply the practice of fundamental
theology.
Our two authors appreciate the way in which fundamental
theologians, even more than other theologians, need to share in
debates that concern foundational questions. They offer their readers
helpinnavigatingtheway“throughthecompetingclaimsofvarious
theological camps.” Neil and Christiaan provide such help for those
facing debates triggered by René Girard’s mimesis theory, by John
Milbank’s Radical Orthodoxy, and by what various writers have
arguedaboutexperienceand,inparticular,mysticisminthereligions
of the world.
In elaborating a foundational theology from a Lonergan
viii
Preface
perspective, our two authors have aimed to illustrate basic issues
rather than provide a “comprehensive” treatment. They do not, for
instance, tackle the question of the nature of scriptural inspiration
and the truth to which the Scriptures witness. But they show us
how to attend to foundational questions about God, the divine self-
revelation, human faith, and so forth. They point to ways in which
the study of foundations can anticipate something of what systematic
theology elaborates about the Trinity, the incarnation, and the
church.
All in all, I was delighted to discover not only that Neil and
Christiaan approved of my proposal about the need to develop a
fundamental theology in the light of Bernard Lonergan’s
achievement, but also how competently they have carried out this
project. I hope that their book will be widely and positively received;
I feel privileged to be associated with what they have done.
Gerald O’Collins, SJ
Australian Catholic University and the University of Divinity
(Melbourne)
ix