From Logos to Christos : essays on Christology in honour of Joanne McWilliam

283 Pages·2010·1.821 MB·English

by  Leonard, Ellen M., Merriman, Kate

FROM LOGOS TO CHRISTOS
Editions SR/Éditions SR
Editions SR/Éditions SR is a general series of books in the study of religion,
encompassing the fields of study of the constituent societies of the Canadian
Corporation for Studies in Religion/Corporation canadienne des sciences
religieuses. These societies are: Canadian Society of Biblical Studies/Société
canadienne des études bibliques; Canadian Society of Church Historic Stud-
ies/ Association canadienne des études patristiques; Canadian Society for
Study of Religion/Société canadienne pour l’étude de la religion.
General Editor
Aaron Hughes
Editions SR
Volume 34
FROM LOGOS TO CHRISTOS
Essays on Christology in Honour of Joanne McWilliam
(cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:2)
Ellen M. Leonard and Kate Merriman, editors
Wilfrid Laurier University Pressacknowledges the financial support of the Government
of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
From Logos to Christos : essays on Christology in honour of Joanne McWilliam /
Ellen M. Leonard and Kate Merriman, editors.
(Editions SR series ; vol. 34)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in electronic format.
Includes some text in French.
ISBN978-1-55458-065-1
1. Jesus Christ—Person and offices. 2. Logos (Christian theology). 3. Religion and
ethics. I. Leonard, Ellen M., 1933– II. Merriman, Kate, 1948– III. Series: Editions SR ; 34
BT198.F853 2010 232 C2010-901992-X
ISBN978-1-55458-168-9
Electronic format.
1. Jesus Christ—Person and offices. 2. Logos (Christian theology). 3. Religion and
ethics. I. Leonard, Ellen M., [date]– II. Merriman, Kate, 1948– III. Series: Editions SR ; 34
BT198.F853 2010a 232 C2010-901993-8
Cover design by Sandra Friesen. Cover photo of Joanne McWilliam courtesy of her family.
Text design by Catharine Bonas-Taylor.
©2010 Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion / Corporation Canadienne des Sciences
Religieuses and Wilfrid Laurier University Press
This book is printed on FSC recycled paper and is certified Ecologo. It is made from 100%
post-consumer fibre, processed chlorine free, and manufactured using biogas energy.
Printed in Canada
Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used
in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omis-
sions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted,
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Contents
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Foreword vii
The Right Reverend Victoria Matthews
Contributors ix
Introduction xi
Ellen Leonard, CSJ,and Kate Merriman
Part One: Christology and Tradition
1 Ancient Applied Christology: Appeals to Christ in Greek
Amulets in Late Antiquity 3
Theodore de Bruyn
2 Jesus of Canada? Four Canadian Constructions of the Christ
Figure 19
Mary Ann Beavis
3 La christologie d’un apocryphe: une christologie apocryphe?
Le cas des Actes de Thomas 39
Paul-Hubert Poirier et Yves Tissot
4 Jesus in Augustine’s Anti-Manichaean Writings 67
J. Kevin Coyle
5 The Seventh Canon of Ephesus 83
J. Robert Wright
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vi CONTENTS
6 Logos Christology Today 91
Roger Haight, SJ
7 Christ the Transformer of Culture: Augustine and Tillich 113
Peter Slater
8 Hooker on Divinization: Our Participation of Christ 137
David Neelands
9 Logos Ecclesiology Revisited: The Church of the Triune
God 151
Michael A. Fahey, SJ
Part Two: Christology and Ethics
10 Deep Christology: Ecological Soundings 163
Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ
11 Neither Male nor Female: Christology beyond Dimorphism 181
Pamela Dickey Young
12 Theological Implications of Mobile Hospitality 197
Deirdre Good
13 Jesus Died for Our Sins: Redemption as an Ethic of Risk 209
Cynthia Crysdale
14 Lord of Two Cities: Christological or Political Realism in
Augustine’s City of God? 229
Jane Barter Moulaison
Curriculum Vitae of Joanne Elizabeth McWilliam 245
Publications of Joanne Elizabeth McWilliam 247
Index 251
Foreword
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M
Y FIRST RECOLLECTIONof Joanne is as an undergrad-
uate taking a summer course taught by her at St. Michael’s College in the
1970s. I had heard so much about her, and when I took one of her courses,
it was clear that the fame was well deserved. At that time there were very
few women teaching in Religious Studies, and we were in awe. Years passed
before I would have the chance to get to know her personally, but along the
way her reputation grew and grew. The great thing about her lectures was
that she never relied on her personality or special effects to catch the classes’
interest. It was her dedication as a scholar that caught the attention and
won the respect of one and all. Even the most conservative Anglican bish-
ops listened to her, and her address at the General Synod, when the Angli-
can Church of Canada voted to ordain women to the priesthood, most
certainly influenced the vote in favour. Remember that she was speaking
as a Roman Catholic laywoman at the time.
Subsequently I remember the buzz of excitement when word spread
that Dr. Joanne McWilliam had been received into the Anglican fold and
would be teaching at Trinity College, Toronto. There was further excite-
ment when we heard she was applying for holy orders. It fell to a group of
Examining Chaplains in Toronto to interview her, and I remember well the
slightly nervous question: “Which one of us is going to quiz her on theol-
ogy?” Needless to say, the theological questions were handled beautifully.
No surprise there, but afterwards I remember all commented that prayer
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viii FOREWORD
was obviously as strong a passion for Joanne as her theology, and wasn’t
that wonderful beyond words!
Still more time passed, and I came to know Joanne as a colleague at Trin-
ity College. She was now a deacon, and the date for her ordination to the
presbyterate had been set. One day, passing in the halls of the Larkin Build-
ing, she asked me if I would teach her how to preside at the altar. The earth
moved beneath my feet.
With that history, the reader can understand how very pleased we all
were when Joanne was appointed to the Primate’s Theological Commission
of the Anglican Church of Canada. What a sheer delight to hear her and
Robert Crouse discuss Patristics. It was refreshing also to hear her engage
feminist critique and move elegantly from topic to topic as we developed
the three workbooks that the first commission published. The member-
ship of the Theological Commission was very intentionally diverse, yet the
respect afforded Joanne was universal. One had only to set foot on the
campus of General Seminary in New York to know that she was as highly
respected south of the border as in Canada.
With those very personal comments, let me state the obvious: the Church
has been blessed beyond words by the life, ministry, and theological contri-
bution of Joanne McWilliam. We have been blessed by her questions: “Can
one be a Christian and against the ordination of women?” “Can a person be
a Christian and against the blessing of same-sex unions?” The Body of Christ
was blessed by her loyalty and her love for her family and friends through
the days of controversy and darkness in the academy. And Anglicans and oth-
ers continue to be blessed by her generosity as a teacher of theology; she con-
tinued to teach as a non-stipendiary member of the Divinity faculty right up
to her final weeks of life, because she knew that teaching Augustine was
imperative to the formation of theological minds. Last but not least, the
human family was and is blessed by her deep commitment to justice. It
shone forth when she spoke with pride about the lives of her children and
grandchildren; it was evident when, just occasionally, you could get her to
talk about herself and you discovered that she read widely in the area of
social justice and lived her life in accordance with her convictions.
So thank God for the gift of Joanne McWilliam, theologian, priest, wife,
mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, and friend. May the Church honour
Joanne’s gifts and enormous contribution by being as theologically sound,
devout, and faithful as she was.
Bishop Victoria Matthews
Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand
Contributors
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Jane Barter Moulaisonis Associate Professor of Theology and Church His-
tory in the Faculty of Theology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB.
Mary Ann Beavisis Professor and Head of the Department of Religion
and Culture, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, Saska-
toon, SK.
J. Kevin Coyleis Professor of Early Church History and Patristics, Faculty
of Theology, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON.
Cynthia Crysdale is Professor of Theology and Ethics at the School of
Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, TN.
Theodore de Bruyn is Associate Professor of Religous Studies, Depart-
ment of Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
Pamela Dickey Youngis Professor of Religious Studies, Queen’s Univer-
sity, Kingston, ON.
Michael A. Fahey, SJ,is Research Professor of Theology, Boston College,
Chestnut Hill, MA.
Deirdre Goodis Professor of New Testament, General Theological Semi-
nary, New York City, NY.
Roger Haight, SJ, is Scholar-in-Residence, Union Theological Seminary,
New York City, NY.
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