An important critique of a “public” model of theological discourse has appeared in the work of a group of thinkers in the analytic tradition sometimes called “Wittgensteinian Fideists.” This paper explores the model of theology representative of the Wittgensteinian Fideists, particularly that found in the work of D. Z. Phillips and Paul Holmer. Three themes are examined: the relationship between theology and ordinary language, the role of faith in theology, and the justification of theological claims. Each theme is then summarized and critically assessed in an effort to show the limitations in the Wittgensteinian model of theology and some of the ways in which an understanding of theological method can be carried beyond the point where the Wittgensteinian Fideists leave it.

In order to overcome the fragmentation between science and theology, interdisciplinary criteria for meaning must be established. This task is made more complex because of increasing pluralism in the theoretical foundations both of science and of theology. In addition to the traditional coherence and correspondence criteria, the meaningfulness of an idea emerging out of a particular discipline should be directly related to the breadth of its generalized applicability in diverse disciplines. In the article, the thematic content of holistic quantum physics is explicated in order to explore the implications of quantum theory vis-à-vis Christian anthropology. I argue that quantum physics offers scientific foundations for affirming the holistic approach to human existence rooted in the Biblical tradition.

An interest in the validity and importance of religion has led some social scientists to try to change some of the common assumptions of their discipline. In doing so, they have made statements, such as “Religion is true,” which invite analysis and response from the context of the traditional Ontological Argument. Recasting the argument in the vocabulary of the social sciences also sheds new light on traditional discussions of it.

Process theology, inspired by the thought of Alfred North Whitehead, and liberation theology, prompted by the experience of oppression in Latin America, are two distinct and separate forms of contemporary Christian theology that both provoke and compel our attention. Although they vary dramatically in the standpoints from which they speak, the audiences to whom they speak, and the languages with which they speak, process and liberation theologies nonetheless share some striking similarities of viewpoint that bear ethical import. The author thus details their positions on existence in community, freedom and creativity, and resonsibility for the future, as well as the differences noted above, and claims that it is on ethical grounds that their contributions are most profound and their potential impact most far-reaching.

There are three basic theoretical approaches to the study of literature and religion that can profitably be appropriated by the religious critic of cinema—heteronomy, theonomy, and autonomy; but the greatest of these is autonomy, which explores those dimensions of the formal structure of film that represent the visual analogue of religious or sectarian questions. Inasmuch as all of our culturally typical films are stories, the autonomy of film is preserved if the religious critic approaches film as visual story. The extremes of story, myth and parable, yield substructures that correspond to differing responses to the fundamental religious questions about our relationship to the universe, to others, and to ourselves. Moreover, certain cinematic elements are more suitable than others for the visual representation in story of our basic religious concerns.

This essay examines the relationship of aesthetic and religious experience as evidenced by the poetry and yoga of Sri Aurobindo. The fundamental thesis is that the poetic process is transformative and as such is analogous to yoga. Governed by imagination, the poetic experience reveals itself in the categories of symbol and image. Aesthesis being directed by imagination involves not merely the cognitive but also the affective and volitional aspects of the human: a key moment of integration and therefore, of transformation. The development of Aurobindo's work and the transformation of his consciousness by imagination provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between imagination and myth. Two principal insights emerge. First, the goal of the yogic and poetic processes is the transformation of consciousness. Second, the individual's act of aspiration and surrender is neither unconscious nor a giving up of consciousness. Rather, the action of aspiration and surrender as the conscious and voluntary acceptance of the operation of imagination grounds the entire process: poetic, philosophic and yogic.

This article describes an interdisciplinary, team-taught introduction to the urban situation, called “The Unseen City.” The course began two years ago, as a three-credit follow-up to a popular Notre Dame program called “Urban Plunge,” through which undergraduates visit inner cities across the United States and experience urban problems firsthand. The aim of “The Unseen City” is to foster greater understanding of the complexities of the city, primarily through economic, political, and theological perspectives; and to allow students the opportunity to pursue their own particular interests in this field. To accomplish this, the course includes three major components: “experiential,” of which the Urban Plunge is the main element; “academic”—the class sessions, readings, assignments, and exams; and “specialized,” primarily accomplished through an open-ended student research activity. Each of these components is separately discussed, and the final section comments on some of the advantages and disadvantages of the unusual structures of the course, especially the team-teaching format and the expectations placed on students. A syllabus, with a partial reading list, is also included.