This article explores sources in the Christian tradition that can be helpful for re-shaping present Roman Catholic ecclesial polity. The underlying theme is that the Catholic Church, in order to enhance efforts at church reform, needs to re-structure itself from a monarchical polity to a democratic one. A theological subtheme argues that the monarchical polity is not mandated by the gospel, but is rather a creature of history. Furthermore, the monarchical polity is a root cause obstructing reform in specific areas. By selecting loci from early church history to the present time, democratic movements and ideas are highlighted as constituting an important part of Catholic history. Certain of these loci have not yet been examined for their democratic potential. This democratic tradition can be a springboard for moving toward a democratic church in the twenty-first century.

With the revolutions in Eastern Europe precipitating a radical transformation of the Cold War which has dominated East-West relations for the past half century, there is a need and an opportunity to examine anew the processes and structures of modern warfare. By constructing a model of the Cold War as an addictive system in which the Americans and the Soviets have cooperated as “nuclear” codependents in the addictive process of the arms race it may be possible to gain a more realistic (dynamic and systemic) understanding of the forces driving global militarism as well as some insights into the dangers which lie ahead as the United States attempts to withdraw and recover from this reality.

The debate about salvation history brings to the surface a variety of issues, problems, and proposals that can be designated with some justice postmodern. In an effort to explore these contested issues, I offer a composite portrait of the meaning and uses of the concept of salvation history, drawing attention to its importance for recent Roman Catholic theology. I then review the various kinds of criticism leveled against salvation history models in an attempt to show that Peter Hodgson's contention is warranted: that is, the concept salvation history is problematic both as a category for interpreting the scriptural witness and as a pivotal category for fundamental and systematic theology. Thus, postmodernity, understood in broad terms, should mean the end of salvation history. The final section will explore how the legitimate concerns that generated interest in salvation history models can be recast in light of these broader postmodern approaches.

The Bible has two different ways of speaking about two objects of God's love: Israel and Zion. Israel is masculine, and Zion/Jerusalem is feminine. The difference between the two is more visible in Hebrew which distinguishes masculine and feminine in the verbs as well as in the adjectives. Neglect of this gender distinction by calling Israel “she” leads to distortion of biblical speech and thought, and to misunderstanding the Bible's image for the relation between God and Israel. Recognition of biblical usage and its gendered expression ought to precede theological reflection.

This essay is a comparison of the teachings of Socrates and Jesus on non-retaliation and love of enemies as they appear in Crito 47c-49d and Republic I, 331e-336a, and in Matthew 5:38-48 and Luke 6:27-36. It asks in each case precisely what the authors meant and how they grounded their conclusions.

Socrates held that one must never do harm to another even in return for harm received. His arguments were based on his general theory of virtue and on certain ambiguities in Greek ethical language. Ultimately the arguments are based on a form of self-interest; retaliation is a form of injustice and hence harmful to the one who practices it. He does not propose a doctrine of general non-violence, nor does he ever say that one must actually love one's enemy.

The gospel texts go beyond simple non-retaliation and make positive love of all enemies, inside and outside the community, an absolute command of Jesus. It is a positive attitude and is not based on hope of love in return. God will reward it, but the primary motive is imitation of the Heavenly Father, whose daughters and sons the disciples are. Enemy love does not give them this status; rather it flows from the fact of discipleship.

Momentary divine instigations or seeds of love, liberty, and self-realization are showered down upon us inviting us to contemplation, conversion, and commitment. Contemplation knows God as the source of these instigations, and also knows them as a flow of opportunities by which we may respond to God in love. Merton calls these instigations “missions,” or “seeds of contemplation.” They are identical to Whitehead's “initial aims.” Whitehead's distinction of the “initial aim” and the “subjective aim” is important: each moment of emergent human existence is constituted by the tension of these two aims. The “initial aim” is taken in by the newly forming subject and redirected somewhat; that is, the new actual entity modifies the freedom it receives with the freedom of its own subjective decision. The new project designed by the actual entity out of the “initial aim” is called the “subjective aim.” The initial aim is the spark of givenness from God by which the new entity originates, and the subjective aim is the appropriation and redirection of this energy on the part of the new actual entity. The reality of contemplation involves attention to the initial aims, while conversion is concerned with the process by which the initial aim becomes the subjective aim.

John Henry Newman's thoughts about education extend far beyond that philosophy of university education which is developed in his famous Idea of a University. He was acutely aware that the relationship between teachers and learners is fundamentally a social relationship, and one that can take various social forms. What he most admired was a highly personal and deeply sympathetic relationship, and what he most feared was its replacement by impersonal institutional structures. His convictions in this regard have deep roots in his personal experience, as well as in his interpretation of history and theology. To examine those roots both enlarges one's appreciation of Newman's educational wisdom and sharpens one's insight into his complex personality.

Recent criticism of higher education challenges professors to facilitate learning which involves critical thinking, self-awareness, social consciousness, creativity, and interdisciplinary perspective. The ancient art of alchemy, which antedated post-Newtonian scientific categorizations, was directed toward much more than the transmutation of base metals into precious ones. As a process involving philosophical and religious views brought to bear on self-improvement as well as the improvement of all creation, alchemy may function as an appropriate metaphor for learning which is transformative of both learners and their environments. A psychological interpretation of alchemical pursuits facilitates an understanding of transformation in this way. Higher education is thus directed toward and affirmed in its mission of fostering in students a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to knowledge and skills which may be utilized both personally and socially.