Can be taken on a biblical commandment, one-to-one from the gospel, and in today’s time? Dominican father Bernhard Kohl is in the contribution of the Catholic Church, a Problem of theological ethics.
“What therefore God has joined together, man must not separate.” – The gospel text that is read in the Catholic Church this Sunday in worship (Mk 10,2-16), is kind of a tricky place in the gospel of mark. It’s about the question of divorce and remarriage. It speaks to a current point of discussion in the Catholic Church – a sensitive issue, especially as remarriages in the Orthodox and Protestant churches.
The Text points out, however, in addition, a General Problem of theological ethics: A biblical commandment of the difficulties when you bring it with our present, our reality. First of all, the following Alternatives offer themselves, with the biblical Text:
- Either, I can assume, that the word of God must be accepted in the Bible as literally as possible and applied. These “fundamental” variation quickly leads to contradictions and difficulties.
- Or, I could alternatively assume that in the Scriptures the word of God by human authors in human language, and cultural contexts has been taken. Then I must interpret the Bible contained experience of people with God-but always and ever new in the current historical and cultural context, and to come to results that allow me to recognize the will of God, to capture and to make it liveable.
In the practice of life, God know
The Dutch Dominican theologian Lodge of Edward Schillebeeckx (1914-2009), an important Advisor to the Second Vatican Council, has clearly chosen the second Alternative. He developed a philosophical approach that he described as a “critical practice”. By this, he meant that the practice of life, that is to say, the very concrete experience of life, of people, of theology. Life practice, and life experience are the Places where the people of God. As humans, we have only this possibility.
Schillebeeckx thought, therefore, about how we can in our time, in our everyday lives, in our culture, directions for our Actions, with the message of Jesus, with the gospel compatible. The result of his thinking consists of three of the heed values of aspects:
First, it is assumed possible from a religious Text, you would have to only apply as directly as possible and unchanged from the Bible, and then deal with it then. On the contrary, Where history about the man will be thought to forget, is in the negative, a very important factor. Humans are only as historical beings. God himself has a history in his incarnation and in time. The place where man can find God is within history, in the Here and Now. So I can only detect under the conditions of my time, which helps us to find God and to go his way. Such a realization can differ from the one previously lived Tradition, or rather a new Tradition to justify.
Secondly, in a Similar way as the evaluation of an action for the determination of the people. Man does not determine for all time to categorize and drawers to classify. Well-being we can always determine from a temporal context – that is, the different ways of thinking show about the people who gave it in the course of history. For Schillebeeckx is clear: If man is an image of God, he must be more than a restorer or conservator of the Tradition. Then he needs to go be creative, that is creatively New, new way. Also in reference to the Considerations of the essence of man, is that new traditions can be initiated.
In the Here and Now God’s salvation know
Thirdly, Schillebeeckx is not naive. He knows that life in ambiguity, can be in diversity with grief, uncertainty, and even pain and anxiety associated. However, we need to deal with it. Probably there is also just a way for us to exist with this variety, which is to reach the open exchange and discussion with others about their experiences, with the goal of a larger humanity. Such humanity means that, for Schillebeeckx, selflessly for others, in trust, that such a use is significant. Moreover, such a humanity to it is to live without suspicion in the Here and Now, in the confidence that we know in the Here and Now the salvation of God.
These three points can be a kind of key, with the section of text from the gospel of mark deal with the sections in our own lives.
About The Author:
Bernhard Kohl OP, Dr. theol., Assistant Professor, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. Research and publications on the topics of Vulnerability, recognition, Post -, and TRANS-humanism.