The author defines pastoral theology as "the study of the micro-world of intrapsychic and interpersonal interactions with the tools of theology and the social sciences for the purpose of support and healing. In a typical class or supervisory session, we analyze the words, voice inflection, pace, and gestures of an intimate conversation between two people, looking for clues to the deep structure...

What is it that makes something theological education? The obvious answer for many is that it is the content. That is, it is education that is specifically about theology, about God (or, for some, about the experience of God). It is also possible to suggest that the purpose is definitive of what makes something theological education. After all, is it enough to say that knowledge is sufficient t...

The problem of unclean foods was at the heart of the first great controversy in the early church (Acts 15). Did Gentile believers have to be circumcised and keep the laws of Moses about food? The conclusions of the council of Jerusalem are recorded in Acts, but there is little explanation of the theological reasoning behind the decisions. Commentators therefore tend to regard the decree (Acts 1...

Prospects for Xenotransplantation: Identifying psychosocial and pastoral challenges Jochen Sautermeister, Richard Mathieu, Veronika Bogner Chair for Moral Theology, Catholic Theological Faculty, University Munich,

among the most important jewish encounters with other cultures and civilizations, the encounter with islamic culture was, in our view, the most important. this encounter was in some aspects like their encounter with the ancient civilization, but the impacts were more valuable and constructive. under islamic rule, the jews not only had a sense of security but also enjoyed a relatively satisfacto...

At first glance, Tertullian’s idea – that absurdity of a statement makes it more believable – sounds irrational, maybe appropriate for theology but definitely not for science. However, somewhat surprisingly, a similar idea was successfully used by the Nobelist Niels Bohr in theoretical physics – an epitome of rationality in science. In this paper, we show that this Tertullian-Bohr idea actually...

although ghazālī has not openly talked about the philosophy of theology, its components can be found in his works. as such, he regards the ultimate goal of theology to be safeguarding the religion and the assertoric or imitative belief of the religious person, preventing misconception and doubt to enter it, and preparing for the desired outcome of theology (happiness). the status of the science...