For the theologically inclined, a pop quiz: Whose theology does the following sentence describe?

"The human person only understands his or her identity to the extent that he or she is open to a relationship with Christ. Christology is deemed necessary for any adequate anthropology."

Hint: The name starts with "B".

ANSWER: Les jeux sont faits. (Bueller reference: drink!) The sentence is a description of current papal theology from the book nicely encapsulated here by Ryan Anderson.

The quotation is curious because the sentence sounds like it was pulled straight from some Barth 101 lecture notes. Open up his Church Dogmatics to III.2, the section on anthropology, and there in boldface are the words: "As the man Jesus is Himself the revealing Word of God, He is the source of our knowledge of the nature of man as created by God." What follows is a lengthy unpacking of the idea that only through Christ can we know what we, as humans, truly are. This in contrast to the notion that we first go to external anthropologies and attempt then to blend them with Christian faith.

In the long run (face it we must), most people aren't going to read Karl Barth. On a popular level, however, the way most people will make contact with Barth's ideas may, ironically enough, be thanks (via Balthasar) to Pope Benedict XVI. Is it possible, as some at the analogia entis conference seemed to cautiously imply, that the safest place to be a Barthian today is the Catholic church?

Conversely, for popular level Protestantism, consider one de facto Protestant spokesperson Anne Lamott in a mock - but nevertheless real - Sunday School teacher showdown with Catholic Colbert.

the upside of ugly

Something positive may have come out of the abortion art antics. Consider that it makes Christian offers to write the art world a blank check look increasingly ridiculous. In short, the Tillichian paradigm, which I've tried to criticize here and more recently here (self-link: drink!), has passed its expiration date.

Things, however, may be changing. I'm aware of no "Go sister" Christian endorsements (if they're out there, don't tell me). Moreover, new confidence can be found in insightful analyses from First Things and Image. Ian Marcus Corbin laments the intellectual disarmament that incapacitates Shvarts' would-be critics, and Lucas Kwong bemoans the eclipse of art as "an autonomous object of beauty, subject to neither politics nor profit."

Add these to Dan Siedell's directing us toward a more Pauline (the apostle, that is) mode of engagement, and we have an encouraging prognosis of Christians and contemporary art. Not grumpy, but guarded; not yelling, but yawning; not seeking to siphon, but to give.

UPDATE: Michael J. Lewis chimes in with some measured reflections:

"It is often said that great achievement requires in one's formative years two teachers: a stern taskmaster who teaches the rules and an inspirational guru who teaches one to break the rules. But they must come in that order. Childhood training in Bach can prepare one to play free jazz and ballet instruction can prepare one to be a modern dancer, but it does not work the other way around. One cannot be liberated from fetters one has never worn; all one can do is to make pastiches of the liberations of others."

Round-up

College roommates of mine may remember the "Basta ya, no mas brutalidad" signs I came home with from Chicago protests. The rush of fraternizing with what was left of the black panther party was just that, a rush. That's why R.R. Reno, in Opium and Revolution, is so right about why Marx was so wrong. Revolution is the drug; religion the smelling salt.

Also, in light of John Henry Newman's pending beatification, don't neglect this quote of his (via Oakes) that summarizes so much of Newman's project, a project that turns pluralism on its head:

"[T]he doctrine of a Trinity is found both in the East and in the West; so is the ceremony of washing; so is the rite of sacrifice. The doctrine of the Divine Word is Platonic; the doctrine of the Incarnation is Indian; of a divine kingdom is Judaic; of Angels and demons is Magian [Zoroastrian]; the connection of sin with the body is Gnostic; celibacy is known to Bonze and Talapoin [Burmese and Cambodian Buddhists]; a sacerdotal order is Egyptian; the idea of a new birth is Chinese and Eleusinian [pagan Greek]; belief in sacramental virtue is Pythagorean; and honors to the dead are a polytheism.... [Yet] So far from her creed being of doubtful credit because it resembles foreign theologies, we even hold that one special way in which Providence has imparted divine knowledge to us has been by enabling her to draw and collect it together out of the world."

Furthermore, should one not have time to work through the Benedict addresses, this quote I came across from Carl A. Anderson adequately encapsulates his pontifical teaching thus far: "His encyclicals make a great effort to explain why... Christian hope differs from simple optimism or the secular idea of progress, and why Christian charity differs from government welfare or social services."

And finally, a few shots of Princeton in Spring.

The Pope pics are in! The texts (PDF file) are even better.

We were indebted for our tickets to the Sisters of Life, hence our group paid them a visit the next day. Mass at the convent had some 57,525 less people than Yankee Stadium (there were about 20 of us), yet strangely, it was far more intense.

an ornithology of art

My diagnosis of contemporary art, an ecumenical cure, along with an homage to my undergrad art history professor can all be found in the current feature article of the Catholic literary journal Dappled Things. Don't miss the rest of the issue as well.

Analogia Entis conference

When seeking clarity on a controversial issue, a heavy-hitting theology conference is not the first place to go. But for the time spent with friends, and the chance to see professionals articulate matters so much more knowledgably than I, it was well worth the trip. I came away with a better grasp of what generates both my admiration and anxiety with Karl Barth, and with a glimpse of the possibilities when perspicacious Catholics appropriate his best insights. Reinhard Hütter may have been onto something when he said the issue is not as divisive as it's made out to be, and is far from the top of the ecumenical priority list.

While it would be preposterous to attempt to sum up the nuance and sophistication of the entire weekend in one photograph, perhaps I did so above. That or I'm on the shortlist to be Thomas Kinkade's staff photographer.

Lest the message of that summarizing photograph seem too Catholic, at least I didn't pick this one.

UPDATE: Perhaps this photo encapsulates the conference even more adequately.