Tag Archives: John Duns Scotus
Loving Things in Themselves
The only way I know how to love God is to love what God loves. Continue Reading Loving Things in Themselves
God is Being Itself
Franciscan Ecological Wisdom God is Being Itself Wednesday, May 20, 2020 The Franciscan philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus (1266–1308), whom I studied for four years in seminary, wrote that “God first wills Christ as his supreme work.” [1] In other words, God’s “first idea” and priority was to make the Godself both visible and… Continue Reading God is Being Itself
At-one-ment, Not Atonement
Alternative Orthodoxy At-one-ment, Not Atonement Wednesday, February 5, 2020 The Franciscan view of atonement theory is a prime example of our alternative orthodoxy. The Franciscan School was dissatisfied with the popular theological idea that Jesus came to Earth as a necessary sacrifice to appease an angry God. As human consciousness advances, more and more people cannot believe that God would demand Jesus’ blood as payment for our sins. It seems to be inevitable that our old… Continue Reading At-one-ment, Not Atonement
Outpouring Love
The Universal Christ Outpouring Love Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Francis of Assisi understood that the entire circle of life had a Great Lover at the center. For Franciscan John Duns Scotus, before God is the divine Logos (rational pattern), God is Infinite and Absolute Friendship (Trinity), that is, Eternal Outpouring (Love). Love is the very nature of Being itself. God is… Continue Reading Outpouring Love
One of a Kind
Thisness One of a Kind Thursday, March 22, 2018 My friend, Sister of Saint Joseph and Professor Mary Beth Ingham, knows John Duns Scotus inside and out. Over a decade ago we spoke together at a conference in Albuquerque called Holding the Tension. Today I share her insights from Duns Scotus’ teaching of haecceity or… Continue Reading One of a Kind
Go Deep in One Place
Thisness Go Deep in One Place Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Franciscan philosopher-theologian John Duns Scotus’ idea of “thisness” mirrors Jesus leaving the ninety-nine sheep and going after the one (Luke 15:4). And, just like Jesus, Duns Scotus holds that precious, irreplaceable “one” fully inside a “commonwealth” or community, the Body of Christ. Duns Scotus does… Continue Reading Go Deep in One Place
The Scandal of the Particular
Thisness The Scandal of the Particular Monday, March 19, 2018 That Christ’s incarnation occurred improbably, ridiculously, at such-and-such a time, into such-and-such a place, is referred to—with great sincerity even among believers—as “the scandal of particularity.” Well, the “scandal of particularity” is the only world that I, in particular, know. What use has eternity for… Continue Reading The Scandal of the Particular
Irreplaceable “Thisness”
Thisness Irreplaceable “Thisness” Sunday, March 18, 2018 Each mortal thing does one thing and the same; Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells, Crying what I do is me: for that I came. —Gerard Manley Hopkins [1] Franciscan philosopher-theologian Blessed John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) taught extensively on… Continue Reading Irreplaceable “Thisness”
It Is Not Just About Us
Creation: Week 1 It Is Not Just About Us Friday, February 16, 2018 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, things visible, things invisible. . . . He is before all things and in him… Continue Reading It Is Not Just About Us
At-One-Ment, Not Atonement
Jesus of Nazareth: Week 2 At-One-Ment, Not Atonement Sunday, January 21, 2018 The common reading of the Bible is that Jesus “died for our sins”—either to pay a debt to the devil (common in the first millennium) or to pay a debt to God (proposed by Anselm of Canterbury, 1033-1109). Franciscan philosopher and theologian John… Continue Reading At-One-Ment, Not Atonement