The Dialectics of Creation: Creation and the Creator in Edward Schillebeeckx and David Burrell

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This book investigates the philosophical components of Christian faith in creation, by analyzing the distinction and the relation between creation and its Creator.The writings of Edward Schillebeeckx and David Burrell supply a terminology of distinction and relation that shapes the discourse, following in the footsteps of Aquinas. Poulsom elucidates the relational dialectic in the thought of Schillebeeckx as a way of thinking about the Creation and offers a helpful comparison with the thought of David Burrell. Relational dialectic is an organizing principle, not only of Schillebeeckx’s account of creation, but of his philosophical theology more generally. It can operate as a hermeneutic for his material on praxis and humanism, in a way that resolves some problems noted by other Schillebeeckx scholars. Poulsom's interpretation of Schillebeeckx enriches current approaches to this thinker and offers a significant contribution to thinking on the doctrine of Creation and issues surrounding the 'ontological distinction' which is of major concern in philosophical theology today. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations used Preface Introduction The importance of creation Creation and philosophical theology A project for today What their project is not What their project is Rules for discourse about creation 1 The Structure of Discourse A task for contemporary philosophical theology Opposing oppositions Pairing diff erence and relation Tending towards difference and sameness Privileging difference Difference and distinction as interchangeable Privileging the negative Relation and relationship as interchangeable Directional sensitivity Beyond difference and sameness Between difference and sameness Forming a community of argument Functional complementarity and theological schools 2 Investigating Complementarity I: Common Ground Non-contrastive accounts Sources Specifying misunderstandings of creation Pantheism Panentheism Dualism Emanationism Creation is not an explanation Creation is not just initiation God is not a thing The language of creation Burrell on ‘the distinction’ Is ‘the distinction’ specifically Christian? Distinction and difference Directionality issues Burrell on ‘the relation’ Relation and relationship Directionality issues Intentionality Non-duality Schillebeeckx on ‘the distinction’ Is ‘the distinction’ specifically Christian? Distinction and Difference Directionality issues Schillebeeckx on ‘the relation’ Relation and relationship The relationship of faith 3 Investigating Complementarity II: Complementary Emphases and Dialectic Balancing ‘the distinction’ and ‘the relation’ Reading Burrell as prioritizing ‘the distinction’ Reading Schillebeeckx as prioritizing ‘the relation’ Other functionally complementary themes The directionality of presence Hope and optimism Apophatic and kataphatic aspects Moving towards dialectic The dialectics of ‘the distinction’ and ‘the relation’ Burrell’s dialectic Schillebeeckx’s dialectic The characteristics of relational dialectic Mediated immediacy Continuity and change 4 Relational Dialectic in Schillebeeckx’s Philosophical Theology Schillebeeckx’s method of correlation Praxis Praxis and practice as interchangeable The relational dialectic of theory and practice Praxis is more than practice What comes first? Praxis as a way of life Schillebeeckx’s way of doing theology The relational dialectic of mysticism and politics Correlating mysticism and politics The role of theology Active and passive aspects Praxis and ethics Humanism Christian and atheistic secular humanism – distinct and related Critical affirmation: The value of atheistic secular humanism Critical negativity: The inadequacy of atheistic secular humanism The relational dialectic of finitude and contingency Critical positivity: The inexhaustible surplus of Christian humanism Schillebeeckx’s Sequela Sequela Jesu Sequela Aquinas Sequela Irenaeus 5 Schillebeeckian Relational Dialectic I: Aquinas on Analogy Aquinas and analogy What analogy is not What analogy is Aquinas’s accounts of analogy A proposed reading of Aquinas on analogy Summa Theologiae Ia, 13, 5 Three terms or two? 13, 5 in context – What is the unum? What is the middle term? Analogical relations Analogy in De Veritate and the Summa Theologiae A Schillebeeckian reading An analogia entis ? Defending the reading Hemming on Schillebeeckx Schillebeeckx’s project Schillebeeckx on analogy in Aquinas 6 Schillebeeckian Relational Dialectic II: Prospects for Philosophical Theology Participation and creation in Aquinas The possibilities of participation Linking philosophy and theology Linking beatitude and sanctification Linking beatitude and sanctification with creation Seamlessness in theological themes Divine and human action The underdetermination of creation The underdetermination of God Divine and human freedom The relational dialectic of freedom and commitment The causal connection and God’s knowledge Making a better future and creating the world Bibliography Index