Shifting Contexts
Asynchronous Session
The Art of Robert Campbell: A Liberating Spiritual Praxis
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Judith Huacuja
This study, derived from a book proposal, examines the art of Robert Campbell (1948-1995), whose work in the 1980s and 90s developed complex perspectives on intercultural dialogue and social innovation within American art. Deeply informed by Latino Catholic texts and rituals, Campbell’s art installations uniquely combined spiritual and activist practices that built engaged communities of solidarity and inspired significant contributions to humanitarian work he led in Belize, Texas, and Guatemala. Throughout his career, this Houston-based artist, neurologist, and vowed Dominican brother combined literature, music, art, and ritual performance to actively engage audiences in issues of poverty and injustice while powerfully conveying a sense of Liberation Theology’s ‘liberating praxis.’ Campbell spoke frequently of this lived praxis as always constituted through personal reflection, communal interaction, and direct action. The powerful influence of his art actions sought to enliven such a ‘liberating praxis.’ In one way, the effectiveness of this art can be measured through the success of his humanitarian organization, Sociedad de San Martin de Porres (SSMP). The artist/physician created this non-profit medical group to provide health care, medical provisions, construction of health clinics, and education in Central America. This research examines the artistic and spiritual praxis based on extensive interviews with the artist. This artistic activity engaged a reciprocal exchange of values across cultures, fostering independent and co-equal gifts of renewal across borders.
Featured Tri-Kinesis: The Three Movement Theological Anthropology of Dionysius the Areopagite View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Noah Karger
Theological anthropology has often revolved around questions of parts, like how many (e.g.: monism, dichotomism, trichotomism) and which (e.g.: soul, body, spirit). While these questions are essential, they tend to evince a metaphysical prioritization of space over time. However, as creaturely beings, we know no such thing as space without time, substance sans event. This reality, I argue, is apt for theological anthropology, and invites an approach to the problem of human persons by way of space and time. I therefore propose the category of movement—along with the classical categories of soul, body, and spirit—as germane to the work of defining humans’ basic composition. Dionysius the Areopagite enumerates three soul-movements which I demonstrate as aptly organizing the human person’s event, so to speak: inner, lateral, and vertical. According to Dionysius, these soul-movements are caused by the Good and Beautiful, “the source, the origin, the preserver, the goal, and the objective of rest and motion,” (705B) and are akin to that of divine intelligences, which are like that of God. In this way, the soul-movements are part and parcel of the imago Dei. Locating human identity not only in her parts but also in these movements—which are spheres of relation—we rightly elevate the telos of the imago Dei to its proper place: not only in her likeness with God but by way of and for the sake of communion with God.
Answering The Polycrisis Through Covenantal Pluralism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Iqbal Akhtar
The multiple interconnected challenges humanity now faces have been most recently described in European economics as polycrisis, roughly corresponding as an analytical paradigm to the US Army’s development of VUCA. From a theological perspective, polycrisis is the modern articulation of the ancient question of theodicy, the problem of evil and human suffering. Polycrisis has become an unwieldy catch-all for every crisis we now face. This paper attempts to more narrowly define it, explore a few key dimensions that drive it, and describe one possible solution, covenantal pluralism, as a novel way of addressing the polycrisis through self and social cultivation of spiritual intelligence. Developing spiritual intelligence through covenantal pluralism can help unlock the human spiritual imaginary's potential in ideating and implementing solutions to overcome the collective action problem in answering this existential risk and further human flourishing.
Imploring the Aid of Almighty God: An Integration of Theology and Constitution for the Voter Education Curriculum in the Philippines View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Brian James Rodriguez
This paper provides an integration of theology and constitution in the voter education program of Bawat Isa Mahalaga (B1M) Movement, a faith-based movement in the Philippines that advocates for justice, human dignity, and righteous governance. The study explores the theological position of the B1M movement that every human person is created in God’s image to govern as stated in the creation narrative in the book of Genesis and the constitutional identity of the Filipino people as sovereign and thus, governmental authority emanates from them. In addition, this paper provides the processes as to how the program is being implemented. Lastly, this study contributes to a greater degree of understanding of the power dynamics in the Philippines which assumes that God is still involved in the process while upholding the freedom of religion and the free exercise of worship.
The Sword and the Sitar: Exploring Violence and Non-Violence in the Bhagavad Gita View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shweta Goyal
This paper explores the complex interplay between religiously inspired violence and non-violence within the context of the Bhagwad Gita. By analysing the arguments between Prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna, the research advocates that violence are sometimes necessary in upholding righteousness action (dharma), balanced with the virtues of non-violence rooted in compassion and spiritual wisdom. The method employs textual analysis and philosophical interpretation of the relevant verses on dharma, karma (action and its consequences). Additionally, real life examples and case studies are presented where violence is motivated by religious beliefs. The implications are this paper shed light on the relevance of ancient teachings in addressing ethical dilemmas, particularly those related to religiously inspired violence. The study aims to promote non-violence, compassion and pursuit of peace.
