Sketching a Way for a Theological Discussion of Mercy
Sketching a Way for a Theological Discussion of Mercy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54855/csl.25544Keywords:
Mercy; Theological method; Scripture and human experience; Contemporary relevance and the CrossAbstract
In response to Cardinal Walter Kasper’s claim that recent theology has not given due weight to mercy, the article sketches directions for a theological inquiry into mercy in the Vietnamese context. It recalls the classical method with two phases—auditus fidei (identifying the data of faith) and intellectus fidei (reflective understanding)—and narrows the discussion to two practical loci theologici: Scripture and human experience, guided by Dei Filius. The first task is to clarify the meaning of “mercy” through the unified witness of the whole Bible, avoiding confusion with pity, empathy, forgiveness, or love. From there, the article proposes further lines for developing mercy’s theological and practical significance, stressing its contemporary urgency amid suffering, violence, and indifference, with the Cross of Christ as a decisive model.
References
W. Kasper, Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life, trans. William Madges (New York: Paulist Press, 2014), xv. 9-10.
Stephen B. Bevans, An Introduction to Theology in Global Perspective (New York: Maryknoll, 2009), 137-156.
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Tài liệu đọc thêm:
JP II, Dives in Misericordia,
Francis, Vultus Misericoridae,
W. Kasper, Mercy: the Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life,
Thomas Aquinas, ST I, q. 21, a. 3-4, ….; ST II.II, q. 30, a. 4,
Yves Congar “La miséricorde. Attribut souverain de Dieu” (La vie spirituelle, 106,1962,380–95).
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