Karen Kilby

Bio: Karen Kilby is an academic researcher from Durham University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Foundationalism & Perichoresis. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 13 publications receiving 156 citations. Previous affiliations of Karen Kilby include University of Nottingham.

Is an Apophatic Trinitarianism Possible

Abstract: A good deal of recent theology has been characterized by a robust, self-confident trinitarianism. Is it possible, by contrast, to develop something like an apophatic trinitarianism? This article attempts to sketch what such a thing might look like and defend it against some obvious objections.

Aquinas, the Trinity and the Limits of Understanding

Abstract: Thomas's trinitarian doctrine is commonly criticized as being abstract and unbiblical; several writers have offered defences against this charge, but these perhaps ignore too much the genuinely reticent and apophatic aspects of Thomas's thought. In three particular places, it is argued, Thomas can be read as deliberately saying things that are unexplained and unexplainable. The areas considered are: the notion of processions in God; the presentation of the persons as subsistent relations; and the relationship between the subsistent relations and the divine essence.

Philosophy, theology and foundationalism in the thought of Karl Rahner

Abstract: This paper argues for the possibility of a non-foundationalist reading of Karl Rahner's theology, one which treats it as logically independent of his philosophy. It argues that there is a greater degree of discontinuity between Rahner's early philosophical writings and his later theology than is usually recognized, and focusing on the Vorgriff auf esse, that the same claim may function differently in his theology than it does in his philosophy. Through an analysis of a line of tension running through much of Rahner's later thought, it shows that his insistence on the inescapability of pluralism, if taken fully seriously, has significant consequences for one's understanding of the ‘transcendental’ aspect of Rahner's theology.

Triune God and the hermeneutics of community: church, gender and mission in Stanley J. Grenz with reference to Paul Ricoeur

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Crossroads: An Exploration of the Emerging-Missional Conversation with a Special Focus on 'Missional Leadership' and Its Challenges for Theological Education

Abstract: 7262397890599 ISBN 978-90-5972-623-9 Churches in many Western countries are faced with an adaptive challenge. Adaptive challenges arise when deeply held beliefs are challenged, when the solutions that once worked well become less appropriate, and when legitimate, yet competing, perspectives emerge. Adaptive problems will not go away by ignoring them, or by making technical adjustments. Many churches in the West need to change their vision and practices thoroughly, in order not to become contextually obsolete and irrelevant. Since this has to do with innovation and change, it will require leadership.

Tragic Creation: Hope for the Future—Moltmann's Creative (Mis)Reading of Hegel's Philosophy

Abstract: Christian theology, in its many and varied forms, and to the detriment of both the church and the world, is often built upon a shaky epistemological foundation. In this dissertation, I describe this shaky foundation by the term ‘insular universalism’. The oxymoronic nature of the term is both intentional and telling. A theology which strives for, or unwittingly arrives at, a position which is here being called ‘insular universalism’ achieves neither while rejecting or misunderstanding the complexity of both. When considered theologically, insular universalism could be simplistically described as the idea that “one cultural expression of the religion is exclusive for expressing the fullness of the gospel.” In order to show the unsure theological footing of ‘insular universalism’, and in order to point to what I believe to be a better way forward, I turn to the theology of Jürgen Moltmann. Although Moltmann’s theology has been influential and therefore carefully dissected and frequently interpreted, there also exists a deeply Hegelian background that has not been carefully examined. Looking at questions of ontology and epistemology, as well as notions of system, the Absolute, and the possibility of beginnings and endings, this dissertation demonstrates a deeply Hegelian line of thought running throughout Moltmann’s theology. Yet, it is not the case that Moltmann is thoroughly and unabashedly

The glory of God is humanity fully alive: exploring Eastern Orthodoxy as a resource for human development in conversation with the capability approach

Abstract: This dissertation argues that Eastern Orthodox theology is a framework for multidimensional social change or improvement and can inform, and be informed by the multi-disciplinary social science field of development studies. This claim will be examined by analyzing the Trinitarian theology of the Orthodox theologian Dumitru Staniloae in relation to the writings of Nobel Economist Amartya Sen and his ‘capability approach’. The argument begins by justifying EO’s interaction with development studies based on her anthropological optimism. Critical is that supernatural revelation stands very close to and builds on natural revelation. A Trinitarian theological anthropology then provides a rationale for, and integration of, three key concepts in the social sciences: agency, solidarity, and structures. This analytical framework is then used to assess the challenges of post-Communist contexts, where most Orthodox live. The Communist downfall, it is argued, involved a failure to incorporate each of these dimensions in human development. This analysis then serves to test the adequacy of, and reveal weaknesses in, Amartya Sen’s freedom-focused social evaluation framework known as the capability approach. The dissertation proceeds with examining Orthodox salvation as movement from Being, to Well-being, to Eternal-being where Well-being is, notably, the exercise of agency to develop the potentials given in Being. Agency is not individualistic, but is structured into the virtues of solidarity and incorporates the related notion of phronesis (practical reason). The virtue tradition is then postulated as a promising link between theology and development studies. The virtue tradition is analyzed in its classical background, modern human development, as well as both Protestantism and Catholicism to facilitate a comparison with Eastern Orthodoxy. This analysis shows that Orthodoxy offers a theological framework for human development in that she gives priority of practical reason to contemplation, makes virtually no separation between grace and nature, and provides a relevant method for synergizing salvation history with action on behalf of human development.

Reimagining the human : the role of the churches in building a liberatory human rights culture in South Africa today.

Abstract: hovering above lived realities, passive, waiting for God to accomplish things, or repressive, denying the realities of present suffering, but calls Christians to practice ‘pathic’ hope-in-action imbued with the Source of all Life. It is in this third movement forwards that the ‘church’ practices public, participatory witness-in-action. 5.3.1 Created for freedom reforming our understanding. Moltmann demonstrates a consistent concern with freedom. He points specifically to the need for “freedom from: systems of oppression but he is also concerned about “freedoms for” as 463 He suggests that oppressors are also trapped in these deformed relations as inhumane oppressors, exploiters, alienators, apathetic and godless alongside the oppressed, exploited, alienated, godforsaken and dehumanised.(1974/2001:343-344, 1979b:24). 464 Moltmann has engaged with Pentecostal movements, seeing their openness to the Spirit as a place for church renewal as well as being critical of the ways in which many strands promote individualised understandings of the person and distorted utopias of affluence. 465 Moltmann contrasts the ‘utopias of the status quo’ of success, power and happiness that can lead to forms of apathy in relation to change, with ‘utopias of justice’ with its ‘Sitz im Leben’ in the suffering of the present and which hopes instead for change. (1976c:24).