The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture
Taking as its point of departure Pope Benedict XVI’s comment that ‘[e]ach of us is the result of a thought of God’, this article explores how the divine idea of the self bears promise for enabling a Catholic theological response to certain features of contemporary Western culture. This cultural sett...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Jacob Phillips |
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| description | Taking as its point of departure Pope Benedict XVI’s comment that ‘[e]ach of us is the result of a thought of God’, this article explores how the divine idea of the self bears promise for enabling a Catholic theological response to certain features of contemporary Western culture. This cultural setting is discussed first, using the interpretations of Philip Rieff and Carl R. Trueman, and their conceptualities of ‘psychological man’ and ‘expressive individualism’. The dominant contemporary view of human identity thus presented is markedly individualistic, being focused on an inward sense of self. The dominant approach to human meaning is similarly individualistic, being the satisfaction or expression of that sense of self. While both Rieff and Trueman point to a widespread loss of religious faith as pivotally important to for the emergence of these cultural paradigms, they mostly leave aside questions regarding the truth claims of specific religions in responding to them. Secondly, the scholastic doctrine of the divine ideas is discussed, with a view to presenting an alternative approach to human identity and meaning based on the contention that each human person ‘is the result of a thought of God’. Thirdly, the article concludes by drawing out the notions of identity and meaning implied by this doctrine, along with its inextricable relation to a specifically Catholic understanding of God. This understanding includes within it a distinct approach to human sociality in Christ, which answers directly to the individualism of contemporary culture, as outlined by Rieff and Trueman. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a3667cd8b3e04a2c96e0e48e2b91f708 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-a3667cd8b3e04a2c96e0e48e2b91f7082025-08-20T03:47:57ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-05-0116561910.3390/rel16050619The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary CultureJacob Phillips0School of Theology, St Mary’s University, Twickenham TW1 4SX, UKTaking as its point of departure Pope Benedict XVI’s comment that ‘[e]ach of us is the result of a thought of God’, this article explores how the divine idea of the self bears promise for enabling a Catholic theological response to certain features of contemporary Western culture. This cultural setting is discussed first, using the interpretations of Philip Rieff and Carl R. Trueman, and their conceptualities of ‘psychological man’ and ‘expressive individualism’. The dominant contemporary view of human identity thus presented is markedly individualistic, being focused on an inward sense of self. The dominant approach to human meaning is similarly individualistic, being the satisfaction or expression of that sense of self. While both Rieff and Trueman point to a widespread loss of religious faith as pivotally important to for the emergence of these cultural paradigms, they mostly leave aside questions regarding the truth claims of specific religions in responding to them. Secondly, the scholastic doctrine of the divine ideas is discussed, with a view to presenting an alternative approach to human identity and meaning based on the contention that each human person ‘is the result of a thought of God’. Thirdly, the article concludes by drawing out the notions of identity and meaning implied by this doctrine, along with its inextricable relation to a specifically Catholic understanding of God. This understanding includes within it a distinct approach to human sociality in Christ, which answers directly to the individualism of contemporary culture, as outlined by Rieff and Trueman.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/619theology of culturePope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzingerdivine ideasCatholic scholasticismdoctrine of creationtheological anthropology |
| spellingShingle | Jacob Phillips The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture Religions theology of culture Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger divine ideas Catholic scholasticism doctrine of creation theological anthropology |
| title | The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture |
| title_full | The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture |
| title_fullStr | The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture |
| title_short | The Divine Idea of the Self and Contemporary Culture |
| title_sort | divine idea of the self and contemporary culture |
| topic | theology of culture Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger divine ideas Catholic scholasticism doctrine of creation theological anthropology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/619 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jacobphillips thedivineideaoftheselfandcontemporaryculture AT jacobphillips divineideaoftheselfandcontemporaryculture |