Abstract

This chapter seeks to use St. Bonaventure’s theory of cognition to illuminate the idea of the “seeds of the Word” in other religions as articulated by Jacques Dupuis, S.J. The conciliar documents provide the framework to address the question, “In what mode are these seeds of the Word present in other religions?” We must ask, if God works positively through all religions, what makes Christianity unique? This chapter demonstrates that it is through the illumination of natural reason by the Logos that the seeds of the Word are made present in other religions and distinguishes between illumination outside the Christian tradition and within it.