This essay first considers the Benedictine monastic schools and their educational philosophy in relation to the writings of John Henry Newman on education and then provides a comparison with the curriculum at the Torrey Honors Institute of Biola University with particular emphasis on their respective views of Scripture and its use in academic and formational contexts.

By the late 1830s, John Henry Newman and Edward Bouverie Pusey were discussing the re-introduction of monastic/religious life into the Church of England. Though Newman did not remain in the Church of England long enough to see the full flowering of this effort, his writings as an Anglican theologian reveal that he viewed the monastic/religious life as a central way in which a person could grow in holiness and also a means of fostering the holiness of the Church as a (...) whole. (shrink)

The intent of this article is to introduce an evangelical reading audience to the historical discipline of “spiritual theology.” After offering a history of the development of “spiritual theology” the article concerns itself with the proper nature of spiritual theology by way of its three sources: Scripture, systematic theology, and church history. Greater attention is given to church history since it is here that evangelicals have proven historically to be least proficient. The article concludes by stating that evangelical scholars need (...) to develop an appropriate “hermeneutic of spiritual theology.”. (shrink)

This essay is an examination of Dante Alighieri as a spiritual theologian of grace. Using Cantos 9 and 29–30 of the Purgatorio the essay shows that Dante constructs his other-worldly journey as one that is grace-filled and dependent on the grace bestowed through the church's sacraments, in concert with Thomas Aquinas’ theology of grace. Further, in light of the creation of the Feast of Corpus Christi in the thirteenth century, the essay offers a unique interpretation of the figure of Beatrice, (...) showing that she, at least within the context of Purgatorio 29–30, is divine grace. (shrink)