James Alison Theology

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  • Failure and perfection

    A contribution to the volume entitled “Perfection” from the “Oneing” series, published by the Center for Action and Contemplation, and headlined by Richard Rohr. As a small child, I had two favourite picture books. One was Ferdinand the Bull, whom I loved to see sitting under the cork tree smelling flowers while the bullfighters raged. Of…

  • James Alison on René Girard

    James Alison speaks to the America magazine on René Girard, the French historian, literary critic, philosopher of social science, and pioneer of anthropological philosophy.

  • Love in a changing climate

    The place of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics in the church family was the controversial issue the synod chose to avoid. Does the minimal reference to them in the final document confirm deadlocked thinking, or offer hopeful grounds for change?

  • Taking Cinderella to the Ball: How a Mimetic Anthropology Restores the Theological Virtue of Hope

    Many of us live with a characterisation of each of the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity that is run from within by at least a strong residue of a modern, individualistic, picture of the self. The result is that… a caricature of what those virtues are.

  • Cinderela vai ao baile

    Apresentação para o congresso do Colloquium on Violence and Religion na Universidade de Saint Louis, Missouri, em 8 de julho de 2015. [1] Introdução Preciso começar pedindo desculpas por meu título. Afinal, se Cinderela é a Esperança, isso supõe que a Fé e a Caridade são suas feiosas irmãs postiças. Porém, na verdade, as duas…

  • Biography and interview on the LGBT Religious Archives Network website

    James’ biography and interview (audio and text) on the LGBT Religious Archives Network website (2014)

  • Not peace but a sword

    A radio programme of the Australian broadcaster RN featuring James Alison and other guests in a discussion of religion and violence, 22 November 2014 (stream, download and transcript)

  • Traversing hostility: the sine qua non of any Christian talk about Atonement

    Presentation for the Colloquium ‘For Us and for Our Salvation: René Girard and the Doctrine of Atonement’, held at Heythrop College, London (7-8 November 2014) 1. Recovering Our Lord’s account of His Atonement In each of the three Synoptic Gospels, Jesus teaches the parable which we know as that of the “Wicked Tenants” or the “Murderous…

  • Verso una globale inclusione delle persone LGBT nelle comunità cattoliche: un nuovo approccio teologico

    Presentazione di James Alison per “Le strade dell’amore”, una conferenza internazionale per una pastorale con le persone omosessuali e trans. (Roma, Italia, 3 ottobre 2014). English Introduzione Vorrei chiedervi di unirvi a me nell’immaginarci partecipi di una scena familiare tratta dalle Scritture. La scena è degli Atti degli Apostoli, capitolo 10, ma vi invito a…

  • Towards global inclusion of LGBT people within Catholic communities: a new theological approach

    Presentation for “The ways of Love”, an International Conference towards pastoral care with homosexual and trans people (Rome, Italy, October 3, 2014). Also available in Italian. Introduction I’d like to ask you to join me as we imagine ourselves as participants in a familiar scene from Scripture. The scene is from Acts 10, but imagined from…

  • Interview for the Sunday Nights radio programme

    Interview for Sunday Nights programme of ABC Local Radio, Australia (stream and MP3 download)

  • Renewing the Tradition

    James’ profile by Grant Kaplan, an associate professor of systematic theology at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo., published by the America magazine. Renewing the Tradition: The theological project of James Alison Same in PDF (pp. 25-27). An interview recorded by Prof. Grant Kaplan:

  • Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

    Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Lazarus) given at St Leo’s Parish, Tacoma, USA on 6 April 2014 [streaming].

  • Monotheism and idolatry: preface to a conversation

    Presentation for the Colloquium on Mimetic Theory and Islam (Heythrop College, University of London, 5-7 November 2013) Introduction Some privileges are fairly useless. For instance, the privilege of the foreigner’s insight. As a professional foreigner, I have this in spades, for I’ve lived in several countries other than my country of birth, and indeed live…

  • Um pequeno erro no começo torna-se muito maior ao final: rumos da discussão eclesial sobre a questão gay

    Texto do James Alison para o XXXVII Congresso de Teologia Moral, São Paulo 2-5 de Setembro de 2013. Uma versão deste texto, com aparato científico, está incluido no livro que reune os textos do XXXVII Congresso de Teologia Moral e que sairá em setembro 2013: Zacharias e Pessini (Eds.). ÉTICA TEOLÓGICA E JUVENTUDES: interpelações recíprocas –…

  • Non siamo noi a inventare il sacri cio, è il sacri cio che ha inventato noi: per sbrogliare il pensiero di Girard

    Non siamo noi a inventare il sacri cio, è il sacri cio che ha inventato noi: Per sbrogliare il pensiero di Girard (Concilium, 4-2013, PDF) English

  • We didn’t invent sacrifice, sacrifice invented us: unpacking Girard’s insight

    A contribution to the International Theological Journal “Concilium” 2013(4) on the Ambivalence of Sacrifice. Also available in Italian. 1. The insight Over the last fifty years René Girard has developed a single anthropological insight, through rigorous engagement with a multitude of disciplines, into a long argument about the origin of culture. The single insight, sometimes called…

  • Вера без горечи: фрагменты о католичестве и гомосексуальности

    Как и все книги Джеймса Алисона, «Вера над обидами и возмущением» почти пугающе проникновенна. Как настоящий последователь Жирара, Алисон анализирует тексты, и эти тексты взяты из Священного Писания. Его прочтение готовит нас к долгому и трудному пути навстречу жизни, свободной от злобы, и тем самым к пониманию того, как перенаправить споры о гомосексуализме из русла…

  • Exploring the new paradigm: Girard and the Christianity of the 21st century

    Exploring the new paradigm: Girard and the Christianity of the 21st century [PDF] The transcript of the session with Brian McLaren and James Alison recorded at the 2013 Colloquium on Violence and Religion held at the University of Northern Iowa, USA.

  • Entrevista con Religión Digital

    La entrevista que hizo José Manuel Vidal, director de Religión Digital a James en junio de 2013 en Madrid, sobre la vivencia del asunto gay en la Iglesia, la llegada del Papa Francisco, y el llamado “lobby gay”.

  • Lent 2013 Lectionary meditations

    The Christian Century Magazine has generously allowed us to post James’ Lent 2013 Lectionary meditations (PDF), written especially for them. Christian Century is, among many other things, a source of lectionary meditations throughout the year. Please give them kudos for allowing us to show something that is normally behind a paywall.

  • About desire, victimhood and René Girard

    James Alison talks about desire, victimhood and René Girard to the Encounter programme of the Australian RN radiostation, 12 December 2012 (stream and download)

  • Girard y las grietas del sentido chatarra: el paciente aliento de un pensamiento apocalíptico

    Ponencia para el Coloquio Internacional sobre Teoría mimética y construcción social que tuvo lugar en la Universidad Iberoamericana en la Ciudad de México y en San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, entre el 28 y el 31 de agosto de 2012. Esta ponencia fue dictada el día 28 de agosto, y el reconocimiento con la cual comienzo…

  • Playing for Keeps

    James joined the Playing for Keeps radio show to explore how The Hunger Games and chapter 7 of the Old Testament book of Joshua have something very important in common: a lottery in which the winners get to die for the sake of the community. A transcript of the podcast recorded by the Raven Foundation. Adam Ericksen: Hello and welcome to…

  • Uma fé para além do ressentimento

    Uma fé para além do ressentimento. Entrevista especial com James Alison. – Instituto Humanitas Unisinos, 16 May 2012

  • Le persone omosessuali nella Chiesa cattolica

    Intervista di Brett Salkeld al teologo cattolico James Alison tratta dal sito Commonweal (USA) del 6 marzo 2012. English

  • Theology as survival

    ho is James Alison? What aspects of your life do you consider most central to your identity? What should people who are curious about you know?

  • Sexuality, dialogue, and the Church

    An interview in the Other Journal “In this interview, Alison speaks with us about his work on the issue of sexuality and about how he attempts to create a dialogical space around this topic in his Catholic context.”

  • La cuestión gay: una buena noticia para la Iglesia católica

    English | Deutsch Quiero compartirles una perspectiva de júbilo. Creo que ser católico es divertidísimo. Un gran paseo en la montaña rusa de la realidad que Dios, quien nos resguarda, impulsa; un viaje gestado por la amorosa entrega de Nuestro Señor en su crucifixión, sonrientemente observado por su Santa Madre; creo que ser católico es…

  • Conversation with a gay priest

    Recorded by Eureka Street, a publication of the Australian Jesuits

  • The Portal and the half-way house: spacious imagination and aristocratic belonging

    Session 10 of the twelve-session Jesus the Forgiving Victim course Introduction If you’re anything like me, you have been wondering, as we have advanced in our sessions, how what we’ve been looking at bears any relation at all to “life in the Church” as we know it. The forms of institutional life called “Church” with which…