The Law of the Cross and Climate Change

Globally we are entering into uncharted waters as the current cycle of decline lurches towards ecological disaster. Lonergan posits the law of the cross as the divinely enacted redemptive path for overcoming decline and restoring humanity on the path of genuine progress. Faced with the prospect of unprecedented global suffering, what is the moment of redemptive suffering that Christians and others are called to enact in response to the present decline? Drawing on Lonergan’s notion of a scale of values, the article considers responses at the personal, cultural, and social levels of value and the timeframes in which they operate. It will argue that in our current situation, only social change, in terms of economic and political action, can operate in a timeframe adequate to the urgency of the problem.

“To Those Who Have Ears to Hear:” Clement of Alexandria on the Parables of Jesus

This article addresses the topic of parables in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria. The broad thesis is that New Testament scholarship can help clarify early Christian interpretation of the New Testament. Clement of Alexandria has a very precise definition of the genre of parable. This definition is compared with various literary definitions found in the work of the grammarian Trypho of Alexandria and with one modern definition. Both of these comparisons bring out the precision, clarity, and usefulness of Clement’s definition for understanding the function of parables. The discussion then turns to the grounding of Clement’s definition in the saving mission of the Son. Since Clement closely links parables with prophecy and redemptive suffering, John Meier’s exposition of the Parable of the Wicked Tenants is introduced to show how parables can concretely express the redemptive suffering of the Son. Meier also demonstrates how the disciples were themselves involved in writing and completing this parable, so the article closes with an analysis of one of Clement’s interpretations of a parable, his own contribution to the tradition of parabolic speech.