/library/oar/handle/123456789/88158 2025-12-23T03:10:13Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/88285 Title: Marriage as sacrament : baptism or the practice of faith of the spouses? Authors: Agius, Emmanuel Abstract: There is gamut of unresolved issues, some of them of a pastoral nature, others theological, which provoke theologians and canonists to re-examine the doctrine about the sacramentality of marriage. One of these unclear and complex problems is the issue of the lack of faith of a great number of baptised persons who approach the Church for sacramental marriage. One may classify baptised persons under two categories: believers and nonbelievers. The basis of this theological distinction is the presence or absence of active personal faith. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common that baptised non-believers opt for a Christian marriage not for religious reasons, but exclusively for motives that are social, familiar, of pure convenience, or because of the external glamour of the religious. This situation is triggering off a host of intriguing questions: Is every marriage between baptised persons ipso facto a sacramental marriage? Could lack of faith impede the marriage? Does lack of faith affect the fruitfulness of the sacrament or its validity? These questions, which have troubled the Catholic Church for the past two centuries, present a daunting challenge to both theologians and canon lawyers! [excerpt] 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/88280 Title: “Overturning laments : an assessment of the so-called prophetic perfect formulations in the Psalms” Authors: Attard, Stefan M. Abstract: The addendum of praise, or a promise of praise, often found at the end of lament or supplication psalms has been the object of contention among scholars who have focused on the possible reasons for a movement from lament to praise. Usually seen as a sudden change in mood, it has been referred to as a Stimmungsumschwung, even though some have criticized this term. Insofar as the wording refers to some future liberation, the texts in question are comprehensible. However, when the salvation asked for is expressed in the past tense as though already attained as so-called prophetic Perfects, the matter gets complicated. From a form critical perspective, formulations of positive outcomes reported at the end of laments beg the question: what import does such a formulation have on the particular psalm in which it appears? [excerpt] 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/88230 Title: Newman’s theology of faith : a guiding light in a secular age Authors: Torpiano, David Abstract: From the onset, one must state that this article seeks to be of help in an anthropologically endangered landscape and to suggest ways in which the present age’s characteristic forgetfulness of God might be wisely addressed for the benefit of humanity. John Henry Newman’s theology of faith is thus engaged with this specific motive well-kept in view. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century and during the years following the dawn of the new millennium, the phenomenon of secularisation has been one among the most debated. Starting with a simple and direct definition of the “promiscuous concept”1 represented by the term “secularisation,” Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor affirmed that the concept traditionally conveyed “two different meanings: a) the decline of religious belief and practice; b) the retreat of religion from the public space.” Furthermore, Sommerville contended that the term “‘[s]ecularism’ should be differentiated from the more general theme of secularization. The term secularism was coined around 1852 to describe an ideology organized to counter religious loyalties.” [excerpt] 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/88229 Title: A spiritual artificial general intelligence? Authors: Pulis, Matthew; Camilleri, Charló; Massa, Tero Abstract: John McCarthy, who coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) in 1956 speaks of AI as an evolution. He stressed that “as soon as it works, no one calls it AI anymore.” Computer scientist Andrew Ng, a contemporary AI researcher speaks of AI as the “new electricity,” heralding a revolution on par with that brought by electricity. As humanity journeys towards transcending the human condition to a new condition that includes radically transhuman features, a special role is reserved to AGI. Out of the twenty-three researchers interviewed by AI-journalist Martin Ford, the average hypothesised year of the emergence of AGI is set to be at 2099, although transhumanist and futurist Ray Kurzweil postulates that by 2029, ten years from now, there is a fifty-percent chance of such emergence. These hypotheses lay the foundation for our theological research as a prolegomenon on the possibility of a spiritual AGI, and possibly an ensouled AGI. [excerpt] 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z