Abstract
The Catholic Church is faced with the challenge of theologically interpreting families that have experienced divorce, remarriage, and children outside of wedlock. The anthropology of conjugal self-gift, though valuable as an analogy to the Trinitarian communion, makes the nuclear family into an ideal. Since fewer than half of children in the U.S. live in the “traditional family,” it remains a problematic ideal. I suggest that familial and marital situations outside of the norm—often seen as problems illustrative of the breakdown of marriage in contemporary society—may be regarded in another light. A more adequate anthropology must consider how diverse marital and family forms can contribute to a theology of marriage.
Recommended Citation
Flipper, Joseph S.
(2016)
"Theological Anthropology in the Theology of Marriage and Family,"
Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium: Vol. 9, Article 10.
Available at:
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/jbcts/vol9/iss1/10
Included in
Catholic Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Comments
Author's note: This is an expanded version of the paper I gave at “The Theological Enterprise in Light of the New Evangelization,”a Multi-Society Workshop for Theologians and Bishops, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on March 13, 2015, Washington D.C. Representing the Black Catholic Theological Symposium, I responded to the prompt, “What anthropology is essential to a proper understanding of marriage?”
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