1 doran 2 2011

Page 1

METHOD: Journal of Lonergan Studies N.S. 2.2 (2011)

SANCTIFYING GRACE, ELEVATION, AND THE FIFTH LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS Jeremy W. Blackwood

A

Marquette University

Robert M. Doran’s 1993 article, “Consciousness and Grace,” Lonergan scholars have discussed the transposition of sanctifying grace and the habit of charity from metaphysical categories to a theology derived from the categories of interiority. In 2007, Christiaan Jacobs-Vandegeer offered a contribution to this ongoing conversation by suggesting that sanctifying grace should be understood in a methodical theology as “an intrinsic qualification of the unity of consciousness.” 2 He was substantially correct in his conclusion; however, further development of his position is required on at least two points: the precise explanatory meaning of ‘elevation’ needs clarification, and recently-noticed material in the Lonergan archives suggests that the notion of a fifth level needs re-evaluation. This article addresses those two issues. I will first review Jacobs-Vandegeer’s argument, giving special attention to the aspects requiring development. This will be followed by a more focused explanation of ‘elevation’ in terms of cognition and then in a more generalized sense. I will then discuss the question of the fifth level by examining newly discovered archival materials before comparing Jacobs-Vandegeer’s thesis, together with my developments herein, to the positions of the original contributors to the discussion – Robert M. Doran, Michael Vertin, Patrick H. Byrne, and Tad Dunne – in order to situate the conversation as it stands in light of this contribution. T LEAST SINCE 1

I. THE CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIAAN JACOBS-VANDEGEER 1

Robert M. Doran, “Consciousness and Grace,” METHOD: Journal of Lonergan Studies 11 (1993) 51 – 75. 2 Christiaan Jacobs-Vandegeer, “Sanctifying Grace in a ’Methodical Theology,’” Theological Studies 68 (2007) 52 – 76, at 74.  2011 Jeremy Blackwood.

143


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.