The Relevance of Bernard Lonergan's Notion of Self-Appropriation to a Mystical-Political Theology

The Author: Ian B. Bell is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan, where he teaches courses in systematic and biblical theology. His primary research focus is the spiritual life, especially as it relates to the thought of Bernard Lonergan.

"Ian Bell has written a book for citizens and politicians who love God and want to pray, for monastics who love God and pray for the world, and for all who value spirituality but don't want it separated from everyday life. Why is Thomas Merton so appealing? He overcame in practice what Tad Dunne called the West's 'split soul' that segregates 'spirituality' from concerns for politics, social action toward justice, and everyday practice. Most folks don't live in monastic silence however. Bell reflects theologically on behalf of married and single Christians active in the world. Bell ventures beyond the practice of Merton and milestone contributions in theory from William James, Evelyn Underhill, and, more recently, Bernard McGinn and Michel de Certeau. He advances onto terrain where the split can be healed. Healing involves theory and practice. Theory re-centers the problem squarely in how we understand ourselves as subjects of our experience. Practice brings Bernard Lonergan's theme of self-appropriation to the link between love for God and love of neighbor. Bell shows why and how mystical experience can be a source of insight useful in practical and political matters on behalf of the common good." (Thomas Hughson, SJ, Associate Professor of Theology, Marquette University)