Kenan Osborne OFM – författare

In this last work, Kenan Osborne addresses the intersection between new scientific insights into the origin of the human species and the growing awareness of a multicultural and multi-religious world with our contemporary understanding of God. After a review of current presentations of Trinitarian theology, he analyzes in detail the biblical record for the names of God and develops a cogent description of the thinking about God in the first six centuries. Complementing his 2015 volume The Infinity of God and A Finite World, A Franciscan Approach, this present work challenges theologians and believers in two distinct ways: Do the terms "e;Father"e; and "e;Son"e; have any essential meaning for divinity? From a human standpoint, God is essentially neither a "e;Father"e; nor a "e;Son."e; Nor do these two words have some exclusive meaning when they refer to divinity. What then do we mean when we talk about God? Second, in many theological textbooks, the term "e;infinite"e; is considered as an "e;attribute"e; of God. Infinity is in no way an attribute, even a divine attribute. It is rather an essential description of God, as the Franciscan philosophical theologian John Duns Scotus argues. And if this is so, can we really understand God, or are all our views and descriptions of an infinite God partial insights into a transcendent infinite God who embraces all human creatures from the beginning of homo sapiens sapiens to the present?

In the past one hundred years, two major realities have changed both science and religion. The world of science has been enriched by quantum physics, the computation of the age of the universe, archaeological data in the Middle East, and a scientific stress on historical writing. The world of religion has been enriched by the establishment of the World Council of Churches and the Second Vatican Council.In the past fifty years, major scientists and major religious leaders have met together again and again. In the past fifty years, religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have held a number of thought-provoking conferences. In this volume, these gatherings are reviewed and evaluated. Two major religious problems have challenged the science-religion discussions, namely, which God should the scientists agree on, the Trinitarian God, Allah, or Yahweh? Which history of the universe sponsored by these three religions should scientists be looking for? This volume raises questions and suggests some preliminary forms of serious discussion.

Ministry explores the rich and consistent history of lay ministry in the Roman Catholic Church since the first witness in the Bible. Kenan Osborne, a well-known theologian, combines his personal insights in contemporary spirituality to address the major issues that lay men and women face within the church structures at various periods of time. Has the role of the lay person in the Roman Catholic Church been diminished or supported over the centuries? 'Ministry' examines the historical evidence thoroughly and focuses on three important factors. First, Osborne offers a critical examination of the discipleship of every follower of Jesus. Next he describes the gradual de-emphasis of the non-cleric and non-religious in the church. Finally, he discusses the gradual emergence of the lay person into the mainstream of discipleship. 'Ministry' is designed for the lay person and the ordained. A complement to Osborne's previous book, 'Priesthood', this book is an extremely important historical study and must reading for those who seek the central foundation of discipleship within the Roman Catholic Church.