Drew University Library : University Archives : Theses and Dissertations
	author Simeiqi He title A Post-Critical Moral Theology of Marriage abstract This dissertation advances the development of Catholic moral theology of marriage and its post-conciliar engagement with biblical studies and spirituality by crafting a post-critical moral theology of marriage that has become increasingly indistinguishable with mystical theology through a composition of analytical and contemplative writings interlaced with prose and poetry. After a re-reading of the post-conciliar moral theology of marriage in the world Church, attending to the developing understanding of marriage as a union, sacrament, and institution and to signs of new growth, I begin the work of re-envisioning marriage by first diving into the reception history of the Song of Songs and its marital imagery. The sketch of the diverse meanings of marriage illuminated by some of the Song's most achieved readers – Rabbi Akiva (50 CE -135 CE), Origen of Alexandria (185 CE – 254 CE), Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153), Teresa of Ávila (1515 – 1582), John of the Cross (1542 – 1591), and John Paul II (1920-2005) – reveals a potential unity in the three primary forms of marital union: 1) the union between God and a community; 2) the union between God and a person; 3) the union between two persons. Continuing the work of re-envisioning marriage by advancing such unity through a theo-ontology of love, I utilize the wisdom of Bernard, Edith Stein, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to propose a threefold thesis: 1) the archetype of human marital union is divine union and is by nature procreative; 2) human marital union as signifying the oneness of Christ is by nature unitive; 3) as a union of flesh, human marriage is a union of body, soul, and spirit open to union with God and the world. Finally, I discuss the re-instituting of marriage by proposing a vision of the original marriage institution as the loving union of God and creation accomplished through Christ's incarnation. Also, I conceive human marriage as an institution of eternal life that signifies a living present who is Christ. My post-critical moral theology of marriage ends with an open field of becoming(s) that is coexistent with the becoming of an "I," that is my life. school The Theological School, Drew University degree Ph.D. (2023) advisor Kate Ott committee Stephen Moore Jesse Mann full text embargoed till 6/30/2028