Ulrich L. Lehner

Enlightened Monks investigates the social, cultural, philosophical, and theological challenges the German Benedictines had to face between 1740 and 1803, and how the Enlightenment process influenced the self-understanding and lifestyle of these religious communities. It had an impact on their forms of communication, their transfer of knowledge, their relationships to worldly authorities and to the academic world, and also their theology and philosophy. The multifaceted achievements of enlightened monks, which included a strong belief in individual freedom, tolerance, human rights, and non-violence, show that monasticism was on the way to becoming fully integrated into the Enlightenment. Ulrich L. Lehner refutes the widespread assumption that monks were reactionary enemies of Enlightenment ideas. On the contrary, he demonstrates that many Benedictines implemented the new ideas of the time into their own systems of thought. This revisionist account contributes to a better understanding not only of monastic culture in Central Europe, but also of Catholic religious culture in general.

The German Benedictines 1740-1803

Enlightened Monks

In a world dominated by half-truths, illogic, and intellectual laziness, Think Better helps readers understand what reason is and how to use it well. Reason is a powerful tool not only for finding our way in an increasingly complex world but also for growing intellectually and emotionally. This short, accessible volume unlocks the dynamics of human reason, helping readers to think critically and to use reason confidently to solve problems. It enables readers to think more clearly and precisely about the world, and it tackles a number of profound philosophical questions without getting bogged down with jargon. Topics include knowledge, identity, leadership, creativity, and empathy. Written in an accessible style that integrates philosophy, illustrations, personal anecdotes, and statistical data, this book is well suited for use in undergraduate, classical school, and home school contexts. It is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in gaining better reasoning skills and a more rational approach to life.

Unlocking the Power of Reason

Think Better

Der nette Opa? Der Kumpeltyp von nebenan? Der hilfreiche Onkel, der alles verzeiht? Das soll Gott sein? Für Ulrich Lehner ein Gräuel. Er nimmt den Leser mit auf eine Entdeckungsreise um herauszufinden, wer Gott wirklich ist. Dabei zeigt er, dass der christliche Gott keiner ist, den man in schlechten Zeiten um eine Therapiestunde bittet und der ansonsten nicht viel vom einzelnen Menschen verlangt. Vielmehr ist er ein radikaler, mysteriöser Gott, der jede Person, die sich ernsthaft mit ihm beschäftigt, herausfordern und nachhaltig verändern kann. Man spürt beim Lesen: Ja, dieser Gott ist unbequem – und deshalb begeistert und bewegt er. Ein spannendes, hoch aktuelles Buch, das jeden dazu anregt, über seine Beziehung zu Gott nachzudenken und einen dazu bringt, sein Leben abwechslungsreicher zu gestalten. "So ist diesem Buch energischer Widerspruch zu wünschen. Es predigt das Gegenteil des Kurses, auf dem die westliche Christenheit unterwegs ist. Es soll, darf und muss anecken. Wer sich an seinen Aussagen nicht stößt, ist innerlich schon stumpf geworden für die Provokation Gottes. Dass er so anders ist. Dass es ihn überhaupt gibt und nicht der Mensch Maß aller Dinge ist. Dass dieser erhabene, ungezähmte Gott die Wahrheit selbst ist. Die Wahrheit ist nicht immer nett. Doch sie macht immer frei. (Johannes Hartl im Vorwort)"

Eine Herausforderung

Gott ist unbequem

It is widely agreed that Protestant scholasticism influenced Kant's thinking on the question of Divine Providence. But the nature and extent of that influence have never been explored in detail. This is the scholarly lacuna the present volume seeks to fill. It shows how Kant, from his pre-Critical period onward, grappled with the concept of Divine Providence, sought to subjectivize and naturalize it, and how Protestant scholasticism played an important role, both positive and negative, in this endeavor. It also makes clear how this critical philosophical conversation gave rise to a powerful notion of the progress of the human species - a vital part of the Enlightenment's enduring legacy. This study thus provides not only a unique theological-philosophical overview of 18th-century speculation on the question of Divine Providence; it also sheds important new light on the significance of the German Enlightenment.

Kants Vorsehungskonzept Auf Dem Hintergrund der Deutschen Schulphilosophie Und -Theologie

Ulrich L. Lehner reintroduces Christians to the true God—not the polite, easygoing, divine therapist who doesn’t ask much of us, but the Almighty God who is unpredictable, awe-inspiring, and demands our entire lives. Stripping away the niceties with a sling blade, Lehner shows that God is more strange and beautiful than we imagine, and wants to know and transform us in the most intimate way. With his iconoclastic new book God Is Not Nice, Lehner, one of the most promising young Catholic theologians in America, challenges the God of popular culture and many of our churches and reintroduces the God of the Bible and traditional Christianity. As Lehner writes in the book’s introduction, "We all need the vaccine of the true transforming and mysterious character of God: The God who shows up in burning bushes, speaks through donkeys, drives demons into pigs, throws Saul from his horse, and appears to St. Francis. It’s only this God who has the power to challenge us, change us, and make our lives dangerous. He sweeps us into a great adventure that will make us into different people." This book is not safe. It may startle and annoy many people—including those who purport to teach and preach the Gospel, but are missing it, according to Lehner. God Is Not Nice intends to overthrow all of our popular misconceptions about God, inviting us to ask deeper questions about the nature of our lives and our relationship with him. When you're finished with God Is Not Nice, you may find the idols you constructed in God’s name smashed, replaced with a God who will ask you to live an entirely different life full of hope and transformation.

Rejecting Pop Culture Theology and Discovering the God Worth Living For

God Is Not Nice

Women, Enlightenment and Catholicism explores, for the first time, the uncharted territory of women’s religious Enlightenment. Each chapter offers a biographical insight into the social and cultural context of female Enlighteners and how Catholic women in Europe used the thought and values of Enlightenment to articulate their beliefs about how to live their faith in the world. The collection of portraits within this book offers a closer look into the new understanding of womanhood that emerged from Enlightenment culture and was conceived independently from marital relationships. They also highlight the distinctive contributions that women made to political and religious philosophy, spirituality and mysticism, and the efforts to bring scientific knowledge to the attention of other women. Guiding readers through the complex religious, intellectual and global connections influenced by the Enlightenment, Women, Enlightenment and Catholicism brings the achievements of Enlightenment women to the foreground and restores them to their rightful place in intellectual history. It is ideal reading for scholars and students of Enlightenment history, early modern religion and early modern women’s history.

A Transnational Biographical History

Women, Enlightenment and Catholicism

Michael O'Neill Printy

This book offers the first comprehensive overview of the Catholic Enlightenment in Europe. It surveys the diversity of views about the structure and nature of the movement, pointing toward the possibilities for further research. The volume presents a series of comprehensive treatments on the process and interpretation of Catholic Enlightenment in France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, Malta, Italy and the Habsburg territories. An introductory overview explores the varied meanings of Catholic Enlightenment and situates them in a series of intellectual and social contexts. The topics covered in this book are crucial for a proper understanding of the role and place not only of Catholicism in the eighteenth century, but also for the social and religious history of Modern Europe.

A Companion to the Catholic Enlightenment in Europe

Women, Enlightenment and Catholicism explores, for the first time, the uncharted territory of women�s religious Enlightenment. Each chapter offers a biographical insight into the social and cultural context of female Enlighteners and how Catholic women in Europe used the thought and values of Enlightenment to articulate their beliefs about how to live their faith in the world. The collection of portraits within this book offers a closer look into the new understanding of womanhood that emerged from Enlightenment culture and was conceived independently from marital relationships. They also highlight the distinctive contributions that women made to political and religious philosophy, spirituality and mysticism, and the efforts to bring scientific knowledge to the attention of other women. Guiding readers through the complex religious, intellectual and global connections influenced by the Enlightenment, Women, Enlightenment and Catholicism brings the achievements of Enlightenment women to the foreground and restores them to their rightful place in intellectual history. It is ideal reading for scholars and students of Enlightenment history, early modern religion and early modern women�s history.

A Global Biographical History

The most cherished values of modernity are unthinkable without the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Equal rights, the growth of democracy, and the idea of perpetual progress stem from thinkers who lived 250 years ago but whose ideas are as attractive as ever. This book argues that while Catholic beliefs are commonly assumed to be at odds with modernity, most of the progressive reforms associated with the Enlightenment actually began to take shape during the Catholic Counter-Reformation two centuries earlier and were staunchly defended by enlightened Catholics during the eighteenth century. This is the forgotten story of a progressive Catholicism that actively engaged with the world. Although this mode of thought declined in the nineteenth century, it reemerged powerfully at and after Vatican II (1962-1965)

The Forgotten History of a Global Movement

The Catholic Enlightenment

Richard A. Muller

A. G. Roeber

The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theology, 1600-1800 will offer a comprehensive and reliable introduction to Christian theological literature originating in Western Europe from, roughly, the end of the French Wars of Religion (1598) to the Congress of Vienna (1815). Using a variety of approaches, the contributors examine theology spanning from Bossuet to Jonathan Edwards. They review the major forms of early modern theology, such as Cartesian scholasticism, Enlightenment, and early Romanticism; sketch the teachings of major theological concepts, along with important historical developments; introduce the principal practitioners of each kind of theology and delineate their particular theological contributions and stresses; and depict the engagement by early modern theologians with other religions or churches, such Judaism, Islam, and the eastern Church. Combining contributions from top scholars in the field, this will be an invaluable resource for understanding a complex and varied body of research.

Ulrich L. Lehner

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