Conspiring Unto the Good

The Jesuit philosopher-theologian Bernard Lonergan (1904-84) was considered by many intellectuals to be "one of the finest philosophic thinkers of the 20th century"(Time Magazine, April 1970). His complex thought contains much of vital importance to understanding contemporary global issues from economics to education and, of course, philosophy and religion. Theology mediates between religion and culture. Theology of religions is the discipline that thematizes the relationship of Christianity to other religions. Three decades of effort by specialists have generated a theological 'Babel'. The confusion and lack of a cumulative result have led to alternative paths to the discipline: a comparative theology of religious engagement in the US, and an intercultural theology in Europe. Still, the impasse remains. Lonergan offers dynamic structures,heuristic tools, and a collaborative framework for specialists to rise to a higher viewpoint and move toward a comprehensive understanding of the fact and significance of religious diversity. The task and nature of the discipline can be reconceptualized with his critical contribution.