What has Jerusalem to do with Athens? A Proposal on the Role of Theology in the Ateneo de Manila University in the Light of Karl Rahner’s Evolutionary Christology

This paper proposes a dialogue between the disciplines of theologyand the natural sciences, particularly in the topic of the evolutionaryunderstanding of the origin of humanity. The context of this dialogue isthe Ateneo de Manila University, a Jesuit and Catholic university, that hasamong its goals the promotion of academic excellence and the formationof mature Christian faith in its students and faculty: are these two goalsmutually exclusive, contradictory, or mutually enriching? The article beginswith a brief history of the problematic relationship between theology andscience. It then presents the transcendental christology of Karl Rahnerthat attempts to articulate creation and incarnation in an evolutionaryperspective. The article concludes with a proposed definition of therelationship between theology and the natural sciences in the Ateneo deManila University: theology as a “place of plurality in unity.