Do This In Memory of Me': The Genealogy and Theological Appropriations of Memory in the Work of Johann Baptist Metz

Many theologians have been influenced by Johann Metz's theology of memory. To examine Metz's sources and how others expand upon his work, I propose a two-part thesis. Part one arises from critical appraisal of sources upon which Metz relies in formulating his idea of memory. While the thinkers Metz draws upon are secular Jewish philosophers, Metz appropriates key notions in specifically theological ways by linking them with the memoria passionis of Jesus Christ and the Jewish religious roots of memory. Furthermore, Metz's apocalyptic/eschatological hope for the future differs from secular and postmodern hopes for something surprising, new, and redemptive because Metz advocates real, faith-filled content for these ideas.

Part two of the thesis is critical-constructive. Metz's idea of memory has the potential to be more than an anthropological category. While reticent to speak of God's memory, anamnestic reason becomes a way of speaking about God's work of salvation for and with humanity. This becomes clearer when his idea of memory is considered in conjunction with the theology of God's memory in the writings of Latin American liberation theologian Gustavo GutiŽrrez. The appropriation of Metz's theological work on memory by scholars like Elizabeth Johnson, Shawn Copeland, Johann Vento, Flora Keshgegian, and Bruce Morrill bear witness to this potential.

Comparison and contrast is the way to describe what I intend to do. The first chapter aims at an exposition of what Metz developed regarding memory, including changes over time. The second chapter consists of brief reflection on memory and pertinent topics in the philosophical thought of several people whom Metz admits have influenced his theology. Each section of the chapter will focus on the contribution of a thinker and then the way that Metz has adapted the ideas. The third chapter will consider criticisms of Metz's use of memory and possible responses that Metz offers, or which one could offer on Metz's behalf. Chapter four continues to rely on comparison and contrast, but this time Metz's thought is the baseline with which other theologians' use and understanding of memory will be compared.