Date of Award
5-2026
Access Restriction
Research Projects
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Theology
School or College
Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Roberto Dell’Oro, Ph.D.
Abstract
This research project proposes a Christology grounded in the concept of adaptabilities, a term that reframes human limitation not as deficiency but as a site of resilience, relationality, and dignity. It argues that Christ is the One with adaptabilities, not because He lacked divine power, but because He embraced the fullness of human fragility in the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection. His wounded‑and‑risen body reveals that vulnerability is not erased by divine action but transfigured into glory.
The project begins by establishing an anthropological foundation rooted in relationality, dependency, and intrinsic dignity. It then explores how contemporary theological perspectives on embodiment and limitation illuminate the sacredness of human variation. Through biblical analysis, the study demonstrates that Christ’s life reveals a consistent pattern of divine solidarity with human woundedness, culminating in a risen body that bears scars as permanent marks of identity.
The final chapters examine the ecclesial implications of this Christology, showing how adaptabilities invite the Church to reimagine inclusion, leadership, and communal belonging. Ultimately, this project contends that Christ’s scars disclose fragility as a site of divine presence and that adaptabilities offer a transformative lens for understanding human dignity and the imago Dei.
Recommended Citation
Lopez, Nora, "Scars of Glory: Christology through the Lens of People with Adaptabilities" (2026). LMU Theses and Dissertations. 1418.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/1418
