Benedict R. Shoup, MTS, PhD

Assistant Professor

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Contact

benedictshoup@creighton.edu
College of Arts and Sciences
Theology

Benedict R. Shoup, MTS, PhD

Assistant Professor

Benedict Shoup received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching concentrate on the intersection of systematic theology and spirituality. He is especially interested in the Carmelite and Ignatian traditions. The title of his dissertation, currently under revisions for publication, is “Breath of the Beloved: St. John of the Cross’s Theology of the Holy Spirit.” His recent book, “Contemplation and Freedom: The Liberating Power of Spiritual Practice,” co-edited with Mary Frohlich, examines freedom as the vital link between contemplation and action. 

Research Focus

Pneumatology, John of the Cross, Trinity, Ignatius of Loyola, Mysticism, Christology

Department

Theology

Position

Assistant Professor

Books

  • Contemplation and Freedom: The Liberating Power of Spiritual Practice. Edited by Benedict R. Shoup and Mary Frohlich. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2025. -0001

Articles

  • John of the Cross's Spiritual Senses Revisited: A Study in the Epistemology and the Interpersonal Dynamics of Spiritual Sensation in St. John of the Cross. Studies in Spirituality 32 (2022/2023): 353-374. -0001

Publications

  • Introduction. In Contemplation and Freedom: The Liberating Power of Spiritual Practice, edited by Benedict Shoup and Mary Frohlich. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2025. -0001
  • The Freedom of Being Before God: The Sanjuanist Paradigm of Freedom in Edith Stein and Jean-Yves Lacoste. In Contemplation and Freedom: The Liberating Power of Spiritual Practice, edited by Benedict Shoup and Mary Frohlich. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2025. -0001

Presentations

  • The Spirit Who Paints the Word: John of the Crosss Pneumatological Adjudication of the Alumbrado Crisis. Paper presentation at the Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance conference, Villanova University. October, 2025. -0001
  • Romancing the Trinity: A Mystical Approach to the Equality of the Spirit. Paper presentation at the American Academy of Religion annual meeting, San Diego, CA. November, 2024. -0001
  • Realizing Christs Beauty in Creation: Explorations in the Song of Songs as an Ecotheological Text. Paper presentation at the American Academy of Religion annual meeting, San Antonio, TX. November, 2023. -0001
  • The Gospel of Darkness? John of the Crosss Contemplative Account of the Dark Night and the Contemporary Search for Justice and Transcendence. Paper presentation at the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality conference, Tabor College, Australia. July, 2023. -0001
  • The Freedom of Being Before God: Edith Stein, Jean-Yves Lacoste, and the Sanjuanist Paradigm of Freedom in the Twentieth Century. Paper presentation at the Catholic Theological Society of America conference, Milwaukee, WI. June, 2023. -0001
  • The Breath of the Word: The Pneumatological Foundations of Mediation and Immediacy in the Mystical Theology of St. John of the Cross. Paper presentation at the College Theology Society conference, Sacred Heart University. June, 2023. -0001
  • Saving Dereliction: Khaled Anatolios and John of the Cross on Doxological Contrition, the Dark Night, and Eucharistic Devotion. Paper presentation at the Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance conference, Villanova University. October, 2022. -0001
  • The Apophatic Image of God: Kathryn Tanner and John of the Cross on Agency and Plasticity. Paper presentation at the College Theology Society conference, online. June, 2021. -0001