Religious ethics Books

Book SynopsisLaw professors Thomas E. Baker and Timothy W. Floyd asked some of their legal colleagues to respond to this provocative question: Can a good Christian be a good lawyer? Here are twenty-one highly personal narratives that answer the question of how each writer tries, sometimes but not always successfully, to be both a good Christian and a good lawyer.How does a lawyer called to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ reconcile his or her faith with the secular calling to the legal profession? The editors did not set out to provide some kind of final resolution or unified consensus. Instead, they have compiled a remarkable collection of reflections by lawyers, judges, and academics who represent many different branches of Christianity.The reader is likely to find many role models to emulate and the inspiration to continue to fight the good fight in these accounts grounded in legal and Christian thought. Reading about these real-life ethical dilemmas, conflicting loyalties, and pTrade Review“Arguing that ‘the practice of law for too many lawyers presents either a Faustian bargain or a Godfather's offer,’ the editors present an alternative by way of meditations, case histories, and exhortations on the integration of one’s family and legal practice. While the primary intended audience is clearly lawyers, the lessons taught, experiences shared, and questions raised offer much insight to all those seeking to make their occupation a bona fide calling of the Lord.” —Books & Culture“[A]n admirable effort at answering a hard question. Ultimately, the essayists reach the same conclusion as the editors: Yes, a good Christian can be a good lawyer, but only with two indispensable aids—divine grace and the good example of others. Even the lawyer with an ordinary practice can be a practitioner of holiness. The many lawyers whose practices are relatively ordinary may take comfort in this conclusion and in the reminder from William Bentley Ball that usually lawyers serve God best by accepting the place where they are.” —Crisis“Thomas Baker and Timothy Floyd, with this charming and inspiring book, have found a way to cut through the “separation” of church and state, of law and morality, of faith and knowledge. They have done so in a very simple and direct way. On reading these essays, we remain painfully aware of the divisions of Christians themselves, but we also realize how much they have in common, of how much their lives of faith penetrate through to make them not merely lawyers, but yes, ‘good’ lawyers, and how much the law, ‘good’ law, incites them to deepen their own faith. No lawyer will want to miss it. And those who sometimes despair at the legal field, will find here an encouraging account of good and faithful men and women in the law.” —Homiletic and Pastoral Review"Thomas E. Baker and Timothy W. Floyd have compiled 21 deeply insightful essays addressing the spiritual elements of legal practice and the faith implications of a vocation in the law. Responding to the widespread cultural perception that the legal profession and its practitioners are spiritually bankrupt, the contributors explore integrating personal convictions with everyday life, discuss why and how a lawyer's career choices impact his or her spiritual life and demonstrate how faith shapes legal practice." —Report from the Capital

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis text presents an alternative understanding of interpersonal life, not only from utilitarianism and Kantianism, but also with Kierkegaard's Christian existentialism and forms of subjectivism. For Logstrup there is no Christian or secular morality, only human morality.Trade Review“Løgstrup's The Ethical Demand is a challenging and valuable addition to the growing ethical literature meeting the desperate needs of our own time. The book is a particularly valuable addition because of its attempt to meet the difficulties implicit in the Kantian and Kierkegaardian moral traditions which have been so influential in Europe in the past one hundred years." —The Canadian Catholic Review“[T]his book presents an interesting new way of looking at ethics, and its account of the various ways we rationalize our failures to live up to the demand had me examining how far I fell short. It would prove interesting to compare it to accounts of ‘particularist’ ethics, and of the ethics of care.” —Comptes rendus philosophiques (Philosophy in Review)“This is highly original and rewarding, if difficult, treatise on moral philosophy. Løgstrup, in the same general tradition as Kant whom he criticizes severely, gives a philosophical account of the commandment to love the neighbor as the basis of ethics. Løgstrup's version of the moral imperative, or ‘ethical demand,’ is ontological: it is the silent, radical, one-sided, impossible, unarticulated, and anonymous demand that ‘we take care of the life which trust has placed into our hands.’ . . . A revised and expanded version, with a helpful introduction, of a 1971 edition, this edition includes both the final chapter, a polemic against Kierkegaard’s Works of Love, and an article attacking teleology and deontology. The critique of Kierkegaard is particularly incisive. . . .” —Religious Studies Review“. . . The volume is a useful introduction to the work of a very insightful heart and mind. Indeed, The Ethical Demand is one of those rare books that can inspire readers to moral virtue. . . . English readers are in the considerable debt of Fink, MacIntyre, Hauerwas, and Notre Dame Press for making Løgstrup's magisterial work again available in translation. It is an exercise in attention, a schooling of empathy, that deserves to be much more widely read and responded to.” —Modern Theology“This collection of essays by the late Danish philosopher and theologian Løgstrup presents his theory of using phenomenology in understanding our ethical decisions. According to Løgstrup, phenomenology not only provides an understanding of human existence but also of ethics, through examination of phenomena of ethical concepts. . . . Løgstrup combines detailed writing with an excellent critique of competing ethical theories to explain his own ethical theory, which stresses the moral experience over ethical principals. These essays will be valuable to scholars and students in philosophy and ethics.” —Library Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisFriendship and the Moral Life is not simply a theoretical argument about how moral theology might be done if it took friendship more seriously. Rather, the book exhibits how without friendship, our lives are morally not worth living. The book begins with a consideration of why a new model of the moral life is needed. Wadell then examines the ethics of Aristotle, who viewed the moral life as based on a specific understanding of the purpose of being human, with friendship being an important factor in enabling people to acquire virtues necessary for achieving this purpose. Through the thought of Augustine, Aelred of Reivaulx, and Karl Barth, the question is raised whether friendship is at odds with Christian love or whether their relation depends on one''s narrative account of friendship. Thomas Aquinas'' understanding of charity as friendship with God is examined to clarify this relationship.By locating friendship within the story of God''s redemption through Christ, WadTrade Review"Wadell has made a convincing case for the necessity of rediscovering Aristotelian and Christian moral principles, particularly those concerning friendship. He demonstrates, with the seasoning of deep personal insight, that seeing friendship with God as the end of the moral life, and friendship with others as indispensable to achieving that goal, is crucial for achieving a full understanding of the moral life." —Review of Metaphysics"Wadell writes with a fascinating style and a sensitive interaction with family and community. His book catches the Bible's expectations of a chosen people, sustained by an unconditional loyalty and strong ties of blood, in order to love God with one's whole heart." —The Bible Today"This book offers both a substantive discussion of friendship in the Christian life and an approach to method in Christian ethics. A clear and helpful addition to the literature on friendship and deserves attention." —Religious Studies Review“. . . recommended to the general reader. [Wadell] takes as a model for the moral life the common and universal experience of friendship and introduces his project in an engaging, personal, and anecdotal style.” —America“In the central inspiration of his book, in his conviction that friendship is central to the naturally and supernaturally moral life, Wadell is simply right.” —Review of Politics“. . . warm and engaging . . . useful to those interested in virtue theory and the philosophy of love.” —Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this volume of essays John Howard Yoder projects a vision of Christian social ethics rooted in historical community and illuminated by scripture. Drawing upon scriptural accounts of the early church, he demonstrates the Christian community''s constant need for reform and change. Yoder first examines the scriptural and theoretical foundations of Christian social ethics. While personally committed to the radical reformation tradition, he eschews denominational categorization and addresses Christians in general. The status of Christian community, he argues, cannot be separated from the doctrinal content of beliefs and the moral understanding of discipleship. As a result, the Christian''s voluntary commitment to a particular community, as distinct from secular society, offers him valuable resources for practical moral reasoning. From a historical perspective, Yoder reviews the efforts of sixteenth-century radical (or Anabaptist) reformers to return to the fundamental ethical standards oTrade Review"In this collection of essays . . . John Howard Yoder presents a powerful and provocative brief for the radical reformation as the demonstratively classical form of Christian faith. Those who know Yoder’s work will not be surprised by the stance, but will be stimulated by the depth and rigor with which its foundations and implications are explored. The radical reformation of free church is, to Yoder, not a historical curiosity, a minor movement to be respected or tolerated by the mainstream, but a paradigm for all times and peoples . . . Yoder’s is a significant voice in contemporary Christian thought." —Journal of the American Academy of Religion“The essays in this volume merit careful reading . . . because they stimulate thought about how we should live as Christians in a world that is no longer Christendom, and they will, by provoking reaction, help us to consider how characteristic Lutheran emphases (upon Jesus as Savior, not just Example or Lord; upon infant baptism as a freely given grace in which one can grow; upon God’s two ways of governing the world and preserving it against Satan) may lead to a somewhat different social ethic.” —Concordia Theological Quarterly“In this collection of essays Yoder develops a constructive alternative to Reinhold Niebuhr. Yoder’s case for Christian nonviolence draws on Christological and eschatological connections that reveal that any attempt to separate theology and ethics is erroneous. Yoder may provide the kind of ecclesiology that Lindbeck suggests we need.” —The Christian Century

Read more less

Book SynopsisPolitical philosophy in the English-speaking world has been dominated for more than two decades by various versions of liberal theory, which holds that political inquiry should proceed without reference to religious views. Although a number of philosophers have contested this stance, no one has succeeded in dislodging liberalism from its position of dominance.The most interesting challenges to liberalism have come from those outside of the discipline of philosophy. Sociologists, legal scholars, and religious ethicists have attacked liberalism''s embodiment in practice, arguing that liberal practiceparticularly in the United Stateshas produced a culture which trivializes religion. This culture, they argue, is at odds with the beliefs and practices of large numbers of citizens.Disciplinary barriers have often limited scholarly exchange among philosophical liberals and their critics in theology. Religion and Contemporary Liberalism, edited by Paul J. Weithman, brTrade Review“This is a provocative and useful set of essays for anyone who wishes to think again about the role of religion in a healthy, pluralistic, democratic culture. The collection is especially relevant for those interested in church/state issues and who are willing to ask: does our commitment to democratic practices demand neutrality or impartiality from the state with respect to religion and secular points of view?” —Journal of Church and State“Although this collection of essays joins what has become a massive series of books, articles, and symposia considering the 'religion-and-liberal-democracy' issue, its overall approach is refreshingly different.” —Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn introduction to ethical theory from a Christian perspective, this book examines the connection between moral theory, theology and metaphysics, approaching standard ethical theories from the standpoint of Christian theology.Trade Review“. . . a very effective text for introducing undergraduate students to the analytic tradition in ethical theory.” —Religious Studies Review"Writing as a mainline Christian philosopher, neither radical nor conservative, Layman offers a useful introduction to ethical theory. He defends a Christian teleological position: 'An act is right if and only if it promotes the Kingdom of God.' His incisive critiques of other ethical theories—relativistic, subjective, egoistic, utilitarian, deontological—are philosophical, not theological. . . . [I]t is clear and persuasive and should be readily understandable by upper-level undergraduates." —Choice, June 1992"The Shape of the Good, truly an informative book, is clear, precise, and logical. . . . It can serve . . . as an excellent guide for the more advanced student who sees the need for approaching ethical theory from the standpoint of Christian theology. It is also illustrative of the fruitfulness of combining philosophical reflections with those of theology." —America"Readers looking for a clear and systematic account of various ethical theories and an interesting twist in relating God positively and negatively to those theories will not be disappointed with The Shape of the Good." —Theology Today"Layman's book provides an excellent introduction to subjectivism, relativism, and the basic ethical theories, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Those parts of the book provide an invaluable reference. . . . [T]he book should be a useful one in undergraduate courses." —Calvin Theological Journal"The exposition is clear, the ideas interesting and challenging, and the theory obviously will be applicable to many of our bioethical disputes." —Journal of Clinical Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Truthfulness and Tragedy Stanley Hauerwas provides an account of moral existence and ethical rationality that shows how Christian convictions operate, or should operate, to form and direct lives. In attempting to conceptualize the basis of Christian ethics in a manner that will render Christian convictions morally intelligible, the author casts fresh light on traditional theoretical issues and articulates the distinctive Christian response to contemporary concerns such as suicide, medical ethics, and child care. The first section of the book deals with methodological issues: the meaning and nature of practical reason, obligation claims, natural law, and self deception, and the affinity of story and ethics. It focuses on the relation of truthfulness and tragedy and the need for a storya set of religious convictions or grammar of theologythat does justice to the tragic character of human existence. The second section addresses substantive issues: suicide, euthanasia, and tTrade Review"These essays, which focus upon particular issues such as population control, euthanasia, the relations of the Church to politics, and the care of the [mentally challenged], all show clearly how attention to Christian convictions in the narrative context which shapes our lives is necessary to bring to light the features of those issues which are crucial for the formation of our moral judgments and practices." —Theological Studies“The distinctive aspect of the approach taken in Truthfulness and Tragedy is the use of ‘story’ to provide canons of rationality for ethics. . . . The truthfulness of our theological and ethical convictions is best determined by how they relate to and resolve the dilemmas of our existence.” —Christian Century“ . . . A book that should be welcomed by all who care about the moral life. . . . This gleaning of Hauerwas’s thought to date gives added support to his reputation as one of the most consistently provocative ethicists working today.” —*Worldview *"The essays include discussions of the nature and methodology of Christian ethics as well as discussions of more particular issues such as suicide, population control, and care for the retarded." —Horizons

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwelve papers consider what insights the Catholic social tradition can offer to our understanding of the creation and distribution of wealth.Trade Review"These essays represent some of the best thinking anywhere on the practical implications of Catholic social thought for business, organizational management, and economic life generally. They deserve to be read by a broad audience." —J. Michael Stebbins, Gonzaga University“As an informed and informative introduction to social economics, business thought, and organizational management which so many follow as a result of Catholic thought and mentality's effect as being a significant part of society, Rediscovering Abundance is a remarkable compendium of useful, conceptual, and practical information.” —The Midwest Book Review"Twelve papers consider what insights the Catholic social tradition can offer to our understanding of the creation and distribution of wealth." —Journal of Economic Literature "The essays in this collection provide a complex and interdisciplinary analysis of the question of wealth creation and distribution in light of moral and spiritual insights of the Catholic social tradition. In this volume, theologians, economists, philosophers, management theorists, and CEOs engage in conversation. Contributors cover the dimensions of today's global system of wealth creation and outline challenges to make it more just and humane." —Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment "This volume. . . addresses itself to the Catholic perspective on wealth creation and distribution. This edited volume is really two books. The first is a collection of essays from conference attendees. Many of these are well chosen. When read in sequence, they constitute an insightful theology of wealth. The second is the account that frames the essays-introductions to the volume and the sections, essays by the editors, and concluding reflections." —Journal of Markets & Morality“Utilizing Catholic Social Teaching, this volume expands the perception of wealth beyond the maximization of share price or the accumulation of capital. While addressing the moral impact of Catholic social teaching on wealth creation, this volume is suitable for graduate studies, professors, and professional economists.” —Religious Studies Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays focuses on sacrifice in the context of Jewish and Christian scripture and is inspired by the thought and writings of René Girard. The contributors engage in a dialogue with Girard in their search for answers to key questions about the relation between religion and violence. The book is divided into two parts. The first opens with a conversation in which René Girard and Sandor Goodhart explore the relation between imitation and violence throughout human history, especially in religious culture. It is followed by essays on the subject of sacrifice contributed by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field, including Bruce Chilton, Robert Daly, Louis Feldman, Michael Fishbane, Erich Gruen, and Alan Segal. The second part contains essays on specific scriptural texts (Abraham''s sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 and the book of Job in the Jewish tradition, the Gospel and Epistles in the Christian tradition). The authors explore new ways of applyinTrade Review"In increasing numbers, scholars are turning to the mimetic theory espoused by René Girard for answers to key questions about religion and violence. For the first time, the editors of this volume place in conversation with each other scholars who, from the perspective of Christian and Jewish traditions and scholarship, engage via mimetic theory the sacrificial and anti-sacrificial features of ancient Judaism and early Christianity and explore their subsequent trajectories." —Martha Reineke, University of Northern Iowa"A distinctive contribution of this volume is the focus of many of its essays on Judaism and Jewish readings of the Hebrew Bible. Girard's Christian focus has left his thought open to the criticism that it is a recycled form of supersessionism. Though I do not think that this book will put that issue completely to rest, its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish thinkers is welcome and an important advance." —James W. Watts, Syracuse University"This volume first presents a 'conversation' between R. Girard and Goodhart on mimesis, sacrifice, and the Bible. Then it presents twenty essays on specific scriptural texts." —New Testament Abstracts“This important book consists of twenty-one essays that are knowing, critical, and venturesome. . . . The intent of the collection is to understand better the ancient relationship of Judaism and Christianity. The accent of the volume, variously explored, expanded, appreciated, and in small ways critiqued, is the work of René Girard, to whom, along with his wife, the book is dedicated.” —Journal of Ecumenical Studies“The introduction . . . expounds René Girard’s theory that every culture is founded on the collective murder of a surrogate victim. . . . In Girard’s view, the Hebrew Bible reflects a profoundly anti-sacrificial development, and Christianity extends it by positing Jesus’ sacrifice as the supreme sacrifice that ends all sacrifices. . . . This volume . . . puts his theory at work, in two main ways, to which the two parts of the book are devoted.” —Bryn Mawr Classical Review“The ground-breaking work of René Girard on the theme of violence and mimesis in religion is the inspiration for this collection of twenty-one essays. The impact of Girard’s thinking is particularly felt in biblical studies, as this volume demonstrates. The first nine essays address some aspect of biblical sacrifice itself; the rest focus on explicit biblical passages that treat the topic. . . . This is a very readable treatment of an important yet unresolved topic.” —The Bible Today“. . . ultimately, this book serves as an excellent introductory conversation into mimetic theory and sacrifice. This collection of essays is a good starting point for a beginning student, but also will function as a tool for the researcher.” —Religious Studies Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn his celebrated Essay on Population, Thomas Malthus raised the puzzle of why a benevolent Creator would permit material scarcity in human existence. Albino Barrera revisits this question using Thomas Aquinas's metaphysics of participation and Sacred Scripture's invitation to covenant fidelity and kingdom discipleship as analytical lenses with which to examine the seeming incongruity of scarcity in God's providence. Barrera concludes that scarcity turns out to be a signal opportunity for economic agency to receive, internalize, and communicate God's goodness and righteousness within the human community.Written for theologians, philosophers, social scientists, and policymakers interested in the theological and philosophical foundations of economics, this study argues that precarious, subsistence living is not an immutable law of nature. Rather, such a chronic, dismal condition reflects personal and collective moral failure. In this carefully researched study, Barrera aTrade Review“There are comparatively few scholars who are well versed in both theology and economics, but Barrera is clearly one of them. . . . [God and the Evil of Scarcity] is written in a clear and easy style, and has good headings, structure and index. It engages seriously with economics as well as being rich in theological insight, and can be highly commended. . . .” —Theology“Barrera’s intention is to criticize Malthus and to propose a different explanation of the reality of scarcity. Barrera’s book certainly provides a foundation for a theology of economic agency. It is a book that I highly recommend to scholars concerend with a broader approach to scholarship.” —Journal of Markets and Morality"Written for theologians, philosophers, social scientists, and policymakers interested in theological foundations of economics, this book argues that precarious subsistence living is not an immutable law of nature. Rather, such a chronic, dismal condition reflects personal and collective moral failure. The book argues that scarcity serves as an occasion for God to provide for us through each other." —Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment “How do we understand God's purpose in a world of material scarcity? Rather than accept the solutions of Malthus, Sumner and Paley, that material want encourages striving and discipline, Barrera contends that God intends that scarcity can be eliminated through human cooperation, humanity's role as co-creator. Basing his argument upon biblical sources, both Testaments, as well as the thought of Aquinas, he says that God's will is a world with care. He adds that scarcity is accidental . . .” —Horizons“The book is fascinating in many ways. First, I cannot recall anyone taking up the issue of scarcity as theodicy since Malthus. Second, his use of Thomistic thought here is quite clever. Third, his use of Pauline theology is unusual. . . . Finally, by addressing scarcity within the framework of theodicy, Barrera asks a more specific question than a general question of theodicy does.” —Christian Scholar's Review“The overall impression one is left with is that Barrera is engaged in a much-needed project. His sophistication in both economics and theological ethics allows him to carry forward a conversation that has too often stayed at the level of vague generalities about capitalism and socialism, or well-meaning but not particularly strategic pleas on behalf of the poor.” —The Thomist“Albino Barrera, an economist and theologian at Providence college, skillfully and lucidly revistis scarcity with an eye toward encouraging a mindset of economic agency in place of Malthusian resignation. The book is masterfully crafted and beautifully written, and it is important reading not only for scholars of economic ethics but also for students in need of an introduction to questions of scarcity and theodicy. Barrera also has a gift for demonstrating the significance of methodology in theological ethics, which can be an inspiration to those seeking to make sense of the larger conversation and to locate their own thinking within it.” —Christian Ethics“The book is masterfully crafted and beautifully written, and it is important reading not only for scholars of economic ethics but also for students in need of an introduction to questions of scarcity and theodicy. Barrera also has a gift for demonstrating the significance of methodology in theological ethics, which can be an inspiration to those seeking to make sense of the larger conversation and to locate their own thinking within it.” —Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics“A hallmark of Barrera's writing is that he slowly builds all the elements he uses to make his arguments. Often he proceeds so carefully that larger points are established through series of mini-treatises, many of which, due to the depth of their analysis, are worth reading in their own right.” —Review of Social Economy“. . . reports a great deal of recent biblical scholarship . . . my summary of Fr. Barrera's argument must fail to do justice to its many virtues. Part II is scholarly, thorough, and 'catholic' in the best and truest sense of that much-contested world.” —Faith and Economics

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this original and compelling book, Jeffrey P. Bishop, a philosopher, ethicist, and physician, argues that something has gone sadly amiss in the care of the dying by contemporary medicine and in our social and political views of death, as shaped by our scientific successes and ongoing debates about euthanasia and the right to dieor to live. The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying, informed by Foucault's genealogy of medicine and power as well as by a thorough grasp of current medical practices and medical ethics, argues that a view of people as machines in motionpeople as, in effect, temporarily animated corpses with interchangeable partshas become epistemologically normative for medicine. The dead body is subtly anticipated in our practices of exercising control over the suffering person, whether through technological mastery in the intensive care unit or through the impersonal, quasi-scientific assessments of psychological and spiritual medicinTrade Review“The book’s interdisciplinary nature, along with its careful analyses combined with concrete stories of real human struggles with death and dying, no doubt, will be of interest to those engaged in medicine, bioethics, philosophy, theology, and debates concerning public health policies; but all those interested in the place of the body in modern technoscientific culture will find it engaging and cogent.” —Per Caritatem". . . this book will prove to be a seminal, conversation-changing monograph especially in bioethics and philosophy of medicine. . . . It will challenge the fundamental presuppositions that structure most courses in bioethics or death and dying. It is certainly a must-read for scholars and graduate students in these fields, but with guidance, it is an accessible and important text to use with undergraduates interested in bioethics or theology and medicine as well." —Modern Theology"This is a genuinely novel approach that invites one to completely reassess why healthcare institutions and professionals function as they do. It also invites us to question how our lives are shaped by our anticipated deaths. . . . This is not an easy book, but it is worth devoting time to reading it and thinking about the questions it poses. It is beautifully written and carefully argued, and instead of shying away from difficult and potentially disruptive issues in modern medicine it exposes them and challenges us to think again." —Times Higher Education“In this evocatively titled book, physician Bishop joins his Catholic sensibility with a Foucaldian analysis of medicine and power to expose the ambiguities and complexities of contemporary end-of-life issues. . . . Bishop examines issues such as how the need for donated organs since the 1950s has shaped care of the dying in troubling ways, the contesting passions surrounding the Terri Schiavo case, and the trivialization of the religious lives of caregivers and dying patients as wrought by the professionalization of palliative care.” —Library Journal"The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying [is] a compelling read and a groundbreaking work in philosophy and bioethics. Written by physician, bioethicist, and philosopher Jeffrey P. Bishop, the book presents an eloquent argument as to how the profession’s care of dying persons has evolved as well as a provocative and insightful critique of the present state of such care. . . . The Anticipatory Corpse . . . is engaging, provocative, and difficult to put down. . . . For physicians, lawyers, philosophers, chaplains, nurses, and other professionals whose work is centered on life’s final chapter, I wholeheartedly recommend this book." —Journal of the American Medical Association“Jeffrey Bishop . . . takes the reader on a journey into the past to provide insight into how the dead body plays an integral and unrecognized role in the present state of medicine in his book . . . . He argues that the corpse is the end of the practice of medicine.” —Journal of Medical Humanities“It is hard to overestimate the importance of Bishop’s book, not least because of the unchallenged, well-nigh hegemonic place occupied by medicine in western culture . . . . The theological acuteness and pastoral warmth that flow through Jeffrey Bishop’s book make it the most compelling argument for the superiority of this type of humane medicine over the ubiquitous and utterly flaccid ‘biopsychosociospiritual’ pretensions of modern medical practice. But as a challenge to the story of western liberalism, and the central place of medicine within it, The Anticipatory Corpse is also the most important book of 2011.” —ABC Religion and Ethics“The Anticipatory Corpse is interesting, provocative and important—one of the most novel contributions to the field of bioethics of the last several decades. Bishop has many illuminating new things to say about the ethics of medical care for the dying. In the process, he helps to explain why bioethics itself is in such a sad state.” —America"In this brilliant book, Jeffrey Bishop, who is both a physician and a philosopher, turns his clinical and analytical gaze on medicine. His diagnosis is bleak: 'There is something rotten in the heart of medicine.' Nine of the ten chapters are devoted to the diagnosis, showing the source and history of the disease and some of its symptoms, always focusing on how medicine approaches death and care for the dying. . . . In the last chapter, he turns his attention to therapeutic possibilities for medicine and raises a series of provocative questions, the most provocative of which is the last line of his book: Might it not be that only theology can save medicine?" —The Christian Century“The Anticipatory Corpse has the potential to become a classic in the field of medicine. . . . Bishop’s critique of contemporary medical practices and the fundamental philosophical questions underlying them are a stark reminder that the practices of medicine—many of them very good indeed—should not become ends in themselves.” —Ethics and Medicine

Read more less

Book SynopsisSince it was first published in 1991, The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics has received praise from a wide range of commentators, both Catholic and Protestant. This second edition includes discussion of works that have appeared since the early 1990s, especially the first papal document to address fundamental questions of moral theology, Veritatis Splendor. Those who already have adopted the book for classroom use will welcome this new edition, while those who have just been introduced to it will find an authoritative account of the status that virtue-centered theological ethics enjoys today. Following a new preface, the text of the six chapters from the original edition remains unchanged. However, Romanus Cessario has substantially updated his notes to account for recent literature on the subject, and a new chapter that accommodates his original study to current developments in moral theology. This second edition will inspire a new generation of students andTrade Review"In this second edition, Cessario presents a brief but thorough introduction to Christian virtue theory, specifically as expounded by Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae. What is new here is a consideration of recent papal teaching (John Paul II's Veritatis Splendor and Benedict XVI's Deus Caritas Est) as it relates to virtue theory. . . . The book is meant to be studied, not merely read, and so is most appropriate for graduate and advanced [students]." —Choice“It is the author’s intention to provide a general introduction to the Christian virtues and their role in ethics for students. A moral theology based on virtues represents an important element of the tradition. The author’s main source is Thomas Aquinas. . . . The author’s emphasis on the imago Dei as a theological category is a good starting point.” —Catholic Library World

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this welcome new book Marcia L. Colish offers the only monograph-length study of the patriarch treatises of Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397), in which he develops, for the first time in the patristic period, an ethics for the laity. Ambrose the ethicist has been viewed primarily as the author of advice to those with special callings in the church, such as priests, widows, and consecrated virgins. His views have been characterized as advocating asceticism and promoting a Platonic view of human nature, in which the body is a moral problem. Ambrose''s patriarch treatises, argues Colish, are instead aimed at lay people who did not have special callings in the church, but who led active lives in the world as spouses, parents, heads of households, professionals, and citizens. These treatises reveal a different side of Ambrose and show that he developed an ethics of moderation based on an Aristotelian and Stoic anthropology, which he modified in the light of biblical ethics and St. Paul''sTrade Review“Masterly and crystal-clear written study of Ambrose's treatises De Abraham, De Issac, De Iacob and De Ioseph . . . This groundbreaking study on the first patristic development of ethics for the common man is very carefully edited . . . has an excellent bibliography of primary sources and is concluded by an excellent Index.” —Vigiliae Christianae"In Ambrose's Patriarchs, Colish shifts the discussion on the bishop's patriarchal treatises from source-critical considerations to their function in the liturgical life of the Milanese church. She argues that Ambrose created these writings in order to instruct Roman catechumens (competentes) on their new identity as members of the people of Israel and to provide them with practical examples of ethical virtue. . . Colish's analysis is polished and convincing, and is suitable for both graduate students and scholars alike." —Religious Studies Review"Marcia Colish . . . is the first scholar to grasp what can be made for modern readers of Ambrose's four treatises on the patriarchs. The result is an original and suggestive book. She shows that Ambrose chose the patriarchs as subjects for exegetical talks to catechumens who were soon to be baptized." —First Things“While acknowledging that Ambrose was eclectic, Colish contends that his critical appropriation of Stoic, Aristotelian, Philonic, and, to a lesser degree, Platonic thought produced a distinctive Ambrosian anthropology and was 'first, in patristic literature,' to articulate an ethic for the common man rather than for ascetics.” —Pro Ecclesia“This is her study of the patriarch treatises of Ambrose in which he develops an ethics for the laity. . . . This is not an ethics based on asceticism and a Platonic view of human nature, in which the body is a moral problem, but rather, an ethics of moderation based on an Aristotelian and Stoic anthropology, which Ambrose modified in the light of biblical ethics and St. Paul's view of human nature.” —Theology Digest“Colish’s book is a study of the four treatises of Ambrose of Milan on the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. . . . The heart of Colish’s case is that Ambrose’s treatments of the patriarchs were intended in the first instance for Milanese competentes, catechumens who were taking the final steps of initiation into the church. She maintains that Ambrose’s expositions derive from Lenten sermons delivered to these people, instructing them on the ethical entailments of baptism and the significance of the new identity they were about to assume.” —Scottish Journal of Theology“In this engaging and challenging study, Marcia L. Colish, the distinguished historian of ideas and the Philosophy of the Middle Ages, turns her attention to four treatises about the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, written by Ambrose, the late 4th century bishop of Milan. She detects in them the very first Christian ethics ‘for the common man’ and reassesses familiar preconceptions of Ambrose’s philosophical and ethical positions . . . A welcome and original invitation to reconsider late antique Christian preaching and moral exhortation generally. In its admirable lucidity it will be required reading for any student of Ambrose and lf late antique Christian ethics.” —Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique“This is a significant study, by a distinguished scholar, of works that are often overlooked but that, as Marcia Colish ably demonstrates, challenge some widely held interpretations of Ambrose as a theologian, ethicist, and philosopher. This book is both thought provoking and enlightening.” —Francine Cardman, Weston Jesuit School of Theology"The readers of this book will not be surprised by Marcia Colish. She has once again given us a succinct and crystal clear condensation of a complex body of thought. But they will be surprised by Colish's Ambrose. This is not at all the world-denying romantic Platonist that many see him to have been. Colish's close attention to the Stoic groundwork of Ambrose's ehtical thought, and to his careful modification of the views of his predecessors, recapture him as the first Christian preacher prepared to present a coherent ethics for the average believer. Far from showing his preaching to have been a chapter in the rise of Christian ascetic extremism, Colish has shown us how to read Ambrose's sermons as a chapter in a more enduring (and, perhaps, more welcome) development—the 'Romanization' of Christian moral thought, with all the this-wordly solidity which the word 'Roman' still invokes." —Peter Brown, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe purpose of Aquinas''s Ethics is to place Thomas Aquinas''s moral theory in its full philosophical and theological context and to do so in a way that makes Aquinas (1224/5-1274) readily accessible to students and interested general readers, including those encountering Aquinas for the first time. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke begin by explaining Aquinas''s theories of the human person and human action, since these ground his moral theory. In their interpretation, Aquinas''s theological commitments crucially shape his account of the human person, human capacities for action, and human flourishing. The authors develop a comprehensive picture of Aquinas''s thought, which is designed to help students understand how his concept of happiness and the good life are part of a coherent, theologically-informed worldview.Many studies of Aquinas naturally focus on certain areas of his thought and tend to assume a general knowledge of the whoTrade Review"Aquinas’s Ethics is a perfect introduction to one of the most sophisticated and influential ethical systems in Western thought. DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke capture the brilliant clarity of Aquinas’s moral vision, offering an illuminating perspective true to both the theoretical depth and practical richness of Aquinas’s writings. Those new to Aquinas’s ideas will find this book eminently readable. Everyone—students and scholars alike—will appreciate its direct, distinctive voice and clear philosophical intelligence." —Scott MacDonald, Norma K. Regan Professor in Christian Studies, Cornell University"Aquinas's Ethics is an excellent contribution to the literature on Aquinas and ethics, providing an integrated and robust account of the relationship between a metaphysics of human nature, natural law theory, and virtue theory. Showing these inextricable connections, it is very much like the work of St. Thomas himself, and suggests why so many lesser theories of ethics are unsatisfying for their lack of depth and comprehensive reach." —John Kavanaugh, S.J., Saint Louis University“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke have written the ideal introduction to Aquinas’s ethics, situating it in the broader context of his thinking about human nature and action. Although Aquinas cared more about—and wrote more about—ethics than about any other philosophical topic, it remains the most unjustly neglected aspect of his thought. I know of no better guide to that territory than this book.” —Robert Pasnau, University of Colorado at Boulder“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke hope to show the metaphysical foundations of Aquinas’s moral theory by placing it within the broader Christian theological context of his work. . . . Rejecting as narrow and ‘unbalanced’ the contemporary view of Thomas as a ‘natural law ethicist,’ the authors try to restore (or relegate) the natural law to its rightful place in his thought. . . . It provides a first-rate introduction for the undergraduate audience.” —Choice“While this book breaks no new ground, it offers a holistic and theologically informed reading of Aquinas’ ethics. I highly recommend this book as a valuable introduction to the ethics of Thomas Aquinas. It is an eminently clear exposition of a complex system.” —Catholic Library World“In this recent book, Rebecca DeYoung Konyndyk, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke have sought to provide a comprehensive yet manageable introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas’ moral thought. The text itself flows well and is uncluttered by notations, with a fairly extensive scholarly apparatus confined to 46 pages of endnotes at the back of the book. Overall, Aquinas’s Ethics is a very useful text that should find a wide readership.” —Dialogue“This is an excellent introduction not only to Aquinas’s ethics per se but also to much of medieval Scholastic thought in general. . . .Those unfamiliar with medieval philosophy in general or Aquinas’s ethics in particular will gain greatly from having read it. Even those who already have some such familiarity are sure to benefit from the particular metaphysical and integrationist frameworks this work offers.” —Speculum“The study nicely reflects the authors’ involvement with undergraduate teaching, which affords a refreshing level of presentation, replete with examples. . . . The result is an articulate and detailed presentation of what Aquinas says, yet affording less insight into the issues he was struggling with, or of the creative ways he develops to address them.” —The Living Church“The authors of Aquinas’s Ethics have furnished budding Thomists and curious onlookers alike with an outstanding introduction to Aquinas’ moral thought. Written for first (or perhaps second) time readers, this volume strikes just the right balance between technical argument and readability, without compromising the rich complexity of Thomas’ account of human nature and the good life.” —Scottish Journal of Theology

Read more less

Book SynopsisDoering analyzes the material in Simone Weil's notebooks and lesser known essays in order to discuss her thoughts on violence, war, and injustice.Trade Review"Jane Doering's seminal and meticulously researched work may well bring Simone Weil into the central currents of intellectual discourse—a voice from the mid-twentieth century that speaks to our increasingly fraught planet. Weil is presented in her full complexity: not only a relentless, rigorous mind with an abiding faith in reason, but a person of incarnational spirituality." —Peter Walshe, University of Notre Dame"Jane Doering has done a great service in bringing to light many of Weil's writings that have received scant attention. These especially include numerous untranslated early works on the degenerating political situation in Europe in the 1930s, works that have been left aside as having narrow historical interest. But Prof. Doering in bringing them to light has done us all in our present situation an even greater service in using these work to expose Weil's eternally valid insights into the empire of force, and its alternatives to it." —The Rev. Dr. Eric O. Springsted, President of the American Weil SocietyIn Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-perpetuating Force, Jane Doering deftly examines some of the most difficult ethical issues that peace researchers ever face, particularly the need to confront perpetrators of ruthless violence without engaging in immoral acts oneself. Doering skillfully portrays Weil’s analysis of how the abuse of force arises and how the exercise of military force contaminates victor and victim. Readers will find an original perspective on just war thinking, one that highlights the obligation to respect human dignity at all times.” —Robert C. Johansen, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame“E. Jane Doering’s book provides us a new, more penetrating focus on the central message of Simone Weil. The ‘mine of pure gold’ that Weil referred to in her last days is sharply delineated here: the possibility of grace as the countervailing power that may efficaciously oppose oppressive force. Doering’s research is impeccable and opens new perspectives for Weil scholars for years to come.” —John Marson Dunaway, Mercer University“This book, at once carefully organized and explanatory, makes lucid Simone Weil’s relevance to studies of the problem of violence and the sources of peace. . . . Probing questions of gravity and grace, Doering illuminates Weil’s deep interest in ‘the mystery of transferring energy toward good ends’ posing a counterforce to the Empire of Force.” —Choice“The idea of force underpins much of Simone Weil’s thinking . . . . E. Jane Doering gives a nuanced account of the way in which this concept is fundamental to an understanding of Weil’s life and thought.” —French Studies“Doering counters that the most compelling explanatory account for continued interest in Weil’s life and work is (or ought to be acknowledged to be) the profundity of her thinking. Weil had a gift for expressing universal truths in an aphoristic form that invites continued meditation. This is especially true with respect to the focus on Doering’s meticulous study: the development, expression, and, ultimately, the tragic relevance of Weil’s insights on the nature of force.” —Theological Studies“. . . readers can appreciate the work of a notably eclectic, experimental and perplexing person who lived and died in one of the most shameful periods of Europe in the twentieth century. . . . Weil’s insights are crucial to our self-understanding and our capacity to confront our self-made miseries, not least that of war.” —Theology“Simone Weil’s earliest published essays from the 1930s advocate an uncompromising pacifism she gradually abandoned in the aftermath of Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. E. Jane Doering takes these writings as a starting point for a compelling account of the development of Weil’s thought. The result is a valuable study of a central preoccupation of Weil’s, and also an admirable and illuminating introduction to her thought as a whole.” —Journal for Peace and Justice Studies“Simone Weil and the Specter of Self-Perpetuating Force is a practice in attention that, in revealing so painstakingly the nuances of a person’s thought in contact with a violent world, unveils and illuminates our own present crises and asks us not to look away.” —Ars Disputandi

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Christian theological interpretation of the border reality is a neglected area of immigration study. The foremost contribution of A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey is its focus on the theological dimension of migration, beginning with the humanity of the immigrant, a child of God and a bearer of his image. The nineteen authors in this collection recognize that one characteristic of globalization is the movement not only of goods and ideas but also of people. The crossing of geographical borders confronts Christians, as well as all citizens, with choices: between national security and human insecurity, between sovereign national rights and human rights, between citizenship and discipleship. Bearing these global dimensions in mind, the essays in this book focus on the particular problems of immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. The contributors to this volume include scholars as well as pastors and lay people involved in immigration aid work. ContributorTrade Review“At times saddening, at times inspiring, A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey brings fresh perspectives to the discussion of immigration. These essays reach beyond the policy debate and the heated emotions of the moment and provide much needed reflection on larger truths.” —Roberto Suro, University of Southern California“Groody and Campese have assembled 17 essays from an international body of Roman Catholic scholars, religious and lay practitioners. The predominant note is. . . one of human rights advocacy in the light of the liberating God’s option for the poor. . . . There is ample demonstration that theological reflection engages the real situation on the ground to afford an outsider to the debates insight into the deadly plight of migrants on the US-Mexico border.” —Studies in Christian Ethics“The editors of this volume have gathered together many leading figures within Christian theological circles to reflect on an urgent issue in our world—migration. The articles range from those that are quite academically technical to those that are more generally accessible. There are several outstanding articles that should not be missed.” —Multicultural Review“One can hardly find . . . a serious discussion of the human dignity and rights of the migrants who cross international borders to find work or join family. A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey, a compilation of essays taking a theological and rights-based approach to the issue of migration, provides a needed framework to begin that discussion. Comprised of pieces from a wide range of scholars, advocates and service providers, it engages the contemporary immigration debate from a faith-based, Catholic perspective. . . . [A] useful resource for Catholics (and others) who want to reach beyond the dehumanizing language of the national immigration debate and articulate a vision of the migrant as a human being created in God’s image.” —America“This book offers fresh and much-needed approaches to migration, providing convincing support for the notion that any serious study of migration, especially with respect to Latinos/as in the United States, must include religious and theological considerations.” —Theological Studies“The book should be read by anyone interested in acquiring a deeper grasp of the complex issues surrounding the border and immigration; it succeeds in its task of proposing a theology growing out of the experience of immigrants. . . . A Promised Land is an important contribution to the development of a full and robust theology of migration.” —The Journal of Markets and Morality“A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey offers a rich, interdisciplinary treatment of the subject of migration, showing the human face of contemporary migration as a global phenomenon. The authors explore historical antecedents in biblical and early church history, the political debates about borders and the right to migrate, and the role of race, ethnicity, and gender in the ‘perilous journey’ of migrants. This is an indispensable text for all interested in the theology of migration and the ethics of migration policy.” —William O’Neill, S.J., Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley“The essays in this valuable collection originated at an international conference on migration held at the University of Notre Dame in September 2004 . . . The essays, derived from presentations and discussions at the conference, consider biblical and theological perspectives on migration as well as the pastoral and human dimensions of this phenomenon. Given the focus on this issue in this presidential season and the crucial role the church needs to play in support of its migrant peoples, this volume has added significance.” —The Bible Today

Read more less

Book SynopsisEmploying tools of analytic, Continental, and Thomistic philosophy, Godfrey offers a wide-ranging reflection on the nature of trust.Trade Review"Anyone interested in the concept of trust and its role in human relationships, religious experiences, and the nature of knowledge, among other related topics, cannot afford to ignore Joseph Godfrey's extensive study. This book will have wide appeal, not only in the areas of phenomenology and existentialism, but also in theology, religious studies, and literature." —Brendan Sweetman, Rockhurst University"In one situation after another we find ourselves asking: how can I trust? Whom can I trust? Joseph Godfrey directs decades of reflection to explore these conundrums both critically and reverently. The argument moves us away from believing to show how 'trusting is something that is done; it is an activity that at its core is receptive: To trust is to be receptive to enhancement.' In the process he canvasses a wide spectrum of philosophical views, so as to learn from each how to parse this pervasive yet elusive subject, 'to show how trusting may be understood, and practiced, and reasoned about, in analogous . . . ways.' Withal, a sturdy faith shapes his analysis, making it the more subtle and inclusive, to lead us to an enhanced understanding." —David Burrell, C.S.C., Tangaza College, Nairobi, and the University of Notre Dame"This is the most comprehensive and sophisticated discussion of the subject to date. Godfrey’s book is well-written, the product of enormous erudition, supported by a wide range of sources, and covers several different philosophical and religious traditions. It is indispensable for anyone seeking to understand trust, whether practically or conceptually, and will surely change the way we think about the subject." —Robert P. Crease, Stony Brook University“The subjects of trust and hope have occupied Godfrey nearly since he began teaching philosophy at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 1976. The present book emerged, he says, from dissatisfaction with his treatment of trust in his 1987 A Philosophy of Human Hope, and the realization that available treatments are not serviceable in religious contexts, where trust is uniquely important.” —Choice“Joseph Godfrey offers something unique in this extensive work. . . . [He] focuses on what trusting well looks like rather than advocating which religion or what God is truly worthy of trust. . . . Trust of People, Words, and God is a mature work, demonstrating years of thought and research. It is a necessary work for anyone interested in the concept of trust, regardless of religious affiliation.” —Philosophy in Review“Godfrey’s treatment of his topic is deeply learned . . . . He excels at synthesis, finding connections between social scientists, analytic philosophers, phenomenologists, and theologians who approach the concept of trust in different ways.” —Journal of Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. explores the development of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s understanding of the relationship between religion, morality, law, and politics. This fascinating work is part of a broader effort by scholars in various fields to examine unexplored areas in the life, thought, and activism of Martin Luther King, Jr., and it represents the first book length treatment of how King united moral-religious convictions and political activity. This timely study is also the first in-depth analysis of King's views on the roles that religion and morality ought to play, not only in public debate concerning political choices and law, but also in efforts to create political and legal structures that are just and to perpetuate participatory democracy. Beginning with the social, political, and economic implications of King's vision of the New South and his prophetic critique of southern civil religion, this pathbreaking study casts King in the role of politicaTrade Review“The essays in this collection are a most welcome correction to the widely disseminated view of King as simply another integration-oriented civil rights leader. His legacy is accurately portrayed here as transcending the boundaries of law, politics, and religion, to embody in the twentieth century the spiritual essence of Jesus' teachings.” —Derrick Bell, author of Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism“Baldwin has established himself among the preeminent scholars on King and the Civil Rights Movement. Baldwin’s scholarship is impressive, and his essays are clear and engaging. This book argues persuasively that King was much more than a dreamer: he was a thinker and activist who had a deep effect on culture and politics; his ideas remain relevant.” —Choice“Each essay makes a notable contribution to the literature. Futhermore, and perhaps as important, the book serves as something of a blueprint for future research. The topical essays manage to cover a great deal of ground and add greatly to our understanding of King’s views on the intertwining nature of law, politics, morality, and religion.” —Political Science Quarterly“These impressive essays argue that not all students of King have accepted, let alone appreciated, his political, economic, legal and religious radicalism. . . . The battle over King’s legacy no doubt will rage on. But Baldwin and his colleagues have rightly called us back to the textual evidence. They have thereby empowered us to fight even more faithfully for the beloved community that King hoped would be his enduring legacy.” —Christian Century“This is a remarkable book. Looking at the civil rights movement of the 20th Century through the lens of Martin Luther King’s thought and work, it casts a blazing light on the manner in which religion and politics were linked to achieve profound social change. Even more important, the book can be a guidepost in the 21st Century for those who want to apply their Judeo-Christian faith to the unfinished struggle to dismantle the white supremacist structures that have imprisoned us all.” —Anne Braden, writer and social justice activist“Lewis Baldwin has come closest to defining the mystique of Martin Luther King, Jr. He has succeeded where so many other writers have failed because they only digest some facet of the King phenomenon. Baldwin unveils the globalist aspect of Dr. King’s life and mission for all the world to see. This is a must-read book.” —Wyatt Tee Walker, former Chief of Staff to Dr. King and current Senior Pastor and CEO of the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in New York’s Harlem Community“W]ell-researched, well-conceptualized, and well-written books.... [S]uitable readings for students at the high school and college levels, not to mention the general reading public.” —MultiCultural Review“Lewis Baldwin and his colleagues have made a significant contribution to the scholarly literature on Martin Luther King Jr., by producing this cogent and compelling analysis of how law, religion, and politics intersected to influence King's ideas about the responsibility of the State to promote a more inclusive and democratic society.” —Carol M. Swain, professor of law and professor of political science, Vanderbilt University Law School"Fresh and provocative, these essays demonstrate that despite the outpouring of print on King, surprising, unplumbed dimensions remain to be explored. Essential for King scholars and for collections on religious studies, civil rights, or the moral politics of contemporary America." —Library Journal“The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. is the most comprehensive and penetrating study of King’s legacy in law, politics, and religion that has thus far appeared. It is brilliant in analysis, interpenetrating in synoptic overview, and relevant for policy building and nonviolent action.” —Dr. Walter Muelder, mentor to Dr. King and Dean Emeritus of the Boston University School of Theology

Read more less

Book SynopsisBrian Matz argues that scholars and proponents of the modern Catholic social tradition can gain from the use of ancient texts for contemporary socioethical formation.Trade Review"Patristics and Catholic Social Thought is completely original in approach and stands alone as a unique contribution to the problem of bridging the hermeneutical gap between early Christianity and the contemporary church and the social issues with which we engage today. The book is written in a clear and simple style that is readily accessible to both the specialist and nonspecialist reader alike, making it useful for teachers of hermeneutics in religious studies departments and seminaries." —Wendy Mayer, Australian Catholic University"Brian Matz has shown elsewhere his detailed grasp of patristic texts helpful for Christian ethics today. In this volume he skillfully articulates the major hermeneutical options for critically interpreting these texts and discerns among them the most promising for introducing a patristically inspired reading of biblical narratives to engage the moral imagination of contemporary believers. Christian social thought—both Protestant and Catholic—has much to gain from his analysis." —Daniel Finn, St. John's University"Brian Matz’s innovative research in hermeneutical models provides occasion and opportunity for both veteran scholars and emerging experts to consider how we might carefully and authentically bring the voices of late antiquity into conversation with today's modern ethicists around shared concerns with poverty and injustice. Matz meticulously unfolds models that will surely impact and guide work in the academic field for generations. In this, he has provided the academic community with a gift and a challenge to make our work relevant, and thus to change not only how we think, but also how we live." —Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen, Pacific Lutheran University“Matz deals with a topic that is quite technical in a clear and systematic manner, making this book relevant for anyone interested in sustaining the patristic treasures of the Christian faith and allowing them to bear fruit in our lifetime. . . . This work is an item worthy of a place in college, university, and seminary libraries, as well as the office shelves of those involved in the social justice ministries of Christian churches.” —Catholic Library World “[Our] task as scholars is to gather complexity together and try to make sense of it, and Matz is to be commended for his considerable dedication to exploring topics of theological, social, and ethical importance. That he is able to make such a considerably complex task so manageable for the reader is a sign not only of his erudition among each of the fields but also points to his ability to enhance the future work of the academy.” —Journal of Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema presents a philosophical approach to the moral issues involved in complicity. Starting with a taxonomy of Thomas Aquinas, according to whom there are nine ways for one to become complicit in the wrongdoing of another, Mellema analyzes each kind of complicity and examines the moral status of someone complicit in each of these ways. Mellema's central argument is that one must perform a contributing action to qualify as an accomplice, and that it is always morally blameworthy to perform such an action. Additionally, he argues that an accomplice frequently bears moral responsibility for the outcome of the other's wrongdoing, but he distinguishes this case from cases in which the accomplice is tainted by the wrongdoing of the principal actor. He further distinguishes between enabling, facilitating, and condoning harm, and introduces the concept of indirect complicity. Mellema tackles issues that are clearly important to any cTrade Review"In Complicity and Moral Accountability, Gregory Mellema has made an immensely important contribution to the discussion of group morality and collective responsibility both within and far beyond professional academic philosophy. His clearly written book will be essential reading." —Fergus Kerr, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh"Although the book is grounded in the account of complicity given by Thomas Aquinas, it also engages contemporary literature on the subject and finishes with an account of the ways this moral concept intersects with American legal principles. . . . This is a first-rate contribution to contemporary moral philosophy." —C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University"With characteristic clarity and insight, Gregory Mellema cautiously explores the concept of complicity and charts its connections to related moral concepts. His discussion is precise but accessible, and also addresses practical questions like how to avoid becoming complicit in wrongdoing." —Scott A. Davison, Morehead State University"Anyone interested in such timely issues as the difference between enabling harm, facilitating harm, and condoning harm (and how these relate to legal categories such as aiding and abetting), or between what we may morally expect from others and what they are morally obliged to give us, will appreciate this carefully nuanced and historically informed scholarship." —Edward Langerak, St. Olaf College“Gregory Mellema’s short and lively book on the ethics of complicity, while decidedly a work of analytical philosophy, is ‘aimed at an audience that includes nonphilosophers’. . . . I found much to inspire and intrigue as well as to provoke in these passages, as indeed in the whole of the book.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is an English translation of St. Thomas Aquinas' work ""On Evil"".Trade Review“This is a major milestone in translation and a welcome addition to the opus of the great saint available in translation. Highly recommended.” —The Reader’s Review“Those who have the required time and tenacity will be richly rewarded by [Aquinas’s] treatment of a perennial problem.” —Books and Culture“Great care has been lavished on the text, and the result is a clear and readable rendering. . . . a valuable addition to the growing list of Thomas’s works available in English.” —Religious Studies Review". . . a mature and major work [that] deals with both philosophical and theological aspects of the nature of evil, its causes and kinds, the main classes of sin, freedom, original sin, and devils. . . ." —Choice“Plumbing the theological problem of evil—a classic intellectual and emotional struggle in religion—now seems a newly urgent task, a fact reflected in... a new translation of Aquinas’s On Evil by John and Jean Oesterle (Notre Dame).” —Publishers Weekly

Read more less

Book SynopsisGiven the largely Eurocentric nature of moral theology in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, what will it take to invest the theological community in the history and moral challenges of the Church in other parts of the world, especially Africa? What is to be gained for the whole Church when this happens in a deep and lasting way? In this timely and important study, Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor brings greater theological clarity to the issue of the relationship between Christianity and African tradition in the area of ethical foundations. He also provides a constructive example of what fundamental moral theology done from an African and Christian (especially Catholic) moral theological point of view could look like.Following a brief history of the development of African Christian theology, Odozor examines responses of African theologians to African tradition and Christian responses to the reality of non-Christian religions. In a context where the African religious experienTrade Review"This is an ambitious book, a big book. The scholarship is sound and the author engages a range of authors and their views. Odozor takes seriously the critical and moral demands of Christian theology as well as those of African indigenous religions and their cultures. There is perhaps nothing so thoroughgoing on this topic since Bénézet Bujo’s Foundations of an African Ethic: Beyond the Universal Claims of Western Morality." —M. Shawn Copeland, Boston College"There are very few in theological ethics who can draw people into conversation through their combination of insightful argument and their gracious welcome to those in other academic fields. In Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, Paulinus Odozor succeeds on both counts, speaking boldly but charitably across ecclesial, cultural, and academic divides. By articulating an ethical methodology drawn from the moral reasoning of the African Christian churches, taking seriously the challenges of cultural particularity but also moral realism, and also giving the reader a sense of the complex pursuit of the truth about God and the human in history, Odozor has dared (and delivered) what few would attempt but many need—a genuinely comparative theological ethics." —David A. Clairmont, Tisch Family Associate Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame"This work is truly astounding in its breadth and depth, and is bound to become a standard textbook in African moral theology. New is the accent on received Christian tradition as a principal source of such moral theology. Odozor engages in dialogue with various moral theologians (Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Paul Knitter, and James Gustafson) and theologians of African morality (John Mbiti, Laurenti Magesa, and Elochukwu Uzukwu). The seven guidelines for theological inculturation in Africa are particularly illuminating and may be a good entry point into this work for the nonspecialist." —James Chukwuma Okoye, C.S.Sp., Duquesne University"Odozor has produced a definitive study that will determine the future of theological conversations about the place of African moral theology in world Christianity. His triple dialogue with African Christian theologies, Catholic fundamental moral theologies, and African traditional religious ethics is comprehensive in scope, rich in depth, systematic in analysis, and encyclopedic in presentation. This is Odozor at his best as he displays the traits of an ethical reasoning which is both Christian and African, addresses contextual questions without being parochial, and engages with moral issues which will help navigate the shifting landscape of World Catholicism." —Stan Chu Ilo, DePaul University“Odozor attempts to branch away from the Eurocentric nature of the Catholic Church’s history of moral theology in his book Morality Truly Christian, Truly African. Focusing on ethical foundations, he discusses the relationship between Christianity and the traditions of Africa. The continent’s rich traditions are powerful sources of meaning and identity in Christian evangelization.” —U.S. Catholic"Odozor has written an outstanding work on African Christian moral theology. He places great emphasis on theological enculturation, a continual process of dialogue between theology and culture. For Odozor, the enculturation process involves a triple dialogue involving African Christian theologies, Catholic fundamental moral theologies, and African traditional religious ethics." —Choice“Odozor’s analyses of the meaning and function of tradition and culture, the encounter of African traditional religion and Christianity, the post-Vatican II encouragement to inculturate the faith, the relation of ‘new’ theologies to historical Catholic theology, and the impact of political divisiveness in a changing global political situation are comprehensive and complex. The African Church has much to teach us, and this text marks a paradigm shift in the study of Catholic moral theology.” —Catholic Library World“Odozer analyzes African Christian theological ethics by simultaneously taking into account both the whole Christian moral tradition and African moral traditions. . . . I recommend this book to readers interested in becoming acquainted with the present status of African Christian theology and ethics; and moral theologians who want to engage with the growing contributions of current African Christian theological ethics will find this volume a valuable resource.” —Theological Studies"In Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, Father Odozor examines issues, some of them neuralgic, arising from the enculturation of Catholic moral discourse in a religiously pluralistic African situation. 'My hope,' he writes, 'is that theologizing in such an open way, as I try to do here in this book, will help to bring the church and the entire theological community into conversation about Christian ethics (moral theology) in the African context so that what goes on in that part of the Christian community will be of interest to all as a ‘Christian theological thing,’ and not just as an ‘African thing.’ I believe that what goes on in the current African church and theology should be of great interest to the theological community elsewhere, given the potential of this emerging church and its current and growing impact on the rest of the church.'" —Spiritan“The landscape of global Christianity has changed significantly in recent decades. This notion is the foundational premise of Odozor’s book . . . and he draws upon scholarship that suggests that the centre of global Christianity is shifting from Europe and North America to Africa, Asia and Latin America. . . . This shift in the epicenter of Church membership has consequences not only for the kind of theology that is required to answer questions faced in those particular contexts, but also for the theological project in its entirety as new contributions emerge from these places that shape how we understand our faith in its entirety.” —Studies in Christian Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisDeparting from the usual discussions of public morality, and considering the moral interests of the community as a whole, this book is a contribution to this intensely debated theme and considers how public morality can be justified in theory and accommodated in practice in a liberal society.Trade Review“One seldom sees a thoughtful, well-reasoned argument for serious public morality today—by serious I mean backed by the sanction of law—especially one meant to appeal both to believers and unbelievers. This is such a book. With it, Harry M. Clor has shed light on the most confusing issue of our age: the place of public morality in liberal society.” -- Crisis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis important philosophical reflection on love and sexuality from a broadly Christian perspective is aimed at philosophers, theologians, and educated Christian readers. Alexander R. Pruss focuses on foundational questions on the nature of romantic love and on controversial questions in sexual ethics on the basis of the fundamental idea that romantic love pursues union of two persons as one body. One Body begins with an account, inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas, of the general nature of love as constituted by components of goodwill, appreciation, and unitiveness. Different forms of love, such as parental, collegial, filial, friendly, fraternal, or romantic, Pruss argues, differ primarily not in terms of goodwill or appreciation but in terms of the kind of union that is sought. Pruss examines romantic love as distinguished from other kinds of love by a focus on a particular kind of union, a deep union as one body achieved through the joint biological striving of the sort Trade Review"This is a terrific—really quite extraordinary—work of scholarship. It is quite simply the best work on Christian sexual ethics that I have seen. It will become the text that anyone who ventures into the field will have to grapple with—a kind of touchstone. Moreover, it is filled with arguments that even secular writers on sexual morality will have to engage and come to terms with." —Robert P. George, Princeton University"One Body is an excellent piece of philosophical-theological reflection on the nature of sexuality and marriage. This book has the potential to become a standard go-to text for professors and students working on sex ethics issues, whether in philosophy or theology, both for the richness of its arguments, and the scope of its coverage of cases. " —Christopher Tollefsen, University of South Carolina“With great clarity and without recourse to religious argument, Pruss gives the reader an extensive philosophical reflection on love and sexuality. . . . The author examines reproductive technology and concludes that it is only morally permissible when helping coition to be fruitful, so that the child always remains a fruit of the marital act. Pruss has presented us with a substantial apologia on Catholic teaching on human sexuality.” —Catholic Medical Quarterly“Professor Pruss has thought as deeply and rigorously about the meaning and moral significance of human sexuality, and about the norms by which sexual choices should be guided and sexual conduct governed, as anyone of whom I am aware writing today.” —firstthings.com“Pruss does not hesitate to deal with all aspects of human sexuality in an open and honest manner, recognizing and responding to objections from the secular world as well as from more liberal Christian writers. His arguments are sensitive to the realities of modern life, but unyielding in adherence to traditional doctrine. . . . College and professional libraries would benefit from having such an articulate and thorough treatment of Christian sexual ethics.” —Catholic Library World"This is a wide-ranging and deeply interesting book. . . . It is a philosopher's work of moral philosophy and theology. . . . It has a core thesis, the principal concern of which is to advance a conception of marital union; it then discusses the implications of that thesis for a variety of questions in sexual ethics. Given the variety of debates about marriage currently under way in many cultures, the topic is obviously a significant one." —Studies in Christian Ethics“This profound and very readable work sets a new standard for sexual ethics. Built around its central argument is a profound examination of a wide variety of sexual phenomena, many of which are of pressing ethical concern yet are only curiously dealt with by previous writers . . . . I doubt I will read a better book on the philosophy of sex in my lifetime.” —New Blackfriars“The most impressive thing about One Body is Pruss’s ability to sustain his main argument for the entirety of the work (all four hundred-plus pages), through further complications, responses to objections, and an array of complex and important issues. There are, scattered throughout, several minor arguments that offer secondary support for some of his particular ethical conclusions. But, in my opinion, the greatest contribution that One Body makes to the field of Christian sexual ethics is the systematic approach that it provides for those who want to investigate these issues further.” —Catholic Social Science Review“This volume is written by a philosophy professor who is also very well versed in Christian theology . . . . It would be interesting for anyone wanting to understand Catholic moral reasoning with regard to sexual issues, and could be especially helpful as a graduate level textbook on marriage and sexuality at a Catholic institution.” —Religious Studies Review“One Body is a large, ambitious, and impressive defense of traditional Christian sexual ethics . . . Alexander Pruss’s argumentative tenacity (One Body ‘bristles’ with arguments, as they say) is extraordinary, and One Body will become a standard text in sexual ethics.” —Nova et Vetera

Read more less

Book SynopsisAll of us teach, begins Mark Schwehn's anthology of readings on teaching and learning. Teaching is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. It includes training children, forming habits and characters, witnessing to a way of life, nurturing reflection and imagination, and imparting goals as well as facts and skills. Teachers are parents, grandparents, spouses, friends, neighbors, pastors, siblings, and co-workers, as well as professional educators. Most people know good teaching when they encounter it, Schwehn argues, and few would identify it with a list of techniques. Although good teaching often seems closer to an art than a skill, teaching is not an occult practice, but a public activity that can be improved by practice and questioning and demonstrated by good examples. Through Schwehn's choice of examples and deft introductions, Everyone a Teacher is an argument for a rich account of good teaching. It invites reflection yet avoids the abstractions of psychology and eTrade Review“If you know someone who’s about to become a teacher, a very suitable present might be Everyone a Teacher, edited by Mark Schwehn. Mr. Schwehn has a deep and sound knowledge of important works about education and every reader will encounter something new in his book. The book will be the ideal graduation present for anyone who has completed a master’s degree and is about to start a teaching career.” —The Washington Times“Schwen is to be commended for compiling a stimulating book of primary texts about teaching and learning. I benefited from the balance of gender, race/ethnicity in the selection—a testament to a conscientious editor. One could use Everyone a Teacher as an outline for a faculty development workshop, where each section could be read, discussed and applications could be made for institution. Or perhaps the book can be better used in a mentoring relationship between a senior and junior faculty member. Or even as a gift for summer reading and reflection. Whatever the context, Everyone a Teacher reminds us that being a teacher should always be the foundation of teaching.” —Teaching Theology and Religion

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor as long as humans have pondered philosophical issues, they have contemplated the good life. Yet most suggestions about how to live a good life rest on assumptions about what the good life actually is. Thomas Carson here confronts that question from a fresh perspective. Surveying the history of philosophy, he addresses first-order questions about what is good and bad as well as metaethical questions concerning value judgments.Carson considers a number of established viewpoints concerning the good life. He offers a new critique of Mill's and Sidgwick''s classic arguments for the hedonistic theory of value, employing thought experiments that invite us to clarify our preferences by choosing between different kinds of lives. He also assesses the desire- or preference-satisfaction theory of value in detail and takes a fresh look at both Nietzsche''s Übermensch ideal and Aristotle''s theory of the good life.In exploring foundational questions, Carson observes that many esTrade Review“[T]horough and wide-ranging book... Carson’s book should be a useful guide to those who share his interest in developing a non-realist theory of value.” —Mind“This is a well-organized, well-informed, and thoughtfully written study of precisely the topics indicated by the title. This is an up-to-date, well-informed, and wide-ranging book. Carson’s views are sensible and intelligently defended. Anyone interested in recent work in axiology or metaethics will find the book worthy of careful study.” —Ethics“Value and the Good Life is a very rich work, one that makes significant contributions to several contemporary debates, while also providing insights into the work of key historical figures.... Highly recommended.” —Philosophy in Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe purpose of Aquinas''s Ethics is to place Thomas Aquinas''s moral theory in its full philosophical and theological context and to do so in a way that makes Aquinas (1224/5-1274) readily accessible to students and interested general readers, including those encountering Aquinas for the first time. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke begin by explaining Aquinas''s theories of the human person and human action, since these ground his moral theory. In their interpretation, Aquinas''s theological commitments crucially shape his account of the human person, human capacities for action, and human flourishing. The authors develop a comprehensive picture of Aquinas''s thought, which is designed to help students understand how his concept of happiness and the good life are part of a coherent, theologically-informed worldview.Many studies of Aquinas naturally focus on certain areas of his thought and tend to assume a general knowledge of the whoTrade Review"Aquinas’s Ethics is a perfect introduction to one of the most sophisticated and influential ethical systems in Western thought. DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke capture the brilliant clarity of Aquinas’s moral vision, offering an illuminating perspective true to both the theoretical depth and practical richness of Aquinas’s writings. Those new to Aquinas’s ideas will find this book eminently readable. Everyone—students and scholars alike—will appreciate its direct, distinctive voice and clear philosophical intelligence." —Scott MacDonald, Norma K. Regan Professor in Christian Studies, Cornell University"Aquinas's Ethics is an excellent contribution to the literature on Aquinas and ethics, providing an integrated and robust account of the relationship between a metaphysics of human nature, natural law theory, and virtue theory. Showing these inextricable connections, it is very much like the work of St. Thomas himself, and suggests why so many lesser theories of ethics are unsatisfying for their lack of depth and comprehensive reach." —John Kavanaugh, S.J., Saint Louis University“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke have written the ideal introduction to Aquinas’s ethics, situating it in the broader context of his thinking about human nature and action. Although Aquinas cared more about—and wrote more about—ethics than about any other philosophical topic, it remains the most unjustly neglected aspect of his thought. I know of no better guide to that territory than this book.” —Robert Pasnau, University of Colorado at Boulder“DeYoung, McCluskey, and Van Dyke hope to show the metaphysical foundations of Aquinas’s moral theory by placing it within the broader Christian theological context of his work. . . . Rejecting as narrow and ‘unbalanced’ the contemporary view of Thomas as a ‘natural law ethicist,’ the authors try to restore (or relegate) the natural law to its rightful place in his thought. . . . It provides a first-rate introduction for the undergraduate audience.” —Choice“While this book breaks no new ground, it offers a holistic and theologically informed reading of Aquinas’ ethics. I highly recommend this book as a valuable introduction to the ethics of Thomas Aquinas. It is an eminently clear exposition of a complex system.” —Catholic Library World“In this recent book, Rebecca DeYoung Konyndyk, Colleen McCluskey, and Christina Van Dyke have sought to provide a comprehensive yet manageable introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas’ moral thought. The text itself flows well and is uncluttered by notations, with a fairly extensive scholarly apparatus confined to 46 pages of endnotes at the back of the book. Overall, Aquinas’s Ethics is a very useful text that should find a wide readership.” —Dialogue“This is an excellent introduction not only to Aquinas’s ethics per se but also to much of medieval Scholastic thought in general. . . .Those unfamiliar with medieval philosophy in general or Aquinas’s ethics in particular will gain greatly from having read it. Even those who already have some such familiarity are sure to benefit from the particular metaphysical and integrationist frameworks this work offers.” —Speculum“The study nicely reflects the authors’ involvement with undergraduate teaching, which affords a refreshing level of presentation, replete with examples. . . . The result is an articulate and detailed presentation of what Aquinas says, yet affording less insight into the issues he was struggling with, or of the creative ways he develops to address them.” —The Living Church“The authors of Aquinas’s Ethics have furnished budding Thomists and curious onlookers alike with an outstanding introduction to Aquinas’ moral thought. Written for first (or perhaps second) time readers, this volume strikes just the right balance between technical argument and readability, without compromising the rich complexity of Thomas’ account of human nature and the good life.” —Scottish Journal of Theology

Read more less

Book SynopsisWorking from within the contours of Christian faith, this book examines the relation between two ways of forming familiesthrough nature (by procreation) and through history (by adoption). Christians honor the biological tie between parents and children, for it is the work of God in creation. Yet Christians cannot forget that it is adoption, and not simply natural descent, that is at the center of the New Testament's depiction of God's grace. Gilbert Meilaender takes up a range of issues raised by the practice of adoption, always seeking to do justice to both nature and history in the formation of families, while keeping at the center of our vision the truth that it is not by nature but by grace that we can become adopted children of the one whom Jesus called his Father. Meilaender begins with reflection on the puzzling relation of nature and history in forming families and proceeds to unpack the meaning of huiothesia, the word used in the New Testament to name the gracTrade Review"Gilbert Meilaender writes as a Christian, and he finds help in sorting through his perspective from Muslim and Jewish sources. His tone is patient (even when discussing arguments he finds wrongheaded) pulling out the best and the worst strands in questions regarding adoption, artificial reproductive technologies, and cryopreserved embryos. The chapters are informative and winsomely written. He has also notably managed to bring books I read to my daughters together with arcane theological documents that are relevant, but tricky to introduce." —Amy Laura Hall, Duke Divinity School"Readers of Meilaender’s work have come to expect beautiful prose wedded to probing theological and ethical analysis. Both are in evidence in this engaging exploration of how adoption challenges Christians to understand the complex balancing of nature and history that is required for a proper understanding of family life. That Meilaender can weave together literature, philosophy, theology, and personal experience so seamlessly in developing his account of adoption is a marvel." —Paul Lauritzen, John Carroll University"One of the great theological ethicists of our generation, Gil Meilaender has gifted us with a book that is absolutely essential reading for anyone whose life is touched by adoption and wants to make moral sense of it. Meilander’s pithy, lucid style is perfect for conveying deep theological truths, and his arguments are consistently compelling and civil. Having lived a life with adopted children, Meilaender shows us deep and abiding wisdom on every page." —John Berkman, Regis College, University of Toronto“'[S]hared history—not just biology—can create a bond between parent and child,' [Gilbert Meilaender] says. The center of his concern is 'the meaning of adoption for Christian theology,' and he discusses such issues as whether single persons should adopt, if it is wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries, and the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies." —Notre Dame Magazine"As Meilaender points out, current estimates are that, worldwide, 17–18 million children are orphans. . . . Meilaender's fine and accessible book is an important start in thinking about forming families and the implications of our commitment to them." —Christian Century“Meilaender analyzes ethical questions that bear on us all, and not merely adoptive parents, because the question of adoption also raises the question of what it means to be human.” —Lutheran Quarterly "[We] should approve of those who are willing to cross boundaries of nation and culture to adopt children who need a home. I feel the same way about adoption across racial boundaries, although we all know how complex this is in the United States because of the troubled history of race relations here." —Crux“. . . what makes the book endearing is that he combines theological reasoning about adoption together with letters to his son. . . . Meilaender has written a thought-provoking and eloquent book that deserves to be read not only by those interested in the topic of adoption, but by all Christians seeking to know more about what it means to be heirs of God’s kingdom.” —Studies in Christian Ethics

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this groundbreaking study of post-conflict Sierra Leone, Lyn Graybill examines the ways in which both religion and local tradition supported restorative justice initiatives such as the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and village-level Fambul Tok ceremonies.Through her interviews with Christian and Muslim leaders of the Inter-Religious Council, Graybill uncovers a rich trove of perspectives about the meaning of reconciliation, the role of acknowledgment, and the significance of forgiveness. Through an abundance of polling data and her review of traditional practices among the various ethnic groups, Graybill also shows that these perspectives of religious leaders did not at all conflict with the opinions of the local population, whose preferences for restorative justice over retributive justice were compatible with traditional values that prioritized reconciliation over punishment.These local sentiments, however, were at odds with the international Trade Review"Lyn Graybill has produced a detailed, well-researched, and eminently readable account of how Sierra Leone emerged at the start of the century from a decade of turmoil and bloody conflict. In the country’s efforts to achieve peace and democracy, reconciliation and justice, a struggle with which I was closely involved, Sierra Leone was subjected unusually to both a War Crimes Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Graybill highlights how one should take due account of traditional practices in promoting reconciliation and restorative justice, including the role of key indigenous players such as religious leaders, alongside the somewhat heavy-handed efforts of outside influences—lessons from which we should continue to learn as we grapple with ongoing conflicts in the world today." —Peter Penfold, former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone (1997–2000)"Outside observers of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war often express puzzlement about the evident lack of rancor among the general population towards former 'rebels' and rogue soldiers who committed heinous atrocities during the war. Lyn Graybill’s penetrating and well-researched book offers a persuasive explanation for this, justly crediting the use of religious and traditional resources by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (and by local leaders and conciliators) for helping create the facilitating environment. This is a very important contribution to the debate on transitional justice in Africa and a valuable addition to the literature on Sierra Leone's 'rebel' war." —Lansana Gberie, author of A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone"How and when are reconciliation and forgiveness possible? And what is the role of religion here? Lyn Graybill's interesting book makes an original contribution and shows some of the limitations of justice-through-punishment while highlighting the importance of traditional and religiously based modes of reconciliation." —David Keen, London School of Economics and Political Science“Inspired by unanswered questions arising from her noted research on transitional justice in the case of South Africa, Lyn Graybill has crafted a comprehensive examination of the multidimensionality that has characterized the ongoing search for truth, reconciliation, and justice in the wake of Sierra Leone’s eleven-year civil war.” —Journal of Church and State“Religion, Reconciliation, and Restorative Justice in Sierra-Leone offers a valuable insight into a unique chapter in the larger saga of transitional justice in postcolonial Africa. The wealth of information Graybill has gathered, and her ability to organize this vast quantity of data into a coherent narrative, make this volume indispensible for anyone researching contemporary efforts towards peace and stability in Sierra-Leone.” —Journal for Peace and Justice Studies Graybill makes a significant contribution to discussing the controversies and dilemmas associated with pursuing justice in the aftermath of systematic and mass human atrocities... Graybill has added some tools to the toolkit of transitional justice, in a way that easily captures the imagination. -Canadian Journal of African Studies

Read more less

Book SynopsisMany regions of the world whose histories include war and violent conflict have or once had strong ties to Orthodox Christianity. Yet policy makers, religious leaders, and scholars often neglect Orthodoxy's resources when they reflect on the challenges of war.Through essays written by prominent Orthodox scholars in the fields of biblical studies, church history, Byzantine studies, theology, patristics, political science, ethics, and biology, Orthodox Christian Perspectives on War presents and examines the Orthodox tradition's nuanced and unique insights on the meaning and challenges of war with an eye toward their contemporary relevance. This volume is structured in three parts: Confronting the Present Day Reality, Reengaging Orthodoxy's Tradition, and Constructive Directions in Orthodox Theology and Ethics. Each exemplifies the value of interdisciplinary reflection on war and the potential for the Eastern Orthodox tradition to enhance ecumenical and interfaith discussTrade Review“This book brings together a number of Orthodox perspectives that are timely, informative yet original, and constructive. Most theological treatments of the ethics of war are Catholic and Protestant, and Orthodox Christians offer a fascinating perspective that might stimulate imaginative thinking and chisel away at some impasses. The volume provides a wonderful springboard for a serious conversation to happen.” —Tobias Winright, Hubert Mäder Endowed Chair of Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University“Through essays by prominent Orthodox scholars across many fields, this collection presents and examines the Orthodox tradition’s nuanced and unique insights on the meaning and challenges of war with an eye toward their contemporary relevance.” —Publishers Weekly“Orthodox Christian Perspectives on War makes an important contribution to the scholarly conversation on how Orthodoxy views the ethics of war and peace. Since it includes essays from a variety of scholars with expertise in various subdisciplines of religious studies and theology, this study stands alone as an integrated collection of diverse scholarly treatments of the subject matter.” —Philip LeMasters, McMurry University and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary"Orthodox Christian thought on the phenomenon of war remains largely unknown in the West, an imbalance that this path-breaking volume successfully amends. These twelve essays grapple with biblical, patristic, historical and theological sources, presenting critical insights through a diverse range of perspectives and methodologies. This volume will no doubt become the standard point of departure for subsequent scholarly discussions of this topic among Eastern Orthodox Christians, as well as for all those seeking meaningful and novel options in the endeavor to understand the complex and disturbing reality of war." —Rev. Maximos Constas, Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology"Protestants and Catholics are heirs to two traditions regarding war and peace—'Just War Theory' and 'Christian Pacifism.' While Eastern Orthodoxy has no systematic stance on war or military service, this collection demonstrates that it can cast new light on the debate, providing evidence of distinct approaches to the question and a critique of those who maintain that orthodox teaching can be subsumed under those developed by Western Christianity. Beyond a general consensus that no war is just but is at best a lesser evil, this book displays some surprising vantages." —Library Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisJean Bethke Elshtain (19412013) was a noted ethicist, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Her four decades of scholarship defy easy categorization: she wrote both seminal works of theory and occasional pieces for the popular press, and she was variously viewed as radical and conservative, feminist and traditionalist, anti-war and pro-interventionist. Jean Bethke Elshtain: Politics, Ethics, and Society is the first attempt to evaluate Elshtain's entire published body of work and to give shape to a wide-ranging scholarly career, with an eye to her work's ongoing relevance. This collection of essays brings together scholars and public intellectuals from across the spectrum of disciplines in which Elshtain wrote. The volume is organized around four themes, which identify the central concerns that shaped Elshtain's thought: (1) the nature of politics; (2) politics and religion; (3) international relations and just war; and (4) the end(s) of political life. The essays hTrade Review“This book is interdisciplinary, generative, and comprehensive in its aims. It truly establishes the significance of Elshtain’s political thought for intersecting fields of politics, political and social ethics, political theology, sexual-gender politics, and social problems. Many of the contributors are a virtual listing of 'Who's Who' in religious, social, and political ethics and political theorists.” —Victor Anderson, Oberlin Theological School Professor of Ethics and Society at the Divinity School, Vanderbilt University"What a wonderful tribute this collection of essays is to the person and work of Jean Elshtain who, for some forty years, was one of America's most prominent public intellectuals. The essays, of uniformly high quality, are both admiring and critical of Elshtain's work, lucidly expounding and engaging her thought while also making creative contributions of their own to political theory and social analysis. Suffusing the entire collection is the evident love these writers had, and continue to have, for the winsome, engaged, brilliant, and magnetic person that was Jean Elshtain." —Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University"Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevallier’s collection is in every way a fitting tribute to Jean Elshtain: essays by thoughtful scholars of a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, from doctoral students to distinguished professors, covering the full range of her work from feminism to sovereignty to just war. The essays are both stimulating reading in themselves and a compelling invitation to read or reread Elshtain’s own writings." —Nathan Tarcov, Karl J. Weintraub Professor of Social Thought and Political Science and in the College, The University of Chicago "A rich collection of essays that helps one understand the importance of Jean Bethke Elshtain's seminal works, and further develops moral and social ideas crucial for our time." —Amitai Etzioni, author of The New Golden Rule: Community and Morality in a Democratic Society"Jean Bethke Elshtain (1941–2013) was a distinguished political philosopher who opposed many dominant trends in her field. As the contributors to this volume point out, she closely related personal life and politics. . . . A valuable work for anyone interested in political theory and a useful companion to Elshtain’s own books, such as Sovereignty: God, State, and Self and Just War Against Terror." —Library Journal“This collection is part analysis of Elshtain’s work, part application of her work to new problems, and part critique—but always admiration for her commitment to ethics in the political realm. . . a valuable resource to those studying Elshtain’s thinking or the various fields in which her work has made an impact.” —Reading Religion“Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevalier pay wonderful homage to their teacher Jean Bethke Elshtain, and perform an important service for the rest of us who, from various distances regard her as our teacher… The essays contained in this volume pay tribute both to her scholarship and to her as a person. Perhaps most importantly, they recognize how Elshtain regarded the person as the central category of the study of politics.” —Journal of Church and State"The collection displays why Elshtain managed to succeed where so many academics fail: she risked being interesting by pursuing lines of thought or threading needles of nuance that sometimes result in other intellectuals' jealousy or in being cast out of their particular movement (as Elshtain was by some feminists for Public Man, Private Woman). Even for those largely unacquainted with her work, this collection helps us understand what made her such a provocative, relevant, and fascinating public intellectual." —Modern Theology"The book virtually stands alone in the literature, offering readers in political science, political and social theory, ethics, religious studies, and theology a window into the scholarship of a major voice at the intersection of politics, religion, and ethics in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries." —Studies in Christian Ethics“Elshtain’s legacy lives on and is more vibrant and pertinent than ever . . . [this] collection analyzes [her] body of work from contemporary theoretical and applied perspectives.” —The Review of PoliticsTable of ContentsForeword Introduction: Debra Erickson and Michael Le Chevallier Part 1. The Political Question Introduction: Robin Lovin 1. The Context and Texts of Public Man, Private Woman: Jean Bethke Elshtain in the World of Ideas and Action by Arlene Saxonhouse 2. Becoming Jean Elshtain: Exploring the Intersections of Social Feminism and Civic Life by William Galston 3. Elshtain’s "Reflective" Ethics of Feminism and Family: An Appreciation and Critique by Don Browning 4. Striking the Balance: Burke’s Blending of Liberty, Tradition, and Reform by Peter Berkowitz 5. Reflections on Reflections: Democracy, Depression, and Disability by Nancy Hirschmann Part 2. Cities of God and Man Introduction: Michael Kessler 6. A Critical Appreciation of Jean Bethke Elshtain's Embodied Augustinian Realism by Nigel Biggar 7. Engaging the Mind of Elshtain on Sovereignty by Gilbert Meilaender 8. Taking Love Seriously: Elshtain’s Augustinian Voice and Modern Politics by Eric Gregory 9. Supremacy at Stake: Religion and the Sovereign State by Daniel Philpott 10. Sovereign No More? Selves, States, and God in Our Bewildering Global Environment by Lisa Sowle Cahill Part 3. Nations and Citizens at Peace and War Introduction: Marc LiVecche 11. The Education of a Just War Thinker by John Carlson 12. The Effect of Perspectives of Thinking about Sovereignty: a Dialogue with Jean Bethke Elshtain by James Turner Johnson 13. Two Sovereigns? Violence and the Ambiguities of Jean Bethke Elshtain’s Christian Realism by Nicholas Rengger 14. A New, But Still a Just War Against Terror by Chris Brown 15. Just War and Religion: Reflections on the Work of Jean Elshtain by Michael Walzer Part 4. The End(s) of Political Life Introduction: Erik Owens 16. Civil Society and Political Society by Francis Fukuyama 17. Religion and Democracy: Why Each Needs the Other by Carl Gershman 18. Defending the Indefensible Liberal Consensus: The Tragic Moderation of Jean Bethke Elshtain by Patrick Deneen 19. The Limits of Politics and the Inevitability of Ethics by Robin Lovin

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Griffiths’s book is a theological reflection upon regret—a concentrated meditation upon the theological meaning of the desire that things might have been otherwise. It is both brilliant and wonderfully idiosyncratic, as is the case with all of Griffiths’s writings.” —David Bentley Hart, author of Theological Territories“Paul Griffiths’s Regret is very well written, and composed in a highly readable style. It is a brilliant piece of analytic phenomenology, taking the reader through all the stages of regret. The discussions about the permanent residue of the regrettable are brilliant, and Griffiths’s fine analytic thinking cannot be too highly praised.” —Francesca Aran Murphy, author of God Is Not a Story“In his new book, Griffiths performs . . . an analysis on a range of statements about regret, many of them drawn from literary works, in an effort to see what Christians can say about the topic. . . . Griffiths writes that theology first of all must respond to God. After that, ‘it should seek to be interesting.’ Regret certainly is.“ —Commonweal"Paul Griffiths’s Regret: A Theology offers a concise itinerary of what he calls 'the otherwise-attitudes, with penance as their culmination, lament as their entry point, remorse as their deformed sibling, contrition as their heart, and avowal as the beginning of the transfiguration of what’s regretted.' . . . Griffiths is an astonishingly gifted thinker, writer, and teacher." —Church Life Journal“Paul Griffiths’ Regret: A Theology probes what it means to be in situations that we wish were otherwise, and the attitudes—regret, as well as remorse, contrition, and penance—that surround them. A Catholic theologian’s task, he tells us with a wink, is not to be right, but to be interesting.” —The Way“Avoiding the simple distinction between shame and guilt, Griffiths thinks theologically about regret in a manner that gestures toward Easter. He shows how regret can be the first tool in a technology of the heart, one that works repentance. In this way, he identifies how the feeling with which many now wrestle is, in fact, necessary for their being made whole by the gospel.” —The Christian Century"A lucidly-written, sharply thought-out, and consistently clear-eyed account of an existential issue that is common to all humanity, and which has particularly important contours within Christian faith: What, if anything, can be done about things that we have done, or somehow participated in, and which we have come to regret?" —International Journal of Systematic TheologyTable of Contents1. The LORD's Regrets 2. Faults 3. Time 4. Lament 5. Remorse 6. Contrition 7. Confession 8. Penance

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Griffiths’s book is a theological reflection upon regret—a concentrated meditation upon the theological meaning of the desire that things might have been otherwise. It is both brilliant and wonderfully idiosyncratic, as is the case with all of Griffiths’s writings.” —David Bentley Hart, author of Theological Territories“Paul Griffiths’s Regret is very well written, and composed in a highly readable style. It is a brilliant piece of analytic phenomenology, taking the reader through all the stages of regret. The discussions about the permanent residue of the regrettable are brilliant, and Griffiths’s fine analytic thinking cannot be too highly praised.” —Francesca Aran Murphy, author of God Is Not a Story“In his new book, Griffiths performs . . . an analysis on a range of statements about regret, many of them drawn from literary works, in an effort to see what Christians can say about the topic. . . . Griffiths writes that theology first of all must respond to God. After that, ‘it should seek to be interesting.’ Regret certainly is.“ —Commonweal"Paul Griffiths’s Regret: A Theology offers a concise itinerary of what he calls 'the otherwise-attitudes, with penance as their culmination, lament as their entry point, remorse as their deformed sibling, contrition as their heart, and avowal as the beginning of the transfiguration of what’s regretted.' . . . Griffiths is an astonishingly gifted thinker, writer, and teacher." —Church Life Journal“Paul Griffiths’ Regret: A Theology probes what it means to be in situations that we wish were otherwise, and the attitudes—regret, as well as remorse, contrition, and penance—that surround them. A Catholic theologian’s task, he tells us with a wink, is not to be right, but to be interesting.” —The Way“Avoiding the simple distinction between shame and guilt, Griffiths thinks theologically about regret in a manner that gestures toward Easter. He shows how regret can be the first tool in a technology of the heart, one that works repentance. In this way, he identifies how the feeling with which many now wrestle is, in fact, necessary for their being made whole by the gospel.” —The Christian Century"A lucidly-written, sharply thought-out, and consistently clear-eyed account of an existential issue that is common to all humanity, and which has particularly important contours within Christian faith: What, if anything, can be done about things that we have done, or somehow participated in, and which we have come to regret?" —International Journal of Systematic TheologyTable of Contents1. The LORD's Regrets 2. Faults 3. Time 4. Lament 5. Remorse 6. Contrition 7. Confession 8. Penance

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis study locates Aquinas's theory of infused and acquired virtue in his foundational understanding of nature and grace.Aquinas holds that all the virtues are bestowed on humans by God along with the gift of sanctifying grace. Since he also holds, with Aristotle, that we can create virtuous dispositions in ourselves through our own repeated good acts, a question arises: How are we to understand the relationship between the virtues God infuses at the moment of grace and virtues that are gradually acquired over time? In this important book, Angela McKay Knobel provides a detailed examination of Aquinas's theory of infused moral virtue, with special attention to the question of how the infused and acquired moral virtues are related. Part 1 examines Aquinas's own explicit remarks about the infused and acquired virtues and considers whether and to what extent a coherent theory of the relationship between the infused and acquired virtues can be found in Aquinas. KTrade Review“Knobel provides what is now likely the best book available on virtue in Aquinas’s thought. Through meticulous engagement with Thomas’s text, she delineates the commonalities and discontinuities between the acquired and infused virtues and supplies a decisive intervention in recent debate on the relationship between them.” —William C. Mattison III, author of The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology"Much ink has been spilled over the question of the relation between the acquired and the infused virtues in Aquinas’s thought. To this dense thicket of debate, Angela McKay Knobel brings admirable clarity, judicious attention to texts, and constructive imagination. Warmly recommended!" —Jennifer A. Herdt, author of Putting on Virtue"A masterpiece of careful, insightful analysis and respectful but forthright critique...a major contribution to both Thomistic scholarship and virtue theory more generally." —Speculum"The first substantial English monograph on Aquinas's account of the infused virtues in many years, and the most significant treatment of the issue since Gabriel Bullet." —The Review of Metaphysics"Knobel’s book is a fine study of Aquinas’s theory of virtue that will be essential reading not only for scholars working in the field of Thomistic ethics, but for any moral theologian interested in reflecting on the dynamics of graced human action." —Journal of Moral Theology"Knobel presents her case with an admirable rigour and clarity." —TheologyTable of Contents1. The Structure of Natural Virtue 2. The Structure of Supernatural Virtue 3. Relating the Virtues: Aquinas’s Texts 4. Interpretive Options Part I: Coexistence 5. Interpretive Options Part II: Unification 6. A Proposal for a Way Forward

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book brings clarification to our understanding of the nature of sin and will be of interest to nonphilosophers as well as philosophers.Most of the scholarly literature on sin has focused on theological issues, making book-length philosophical treatments of the topic hard to find. Sin, the newest contribution by Gregory Mellema, fills the gap by providing a short and lively summary of what contemporary philosophers are saying about the relationship between the traditional theological category of sin and contemporary philosophical ethics. Mellema brings together contributions by a number of philosophers, including Marilyn Adams, Robert Adams, Rebecca DeYoung, Alvin Plantinga, Michael Rea, Eleonore Stump, and Richard Swinburne, into a coherent discussion that clarifies our understanding of the nature of sin. The topics covered include the doctrine of original sin, accessory sins, mortal (or cardinal) sins, and venial sins. Mellema also examines Islamic codes oTrade Review“This accessible and clearly written book applies recent philosophical treatments of sin to a catalog of carefully distinguished facets of the concept of sin. The originality here extends to a deeper understanding of the nature of sin by explicitly connecting the concept to moral issues, including obligation, blame, collective action, supererogation, virtue, and evil.” —Edward Wierenga, author of The Philosophy of Religion“Mellema’s Sin is a wonderfully clear and concise summary of what philosophers are saying about the relationships between the traditional theological categories of sin and wickedness and the philosophical categories of immorality and evil. It will be very useful for students of theological ethics and philosophy of religion, as well as for anyone interested in the dark side of human conduct.” —Edward Langerak, author of Civil Disagreement"Philosopher Mellema delivers a wide-ranging and detailed exploration of how philosophy understands and explains sin. . . . Examples from the minor (how littering connects to a 'vicious pattern of behavior') to the severe (how racism and the Holocaust form society-wide sins that create 'collective guilt') help illustrate his points." —Publishers Weekly"Gregory Mellema's Sin is a thoughtful philosophical discussion of sin as it relates to a variety of questions concerning moral responsibility . . . each chapter is well-organized and inviting for further reflection by its readers, and, as a result, it will be a worthwhile read for a good many academics." —Theology"How might Christians introduce that awkward word ‘sin’ when discussing a world in which the dark side of human nature is everywhere tangible and visible but resistant to analysis framed in traditional biblical and theological categories? This short volume offers a possible pathway by means of a clear and concise summary of the fairly widespread interest in morality and ethics in contemporary philosophy." — Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice“Mellema suggests that we understand the Christian idea of original sin as a kind of ‘moral taint’ – that contemporary human beings ‘can be tainted by the evil acts of others to whom they are connected…’ even if they themselves are not responsible for those actions.” —Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface 1. Original and Inherited Sin 2. Individual and Collective Sins 3. Accessory Sins 4. Mortal versus Venial Sins 5. Supererogation and Sin 6. The Islamic Category of The Discouraged 7. Moral Ideals, Virtue Ethics, and Sin 8. Sin and Symbolism 9. Sin and The Problem of Evil 10. Sin in Six Major World Religions

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides an ethical framework for understanding the good and how we can experience it in increasing measure.Trade Review"Philosophy in the analytic tradition has long needed a phenomenology for ethics. This book meets the need with an original framework for ethics that aims to be Christian. Contending that only pleasurable mental states have intrinsic value, Kevin Kinghorn advocates for objectivity in matters of goodness and badness but not in matters of rightness and wrongness. He makes illuminating use of the ideas of 'feeling tones' and 'feeling connected to others' to elaborate his phenomenology for ethical relationships. The result is a novel and clarifying treatment of foundational ethical issues with special attention to Christian ethics. Overall, this is a very important contribution to the field of philosophical ethics." —Paul K. Moser, Loyola University Chicago"This is a terrific work, in many respects. It is ambitious, clear, engaging, and energetic. The better part of the second half of the book makes some original, positive moves in thinking about values from the standpoint of Christian theism. The material is nuanced and well illustrated with analogies and thought experiments. The first half also displays creativity and ingenuity." —Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf College“A lucidly written, cogent argument for a bold and original thesis well worth the reader’s serious consideration—a proposal not responsibly ignored. Highly recommended.” —David Baggett, co-author of God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning"A Framework for the Good is a creative and intriguing book. It challenges certain familiar conceptions of the good and the good life while striving to remain faithful to biblical—and specifically Trinitarian—categories. And even if some readers do not agree with Kinghorn’s arguments or certain starting assumptions, their horizons will be expanded and their moral thinking benefited by this bold work." —Paul Copan, Professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University“Like David Baggett and Jerry Wells . . . and others, Kinghorn . . . seeks to provide a philosophical treatment of morality that takes Christian theology seriously. Recommended.” —Choice“[Kinghorn’s] writing is scholarly, and this book seems to grow naturally out of his previous work. It does, however, stand on its own as an insightful contribution to the long philosophical heritage of examining what the truly good life is. Highly recommended for university and seminary libraries.” —Catholic Library World"Kevin Kinghorn's A Framework for the Good sets out and defends in detail a formal meta-ethical position concerning the relationship between the good and the right. It also offers a substantive account of what behaviors will contribute to our good, hence how to discern right from wrong, and describes how Christian theism fills in this account." —Religious Studies Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Christian theological interpretation of the border reality is a neglected area of immigration study. The foremost contribution of A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey is its focus on the theological dimension of migration, beginning with the humanity of the immigrant, a child of God and a bearer of his image. The nineteen authors in this collection recognize that one characteristic of globalization is the movement not only of goods and ideas but also of people. The crossing of geographical borders confronts Christians, as well as all citizens, with choices: between national security and human insecurity, between sovereign national rights and human rights, between citizenship and discipleship. Bearing these global dimensions in mind, the essays in this book focus on the particular problems of immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. The contributors to this volume include scholars as well as pastors and lay people involved in immigration aid work. ContributorTrade Review“At times saddening, at times inspiring, A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey brings fresh perspectives to the discussion of immigration. These essays reach beyond the policy debate and the heated emotions of the moment and provide much needed reflection on larger truths.” —Roberto Suro, University of Southern California“Groody and Campese have assembled 17 essays from an international body of Roman Catholic scholars, religious and lay practitioners. The predominant note is. . . one of human rights advocacy in the light of the liberating God’s option for the poor. . . . There is ample demonstration that theological reflection engages the real situation on the ground to afford an outsider to the debates insight into the deadly plight of migrants on the US-Mexico border.” —Studies in Christian Ethics“The editors of this volume have gathered together many leading figures within Christian theological circles to reflect on an urgent issue in our world—migration. The articles range from those that are quite academically technical to those that are more generally accessible. There are several outstanding articles that should not be missed.” —Multicultural Review“One can hardly find . . . a serious discussion of the human dignity and rights of the migrants who cross international borders to find work or join family. A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey, a compilation of essays taking a theological and rights-based approach to the issue of migration, provides a needed framework to begin that discussion. Comprised of pieces from a wide range of scholars, advocates and service providers, it engages the contemporary immigration debate from a faith-based, Catholic perspective. . . . [A] useful resource for Catholics (and others) who want to reach beyond the dehumanizing language of the national immigration debate and articulate a vision of the migrant as a human being created in God’s image.” —America“This book offers fresh and much-needed approaches to migration, providing convincing support for the notion that any serious study of migration, especially with respect to Latinos/as in the United States, must include religious and theological considerations.” —Theological Studies“The book should be read by anyone interested in acquiring a deeper grasp of the complex issues surrounding the border and immigration; it succeeds in its task of proposing a theology growing out of the experience of immigrants. . . . A Promised Land is an important contribution to the development of a full and robust theology of migration.” —The Journal of Markets and Morality“A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey offers a rich, interdisciplinary treatment of the subject of migration, showing the human face of contemporary migration as a global phenomenon. The authors explore historical antecedents in biblical and early church history, the political debates about borders and the right to migrate, and the role of race, ethnicity, and gender in the ‘perilous journey’ of migrants. This is an indispensable text for all interested in the theology of migration and the ethics of migration policy.” —William O’Neill, S.J., Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley“The essays in this valuable collection originated at an international conference on migration held at the University of Notre Dame in September 2004 . . . The essays, derived from presentations and discussions at the conference, consider biblical and theological perspectives on migration as well as the pastoral and human dimensions of this phenomenon. Given the focus on this issue in this presidential season and the crucial role the church needs to play in support of its migrant peoples, this volume has added significance.” —The Bible Today

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays focuses on sacrifice in the context of Jewish and Christian scripture and is inspired by the thought and writings of René Girard. The contributors engage in a dialogue with Girard in their search for answers to key questions about the relation between religion and violence. The book is divided into two parts. The first opens with a conversation in which René Girard and Sandor Goodhart explore the relation between imitation and violence throughout human history, especially in religious culture. It is followed by essays on the subject of sacrifice contributed by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field, including Bruce Chilton, Robert Daly, Louis Feldman, Michael Fishbane, Erich Gruen, and Alan Segal. The second part contains essays on specific scriptural texts (Abraham''s sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 and the book of Job in the Jewish tradition, the Gospel and Epistles in the Christian tradition). The authors explore new ways of applyinTrade Review"In increasing numbers, scholars are turning to the mimetic theory espoused by René Girard for answers to key questions about religion and violence. For the first time, the editors of this volume place in conversation with each other scholars who, from the perspective of Christian and Jewish traditions and scholarship, engage via mimetic theory the sacrificial and anti-sacrificial features of ancient Judaism and early Christianity and explore their subsequent trajectories." —Martha Reineke, University of Northern Iowa"A distinctive contribution of this volume is the focus of many of its essays on Judaism and Jewish readings of the Hebrew Bible. Girard's Christian focus has left his thought open to the criticism that it is a recycled form of supersessionism. Though I do not think that this book will put that issue completely to rest, its engagement with Jewish history and Jewish thinkers is welcome and an important advance." —James W. Watts, Syracuse University"This volume first presents a 'conversation' between R. Girard and Goodhart on mimesis, sacrifice, and the Bible. Then it presents twenty essays on specific scriptural texts." —New Testament Abstracts“This important book consists of twenty-one essays that are knowing, critical, and venturesome. . . . The intent of the collection is to understand better the ancient relationship of Judaism and Christianity. The accent of the volume, variously explored, expanded, appreciated, and in small ways critiqued, is the work of René Girard, to whom, along with his wife, the book is dedicated.” —Journal of Ecumenical Studies“The introduction . . . expounds René Girard’s theory that every culture is founded on the collective murder of a surrogate victim. . . . In Girard’s view, the Hebrew Bible reflects a profoundly anti-sacrificial development, and Christianity extends it by positing Jesus’ sacrifice as the supreme sacrifice that ends all sacrifices. . . . This volume . . . puts his theory at work, in two main ways, to which the two parts of the book are devoted.” —Bryn Mawr Classical Review“The ground-breaking work of René Girard on the theme of violence and mimesis in religion is the inspiration for this collection of twenty-one essays. The impact of Girard’s thinking is particularly felt in biblical studies, as this volume demonstrates. The first nine essays address some aspect of biblical sacrifice itself; the rest focus on explicit biblical passages that treat the topic. . . . This is a very readable treatment of an important yet unresolved topic.” —The Bible Today“. . . ultimately, this book serves as an excellent introductory conversation into mimetic theory and sacrifice. This collection of essays is a good starting point for a beginning student, but also will function as a tool for the researcher.” —Religious Studies Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Finally, a leading American Catholic intellectual gives us a Francis that takes us far beyond clickbait headlines. There emerges a pope engaging, and extending, the papal tradition of Catholic social thought. In this case, a pope, a partner in the arts, contending with the risks of a post-human world.” —Graham James McAleer, author of Erich Przywara and Postmodern Natural Law"'The ordered restlessness of the human heart' is the difficult habitation of Thomas Hibbs. Provoked by the reflections of Pope Francis on creation, Hibbs revives Jacques Maritain’s 'erotic encounter with Beauty' for a new generation of artists and spiritual pilgrims." —David O'Connor, author of Plato’s Bedroom: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Love"Few contemporary writers have the breadth of reading in philosophy, theology, art, and pop culture so elegantly and persuasively displayed in Hibbs’s A Theology of Creation. Hibbs’s achievement is to look beyond theologians and philosophers to artists as sources of wisdom for renewing our wonder and gratitude at God’s creation. The book is a triumph!" —Joseph E. Capizzi, author of A Catechism for BusinessTable of ContentsPreface 1. Laudato Si’, Technocracy, and the Renewal of Human Making 2. Jacques Maritain and the Twilight of Civilization 3. Nihilism and Modernity in Endless Crisis 4. The Ecological Poetics of Robinson Jeffers 5. The Sacramental Poetics of William Everson 6. Georges Rouault: Artist of Alienation and Transfiguration 7. Culture Care, Generativity, and the Calling of the Artist

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book contains excerpts, translated into English for the first time, from the numerous books and essays Løgstrup continued to write throughout his life after his landmark work, The Ethical Demand.Trade Review“K. E. Løgstrup’s work undoubtedly made in his time an original contribution to the field of moral philosophy and philosophy of religion. This translation makes extracts from his later publications on moral philosophy accessible to an English-speaking audience. I am again impressed by the depth of his ideas, which are certainly not outdated and still relevant for contemporary debates in moral philosophy.” —Bert Musschenga, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam“Making a large part of Knud Løgstrup’s legacy accessible to the English-speaking public is an event of enormous cultural, philosophical and political importance—and we are all in debt to his disciple, Kies van Kooten Niekerk, and the University Press of Notre Dame, for making it happen. Løgstrup, alongside few other giants of 20th Century ethical thought, like Emmanuel Levinas or Hans Jonas, anticipated and articulated all the major challenges and urgent tasks with which the coming century is likely to confront the moral self. Our ethical discourse was all the poorer so far for being barred access to his findings and proposition. This will no longer be the case.” —Zygmunt Bauman, emeritus, University of Leeds“The publication of an English translation of Knut Eljert Løgstrup's later works in ethics provides a wider readership with the opportunity to better understand his important contribution to ethics in the second half of the last century. With his notion of the Sovereign Expressions of Life Løgstrup articulates his rejection of moral atomism that has become influential in recent times. The introduction and annotation by Kees van Kooten Niekerk are very helpful to see how Løgstrup's thought developed beyond The Ethical Demand.” —Hans S. Reinders, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam“This collection of essays by the late Danish philosopher and theologian Logstrup presents his theory of using phenomenology in understanding our ethical decisions. According to Logstrup, phenomenology not only provides an understanding of human existence but also of ethics, through examination of the phenomena of ethical concepts. . . . These essays will be valuable to scholars and students in philosophy and ethics.” —Library Journal“The University of Notre Dame Press is to be congratulated for publishing . . . [this book] . . . as well as The Ethical Demand. . . . Løgstrup's work remains mostly unknown among Anglophone moral philosophers. It is, however, filled with significant moral psychological and ethical insights. Løgstrup is especially incisive in noting and analyzing matters of moral phenomenology, and the overall thrust of his view has great interest as well. Moreover, . . . Løgstrup was himself engaged with mid-twentieth-century British moral philosophers like Nowell-Smith and Hare. Twenty-first-century Anglophone ethical philosophy would engage him to its profit.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“There have been some fine biographies and related studies where the authors have attempted to tease out Pope Francis’s complex character, personal history, influences, and teaching. . . . Goulding’s book could be said to begin where these other studies end. As a theologian she understands and is comfortable with the term 'mercy' in a way that these other authors sometimes are not.” —Brian O’Leary, SJ, author of To Love and to ServeTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword Introduction 1. Foundations for a Dialogue on Mercy 2. Ignatian Influence on Pope Francis 3. Specific Christological Underpinnings of Mercy 4. The Trinitarian Horizon 5. Engaging Ecclesiological Ramifications Conclusion Postscript Appendix – Mary Mother of Mercy Bibliography

Read more less