It has always been understood that the central claim of Christianity-that Jesus born of Mary is the Son of God-is as much a declaration of the mystery of the human as it is the mystery of God; just as the claim that in virtue of this identity he is the Christ who restores, and more, transforms, the created order, intensifies the mystery of the human even further. When the age of revolution was followed by the age of science, and the effort to shape the environment by technology was joined by an injunction to shape societies and economies, and class conflicts became part of world conflicts, the question about the human emerged as a crisis in the meaning of being human. Yet the Catholic mind, preoccupied like every other with the crisis, has conducted its reflection within a tradition of Christian humanism, insisting on the mystery and the tragedy, and still the dignity, of the human. This collection of essays by thirteen Catholic scholars of philosophy, theology, and political thought investigates a range of topics from human sexuality and marriage to moral freedom and responsibility in a pluralistic society, while demonstrating that the Gospel, passed on in an ecclesial tradition, entered into through a sacramental tradition, remains the one radical source of confidence in the quest for human truth.
It has always been understood that the central claim of Christianity-that Jesus born of Mary is the Son of God-is as much a declaration of the mystery of the human as it is the mystery of God; just as the claim that in virtue of this identity he is the Christ who restores, and more, transforms, the created order, intensifies the mystery of the human even further. When the age of revolution was followed by the age of science, and the effort to shape the environment by technology was joined by an injunction to shape societies and economies, and class conflicts became part of world conflicts, the question about the human emerged as a crisis in the meaning of being human. Yet the Catholic mind, preoccupied like every other with the crisis, has conducted its reflection within a tradition of Christian humanism, insisting on the mystery and the tragedy, and still the dignity, of the human. This collection of essays by thirteen Catholic scholars of philosophy, theology, and political thought investigates a range of topics from human sexuality and marriage to moral freedom and responsibility in a pluralistic society, while demonstrating that the Gospel, passed on in an ecclesial tradition, entered into through a sacramental tradition, remains the one radical source of confidence in the quest for human truth.
Introduction
Chapter 1: “Faith of Our Fathers”: The Fathers of the Church and
Vatican II, Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J.
Chapter 2: Augustine and Dionysius the Areopagite: Two Christian
Responses to Theurgy, David Vincent Meconi, S.J.
Chapter 3: Is the Natural-Supernatural Distinction Still Adequate?:
The Problem of Freedom and Grace in Augustine, Anselm, and Beyond,
John M. McDermott, S.J.
Chapter 4: Christocentrism in the Summa Theologiae of Thomas
Aquinas, Earl Muller, S.J.
Chapter 5: Covenantal Sexuality, John S. Grabowski
Chapter 6: Faith and the Revival of Metaphysics: A Survey from the
Ancients to the Present, Montague Brown
Chapter 7: Covenant and Cosmos: New Directions, Roger Duncan
Chapter 8: The Reception of Rahner’s Trinitarian Axiom and the
Covenantal Theology of Donald Keefe, Lawrence J. Welch
Chapter 9: Women’s Ordination and A Sola Fide Ecclesiology: Tracing
a Problem to its Reformation Roots, Sara Butler, M.S.B.T.
Chapter 10: Mary and the Attribute of Unity in Theology, Richard A.
Nicholas
Chapter 11: On the Idea of a Eucharistic Morality, Kevin A.
McMahon
Chapter 12: The Sacramental Foundation for Catholic Morality,
Daniel C. Hauser
Chapter 13: Religious Liberty and the Human Good, Robert P. George
Kevin A. McMahon is professor of theology at Saint Anselm College.
This volume, covering as it does such a variety of core topics, is
a welcome reminder of the many themes and insights that Donald
Keefe, S.J., has given us in his writings and lectures. The
contributors have touched on and expanded a number of his main
ideas. Father Keefe is a careful and thorough scholar with a vast
breadth of reading, original reflection, and subject matter to
support his wide-ranging insights; and he proves, once again, the
central importance to academy, culture, and Church of a clear mind
devoted throughout his life to the truth.
*James V. Schall, S.J., Georgetown University*
This rich collection of essays offers not only a splendid
explanation of the covenant theology developed by Fr. Don Keefe,
S.J., but also a number of insightful applications of the idea of
covenant to such diverse topics as religious liberty, sexual
morality, Christian faith, and the Eucharist. The list of
contributors to this volume is stellar!
*Fr. Joseph Koterski S.J., Fordham University*
What if we live in a world where God has become flesh, and given
his flesh—the Eucharist—for the life of the world? In that case the
core matters of Catholic faith will have to decide how we think
about the world, and how we live—and not, as we often hear, the
other way around. Guided by this conviction, these rich theological
and philosophical essays help give us a much-needed sense of the
difference it makes that the Word became flesh.
*Bruce D. Marshall, Southern Methodist University*
It's hard to imagine a collection of essays that would give
suitable honor and recognition to such a man of theological genius
and personal integrity as Fr. Donald J. Keefe, S.J.—but this book
certainly comes close. I am one of many scholars, in the last
generation, who have looked to Fr. Keefe as a professor and mentor.
A beacon of fidelity and insight at a time when many theologians
were striving instead for novelty or notoriety, he took up
neglected elements of the tradition—notions like covenant—and he
showed us their glory. I am pleased to add my voice to those who
pay homage to this man, a true scholar and a true friend.
*Scott W. Hahn, Mundelein Seminary; Franciscan University of
Steubenville*
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