Matthew Levering
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199535293
- eISBN:
- 9780191715839
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535293.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This book serves as an introduction to natural law theory. The Introduction proposes that natural law theory makes most sense in light of an understanding of a loving Creator. The first chapter then ...
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This book serves as an introduction to natural law theory. The Introduction proposes that natural law theory makes most sense in light of an understanding of a loving Creator. The first chapter then argues the Bible sketches both such an understanding of a loving Creator and an account of natural law that offers an expansive portrait of the moral life. The second chapter surveys the development of natural law doctrine from Descartes to Nietzsche, and shows how these thinkers reverse the biblical portrait by placing human beings at the center of the moral universe. Whereas the biblical portrait of natural law is other-directed, ordered to self-giving love, the modern accounts turn inward upon the self, with reductive consequences. The final two chapters employ theological and philosophical investigation to achieve a contemporary doctrine of natural law that accords with the biblical witness to a loving Creator. These two chapters interact creatively with the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. The book revives discussion of natural law among biblical scholars while also challenging philosophers and theologians to re-think their accounts of natural law.Less
This book serves as an introduction to natural law theory. The Introduction proposes that natural law theory makes most sense in light of an understanding of a loving Creator. The first chapter then argues the Bible sketches both such an understanding of a loving Creator and an account of natural law that offers an expansive portrait of the moral life. The second chapter surveys the development of natural law doctrine from Descartes to Nietzsche, and shows how these thinkers reverse the biblical portrait by placing human beings at the center of the moral universe. Whereas the biblical portrait of natural law is other-directed, ordered to self-giving love, the modern accounts turn inward upon the self, with reductive consequences. The final two chapters employ theological and philosophical investigation to achieve a contemporary doctrine of natural law that accords with the biblical witness to a loving Creator. These two chapters interact creatively with the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. The book revives discussion of natural law among biblical scholars while also challenging philosophers and theologians to re-think their accounts of natural law.
David Albert Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287154
- eISBN:
- 9780191713231
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287154.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the ...
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This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner. These philosophers' thoughts constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death which can be set out in relation to the practical realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death. There is a rightful place for grief, a good grief, even for a Christian. Augustine teaches us that death is something with which we have to contend, and indeed that the difficult and painful process of contending with death is a means through which we are brought to our final joyful end. A key point for Thomas Aquinas is that, in itself, it is always wrong to kill a human being on account of the dignity of human nature. Rahner adds that it also stands in contradiction to the supernatural destiny of human beings. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death is anticipated throughout life. The aim of this book is not primarily to make a contribution to the knowledge of the history of theology, but rather, through engagement with the thought of theologians of the past, to reflect on some of the practical and existential issues that the approach of death presents for us.Less
This book considers two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death?; and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? It does so by considering the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner. These philosophers' thoughts constitute a single extended argument on the theology of death which can be set out in relation to the practical realities of grief, fear, and hope in the face of death. There is a rightful place for grief, a good grief, even for a Christian. Augustine teaches us that death is something with which we have to contend, and indeed that the difficult and painful process of contending with death is a means through which we are brought to our final joyful end. A key point for Thomas Aquinas is that, in itself, it is always wrong to kill a human being on account of the dignity of human nature. Rahner adds that it also stands in contradiction to the supernatural destiny of human beings. Rahner is at his most profound in describing how the need to surrender oneself to God in death is anticipated throughout life. The aim of this book is not primarily to make a contribution to the knowledge of the history of theology, but rather, through engagement with the thought of theologians of the past, to reflect on some of the practical and existential issues that the approach of death presents for us.
Brian Davies
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199790890
- eISBN:
- 9780199914418
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790890.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This book offers an in-depth study of Saint Thomas Aquinas's thoughts on God and evil, revealing that Aquinas's thinking about God and evil can be traced through his metaphysical philosophy, his ...
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This book offers an in-depth study of Saint Thomas Aquinas's thoughts on God and evil, revealing that Aquinas's thinking about God and evil can be traced through his metaphysical philosophy, his thoughts on God and creation, and his writings about Christian revelation and the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. The book first gives an introduction to Aquinas's philosophical theology, as well as a nuanced analysis of the ways in which Aquinas's writings have been considered over time. For hundreds of years scholars have argued that Aquinas's views on God and evil were original and different from those of his contemporaries. The book shows that Aquinas's views were by modern standards very original, but that in their historical context they were more traditional than many scholars since have realized. The book also provides insight into what we can learn from Aquinas's philosophy.Less
This book offers an in-depth study of Saint Thomas Aquinas's thoughts on God and evil, revealing that Aquinas's thinking about God and evil can be traced through his metaphysical philosophy, his thoughts on God and creation, and his writings about Christian revelation and the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. The book first gives an introduction to Aquinas's philosophical theology, as well as a nuanced analysis of the ways in which Aquinas's writings have been considered over time. For hundreds of years scholars have argued that Aquinas's views on God and evil were original and different from those of his contemporaries. The book shows that Aquinas's views were by modern standards very original, but that in their historical context they were more traditional than many scholars since have realized. The book also provides insight into what we can learn from Aquinas's philosophy.
Brian Davies
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198267539
- eISBN:
- 9780191600500
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267533.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The aim of this book is to give a general and introductory overview of the teaching and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1224–26 to 1274), a Dominican friar, and one of the greatest Western philosophers, ...
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The aim of this book is to give a general and introductory overview of the teaching and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1224–26 to 1274), a Dominican friar, and one of the greatest Western philosophers, and Christian theologians. Books on Aquinas invariably deal either with his philosophy or his theology; Aquinas himself, however, made no such arbitrary division, and this book allows him to be seen as a whole, in introducing almost the full range of his thinking, and relating this to writers both earlier and later. The author points out that all Aquinas’ major conclusions can be found in his first important work – Commentary on the Sentences, and that he did not change his mind radically throughout his writings, although some emphases shifted. Nevertheless, in this book, Aquinas’ thinkings are followed broadly in accordance with the scheme he provides in Summa Theologiae, which is considered to be his greatest achievement and is the best‐known synthesis of his thinking. Ways in which the thinking in Summa Theologiae differs from his thinking presented elsewhere are noted, and some of the treatment is selective (for example politics and aesthetics are not dealt with directly). Discussion is also omitted of Aquinas’ contribution to thirteenth‐century debates on the legitimacy and running of certain religious orders in the Catholic Church, which is now merely of historical interest.Less
The aim of this book is to give a general and introductory overview of the teaching and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1224–26 to 1274), a Dominican friar, and one of the greatest Western philosophers, and Christian theologians. Books on Aquinas invariably deal either with his philosophy or his theology; Aquinas himself, however, made no such arbitrary division, and this book allows him to be seen as a whole, in introducing almost the full range of his thinking, and relating this to writers both earlier and later. The author points out that all Aquinas’ major conclusions can be found in his first important work – Commentary on the Sentences, and that he did not change his mind radically throughout his writings, although some emphases shifted. Nevertheless, in this book, Aquinas’ thinkings are followed broadly in accordance with the scheme he provides in Summa Theologiae, which is considered to be his greatest achievement and is the best‐known synthesis of his thinking. Ways in which the thinking in Summa Theologiae differs from his thinking presented elsewhere are noted, and some of the treatment is selective (for example politics and aesthetics are not dealt with directly). Discussion is also omitted of Aquinas’ contribution to thirteenth‐century debates on the legitimacy and running of certain religious orders in the Catholic Church, which is now merely of historical interest.
Terrance W. Klein
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199204236
- eISBN:
- 9780191708039
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199204236.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines the contributions of Aquinas, arguing that his work remains trenchantly pertinent, though it stands in need of three retrievals to prevent contemporary distortions. The first ...
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This chapter examines the contributions of Aquinas, arguing that his work remains trenchantly pertinent, though it stands in need of three retrievals to prevent contemporary distortions. The first considers the meaning of ‘nature’in Thomas's thought, which is a way of asking about God's relationship to the world. The second retrieval concerns the ultimate meaning of ‘form’ in Thomistic thought. Aquinas spoke of grace as an accidental modification of form (ST I-II q. 110 a. 2). The fact that very few words in that phrase mean anything to the modern ear explains an ‘upward ontological drift’ in popular recapitulations of the saint's work. The chapter concludes with a third retrieval, an examination of the neglected, noetic character of grace in the thought of Aquinas, or how it is that what Wittgenstein called ‘the world’ begins to speak.Less
This chapter examines the contributions of Aquinas, arguing that his work remains trenchantly pertinent, though it stands in need of three retrievals to prevent contemporary distortions. The first considers the meaning of ‘nature’in Thomas's thought, which is a way of asking about God's relationship to the world. The second retrieval concerns the ultimate meaning of ‘form’ in Thomistic thought. Aquinas spoke of grace as an accidental modification of form (ST I-II q. 110 a. 2). The fact that very few words in that phrase mean anything to the modern ear explains an ‘upward ontological drift’ in popular recapitulations of the saint's work. The chapter concludes with a third retrieval, an examination of the neglected, noetic character of grace in the thought of Aquinas, or how it is that what Wittgenstein called ‘the world’ begins to speak.
Willis Jenkins
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328516
- eISBN:
- 9780199869862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328516.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Theologians such as Rasmussen, Northcott, and Moltmann ground normative respect for creation in the experience of God's love. Each in his own way suggests that as humans are conformed to God's love ...
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Theologians such as Rasmussen, Northcott, and Moltmann ground normative respect for creation in the experience of God's love. Each in his own way suggests that as humans are conformed to God's love for creation, they perceive and can respond to creation's integrity. As it brings them into friendship with God, grace brings humans to their creaturely senses, opening them to a world of normative value. But those theologians left unexplained why conforming ourselves to creation could be part of becoming friends with God, or why life with God might make us more at home on earth. This chapter turns to Thomas Aquinas to look for an explanation, seeking the soteriological conditions for ecojustice.Less
Theologians such as Rasmussen, Northcott, and Moltmann ground normative respect for creation in the experience of God's love. Each in his own way suggests that as humans are conformed to God's love for creation, they perceive and can respond to creation's integrity. As it brings them into friendship with God, grace brings humans to their creaturely senses, opening them to a world of normative value. But those theologians left unexplained why conforming ourselves to creation could be part of becoming friends with God, or why life with God might make us more at home on earth. This chapter turns to Thomas Aquinas to look for an explanation, seeking the soteriological conditions for ecojustice.
Francesca Aran Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199219285
- eISBN:
- 9780191711664
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219285.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter is about arguments for the existence of God. It shows how grammatical Thomists like Herbert McCabe and Denys Turner make proving that God exists into a matter of proving that it is ...
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This chapter is about arguments for the existence of God. It shows how grammatical Thomists like Herbert McCabe and Denys Turner make proving that God exists into a matter of proving that it is rational to question whether God exists. Their leading question, ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’ assumes rather than proves that the world is contingent: it takes us around the ‘story’ of God's existence from the inside of faith, and does not refer to any specific creative action of God. Circulating thus within human psychological acts, the grammatical Thomist argument is focussed on the act of questioning rather as a movie holds our attention by repeatedly posing new questions, causing us to suspend disbelief but not to credit it with real agency. The way in which story Barthians use the ‘ontological argument’ makes the Biblical stories about God into an evidential basis of God's existence. Robert Jenson's ‘story Thomism’ takes Thomistic and Barthian narrative theology to a logical conclusion by making ‘God’ a character within a wider story, whose plot requires ‘contingent’ and ‘Creator’ characters.Less
This chapter is about arguments for the existence of God. It shows how grammatical Thomists like Herbert McCabe and Denys Turner make proving that God exists into a matter of proving that it is rational to question whether God exists. Their leading question, ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’ assumes rather than proves that the world is contingent: it takes us around the ‘story’ of God's existence from the inside of faith, and does not refer to any specific creative action of God. Circulating thus within human psychological acts, the grammatical Thomist argument is focussed on the act of questioning rather as a movie holds our attention by repeatedly posing new questions, causing us to suspend disbelief but not to credit it with real agency. The way in which story Barthians use the ‘ontological argument’ makes the Biblical stories about God into an evidential basis of God's existence. Robert Jenson's ‘story Thomism’ takes Thomistic and Barthian narrative theology to a logical conclusion by making ‘God’ a character within a wider story, whose plot requires ‘contingent’ and ‘Creator’ characters.
Matthew Levering
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199535293
- eISBN:
- 9780191715839
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535293.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
If natural law is natural, how and why should one speak of it in the context of biblical revelation and the grace of the Holy Spirit? What is the relationship of natural law and supernatural charity? ...
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If natural law is natural, how and why should one speak of it in the context of biblical revelation and the grace of the Holy Spirit? What is the relationship of natural law and supernatural charity? This chapter begins by probing modern assumptions about the relationship of love and law, which tend to be viewed as ultimately incompatible. Drawing upon the theology of Thomas Aquinas, it argues that the recovery of natural law which the chapter is urging enhances rather than constricts the human person's ability to give himself or herself in love. It explains more fully the consequences of the understanding of a God-centered and teleological natural law grounded in created receptivity.Less
If natural law is natural, how and why should one speak of it in the context of biblical revelation and the grace of the Holy Spirit? What is the relationship of natural law and supernatural charity? This chapter begins by probing modern assumptions about the relationship of love and law, which tend to be viewed as ultimately incompatible. Drawing upon the theology of Thomas Aquinas, it argues that the recovery of natural law which the chapter is urging enhances rather than constricts the human person's ability to give himself or herself in love. It explains more fully the consequences of the understanding of a God-centered and teleological natural law grounded in created receptivity.
Edward A. Siecienski
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372045
- eISBN:
- 9780199777297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372045.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Although an uneasy peace was maintained in the years after Photius, during the tenth and eleventh centuries political, cultural, and religious factors rapidly drove East and West further part. The ...
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Although an uneasy peace was maintained in the years after Photius, during the tenth and eleventh centuries political, cultural, and religious factors rapidly drove East and West further part. The mutual excommunications of Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius in 1054, often called the beginning of the “Great Schism” between East and West, reignited the filioque debate, as its omission from/addition to the creed came to be seen as sign of the other’s heretical ways. While the Greek-speaking East continued to rely heavily on the claims put forward in the Mystagogia, Latin scholastic theologians like Anselm and Thomas Aquinas advanced an entirely new series of arguments in favor of the doctrine. Theological encounters between the two sides (with some notable exceptions) only exacerbated the tension, and following the Fourth Crusade there seemed little chance of healing the breach that had grown up between Christian East and West.Less
Although an uneasy peace was maintained in the years after Photius, during the tenth and eleventh centuries political, cultural, and religious factors rapidly drove East and West further part. The mutual excommunications of Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael Cerularius in 1054, often called the beginning of the “Great Schism” between East and West, reignited the filioque debate, as its omission from/addition to the creed came to be seen as sign of the other’s heretical ways. While the Greek-speaking East continued to rely heavily on the claims put forward in the Mystagogia, Latin scholastic theologians like Anselm and Thomas Aquinas advanced an entirely new series of arguments in favor of the doctrine. Theological encounters between the two sides (with some notable exceptions) only exacerbated the tension, and following the Fourth Crusade there seemed little chance of healing the breach that had grown up between Christian East and West.
Nicholas J. Healy (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199278367
- eISBN:
- 9780191603419
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199278369.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Chapter Two articulates, in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas, Balthasar's understanding of the structure of the analogy of being as a relation of Giver and gift. The key to understanding the relationship ...
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Chapter Two articulates, in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas, Balthasar's understanding of the structure of the analogy of being as a relation of Giver and gift. The key to understanding the relationship between God and creation as neither a juxtaposition of two things nor a negation of creaturely existence is the non-substantial fullness of being as gift and the consequent "real distinction" between being and essence. Balthasar develops this metaphysical scheme unfolding the meaning of the act-character of being in light of interpersonal relations.Less
Chapter Two articulates, in dialogue with Thomas Aquinas, Balthasar's understanding of the structure of the analogy of being as a relation of Giver and gift. The key to understanding the relationship between God and creation as neither a juxtaposition of two things nor a negation of creaturely existence is the non-substantial fullness of being as gift and the consequent "real distinction" between being and essence. Balthasar develops this metaphysical scheme unfolding the meaning of the act-character of being in light of interpersonal relations.
Brian Davies
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198267539
- eISBN:
- 9780191600500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267533.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This first chapter gives an outline of Thomas Aquinas’ life and work. The different sections of the chapter cover his early years and his adoption of Aristotle's thinking at the University of Naples, ...
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This first chapter gives an outline of Thomas Aquinas’ life and work. The different sections of the chapter cover his early years and his adoption of Aristotle's thinking at the University of Naples, where he also joined the Dominican Order of friars, his progression from student at Naples to teacher at the University of Paris, his life in Paris and return to Naples, and the last phase of his life. There is also a section on his character (philosopher or theologian, saint and thinker), and lastly, a discussion of the meaning of his writings today.Less
This first chapter gives an outline of Thomas Aquinas’ life and work. The different sections of the chapter cover his early years and his adoption of Aristotle's thinking at the University of Naples, where he also joined the Dominican Order of friars, his progression from student at Naples to teacher at the University of Paris, his life in Paris and return to Naples, and the last phase of his life. There is also a section on his character (philosopher or theologian, saint and thinker), and lastly, a discussion of the meaning of his writings today.
Nicholas J. Healy
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199278367
- eISBN:
- 9780191603419
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199278369.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book represents a study of the meaning of "the end" in the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, that highlights both the originality and the fruitfulness of his vision of a reciprocal drama ...
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This book represents a study of the meaning of "the end" in the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, that highlights both the originality and the fruitfulness of his vision of a reciprocal drama between God and the world. The argument of the book can be summed up simply: being -creaturely being and trinitarian being -unveils its final countenance as love in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. After setting forth three basic problems inherent in Christian eschatology, Healy introduces Balthasar's trinitarian perspective: eschatology is concerned with the life of the Trinity, as revealed by Jesus Christ, and as the origin and final destiny of the whole created cosmos. The book presupposes that a critical engagement with Balthasar's thought requires attending to the original way he uses philosophy within theology. Thomas Aquinas' analogy of being, fulfilled in the person of Christ, is both the abiding precondition of, and is ultimately disclosed in, the drama between God and the world whose form takes shape within Christ's return to the Father. The ultimate form of the end, and thus the measure of all that is meant by eschatology, is given in Christ's eucharistic and pneumatic gift of himself - gift that simultaneously lays bare the mystery of the Trinity and enables Christ to "return" to the Father in communion with the whole of creation. Insofar as Christ reveals the trinitarian life and the mystery of creation in their dramatic interplay, he establishes the form of eschatology as a participation in God's engagement with the world. Under the sign of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist, Christian eschatology involves a sharing in Christ's double movement into the world and, together with the world, into God. By developing the metaphysical dimensions of Balthasar's doctrine of the last things, Healy shows that his writings on the eschaton contain unexpected resources for the ecclesial renewal envisaged by the Second Vatican Council and its missionary opening to the world.Less
This book represents a study of the meaning of "the end" in the writings of Hans Urs von Balthasar, that highlights both the originality and the fruitfulness of his vision of a reciprocal drama between God and the world. The argument of the book can be summed up simply: being -creaturely being and trinitarian being -unveils its final countenance as love in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. After setting forth three basic problems inherent in Christian eschatology, Healy introduces Balthasar's trinitarian perspective: eschatology is concerned with the life of the Trinity, as revealed by Jesus Christ, and as the origin and final destiny of the whole created cosmos. The book presupposes that a critical engagement with Balthasar's thought requires attending to the original way he uses philosophy within theology. Thomas Aquinas' analogy of being, fulfilled in the person of Christ, is both the abiding precondition of, and is ultimately disclosed in, the drama between God and the world whose form takes shape within Christ's return to the Father. The ultimate form of the end, and thus the measure of all that is meant by eschatology, is given in Christ's eucharistic and pneumatic gift of himself - gift that simultaneously lays bare the mystery of the Trinity and enables Christ to "return" to the Father in communion with the whole of creation. Insofar as Christ reveals the trinitarian life and the mystery of creation in their dramatic interplay, he establishes the form of eschatology as a participation in God's engagement with the world. Under the sign of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist, Christian eschatology involves a sharing in Christ's double movement into the world and, together with the world, into God. By developing the metaphysical dimensions of Balthasar's doctrine of the last things, Healy shows that his writings on the eschaton contain unexpected resources for the ecclesial renewal envisaged by the Second Vatican Council and its missionary opening to the world.
Eleonore Stump
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199277421
- eISBN:
- 9780191594298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199277421.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical ...
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This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical narratives and encompassed in Aquinas's whole worldview but especially his account of love, Aquinas's theodicy is the heart of the defence promised at the outset of the book. On Aquinas's theodicy, God is justified in allowing the suffering of a mentally fully functional adult human person by one or the other or both of two possible benefits, where Aquinas's scale of value is the measure of the benefits. For a person whose suffering is entirely involuntary, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to warding off a greater harm for her. For a person whose suffering is involuntary only in a certain respect, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to providing a greater good for her. The chapter concludes with an argument that Aquinas's theodicy is incomplete as it stands and in need of further development.Less
This chapter uses the narratives in the preceding chapters as well as the worldview of Aquinas outlined in earlier chapters to present Aquinas's theodicy. Taken in the context of the biblical narratives and encompassed in Aquinas's whole worldview but especially his account of love, Aquinas's theodicy is the heart of the defence promised at the outset of the book. On Aquinas's theodicy, God is justified in allowing the suffering of a mentally fully functional adult human person by one or the other or both of two possible benefits, where Aquinas's scale of value is the measure of the benefits. For a person whose suffering is entirely involuntary, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to warding off a greater harm for her. For a person whose suffering is involuntary only in a certain respect, suffering is defeated in virtue of its contributing to providing a greater good for her. The chapter concludes with an argument that Aquinas's theodicy is incomplete as it stands and in need of further development.
Mary L. Hirschfeld
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199739813
- eISBN:
- 9780199866120
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199739813.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter examines the fundamental hypothesis of the True Wealth of Nations project—that the economic and cultural criteria identified in the tradition of Catholic social thought provide an ...
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This chapter examines the fundamental hypothesis of the True Wealth of Nations project—that the economic and cultural criteria identified in the tradition of Catholic social thought provide an effective path to sustainable prosperity for all—from a Thomistic perspective. After pointing out some key features of Thomas's theological framework and contrasting it with the modern day more secular perspective, it focuses on three issues. First, it discusses how Thomas understood the end of this-worldly (earthly) human flourishing in relationship to our final end, which for Thomas lies in the beatific vision. Second, turning to the question of how prosperity is understood, it discusses Thomas's understanding of the relationship between material well-being and virtue, which Thomas identifies with human flourishing. Third, it examines Thomas's understanding of material well-being in itself. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the degree to which we could or should incorporate Thomas' s perspective.Less
This chapter examines the fundamental hypothesis of the True Wealth of Nations project—that the economic and cultural criteria identified in the tradition of Catholic social thought provide an effective path to sustainable prosperity for all—from a Thomistic perspective. After pointing out some key features of Thomas's theological framework and contrasting it with the modern day more secular perspective, it focuses on three issues. First, it discusses how Thomas understood the end of this-worldly (earthly) human flourishing in relationship to our final end, which for Thomas lies in the beatific vision. Second, turning to the question of how prosperity is understood, it discusses Thomas's understanding of the relationship between material well-being and virtue, which Thomas identifies with human flourishing. Third, it examines Thomas's understanding of material well-being in itself. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the degree to which we could or should incorporate Thomas' s perspective.
Willis Jenkins
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328516
- eISBN:
- 9780199869862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328516.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
In the previous chapter, looking at Thomas Aquinas showed us rudiments for an adequate ecojustice strategy: the integrity of creation intimately connected to Christian experience. This chapter ...
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In the previous chapter, looking at Thomas Aquinas showed us rudiments for an adequate ecojustice strategy: the integrity of creation intimately connected to Christian experience. This chapter discusses the development of the practical forms of that connection, the habits of graceful inhabitation on earth. In particular, it shows how ecological habits of friendship with God respond to natural evils. It turns to Aquinas on justice and virtue not for specific environmental prescriptions but for closer articulation of human membership. His virtues show humanity's natural agency set within creation's orderliness. The virtues report what John Bowlin calls “a kind of human moral ecology...a description of our species in its natural environment”. They comprise a set of successful responses to our habitat, ways toward flourishing in the midst of opportunity and difficulty.Less
In the previous chapter, looking at Thomas Aquinas showed us rudiments for an adequate ecojustice strategy: the integrity of creation intimately connected to Christian experience. This chapter discusses the development of the practical forms of that connection, the habits of graceful inhabitation on earth. In particular, it shows how ecological habits of friendship with God respond to natural evils. It turns to Aquinas on justice and virtue not for specific environmental prescriptions but for closer articulation of human membership. His virtues show humanity's natural agency set within creation's orderliness. The virtues report what John Bowlin calls “a kind of human moral ecology...a description of our species in its natural environment”. They comprise a set of successful responses to our habitat, ways toward flourishing in the midst of opportunity and difficulty.
Isabel Iribarren
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199282319
- eISBN:
- 9780191603426
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199282315.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter offers an account of Aquinas’s teaching on relations in the context of Thomist general metaphysics and Trinitarian theology. ...
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This chapter offers an account of Aquinas’s teaching on relations in the context of Thomist general metaphysics and Trinitarian theology. Aquinas’s account will serve as the main sounding board for judging the different interpretations of Thomism throughout the discussion and, by the same token, the extent of Durandus’s dissent.Less
This chapter offers an account of Aquinas’s teaching on relations in the context of Thomist general metaphysics and Trinitarian theology. Aquinas’s account will serve as the main sounding board for judging the different interpretations of Thomism throughout the discussion and, by the same token, the extent of Durandus’s dissent.
Elizabeth Teresa Groppe
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195166422
- eISBN:
- 9780199835638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195166426.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter provides an introduction to Congar’s life and work. It recounts Congar’s remarkable life story, describes his theological method, offers a brief overview of his vast corpus of writings, ...
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This chapter provides an introduction to Congar’s life and work. It recounts Congar’s remarkable life story, describes his theological method, offers a brief overview of his vast corpus of writings, and discusses some of the primary influences on his theology of the Holy Spirit, including Thomas Aquinas, Johann Adam Möhler, the ecumenical movement, and the Second Vatican Council.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to Congar’s life and work. It recounts Congar’s remarkable life story, describes his theological method, offers a brief overview of his vast corpus of writings, and discusses some of the primary influences on his theology of the Holy Spirit, including Thomas Aquinas, Johann Adam Möhler, the ecumenical movement, and the Second Vatican Council.
A. N. Williams
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195124361
- eISBN:
- 9780199853502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195124361.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
With the conclusion of the doctrine of the Trinity, Aquinas turns his attention to creation. Characteristically, the border between the doctrine of God and the doctrine of creation is indistinct. As ...
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With the conclusion of the doctrine of the Trinity, Aquinas turns his attention to creation. Characteristically, the border between the doctrine of God and the doctrine of creation is indistinct. As the questions treating Trinitarian doctrine drew heavily, especially at first, on the doctrine of the one God, so the opening questions on creation seem to flow uninterruptedly from the doctrine of the Trinity just concluded. Indeed, so seamless is the fabric that drawing any sort of line between Questions 43 and 44 may seem rather arbitrary. The absence of such sharp division is itself significant, for it suggests the close connection of Creator and creature that constitutes the heart of theosis.Less
With the conclusion of the doctrine of the Trinity, Aquinas turns his attention to creation. Characteristically, the border between the doctrine of God and the doctrine of creation is indistinct. As the questions treating Trinitarian doctrine drew heavily, especially at first, on the doctrine of the one God, so the opening questions on creation seem to flow uninterruptedly from the doctrine of the Trinity just concluded. Indeed, so seamless is the fabric that drawing any sort of line between Questions 43 and 44 may seem rather arbitrary. The absence of such sharp division is itself significant, for it suggests the close connection of Creator and creature that constitutes the heart of theosis.
Daniel Schwartz
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199205394
- eISBN:
- 9780191709265
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205394.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This book examines the views on friendship of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. For Aquinas, friendship is the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. The book ...
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This book examines the views on friendship of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. For Aquinas, friendship is the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. The book argues that Aquinas fundamentally revised some of the main features of Aristotle's paradigmatic account of friendship so as to accommodate the case of friendship between radically unequal beings: man and God. As a result, Aquinas presented a broader view of friendship than Aristotle's, allowing for a higher extent of disagreement, lack of mutual understanding, and inequality between friends.Less
This book examines the views on friendship of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. For Aquinas, friendship is the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. The book argues that Aquinas fundamentally revised some of the main features of Aristotle's paradigmatic account of friendship so as to accommodate the case of friendship between radically unequal beings: man and God. As a result, Aquinas presented a broader view of friendship than Aristotle's, allowing for a higher extent of disagreement, lack of mutual understanding, and inequality between friends.
Brian Davies
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198267539
- eISBN:
- 9780191600500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267533.003.0017
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Thomas Aquinas’ view of the Christian doctrine is a summons to respond to God and a summons to a way of life, and his view on this is in essence contained in his teaching on faith, hope, and charity. ...
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Thomas Aquinas’ view of the Christian doctrine is a summons to respond to God and a summons to a way of life, and his view on this is in essence contained in his teaching on faith, hope, and charity. But he also has other things to say about the details of Christian life, and some of these are looked at in this chapter, which examines the sacraments – the means by which faith, hope, and charity are perfected. The first part of the chapter looks at sacraments in general, and the last part looks at the Eucharist itself.Less
Thomas Aquinas’ view of the Christian doctrine is a summons to respond to God and a summons to a way of life, and his view on this is in essence contained in his teaching on faith, hope, and charity. But he also has other things to say about the details of Christian life, and some of these are looked at in this chapter, which examines the sacraments – the means by which faith, hope, and charity are perfected. The first part of the chapter looks at sacraments in general, and the last part looks at the Eucharist itself.
