Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy

Abstract St Thomas's hylomorphic anthropology grounds his famous statement of the precepts of the natural law in the Summa Theologiae. When we come to the third precept of the natural law, namely man's inclination to good according to the nature of his reason, we enter into the realm of politics. On account of the incarnate nature of human reason, the other natural human inclinations are also imbued with political significance. Right reason, which is also incarnate reason, tells us that procreation and marriage have an intrinsic mutual ordination to each other. Heterosexual marriage is the unique locus in which children can both be procreated and be given the upbringing and education which is their right. Since society has a special purchase on children in order to ensure its future – and its future well-being – heterosexual marriage ought to enjoy a special legal status and protection. The corollary is that society can only undermine the conditions of its own well-being if it tries to tamper with the meaning of marriage as heretofore understood by granting gay unions the legal rights and duties of heterosexual marriage.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE DETRADITIONALISATION OF THE THEOLOGY OF THE TRINITY Between the time of the Reformation and the beginning of the nineteenth century a number of intellectual developments took place which impacted on the theology of the Trinity. First, the separation of faith and reason, already begun in the late medieval period (Condemnation of 1277) became even more pronounced during the Reformation and its aftermath. In the light of the religious conflicts within Western Christendom, an appeal to mere reason without any reference to the tradition proved popular. Descartes' Meditations (1641) is a clear example of this approach. This modern understanding of reason as ‘autonomous’, separate from faith, led in our view to the impoverishment of both reason and faith, for it led to the decline of the contemplative disposition, which had been central to the approach to the mystery of the Trinity amongst medieval schoolmen. A merely rationalistic or a merely fideistic approach was alien to them. A second major development was the rise of empirical sciences which ultimately led to the concept of a mechanistic universe which was explicable in its own terms, without reference to God. In philosophical terms, British empiricism, by acknowledging only sense data as a source of true knowledge, led to the marginalisation of traditional religion, to deism, and even to scepticism. The titles of some of the main works of this time speak for themselves.

Pp. xv, 288 . Peabody, MA , Hendrickson Publishers , 2005 , $19.95 . The work edited by Michael Gorman is a special work in a number of ways. It is an introduction to Scripture not by one individual or from a single perspective but by a number of persons, and originated from the experience of several professors in the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore (USA). Currently there are some thirty Christian traditions represented within the student body of three hundred mostly part-time adult learners – from Roman Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Orthodox, Mennonite, evangelical, nondenominational and other churches. The teaching staff is equally inter-denominational. The present work (by fourteen current or former members of the faculty of St Mary's Ecumenical Institute of Theology) is for these learners and for others in the same condition: designed as an attempt to introduce beginning theological students, and the interested general public, to the Bible. The book is in two parts: Part One: The Bible; Part Two: The Interpretation of the Bible. As an introduction to the subject the work is an outstanding success. Te first part (in seven chapters) covers the Bible as book and as library; the geography, history and archaeology of the Bible; the character and composition of the books of the Old Testament, and of the New Testament; significant non-canonical books; the formation of the biblical canon(s); the transmission and translation of the Bible. Part two (in nine chapters) treats of the interpretation of the Bible before the modern period; modern and post-modern critical methods of biblical study; theological and ideological strategies of biblical interpretation; the interpretation of the Bible in Protestant Churches; the interpretation of the Bible in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches; the interpretation of the Bible in African-American Churches; the Bible and spiritual growth; the Bible and social justice: ‘Learn to do right! Seek justice’ (Isa 1:17) and, finally, the Bible and ecumenism:'That they may all be one' (John 17:21). The work is produced in a spirit of a genuine ecumenical approach. In the introduction Gorman writes: ‘Today, despite their ongoing differences, Christians of different churches and traditions work, study, and pray together more than ever. The interpretation of the Bible, whether as a means of spiritual nourishment or as an exercise in professional academic scholarship (or both), is an ecumenical enterprise and a means of growth toward Christian unity’. The presentation in each chapter is exceptionally clear; every chapter ends with a conclusion and a bibliography for further reading and study. There is a glossary of the technical or semi-technical terms and phrases used at the end (e.g. ‘postmodernism– the intellectual ethos of contemporary culture that questions objectivity, universal values, and ‘master narratives’ while stressing participatory knowledge', with reference to chapters 9, 10 of the text). There is a subject index. While directed principally to the North American scene, this work should prove immensely useful anywhere for the intended readership: beginners in theological and biblical studies, general interested public.

Abstract Recent debate on the relationship between morality and religious belief has tended to cast the role of religion in a negative light. While there are certain facts that may support this view, a philosophical investigation of the link between ethics and religion can contribute to the debate by focusing on certain fundamental issues. Noting the importance of the debate and showing the implications of whichever side one takes, this article argues that the claims for a purely humanistic ethics can be supported by an empirical observation, a philosophical argument and even on theological grounds. At the same time, however, it defends the view that religious belief in a personal God can have a positive contribution to morality by way of vision and motivation.