Ten Theology Books to Watch For – July 2017

[easyazon_link identifier=”0190670053″ locale=”US” tag=”douloschristo-20″]Empirical Foundations of the Common Good: What Theology Can Learn from Social Science[/easyazon_link]

Daniel Finn, Ed.

Oxford UP

The idea of the common good was borrowed by the Fathers of the early Catholic Church from the rich philosophical traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. It has been a fundamental part of Catholic thinking about social, political, and economic life throughout the Catholic intellectual tradition, from Augustine and Aquinas to modern Catholic social thought in the encyclicals of popes in recent centuries. Yet this history has been rooted in the traditions of philosophy and theology. With the rise of the social sciences in the nineteenth century as distinct disciplines no longer limited to the methods of their philosophical origins, humanity has learned a great deal more about the human condition. Empirical Foundations of the Common Good asks two questions: what have the social sciences learned about the common good? how might theology alter its understanding of the common good in light of that insight?

In this volume, six social scientists, with backgrounds in economics, political science, sociology, and policy analysis, speak about what their disciplines have to contribute to discussions within Catholic social thought about the common good. Two theologians then respond by examining the insights of social science and exploring how Catholic social thought can integrate social scientific insights into its understanding of the common good. This volume’s interplay of social scientific and religious views is a unique contribution to contemporary discussion of what constitutes “the common good.”

[easyazon_link identifier=”0801030994″ locale=”US” tag=”douloschristo-20″]Engaging the Doctrine of Creation: Cosmos, Creatures, and the Wise and Good Creator[/easyazon_link]

Matthew Levering

Baker Academic

Distinguished scholar Matthew Levering examines the doctrine of creation and its contemporary theological implications, critically engaging with classical and modern views in dialogue with Orthodox and Reformed interlocutors, among others. Moving from the Trinity to Christology, Levering takes up a number of themes pertaining to the doctrine of creation and focuses on how creation impacts our understandings of both the immanent and the economic Trinity. He also engages newer trends such as ecological theology.

“Once again, the indefatigable Matthew Levering has produced a wonderfully lucid survey of a crucial theological topic–this time the doctrine of creation. The work of a scholar of generous temper and analytic rigor who is in touch with the dogmatic traditions of the whole Christian world, this book provides an ideal introduction to its topic.”
—David Bentley Hart, contributing editor of First Things

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