Neither Nature nor Grace operates at the intersection of systematic and philosophical theology, exploring in particular how St. Thomas Aquinas variously uses the latter in service to the clarification and faithful advancement of the former. More specifically, Neither Nature nor Grace explores the overlooked logical difficulties that have followed the late modern debates in ecumenical Christian theology as to whether knowledge of God is available solely through God’s gracious self-revelation (e.g., Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture), or through revelation and the deliverances of natural reason. Van Wart takes the prominent French Dominican Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange as paradigmatic for the case that knowledge of God can be had by both revelation and natural reason. Representing the opposing position, that God can only be known through divine revelation, Van Wart highlights the work of influential Protestant theologian Karl Barth. By placing these two imposing 20th century theologians in conversation, and by providing a careful theo-philosophical analysis of the logical mechanics of each thinker’s respective arguments, Van Wart shows how both inadvertently overreach their self-professed epistemological bounds and just so run into significant problems maintaining the coherence of their relative theological positions. That is, against their expressed intentions to the contrary, both thinkers unwittingly evacuate the divine essence of the mystery Christian tradition has always previously claimed it to have, effectively reducing the being of God to mere creaturely being writ large. As a contrasting corrective to this problem, Van Wart proffers a constructive grammatical reading of Aquinas’s measured account of the crucial but often overlooked logical differences between what can be said of the divine, on the one hand, versus what can be known of God, on the other. While many recent works have attempted to solve the ongoing arguments which Garrigou-Lagrange and Barth epitomize regarding the epistemic use of God’s effects, Van Wart’s contribution constructively pushes the conversation to a different level in showing how Aquinas’s grammar of God provides a salutary means of dissolving and moving beyond these contentious debates altogether.

Amid all the controversy, criticism, and celebration of Terrence Malick's award-winning film The Tree of Life, what do we really understand of it? The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace thoughtfully engages the philosophical riches of life, culture, time, and the sacred through Malick's film. This innovative collection traverses the relationships among ontological, moral, scientific, and spiritual perspectives on the world, demonstrating how phenomenological work can be done in and through the cinematic medium, and attempting to bridge the gap between narrow "theoretical" works on film and their broader cultural and philosophical significance. Exploring Malick's film as a philosophical engagement, this readable and insightful collection presents an excellent resource for film specialists, philosophers of film, and film lovers alike.

Meilander examines the relation between forming families through adoption and natural descent, explained through New Testament ideas of becoming a follower of Jesus through adoption.

NATURE AND GRACE: SELECTIONS FROM THE SUMMA THEOLOGICA OF THOMAS AQUINAS SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS — A Classic! — Includes a Preface, Bibliography, Endnotes and an Index of Scripture References — Includes Illustrations by Herbert Railton — Includes an Active Index, Table of Contents, and NCX Navigation Publisher: Available in Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1-78379-271-9 This selection from Aquinas' magnum opus, the Summa Theologica, covers the great Catholic philosopher's words on the nature of God, the nature of sin, and how God's grace sanctifies and transforms the lives of Christians. Concerning the nature of God, this selection includes Aquinas' arguments for God's existence, his description of God's metaphysical attributes, and his exploration of how God interacts with creation and the people who inhabit it. In the portion of the selection focusing on sin, Aquinas asks and answers the questions of what sin is and how it affects human beings. The selection's last portion presents Aquinas' thoughts on sin's remedy, God's grace. For those seeking Aquinas' insight on the topics here presented, this selection may prove a less cumbersome and more streamlined alternative to the entire Summa. PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING