The Line through the Heart: Natural Law as Fact, Theory, and Sign of Contradiction by J. Budziszewski (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 340 of helpful quotations and point the reader in many useful directions for further reading on topics related to this discussion. It is clear from this book that Novak and Levering share many of the same theological concerns; the reader witnesses a student ofMaimonides debatingwith a student of Aquinas. Levering does not attempt to use Novak’s thought to show the superiority of Christianity over Judaism; rather, he draws upon Novak’s theology, and upon Jewish traditions, as a theological source to help move the discussion forward. Despite the ease of conversation between Novak and Levering, one wonders how well Levering’s Christian theological dialogue would fare in dialogue with other Jewish theologians who differ in significant ways from Novak. Despite this concern, the reader can ultimately agree with Novak’s sentiments in the foreword, namely, that what Levering has accomplished in this book is “authentic theological dialogue” (x). This book is a must read for any scholar interested in Jewish-Christian dialogue. JEFFREY L. MORROW Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology South Orange, New Jersey The Line through the Heart: Natural Law as Fact, Theory, and Sign of Contradiction. By J. Budziszewski. Wilmington, Del.: ISI Books, 2009. Pp. 241. $18.00 (paper). ISBN 978-161017003-1. Jay Budziszewski, professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas, has produced an outstanding volume on natural law with The Line through the Heart. Although it is a collection of previously published essays, the book is united around two principal themes: moral law and political law. Budziszewski appropriately defends the connection between the two by reminding readers that “politics is a branch of the study of ethics” (xi). With this assertion, the author places himself squarely within the classical natural-law tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose influence is evident throughout the book. The book’s ten chapters are evenly divided between the two themes. The first five chapters concern the moral law, the latter five take up various contemporary issues in political law and society. The two parts are connected, of course. The conclusions of the essays on moral law naturally contribute to Budziszewski’s view of the issues he treats in political-law chapters. The first two chapters (“Natural Law as Fact, as Theory, and as Sign of Contradiction” and “The Second Tablet Project,” respectively) offer the basic principles of natural law that guide Budziszewski’s thought. Nothing in these chapters contributes new material to the complex discussion on natural law. But BOOK REVIEWS 341 what is worth the reader’s attention is the way in which the author presents the material, which clearly has been refined from his years of teaching undergraduate and graduate students. In the first chapter, Budziszewski argues that natural law must be approached as a fact rather than as a theory. He cautions against treating natural law as a meta-theory, and encourages his readers to focus on the data of reality (3). The human being is a person who knows reality, and who is inclined to the truth of things even if acknowledging that truth is difficult. Following Aquinas, Budziszewski repeatedly insists throughout the book that the human person spontaneously intuits the fundamental principles of reality, and, therefore, he intuits the first principles of the natural law even if the application of these principles in concrete matters is often obscured. Here, Budziszewski moves beyond typical natural-law lawyers by incorporating the revealed truth that man labors under the effects of original sin. No discussion of natural law or, in fact, of moral law and politics can forget the effects of original sin on the human person. Specifically, living with a fallen human nature means that even though we may know the truths of reality, we refuse to accept those truths and more easily work to deceive ourselves. “The consequence of the Fall is that we don’t want to hear of natural law” (18). This is why the so-called “Second Tablet” project, which seeks to ground moral norms on pure reason is bound to fail in Budziszewski’s view. Ignoring the human person’s knowledge of God (whether the spontaneous natural awareness that a Creator exists or the revealed truths...