The January ’83 Thomist

The JANUARY '83 THOMIST begins with a reexamination of the attempt to reconcile God's existence with the phenomenon of evil and suffering that is all pervasive in the world. Is such evil inevitable in the light of finite freedom (as Alan Plantinga argues)? Or could God preclude all evil without doing violence to created freedom? Theodore Kondoleon argues, against Plantinga, for the latter, insisting that to admit the principle as a logical possibility not in fact actually realized, need not be interpreted as telling against the existence of God. Following this is a somewhat original reflection on the focal Thomistic notion of analogy which, when seen as a phenomenon of language rather than as anal,ogia entis, more closely approximates the preference for dialectical speech about God operative in Reformed Theology. Colman O'Neill draws out the ecumenical implications of this by suggesting a development of analogical method into a general hermeneutic for all interpretations of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, one wherein analogy is concerned with knowledge already acquired rather than with knowing the unknown. Next is a stimulating essay by George A. Kendall suggesting that mankind 's contemporary sense of alienation is rooted in a refusal of creaturehood . This amounts in fact to an ideology, in sharp contrast to the biblical view of the struggle for existence as due to the creature's living in a wrong relationship to their Creator. Subsequent to this is a piece of historical scholarship from Francis E. Kelley on an early (late thirteenth century) Thomistic thinker, Robert Orford, discerning in his writings influences from Giles of Rome, an Augustinian against whom Orford ordinarily reacted in polemical fashion. Kees de Kuyer then offers a reflecton on Heidegger's search for the meaning of ground, by way of Leibniz's principle: Nihil est sine ratione. The implications of this enable Heidegger to maintain that every being has its source in Being, shedding some light on his constant contention that " the thoughtworthy is the unthought discovered as the depth dimension of the already thought". Lastly is a" Review Discussion" of Alan Donagan's Theory of Moral,ity in which Stephen Theron expresses strong reservations on Donagan's contention that law in morals does not require a divine lawgiver. Rounding out the issue are reviews of nine recent books of significance, featuring a lengthy reflection on Jurgen Moltmann's innovative reconcep. tualization of the doctrine of the Trinity, and reactions to Edward Schillebeeckx 's two provocative studies of Christian ministry. W.J.H. ...