Faithful Reading

Fergus Kerr, OP is one of the foremost Catholic theologians of his generation. His works are widely read by specialists and students in the UK, North America and across the world. His ‘Theology after Wittgenstein’ is regarded as a seminal work in philosophical theology. His ‘After Aquinas: Versions of Thomism’ and ‘Twentieth Century Catholic Theologians’ are two of the finest student-focussed introductions to their topics currently available. The essays in this collection cover the two key areas of Kerr’s contribution: the relationship between theology and philosophy, focusing particularly on Thomism; and twentieth century Catholic thought. These themes provide the volume’s coherence. A key strength of this volume lies in the stature of its contributors. These include the Canadian Catholic philosopher and Templeton-laureate Charles Taylor, Stanley Hauerwas, John Milbank, David Burrell and Denys Turner. A number of younger contributors, representing the influence of Kerr over several generations, are also represented.

Faithful Reading is a beautiful act of homage to Fergus Kerr, who is one of the great theologian-philosophers of the last half-century. The range of topics treated in it -- epistemology, emotion, literary theory, imagination, the proper construal of Thomas, of Wittgenstein, of Newman, and always, first and last, of theology as something we humans cannot avoid doing -- is vast, as was true of Kerr's work. And the standard is consistently high: the passion of reason is evident in these essays, as it also is, to a high degree of intensity, in Kerr's own work., Many festschrifts lack coherence, but not in this case. Why not? Because the wide ranging contributions here correspond so well to the scope of Kerr's powerful theological mind., This collection of important essays in their own right is an ample testament to the range, depth and centrality of Fergus Kerr's influence in British theology over the past fifty years. Indeed it testifies the remarkable degree to which this Scottish Dominican has been its crucial midwife.

Dr Simon Oliver is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK. His research interests centre on issues in philosophical theology, the doctrine of creation, and theology and the history of natural science.Dr Karen Kilby is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Nottingham, UK.Dr Thomas O'Loughlin is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Nottingham, UK. His research has focused on the theology of the early medieval period, and on the works of insular writers in particular.