Scripture and Metaphysics: Aquinas and the Renewal of Trinitarian Theology - Paperback

by Matthew Levering (Author)

This book makes a major contribution to contemporary theological and philosophical debates, bridging scriptural and metaphysical approaches to the triune God.

• Bridges the gap between scriptural and metaphysical approaches to biblical narratives.
  
• Retrieves Aquinas's understanding of theology as contemplative wisdom.
  
• Structured around Aquinas's treatise on the triune God in his 'Summa Theologiae'.
  
• Argues that intellectual contemplation is part of a broader spiritual journey towards a better understanding of God.
  
• Contributes to the current resurgence of Thomistic theology in both Protestant and Catholic circles.

Back Jacket

In this major contribution to contemporary theological and philosophical debates, Matthew Levering bridges the gap between scriptural and metaphysical approaches to the triune God. Levering's argument rests upon St. Thomas Aquinas's understanding of theology as contemplative wisdom. Taking us through Aquinas's theology of God as One and Three, he demonstrates that Trinitarian theology should be a spiritual exercise assisting our movement from self- to God-centeredness. Crucial to the spiritual exercise is the contemplative appropriation of biblical revelation, which, Levering argues, has to be joined to a correspondingly rich metaphysical analysis if the "God" who is revealed is to be understood in a non-idolatrous fashion. In chapters that broadly follow the structure of Aquinas's treatise on God in his Summa Theologiae, Levering engages with a wide range of contemporary theologians, biblical exegetes, and philosophers.

Author Biography

Matthew Levering is Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He is the author of Christ's Fulfilment of Torah and Temple (2002), coauthor of Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas (2002), and coeditor of Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas (forthcoming). He is the coeditor of the English edition of Nova et Vetera, and serves on the editorial board of the Catholic University of America's Thomas Aquinas in Translation series. He has most recently edited and introduced On the Priesthood: Classic and Contemporary Texts (2003).