Seldom have God matters been treated with such verve, sense, rigour and humour as in this collection of writings by Herbert McCabe. The book demonstrates the depth and clarity of his theology and philosophy of God, his appetite for controversy, both political and theological, as well as a traditional Catholic concern for prayer, liturgy, Mary and St Dominic. The articles, which range widely, and represent over twenty years of characterstically dominican enterprise, reveal a personality that is itslef clear evidence that God matters.

Is it possible to think about religious beliefs philosophically? Should religious beliefs be viewed as a flight from reason or as capable of rational support? Can theologians learn from philosophers? Can philosophers learn from theologians? Is it possible to be both a good Christian and a good thinker? Can there be such a thing as reasonable faith? This book is chiefly concerned with these questions and others related to them. A collection of previously unpublished papers written by the late Herbert McCabe O.P., it examines the nature of religious belief, especially belief in God, with an eye on both theological and philosophical arguments. Some thinkers have sought to drive a wedge between philosophy and theology. Like Thomas Aquinas, whose writings he especially admired, McCabe seeks to show how the two can be systematically connected. Some religious truths, he argues, may defy our understanding. But this does not mean that they cannot be reasonably discussed.

Herbert McCabe was one of the most original and creative theologians of recent years. Continuum has published numerous volumes of unpublished typescripts left behind by him following his untimely death in 2001. This book is the sixth to appear. McCabe was deeply immersed in the philosophical theology of St Thomas Aquinas and was responsible in part for the notable revival of interest in the thought of Aquinas in our time. Here he tackles the problem of evil by focusing and commenting on what Aquinas said about it. What should we mean by words such as 'good', 'bad', 'being', 'cause', 'creation', and 'God'? These are McCabe's main questions. In seeking to answer them he demonstrates why it cannot be shown that evil disproves God's existence. He also explains how we can rightly think of evil in a world made by God. McCabe's approach to God and evil is refreshingly unconventional given much that has been said about it of late. Yet it is also very traditional. It will interest and inform anyone seriously interested in the topic.

Published posthumously, this study is thoroughly rewarding and will increase McCabe's reputation as one of Britain's finest theologians of recent years. The revival of interest in Aquinas has run simultaneously with the rise of interest in Aristotle, on whose philosophy Aquinas based his own. On Aquinas is a masterly work of exposition written with breathtaking clarity. By the use of simple modern analogy Mccabe brings Aquinas's thought to life and underlines the crucial influence of Aquinas on our own contemporary thought. It is rare to find a work of philosophical exposition which is exciting to read. Even those who are unfamiliar with Aquinas will find this book gripping.

What is ethics all about? In this book Herbert McCabe suggests that it is about loving, obeying laws and talking to people. In doing so, he offers an introduction to ethical thinking for anyone with a serious interest in moral philosophy. He does so as someone who writes with a Christian audience in mind. Most of his arguments, however, do not presuppose a believing Christian readership.

Herbert McCabe struck those who met him (Alasdair MacIntyre, Anthony Kenny, Terry Eagleton, Denys Turner) or those who read his writings (David Burrell, Stanley Hauerwas) for his high intelligence. He was the most intelligent philosopher after the death of Karl Popper. His philosophical inquiries on God and the Human Being have yet to be properly understood, not because they were abstruse (clarity was McCabe’s inexorable sword!) but because of their dizzying depth, for which many are not yet prepared. This is the first comprehensive study of McCabe, a person who preferred speaking to writing and left only the short—fragmented and dispersed—texts of his lectures and sermons. But in this book, to use David Burrell’s words, Manni has “managed to get inside McCabe’s mind” and assemble together for the first time the disiecta membra of a powerful system of thought.

A reissue of McCabe's classic book on the sacraments what it is to live in the Church .

Is Happiness a pleasure or a pain? You hardly know. Certainly it is not a comfort for comfort spells security and happiness can take you out of yourself to a degree where all secutiry is left behind. Behind a feeling of exultation, you can sense the flame

CONTRIBUTORS: FERGUS KERR OP Charity as Friendship SIMON TUGWELL OP Prayer, Humpty Dumpty and Thomas Aquinas BRIAN DAVIES OP Classical Theism and the Doctrine of Divine Simplicity DAVID B. BURRELL CSC Distinguishing God from the World DENYS TURNER Feuerbach, Marx and Reductivism ANTHONY KENNY Aquinas on Knowledge of Self P. J. FITZPATRICK Some Seventeenth-Century Disagreements and Transubstantiation HUGO A. MEYNELL Faith, Objectivity, and Historical Falsifiability MARGARET DAVIES The Genre of the First Gospel TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE OP 'The Coming of the Son of Man': Mark's Gospel and the Subversion of 'The Apocalyptic Imagination' BRIAN WICKER Taking Away the Sin of the World J. M. CAMERON The Theory and Practice of Autobiography ENDA MCDONAGH Prayer, Poetry and Politics