Aquinas's Notion of Pure Nature and the Christian Integralism of Henry de Lubac (American University Studies) Hardcover – April 14, 2011

«‘Not Everything is Grace’ offers a clear, insightful and very helpful account of the notion of pure nature in Thomism, in arguments developed in the 20th-century by Henri de Lubac, and as carried forward today by the Radical Orthodoxy movement. The volume will admirably serve both postgraduate courses and theologians working in this important area.» (Professor Anne Hunt, Dean, Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, Australian Catholic University)
«Bernard Mulcahy has produced a top-notch study of a nettlesome topic. All in all, no agreement exists among theologians about what happens to the human nature that God created in Genesis (Gen 1:23) once the dawn of redeeming grace appears in Saint Luke’s gospel (Lk 1:38). Father Mulcahy takes up with ambition and excellence this question that continues to unsettle Christian theology.» (Romanus Cessario, O.P., St John’s Seminary, Brighton)
«Characterized by acuity of analysis, fairness of judgment, and lucidity of thought and style, Matthew Bernard Mulcahy’s ‘Not Everything Is Grace’ is an indispensable reading for any serious student of theology with an interest in the recent renewal of the debate over ‘nature and grace’ and especially the idea of a ‘pure nature’.Mulcahy convincingly demonstrates first that theologians of the patristic era were well familiar with a human nature and a common final human discernible apart from revelation and grace and, secondly and more extensively, that the idea, though not the term, of pure nature plays a significant role in the writings of Thomas Aquinas. Furthermore, by showing that Henri de Lubac’s characterizations of Baianism and Jansenism occluded the political and historical contexts and impacts of these theological movements, Mulcahy successfully questions Henri de Lubac’s familiar, but historically unsubstantiated claim, that the modern scholastic use of ‘pure nature’ facilitated the rise of modern secularism and atheism. Last but not least, Mulcahy offers an accurate and illuminating reading of the most recent radicalization of de Lubac’s vision into a comprehensive theological integralism – Radical Orthodoxy. Mulcahy’s perspicuous analysis of its central tenets constitutes a critique that is as charitable as it is devastating. Mulcahy makes a powerful case for the indispensability of the idea of pure nature for a Catholic theology that wants to account for the full scope of the complexity of creaturely existence. This is a ‘must’ on the reading list for every class that tackles the ‘nature-grace-debate’ in the 20th century. Its clarity and even-handedness make it a welcome contribution to a complicated and often heated debate. Tolle, lege!» (Reinhard Hütter, Duke University Divinity School)

Bernard Mulcahy, O.P., is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph in the United States. He received his license in sacred theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (Washington, D.C.) and his PhD in systematic theology from the Australian Catholic University (National). He has taught theology at Providence College (Providence, RI), Benedictine College (Atchison, KS), and at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.