This book is a new entry in the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) series published by Orbis. Previous volumes focused on such themes as sustainability, migration, and women's contributions to theological ethics. Books in this series are notable for their vast catholicity, bringing together contributions from what may well be the most globally diverse list of authors ever to have appeared together in print. Contributions are generally quite short and attempt to summarize the state of a question while pointing in new directions. Each volume resembles a vast buffet of tempting small dishes that whet the reader's appetite for more, inviting deeper knowledge about particular contributors, methods, or regions of the globe.
Some contributions to this volume take up methodological questions, examining how the Bible has been used, or how it should be used, in Catholic theological ethics. Gina Hens-Piazza's call to practice justice in reading Scripture by attending to “the supporting cast” has changed my thinking. Many essays apply particular Scripture texts to particular ethical circumstances. The broad diversity of cultural perspectives generates (to me) new and surprising conclusions, as in Chantal Nsongisa Kimesa's essay on women's clothing. And many essays blend the two approaches, applying the Bible to particular cultural contexts or problems in order to deduce approaches to using the Bible in ethics more generally. Mathew Illathuparampil's essay on using the Bible for ethics in an Indian context is a particularly rich example.
Nearly to a person, the contributors reject a proof-texting use of the Bible in ethics, instead showing how the Bible offers “a discourse about who God is and how God acts in the world” (Alain Thomasset, 35), a moral stance (Jaime Vidaurrázaga), the spirit of a relationship with God (Ronaldo Zacharias), a cultural countervision (John R. Donahue), or a vision of the human person, which has become fundamental to Catholic ethical reflection (Maria Inês de Castro Millen). That said, it is fascinating to note which texts recur in close analysis. Unsurprisingly, the Decalogue and, perhaps more surprisingly, Saint Paul's teaching on idol meat appear in multiple essays.
Colleagues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America often struggle to have their regional journals indexed by the pricey subscription services that would make their work accessible to North American and European readers. While more must be done to remedy that injustice, the CTEWC series provides an invaluable service by helping researchers who read English access a vast array of global perspectives at an affordable price. Scholars and libraries should collect these volumes. This book would make an excellent text for a graduate course in biblical ethics, allowing students to compare the approaches of the biblicists and ethicists compiled in the volume. Although most undergraduate courses would not use this book as a key text, I have successfully assigned selections from CTEWC volumes in introductory courses. Undergraduates can read these short, pithy scholarly essays with some guidance, and my US students relish the access to global perspectives.
This book represents a fitting tribute to the late Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan, SJ, who tragically passed away while completing editorial work on the volume. Our colleague Lúcás was a pioneer in the field of biblical ethics, and the volume reflects his interests in this and more particular areas, from cross-cultural ethics and hospitality to the ethical application of the Decalogue. Lisa Sowle Cahill pauses in the middle of her contribution to mark the moment in time where she heard of Lúcás’ death and to thank him for his life. Lúcás’ introduction to the volume, unfinished at his death, was completed by his former teacher James F. Keenan. The Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church series is a manifest reminder that relationships of scholarly collaboration, friendship, and siblinghood in Christ span the globe. The contributions of Chan and his friends to this volume remind us that these deep ties remain, and may continue to bear fruit for the theological community and for the world, after life is done.
