Tyranny of the Banal - (Renewal: Conversations in Catholic Theology) by David Deane (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this book, David Deane proposes a renewal of Catholic moral theology by deconstructing dominant secular positions and restoring Catholic positions to their theological roots. In doing so, Deane makes space for a constructive Catholic moral theology restored to its foundatio...

Book Synopsis

In this book, David Deane proposes a renewal of Catholic moral theology by deconstructing dominant secular positions and restoring Catholic positions to their theological roots. In doing so, Deane makes space for a constructive Catholic moral theology restored to its foundations in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Review Quotes

A very valuable book. Deane rightly emphasizes the wider contexts in which Catholic moral theology is (or increasingly isn't) "heard" in the contemporary world -- and offers promising ideas as to what to do about it.

In this sharply argued book, David Deane shows us the murderous consequences of the Enlightenment's anthropology which reduced humanity to the choosing power, and so clouded our ability to see reality. By clearing such obstacles, Deane helps us to see reality better. He charts a postliberal path to a more truly humane anthropology that sees the person by the light of right worship.

This exceptional book shows how the Catholic Church is unable to challenge the current 'banal' consensus around questions of life, death, and sexuality because it fails fully to question the metaphysical undergirdings of that consensus which it even, historically, helped to shape. Catholic ethics will only become credible once more if we restore its basis in a philosophical account of the soul-body relation, that is itself grounded in Christian doctrine. This book is crucial reading for all Christian ethicists.

This work explains why Catholic moral teaching is so little understood. As with many other areas of theology, the problems have their roots in late medieval ideas, in the project of Immanuel Kant and in post-Conciliar theology wafting across the Anglosphere from Belgium and Holland. Deane explains not only what the Church teaches but the "engines" or foundations upon which an authentic Catholic moral theology is based. His thesis is that unless we get the foundations right and understand them, magisterial teaching will continue to have little persuasive force. This should be on every seminarian's moral theology reading list!

About the Author

David Deane is associate professor of theology at the Atlantic School of Theology.