The Bible and Catholic Theological Ethics ed. by Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan, James F. Keenan, and Ronaldo Zacharias

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Bible and Catholic Theological Ethics ed. by Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan, James F. Keenan, and Ronaldo Zacharias Christopher Hrynkow yiu sing lúcás chan, james f. keenan, and ronaldo zacharias (eds.), The Bible and Catholic Theological Ethics (Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church; Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017). Pp. xi +299. Paper $45. The present volume, which adds to Orbis Books Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church series, consists of an introduction penned by the first two editors and twenty-three single-authored chapters from contributors who are grounded in Catholic traditions but most often open to intercultural, ecumenical, and interreligious perspectives. The self-professed goal of this volume is to offer one of the first articulations of Catholic biblical ethics that takes into account the positionalilty of the contributors. The introduction and the first body chapter by Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan, who passed away while this project was in [End Page 560] process, set out this task and assert the need for Catholic Biblical ethics, as understood in this volume, to encompass conversations between scriptural scholars and moral theologians, with each carefully reviewing and citing literature from both fields. The essays in the volume are the following: Part 1, “Foundational Concerns,” comprises the following essays: “Biblical Ethics: 3D,” by Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan; and “The Virtue of Hospitality according to the Bible and the Challenge of Migration,” by Alain Thomasset, SJ. Under the next subheading, “The Bible as Source of Moral Wisdom,” are “Pauline Inspirations for the Theological and Ethical Discourse on Conscience Today,” by Marian Machinek, MSF; “Bible, Ethics, and the Global Church: A Feminist View from North America,” by Lisa Sowle Cahill; “Is There Any Faithful Exegete? Old Testament Ethics in a West African Cultural Context,” by Paul Béré, SJ; “The Ethics of Consideration as a Solution to the Problem of Food Offered to Idols (1 Corinthians 8:1–13),” by Wilfrid Okambawa, SJ; and “Biblical Ethics and the Proclamation of the Gospel,” by Aristide Fumagalli. Part 2, “Perspectives,” includes the following articles: “Supporting Cast versus Supporting Caste: Reading the Old Testament as Praxis of Justice,” by Gina Hens-Piazza; “A Look into Hesed in the Old Testament: From the Present Sociocultural Situation of Costa Rica,” by María Cristina Ventura Campusano; “The Meaning of the Decalogue for Contemporary Moral Theology,” by José Manuel Caamaño López; “Some Ethical Implications of Saint Paul’s Vision of the ‘New Creation,’” by Thomas D. Stegman, SJ; “Marriage and Wealth: A Study of Mark 10:1–31,” by Francis J. Moloney, SDB; “Woman and Her Clothing in the Service of God: An African Feminist Reading of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16,” by Chantal Nsongisa Kimesa; “Life in Abundance: Johannine Ethics from an Indian Feminist Perspective,” by Rekha M. Chennattu, RA; “Appropriating the Bible as ‘Memory for the Poor,’” by Jaime Vidaurrázaga; “Reading in a Revolution: Activist Catholics’ Use of Scripture during the Last Decades of Apartheid, 1974–1994,” by Anthony Egan, SJ; and “The Role of Cultural Context in Reading the Bible: The Chinese Case,” by Louis Gendron. Part 3, “The Bible and Contemporary Ethical Issues,” offers the following essays: “‘What Shall We Do Then?’ Engaging Ethical Issues in India/Asia with the Bible,” by Mathew Illathuparampil; “The Bible and Contemporary Social Issues in Light of the Brazilian/Latin American Context,” by Maria Inês de Castro Millen; “The Kingdom Proclamation of Jesus in the Gospels: Context and Challenge to North America,” by John R. Donahue; “Gender Issues in Biblical Ethics: On the Reception of Old Testament Texts for a Sexual Ethics in Gender-Democratic Societies,” by Irmtraud Fischer; “The Inevitability of Scandal: A Moral and Biblical Analysis of Firing Gay Teachers and Ministers to Avoid Scandal,” by Christopher P. Vogt; and “Scripture and Sexual Ethics: From Absolute Trust and Systematic Suspicion to a Hermeneutics of Appreciation,” by Ronaldo Zacharias. The essays cover a broad range of global Catholic experience; however, they are uneven in their quality and the tasks presented as integral to the project in the introduction to this volume are not taken up by all the contributors. Notably in this regard, many...