Reading John With St. Thomas Aquinas ─ Theological Exegesis and Speculative Theology

Written by leading experts on Aquinas's theology, the essays in Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas bear common witness to a central theological conviction: the tasks of biblical exegesis and speculative theology, though distinct, indwell and inform each other. As the first book-length study of the full breadth of Aquinas's Commentary on the Gospel of John, this work illuminates the way in which thinking systematically or speculatively about revelation flows from questions raised within biblical exegesis itself.

Like any medieval biblical commentator, Aquinas attempts to understand a biblical text not only in itself but also by appealing to parallel interpretive texts drawn from throughout the Bible as well as the accumulated insights of the Church Fathers. This method enables him to penetrate deeply into the thought of the Bible, recognizing that the biblical authors—speaking from within the context of Israel and the Church—raise questions that are theological and that belong to coherent speculative theological frameworks. The result is, in large part, a speculative theological commentary that is not imposed on the biblical texts but emerges from it.

The essays in Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas seek to illumine the necessary conjunction of the inspired words of Scripture, exegetical commentary, and theological analysis. The volume is both a study of Aquinas's thought and an attempt to foster contemporary exegetical approaches that emphasize the need to interpret Scripture speculatively, through the historical lens of tradition.

ABOUT THE EDITORS:

Michael Dauphinais is Associate Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University. Matthew Levering is Associate Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University and author of Christ's Fulfillment of Torah and Temple: Salvation According to St. Thomas Aquinas and Scripture and Metaphysics: Aquinas and the Renewal of Trinitarian Theology. They are coeditors of the English edition of Nova et Vetera and coauthors of Holy People, Holy Land: A Theological Introduction to the Bible.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are: Benedict M. Ashley, O.P., Aquinas Institute of Theology; Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Loyola College in Maryland; Serge-Thomas Bonino, O.P., The Catholic University of Toulouse; John F. Boyle, University of St. Thomas; Stephen F. Brown, Boston College; David B. Burrell, C.S.C., University of Notre Dame; Gilles Emery, O.P., University of Fribourg; Paul L. Gondreau, Providence College;
Matthew L. Lamb, Boston College and Ave Maria University; Carlo Leget, University Medical Centre Nijmegen; Steven A. Long, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul; Bruce D. Marshall, Southern Methodist University; Richard A. Schenk, O.P., John Paul II Cultural Center; Michael S. Sherwin, O.P., University of Fribourg; Janet E. Smith, Sacred Heart Major Seminary; Pim Valkenberg, The Catholic University of Nijmegen; Michael M. Waldstein, International Theological Institute, Gaming, Austria.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

"[T]his volume contributes to scholarship on St. Thomas because it fills out our picture of him by highlighting one of his overlooked genres." — Thomas F. Ryan, The Thomist