The twenty-four chapters in this volume seek to argue for and illustrate a central element in the author's theory of natural law: that the main tenets of personal and political morality, and of a good legal order, are taught both by reason (arguments accessible to everyone) and by authentic divine revelation (teachings accessible to all who have a reasonable faith in its witnesses). The first Part includes eight chapters. Two attend to the idea of public reason, both in its proper sense and its Rawlsian deformation. One vindicates in outline for treating a religion as part of public reason, an ... More

The twenty-four chapters in this volume seek to argue for and illustrate a central element in the author's theory of natural law: that the main tenets of personal and political morality, and of a good legal order, are taught both by reason (arguments accessible to everyone) and by authentic divine revelation (teachings accessible to all who have a reasonable faith in its witnesses). The first Part includes eight chapters. Two attend to the idea of public reason, both in its proper sense and its Rawlsian deformation. One vindicates in outline for treating a religion as part of public reason, and for giving constitutional protection to religions (within due limits now being tested by the emergence of a politically aggressive religion in Western societies). One takes up Plato's warning about the political evils of some kinds of secularism, another surveys the principles of a sound relation between religion and state, and the last addresses Catholics about their participation in liberal discourse and politics. The nine chapters in Part Two include a substantial engagement with the relativizing idea of ‘historical consciousness’ and a variety of reflections (including three sermons) on the preambles to acceptance of revelation and on the content of Judeo-Christian revelation. The main chapter in Part Three studies Newman's idea of conscience in his debate with Gladstone. The seven chapters in Part Four, Controversies, are contributions to debates about world order, natural law, nuclear deterrence, the ‘consistent ethic of life’, the ‘culture of death’, contraception, and hell.