Answering for Faith is an effort to uncover the rational grounds for belief in Jesus Christ as God’s salvific “Word” to humanity, and to explore the relation to God’s self revelation in all human history.
This book begins with the human expectation of salvation as the fulfillment of our longing for God and as a “solution” to the problem of evil. An examination of theodicy leads to a consideration of religious experience in general, to establish the fact of God’s saving action in history. A phenomenology of religions then examines the concrete claims of various faiths to have encountered a saving word or illumination from God. In the context of dialectic and convergence of word religions the Christian claim is discussed. An attempt is then made to justify Christian faith by means of transcendental and dialectical method. Finally, the implications of the affirmation of Christ as God’s “special” revelation are examined, both with regard to Christian faith itself (Christology) and with regard to world religions and salvation history in general.
Represent an integration of much that has transpired in Catholic theology since Vatican II and a challenging new beginning – as such it will prove an indispensable point of reference for Christological discussion.