This exploration of Thomas Aquinas's philosophical theology, decidedly "unorthodox" at the time of its original publication, had the good fortune to be employed extensively--notably at Yale and Cambridge--by my eminent colleagues George Lindbeck and Nicholas Lash. It essayed a "non-foundational" reading of the Summa Theologiae, unabashedly beholden to Wittgenstein, thereby preparing the way for a postmodern yet thoroughly traditional appreciation of the central role which Aquinas played in...

“A challenging, sensitive, appreciative, deep and broad-minded book.”The Muslim World Book Review“The work of a master scholar who has devoted a lifetime of scholarly, dialogical, and contemplative reflection to these three interconnected traditions. Audacious in its breadth, the book also addresses important and urgent issues, ranging from creation and eschatology to providence and grace, and the debates that even today continue to divide Jews, Chr...

Trying to articulate the ways in which one's life meshes with one's own time can be perilous, yet friends have encouraged me to do just that. Nevertheless, for one oriented to serving others as teacher and mentor in a context of faith, writing about oneself seems unnatural. Yet the "self" we have been given to share embodies many others as well. So many of the encounters narrated here will open into friendships. Moreover, what spices those encounters are the places and passions they embody...

An ancient commentator called Job a "strange and wonderful book." For many readers, "strange" might do. Though Job has been characterized as an answer to the problem of suffering, for many the book fails to satisfy the longing for answers it supposedly contains. Perhaps that, in fact, is the point of Job--there are no satisfactory arguments for why people suffer. In this compact yet substantial volume, David B. Burrell argues that this is the message of Job. Burrell engages major movements...

I am an old man now; the burden of fourscore years is resting upon me. But the events of a certain April day in the year 783 A.U.C.—full half a century ago—are as fresh in my memory as if they had happened yesterday. At that time I was stationed with my Hundred on garrison duty at the Castle of Antonia, in Jerusalem. I had been ordered to take charge of the execution of a malefactor who had just been sentenced to death. Accordingly, on the morning of the day mentioned, I selected twelve of...

In Knowing the Unknowable God, David Burrell traces the intellectual intermingling of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions that made possible the medieval synthesis that served as the basis for Western theology. He shows how Aquinas's study of the Muslim philosopher Ibn-Sina and the Jewish thinker Moses Maimonides affected the disciplined use of language when speaking of divinity and influenced his doctrine of God.

It is possible to eclipse a felt sense of physical dread or the expansive feeling of flourishing with the cognitive habit of universalizing our experience. We belong to a culture that surrenders the sacred vitality and dynamism of sensed experience to critical analytic cognition. Cognitional theories and emotions-as-cognitions dominate our understanding of the self; physiologic and anatomic models of normalcy dictate our approach to the body; socio-economic models of global utility shape t...

In "The Centurion's Story," David James Burrell masterfully weaves a narrative that delves into the life and psyche of a Roman centurion stationed in Judea during a tumultuous period of history. The book employs a rich, evocative prose style that effortlessly transports readers to the ancient world, melding historical facts with imaginative storytelling. Burrell draws upon a wealth of historical context, including the socio-political dynamics of Roman occupation and early Christianity, all...

Herbert McCabe struck those who met him (Alasdair MacIntyre, Anthony Kenny, Terry Eagleton, Denys Turner) or those who read his writings (David Burrell, Stanley Hauerwas) for his high intelligence. He was the most intelligent philosopher after the death of Karl Popper. His philosophical inquiries on God and the Human Being have yet to be properly understood, not because they were abstruse (clarity was McCabe's inexorable sword!) but because of their dizzying depth, for which many are not y...

"...a delightfully honest and refreshing tale..." -Amazon Reviewer"...superbly written...full of life and personality..." -Amazon Reviewer"...a gripping fantasy tale that always seems to twist just when you think you know where it's headed." -Amazon Reviewer"A really cool read from an author that I'll be following in the future." -Amazon ReviewerDoctors tell Raj that his son Emret won't survive his illness. As Raj struggles to prepare himself and Emret for t...

Book 1 - Part 3"...a delightfully honest and refreshing tale..." -Amazon Reviewer"...superbly written...full of life and personality..." -Amazon Reviewer"...a gripping fantasy tale that always seems to twist just when you think you know where it's headed." -Amazon Reviewer"A really cool read from an author that I'll be following in the future." -Amazon ReviewerDoctors tell Raj that his son Emret won't survive his illness. As Raj struggles to prepare ...

In "The Centurion's Story," David James Burrell masterfully weaves a narrative that explores the life of a Roman centurion during the turbulent times of the early Christian era. Set against a backdrop of historical events, Burrell employs rich, vivid prose that brings the ancient world to life, while skillfully blending personal introspection with broader themes of faith, duty, and conflict. The book is notable for its thoughtful examination of the intersection between authority and vulner...