Daniel P. HORAN, OFM. Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2019. pp. 260. $25.00 pb ISBN: 978-1-62698-336-6. Reviewed by Dolores L. CHRISTIE, University Heights, OH 44118.

           
This a thorough and scholarly work that contributes substantially to an understanding of the human person in a contemporary context. It discards the traditional and static pyramidal model of creation—human beings at the top—to a more circular or inclusive model which places persons in the embrace of and in relationship to every other portion of God’s work. From the microscopic atoms that form human bodies to the finished product, human beings are connected intimately to the rest of reality. The book has implications not only for our relationship to other people and other animals; it draws a compelling picture of our unity with the earth even at the molecular level.

Part I deals with creation itself. Even some early thinkers, including biblical writers, saw beyond the images of human dominance or a fixed world. The author considers Darwin, Teilhard, and earlier and contemporary scholars from a variety of disciplines. He emphasizes what he calls the kinship of creation” or “wholemaking,” that “we cannot explore ourselves as a species in isolation.”

Surprisingly, he challenges the common notion of human begins as the image of God, the imago dei. The phrase connotes human superiority—hubris. Rather, his emphasis is that “God’s image” implies a call to relationship and responsibility, albeit with unique qualities that add to the good of creation.

Part II looks more deeply at the nature of the human person. This section is particularly rich. Following much of contemporary thinking, the author rejects the static view that shaped the thinking of Aristotle and Aquinas and misshaped much of twentieth century Catholic thinking. As God embraced the material world in becoming flesh—meat, sarx—God became involved in both the pain and possibility of that world. Drawing heavily on Scotus’ idea of haecceitas (thisness), Horan relates particularity to connection: human beings comprise a unique place holder in the greater scope of creation, the community of creation.

Gender, race and identity are not defined by a fixed teleology of nature. Rather than reheating the tired broth of yesterday’s moral theological meals, Horan joins contemporary moral theologians who turn to modern sciences to understand more completely the human person to reject a totally binary understanding of human gender. Experience of gender differences is taken seriously. Likewise, that of race.

The final chapters in Part II consider sin and grace. The author criticizes past thinking on sin, in particular what he calls uncritically accepted and incomplete doctrinal expressions. His description of original sin is interesting. He rejects defining some ancient act—something that leaves a stain that needs sanitizing—but sees within an inherent goodness an intrinsic capacity to sin. In the last section Horan revisits the interconnectness of humanity in his discussion of structural sin. He explores the reality of grace, human capacity for it, and a suggestion for viewing the world in a new way.

Sometimes when one eats a extraordinarily rich meal, it is prudent to scrape off the excessive gravy and savor the taste of the excellent meat below. In the case the Horan’s book, there is plenty of good, rich academic gravy—certainly “rigorous” scholarship, as Shawn Copeland notes in her backcover comment. Underneath, however, one finds much to chew on. The book offers an excellent contemporary take on the human person as well as a comprehensive biography for further exploration. It is not only a useful summary of past thinking on many aspects of the human person, it moves the needle forward into the current century.