We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American PropositionThe 1960 publication of We Hold These Truths marked a significant event in the history of modern American thought. Since that time, Sheed & Ward has kept the book in print and has published several studies of John Courtney Murray's life and work. We are proud to present a new edition of this classic text, which features a comprehensive introduction by Peter Lawler that places Murray in the context of Catholic and American history and thought while revealing his relevance today. From the new Introduction by Peter Lawler: The Jesuit John Courtney Murray (1904-67) was, in his time, probably the best known and most widely respected American Catholic writer on the relationship between Catholic philosophy and theology and his country's political life. The highpoint of his influence was the publication of We Hold These Truths in the same year as an election of our country's first Catholic president. Those two events were celebrated by a Time cover story (December 12, 1960) on Murray's work and influence. The story's author, Protestant Douglas Auchincloss, reported that it was "The most relentlessly intellectual cover story I've done." His amazingly wide ranging and dense--if not altogether accurate--account of Murray's thought was crowned with a smart and pointed conclusion: "If anyone can help U.S. Catholics and their non-Catholic countrymen toward the disagreement that precedes understanding--John Courtney Murray can." . . . Murray's work, of course, is treated with great respect and has had considerable influence, but now it's time to begin to think of him as one of America's very few genuine political philosophers. His disarmingly lucid and accessible prose has caused his book to be widely cited and celebrated, but it still is not well understood. It is both praised and blamed for reconciling Catholic faith with the fundamental premises of American political life. It is praised by liberals for paving the way for Vatican II's embrace of the American idea of religious liberty, and it is |
Contents
E Pluribus Unum The American Consensus | 43 |
Civil Unity and Religious Integrity The Articles of Peace | 59 |
Two Cases for the Public Consensus Fact or Need | 87 |
The Origins and Authority of the Public Consensus A Study of the Growing End | 101 |
Creeds at War Intelligibly Pluralism and the University | 123 |
Four Unfinished Arguments | 137 |
Is It Justice? The School Question Today | 139 |
Should There Be a Law? The Question of Censorship | 149 |
Is It Basket Weaving? The Question of Christianity and Human Values | 165 |
Are There Two or One? The Question of the Future of Freedom | 183 |
The Uses of Doctrine | 201 |
Doctrine and Policy in Communist Imperialism The Problem of Security and Risk | 203 |
The Uses of a Doctrine on the Uses of Force War as a Moral Problem | 227 |
The Doctrine Is Dead The Problem of the Moral Vacuum | 249 |
The Doctrine Lives The Eternal Return of Natural Law | 267 |
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Common terms and phrases
action affirmation Amendment American Catholic American consensus American Proposition argument assertion basic Brownson called Catholic censorship Chapter Christian Christian humanism Church civil Communist concept concrete conscience Constitution distinction doctrine economic ethical evil experience fact faith false dilemma force freedom Hold These Truths human ical idea imperative individual institutions intelligence issue Jacobin John Courtney Murray judgment juridical justice laicism law of nature limited Locke's Lockean matter means ment military modern monism moral Murray Murray's natural law natural-law nomic norm peace phrase Pius XII pluralism pluralist society political post-modern premise principle problem Protestant Protestantism public consensus public philosophy purposes question reality reason religion religious religious pluralism Revolution secular sense separation of church simply social Soviet Union spiritual structure theology theory thing thought tion tradition true unity validity whole word World Revolution
Popular passages
Page 27 - It is an ensemble of substantive truths, a structure of basic knowledge, an order of elementary affirmations that reflect realities inherent in the order of existence.