What has Newman to say today, not just to Christians, but to those shapers of public opinion in education and the media for whom Christianity is no longer a point of reference, or to those for whom all religion is merely a matter of personal and subjective "opinion"? This is the central question of this volume. As it shows, Newman challenges us to think in an integrated way, "connecting" different areas of thought and experience. He invites us to reflect on the nature of the human "person" and the "self", on the nature of conscience and its role in contemporary political life, and on the relationship between the individual and the community. The contributions here show that Newman challenges us to examine the relationships between different academic disciplines in the quest for a "connected view or grasp" of things. He invites us to see faith as not just a question of "believing", but also as a quest for a personal, living relationship. His thought throws fresh light on the nature of inter-religious dialogue and contemporary evangelism.
This volume of essays, sponsored by the Newman Association of America, serves to identify, preserve, and promote the legacy of John Henry Newman. It argues that eleven major elements of Newman's life and work speak to us today, and, in fact, are very important resources for believers in their confrontation with the challenges of an increasingly secular world. They also resonate loudly to a church in crisis both internally and externally in its confrontation with that world. Ten authors, included among them some of the world's most noted Newman scholars, as well as several emerging ones, address various aspects of Newman's legacy on a host of subjects. These include the nature and challenges of faith both for believers and contemporary "nones" with no religious affiliations, an analysis of what and how we know things, particularly bearing on religious matters, the experience of conversions, the place and meaning of relationships in our search for God, especially those of family, home, and friendships, the indispensable role of the church in our drive for holiness, the nature and importance of education and its personal dimension, and the correct application of history in studying and learning from Newman's legacy. Those who have questions and who think about these subjects, academics and non-academics alike, will find much to ponder in these essays.