Sin, Sacraments, and the New Left
26th February: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm GMT
Jack Norman (Blackfriars), ‘McCabe’s Social Ontology: Sin, Sacraments, and the New Left’
Herbert McCabe OP’s thought was shaped by and phrased in Marxist social theory, and he shows undeniable sympathy to Marxism. This has been picked up by several recent writings on McCabe. However, read in context, I will show that McCabe gave a critical account of Marxism that is embedded in his theology of sin and of grace, and an ecclesiology that challenges the possibility of a non-Christian community flourishing. In an Augustinian manner, McCabe thought that without the Church, and the sacraments, and certainly without grace, communities inevitably turn against themselves. As such, a secular Marxism cannot achieve its own aims. They might be able to diagnose problems but cannot bring about a harmonious society. Thus, while Marxism influenced McCabe’s thought from his social theory even into his sacramental theology, his Marxism is always secondary to his theological convictions. This, in turn, will raise broader theological questions of the kinds of societal progress that can be achieved in light of an account of nature and grace.
Dr Jack Norman is a Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall. Before that, he was a Research Fellow at Australian Catholic University. He completed his AHRC funded PhD at the University of Bristol in 2019. His research focuses on systematic theology, especially a group of theologians sometimes called the ‘Grammatical Thomists’, including thinkers such as Herbert McCabe OP and David Burrell CSC. He is currently writing articles on Thomism and realism, and Marxism and Christianity.
Part of this term’s lecture series, Thursdays at 5pm unless otherwise noted, presenting the breadth of Thomistic thought and its applications. Open to all, no registration required.
upcoming events in this series
Wk 8 Fr Richard Conrad OP (Blackfriars), ‘“Faith Believes, nor Questions How”: St Thomas on How (Not) to Understand the Eucharist’
Venue: Blackfriars Hall -
St Giles
Oxford,
OX1 3LY
United Kingdom
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Contact:
Aquinas Institute
aquinas@bfriars.ox.ac.uk