Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi - An Introduction to Christian Ethics: A New Testament Perspective

Beginning with Aristotelian virtue theory as a framework for Christian ethics, de Mingo Kaminouchi looks at the theological virtues before turning to the Beatitudes. He gently moves the reader beyond seeing the Beatitudes as corporal and spiritual works of mercy to be performed for the sake of others. Instead he challenges us to see the Beatitudes as pertinent virtues for the moral life. Virtues that if cultivated help us respond to Gods call and change us over time in the image of Christ. In so doing he connects the moral life and the life of discipleship.

Kathryn Lilla Cox

Visiting Research Associate

University of San Diego

The author wisely and helpfully sets the stage for his presentation by concisely narrating the five centuries of Catholic moral theology and its renewal in the decades around the Second Vatican Council. In so doing, de Mingo Kaminouchi introduces readers to a wide range of voices in Catholic moral theology, some more familiar (Curran, Ratzinger, Fuchs, Hauerwas, Rubio, and Hring) and others less familiar, especially voices from Spain that rarely get a hearing among North American readers. The structure of the book is masterful, giving teachers and students solid foundations for an ongoing consequential discussion of Christian ethics in a world that continues to struggle to find its own grounding for conversations about value, character, and ethics. This introduction is a solid grammar of Christian ethics, and it deserves to find a home in the classrooms of North American colleges and seminaries.

Christopher McMahon, PhD

Professor of Theology

Saint Vincent College

Thoroughly rooted in Scripture and history, comprehensive but never tedious, accessible without sacrificing deptha lucid and engaging introduction to the beauty of the Christian story and life lived in response to it.

Kate Ward, PhD

Assistant Professor of Theology

Marquette University

Athens meets Jerusalem in this splendid text that introduces students to contemporary virtue ethics. Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi covers a great deal of ground: a survey of the history of moral theology, the Christian moral life as configuration to Christ, Aristotelian virtue ethics, and the ethics of the Beatitudes. The book is written in a lucid, engaging style that invites a response to the life of happiness it describes.

Nickolas Becker, OSB

Assistant Professor of Theology

Saint Johns School of Theology and Seminary

Special thanks to Liturgical Press for bringing such an eloquent translation of the signature work of Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi into the English-speaking world. De Mingo is that rare Catholic bridge builder who spans biblical theology with theological ethics and introduces us to the grammar of virtue as we learn from revelation to be configured by Christ. Rightly he unfolds for us the beatitudes at the heart of this remarkable lesson and then concludes with an introduction to the three forms of love. I cannot recall ever such a compelling and ultimately satisfying introduction to Christian ethics. Bravo!

James F. Keenan, SJ

Canisius Professor

Boston College

Cover design by Monica Bokinskie. Cover photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Originally published as Introduccin a la tica cristiana, by Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi. Copyright by Ediciones Sgueme S.A.U., Salamanca 2015.

Scripture text translations in this work are by the translator.

Excerpts from documents of the Second Vatican Council are from Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations; The Basic Sixteen Documents, edited by Austin Flannery, OP, 1996. Used with permission of Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota.

2020 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except brief quotations in reviews, without written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint Johns Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: De Mingo Kaminouchi, Alberto, author.

Title: An introduction to Christian ethics : a New Testament perspective / Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi ; translated by Brother John of Taiz.

Other titles: Introduccin a la tica cristiana. English

Description: Collegeville, Minnesota : Liturgical Press, 2020. | Originally published as Introduccin a la tica cristiana, by Alberto de Mingo Kaminouchi, Copyright by Ediciones Sgueme S.A.U., Salamanca 2015. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: An introduction to Christian ethics which examines the New Testament through three concepts of Aristotles ethics: happiness, virtue, and loveProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020010678 (print) | LCCN 2020010679 (ebook) | ISBN 9780814688090 (paperback) | ISBN 9780814688120 (epub) | ISBN 9780814688120 (mobi) | ISBN 9780814688120 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian ethics. | Aristotle. | Ethics. | Bible. New TestamentCriticism, interpretation, etc.

Classification: LCC BJ1275 .D41513 2020 (print) | LCC BJ1275 (ebook) | DDC 241dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010678

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010679