Is truth an outdated, dangerous, or even irrelevant concept? The painful memory of past intolerances might suggest setting aside or even suppressing the question of whether Christianity bears truth. However, in this era of “completed nihilism,” it is necessary to pursue new paths of freedom and dialogue while maintaining a commitment to truth. Aristotle once stated, “It is right to call philosophy the science of truth.” Should theology not also embrace the challenge of becoming a “science of truth” in its own way? If theology does not engage seriously with the questio de veritate (question of truth), it risks irrelevance and self-destruction. However, how does theology relate to truth? This book is the English translation of Quale Verità, originally published in Italian in 1999. It undertakes a radical rethinking of some of the most crucial theological themes, examining the concept of truth from a strictly Christocentric perspective. The book presents itself as an “open work” that explores this question through the lens of reason and critique. It emphasizes theological reason, understood as reason operating within faith—faith that investigates what it believes or, alternatively, faith that reflects on its object: God, who self-manifests and self-gives in Christ. At the same time, the book also offers a critique of theological reason, proposing a model of theology that, while seeking to explore its “immense Object,” must also reflect on its own methods and procedures. In doing so, it finds its ultimate foundation in Jesus Christ, rediscovered as the truth of truth.

 

Andrea Milano is a retired professor who taught Christian history at the University of Naples Federico II and theology at the Institute of Religious Sciences. He also taught at the University of Urbino. He was the co-founder and editor of the journal Filosofia e Teologia. He is member of Accademia Pontaniana and founding member of the Italian Society for Theological Research (SIRT). His research spanned history, theology, and philosophy, and he has published numerous books, essays, and encyclopedia entries. Among his works: Person in Relation: The Origins of the Meaning of Person in Early Christianity (Persona in relazione. Alle origini del significato di persona nel cristianesimo antico, 1984, 1996);  The Trinity of Theologians and Philosophers (La Trinità dei teologi e dei filosofi, 1987); The Word in the Eucharist (La Parola nella Eucaristia, 1990); and The Age of Modernism (L’età del Modernismo, 1996). He also edited Misogyny: Woman Seen and Mistreated in Western Culture (Misoginia. La donna vista e malvista nella cultura occidentale, 1992). Other works include Instinct in Thomas Aquinas’ Vision of the World (L’istinto nella visione del mondo di S. Tommaso d’Aquino, 1966) and Revelation and Hermeneutics: Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Italo Mancini (Rivelazione ed ermeneutica. Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, Italo Mancini, 1988).