Fortin offers a timely synthesis of western theological reflection on the doctrines of original sin and grace, extending from Irenaeus to Hans Urs von Balthasar, upon which he constructs his own spiritual theology of grace for the twenty-first century. Although this spiritual history delves into the nuances and necessary clarifications in the evolving doctrine of grace, its principal focus is on how the lived experience of representative thinkers provided the basic material for their theologizing. What emerges clearly from Fortin’s study is the consistency of theological thought across the centuries, landscapes, and confessional divides of Europe. Readers involved in ecumenical dialogue and all who long for realized Christian unity will find much to consider in this thoughtful book.
— T. Allan Smith, University of St. Michael’s College
This very ambitious monograph treats the Western (Latin) theological tradition as a unity centered on the doctrine of Grace, a tradition that embraces both Catholic and Protestant voices. Irenaeus and Augustine represent the Patristic era. Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas represent the medieval era. Luther, Calvin, the Council of Trent, Ignatius Loyola and Theresa of Avilla represent the Reformation era. Barth, Rahner, Bonhoeffer, and Balthasar represent the contemporary era. A final chapter points to the present calling of the faithful to understand their lives in terms of the Grace in and of their lives and the adventure of grace-full living it calls them to. This is an important book, historically sensitive, ecumenical in its treatment, constructively penetrating, and spiritually aware. It is a model of how to use history to do constructive theology and of how to do constructive theology ever aware of the spiritual implications of the life such theology calls out for.
— Robert Sweetman, Institute for Christian Studies
This is a wonderful book, written by a promising young theologian who made a name for himself with his earlier Grace in Auschwitz: A Holocaust Christology (Fortress, 2016) already. Fortin takes us on a tour de force through the entire history of Christianity; listening to and carefully interpreting some of its most prominent (catholic and protestant) voices and witnesses, ranging from Irenaeus of Lyons to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he embarks on a rather ambitious enterprise: laying the foundations for a contemporary theology of grace, which aims at and succeeds in doing justice to human spirituality. The book is not only an excellent demonstration of Fortin’s ‘approach to practicing historical theology for constructive purposes’; it is also a paradigmatic case in point of what its author claims as a prerequisite for every theology starting from and aiming at (a deepening and renewal of) spirituality: It ‘instantiates the ongoing attempt to bring to articulate expression the intelligibility of one’s formative encounter with God, by means of a conversation with the experience others have of it.’ In summa: Fortin’s book is an impressive achievement and deserves to be widely read!
— Heiko Schulz, Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany
In this book, Fortin presents a penetrating and insightful analysis of the Christian doctrine of grace through a refreshing new mode of contextualization: the spiritual lives of those major figures who have shaped and articulated this doctrine. By attending to the spiritual journey of arguably twelve of the most significant figures in the history of both theology and spirituality Fortin has demonstrated the profound interconnection between spirituality and theology and the unique confluence of an individual’s inner life on their theological reflection. By clarifying the connection between theology and the actual living out of one’s experience of the divine presence, Fortin offers a fascinating example of the foundational relationship between orthodoxy and orthopraxis in a specific doctrinal tradition.
— John J. Markey, Oblate School of Theology