{"product_id":"structure-of-theological-revolutions-how-the-fight-over-birth-control-transformed-american-catholicism-hardcover","title":"Structure of Theological Revolutions: How the Fight Over Birth Control Transformed American Catholicism - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMark S. Massa\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn July 29, 1968, Pope Paul VI ended years of discussion and study by Catholic theologians and bishops by issuing an encyclical on human sexuality and birth control entitled \u003cem\u003eHumanae Vitae\u003c\/em\u003e: \"On Human Life.\" That document, which declared that \"each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life,\" lead to widespread dissent and division within the Church, particularly in the United States. The divide that Humanae Vitae opened up is still with us today. \u003cbr\u003eMark Massa argues that American Catholics did not simply ignore and dissent from the encyclical's teachings on birth control, but that they also began to question the entire system of natural law theology that had undergirded Catholic thought since the days of Aquinas. Natural law is central to Catholic theology, as some of its most important teachings on issues such as birth control, marriage, and abortion rest on natural law arguments. Drawing inspiration from Thomas Kuhn's classic work \u003cem\u003eThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions\u003c\/em\u003e, Massa argues that \u003cem\u003eHumanae Vitae\u003c\/em\u003e caused a paradigm shift in American Catholic thought, one that has had far-reaching repercussions. \u003cbr\u003eHow can theology-the study of God, whose nature is imagined to be eternal and unchanging- change over time? This is the essential question that\u003cem\u003e The Structure of Theological Revolutions \u003c\/em\u003esets out to answer. Massa makes the controversial claim that Roman Catholic teaching on a range of important issues is considerably more provisional and arbitrary than many Catholics think.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark S. Massa, S.J.\u003c\/strong\u003e is Professor of Church History and Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. His most recent book is \u003cem\u003eThe American Catholic Revolution: How the Sixties Changed the Church Forever\u003c\/em\u003e (OUP, 2010).\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 232\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 9.3 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 01, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51753894871328,"sku":"9780190851408","price":75.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/c076e833f6b9cf0fb3e47e2fa87ecb31.webp?v=1780029073","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/structure-of-theological-revolutions-how-the-fight-over-birth-control-transformed-american-catholicism-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}