Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
This book is a thoroughly revised edition of my 2012 doctoral dissertation at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. My friend and colleague, the Rev. Benjamin Boswell, was instrumental in kindling my passion for some of the themes addressed here. He continues to be an invaluable dialogue partner on the Jewish people, Judaism, and the Church. I am grateful to Bruce Marshall, who provided helpful comments in the early stages of my research and emphasized the necessity of examining Aquinas’s Pauline commentaries on the subject of the ceremonial law. My director, William C. Mattison, has been a crucial source of wisdom and constant support since the project began. The readers of the dissertation, R. Kendall Soulen, Fr. Frank Matera, and Joseph Capizzi, read the text with care and offered invaluable corrections and editorial suggestions. The revisions were made during my time as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America. Teaching parts of this book to my students has been invaluable. Their questions helped me to see the importance of rewriting the chapter, “The Language of Supersessionism.” I profited greatly from responses to versions of this work presented at a variety of academic meetings over the last few years, including the panel on the Interpretation of Scripture in the Middle Ages at Villanova University’s Patristic, Medieval, & Renaissance Conference, in October 2013. The generous support of Catholic University’s Dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies, Fr. Mark Morozowich, and the Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue, allowed me to present parts of chapter 5 at the Thomas Instiuut te Utrecht, Netherlands, in December 2013. I am also grateful for the opportunity to discuss the relevance of Aquinas’s thought for Jewish-Christian relations with John Connelly, whose visit to CUA was made possible because of the Department of History and the School of Theology and Religious Studies. I am indebted to those who offered comments on portions of the manuscript, including Pim Valkenberg, Mark Nanos, Marcel Poorthuis, Mark Kinzer, John Grabowski, David Lantigua, Kevin Hughes, and Daniel McClain. I have also benefited from conversations regarding various themes in the manuscript with Michael Wyschogrod, Stanley Hauerwas, Stephen Fowl, Peter Ochs, Marc Ellis, Steven Boguslawski, David Novak, Scott Bader-Saye, and John Borelli. I am grateful to Chad Pecknold for his encouragement and guidance during the publishing process, and thankful for the proofreading work of Lionel Yaceczko and Tina Parker. I have been lucky to find in my editor, Robin Parry, an able and encouraging guide. Jim Tedrick’s support and enthusiasm for the project has also been highly beneficial. My colleague James Stroud, and friend Yahnatan Lasko, have encouraged me along the way. Many others provided various forms of encouragement and support, including Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington, VA, the Rev. Del Glick of Washington Community Fellowship, the L’Arche communities of Washington D.C., and the prayers of Br. Ignacio González and the monks of St. Anselm’s Abbey. Above all, I am thankful to my wife Carolyn Tapie, without whom this project would not have been possible. To all of you, I remain deeply grateful.
Feast of St. Benedict, 2014
Washington D.C.