Sin

Sin: A Thomistic Psychology by Steven J Jensen, 292 pages

It may be objected that St Thomas Aquinas' understanding of sin is inconsistent, unrealistic, and incoherent.  To the contrary, Steven Jensen argues that recent critiques of the Thomist position are the products of basic misunderstandings of the subtleties of Aquinas' thought.  Through a careful exposition of Aquinas' understanding of reason, passion, and the will, Jensen develops an account of the human person as a unified whole with genuine free will, capable of both deliberation and decision.

Despite the frequent use of examples, the theology here is both difficult and abstract.  The book is neither easy nor inspiring, and therefore may be rejected by some as neither practical nor relevant.  Yet given St Thomas' view that all sin is predicated upon willful ignorance and the unwillingness to think, it is doubtful that anything could be more practical than an exploration of these foundational principles, or anything more relevant in an age in which a commitment to superficiality has virtually banished the very word sin from our vocabulary.