Whoever Hears You Hears Me Dogmatic Authority as Testimony

1. Divine Speech and Faith  2. Obligations Arising from Faith  3. Dogmatic Authority and Infallibility  4. Development of Doctrine  5. Safeguarding the Faith

Biography

James Dominic Rooney, OP, is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), a fellow of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute (Rome, Italy), and research fellow of the HKBU Centre for Sino-Christian Studies. A Dominican Friar of the Province of St. Albert the Great (Chicago, IL), he works primarily in metaphysics, medieval philosophy, and Chinese philosophy. He also has significant research interests in philosophy of religion and political philosophy. His most recent books are Beyond Classical Liberalism: Freedom and the Good (2024, co-edited with Patrick Zoll, Routledge) and Not a Hope in Hell (2024, Routledge).

"Rooney's book offers a clear articulation and rigorous defense of a central orthodox position—that Christian faith essentially includes belief in a range of central truths (or dogma), and that knowledge of these truths ultimately depends on the authority of divine and human testimony.  Moreover, Rooney argues, Christian truth and Christian love fundamentally coincide, and therefore dogma and dogmatic authority are inconsistent with violence, fanaticism, and mindless deference.  Rooney's treatment is rich and nuanced, and will be of value to both philosophy of religion and broader discussions regarding the nature and implications of Christian orthodoxy."

John Greco, Robert L. McDevitt and Catherine H. McDevitt Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University

 

"James Dominic Rooney has made a habit of defending orthodox, yet unfashionable positions with unusual care. He defends eternal punishment against David Bentley Hart and liberal democracy against Catholic integralists. Regardless of his opponents, left or right, Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox, he thinks through each question on its own terms and follows the argument where it goes. Whoever Hears You Hears Me applies the same method to dogmatic authority. The core claim is Newmanian: Christians who accept Scripture’s authority have already conceded the need for an infallible witness to that Scripture. Rooney updates the argument for a contemporary audience, engaging with Protestant philosophers like Gavin Ortlund and William Lane Craig. The result is a book that conservative Protestants should take seriously, even if they remain unconvinced."

 

Kevin Vallier, Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership, University of Toledo