An Advaitic Modernity? Raimon Panikkar and Philosophical Theology, Andrew D.Thrasher, Lanham, Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2024 (ISBN 9781978716261), viii + 181 pp., Hb $100

primary purpose of this encyclical was to set Catholic moral theology on firm Christological and scriptural foundations.Undergirding both the anthropology and the moral theology was a strong Trinitarian framework.In the essay 'Knowing and Naming the Triune God: the Grammar of Trinitarian Confession', Di Noia addressed the late 20th century fashion of replacing the words Father, Son and Holy Spirit with Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.Di Noia is not sympathetic with this move and notes that while Father, Son and Holy Spirit are personal names, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier are functional concepts.He also observes that in personal relationship we refer to people by their names not by their functions and we are very careful to call them the versions of the names that they prefer.He thus concludes that 'since the only knowledge we possess of the triune God comes from Scripture, it follows that the names of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are non-optional in a strong sense.This defence of traditional trinitarian language appeals not simply to the authority of Scripture but also to the scripturally and narrationally warranted self-description of the triune God' (p.171).Di Noia's overall assessment is that 'Feminist objectives can be served neither by altering the language that names this mystery [of the Trinity] nor by preferring language that fails to do justice to its reality ' (p.192).In Part III, Trinitarian theology continues to play a central role in Di Noia's reflections.He insists that creation must be understood as 'a personal history of the engagement of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with creaturely persons' (p.320).Consequently, he argues that 'scientific understandings of the origins of the universe and of human life must be viewed in the light of Nicene faith' and that this faith is a 'robustly trinitarian faith' (p.320).Part III also carries essays on how the Catholic Church sees itself in relation to other faith traditions and, in this context, Di Noia covers the encyclical Redemptoris Missio (1990) and the CDF Declaration, Dominus Iesus (2000).Overall this is a very valuable collection for those with an interest in contemporary Catholic theology.