LIVING WITH AMBIGUITY

Ambiguity here is equated with the complexity of human existence and supernatural flexibility is suggested as its countervalent. Such flexibility must result from an awareness of the various manifestations of God in the world which Foran groups around the nine manifestations of the Spirit as recorded in Galatians. Overall, these signs of God's presence in the world constitute ""grace""; and the book, after considering the nine categories defined by St. Paul, goes on to discuss that grace as it is embodied in one's attitude toward oneself, in one's relationship to others, and, ideally, in international relations. This theme is treated comprehensively rather than exhaustively, and Foran's informal style serves to make intelligible at least the periphery of an area noted for its obscurity. The book is marred, however, by the amateurishly excessive use of literary allusions and analogies. This serves to diminish not the value but the attractiveness of the book as an essay in theological reflection.