Conflicting claims to authority in relation to the translation and interpretation of the Bible have been a recurrent source of tension within the Christian church, and were a key issue in the Reformation debate. This book traces how the authority of the Septuagint and later that of the Vulgate was called into question by the return to the original languages of scripture, and how linguistic scholarship was seen to pose a challenge to the authority of the teaching and tradition of the church...

New York Times–bestselling author Garry Wills provides a provocative analysis of the theological and historical basis for the priesthoodIn a riveting and provocative tour de force from the author of What Jesus Meant, Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Wills poses the challenging question: Why did the priesthood develop in a religion that began without it and, indeed, was opposed to it? Why Priests? argues brilliantly and persuasively fo...

Pocket Catholic Dictionary is a comprehensive, one-volume reference work containing definitions and explanations of the key terms of Catholicism. Father Hardon has carefully selected some 2,000 entries from his original master tome of over 5,000 terms that comprise Modern Catholic Dictionary. Furthermore, this pocket edition reflects changes in the newly revised Code of Canon Law.Here are clear and concise definitions in the areas of faith, worship, morals, histor...

Dr. Aulén is Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Lund, and this book is a translation of the Olaus Petri Lectures delivered by him before the University of Uppsala in March and April, 1930. The same lectures were also delivered in Germany in September, 1930, in a much condensed form, the eight lectures being brought down to three, with the title of Die drei Haupttypen des christlichen Versöhnungsgedankens, and were published in Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie, 193...

Regarded as the leading text in Christian theology for the last 25 years, Alister E. McGrath’s The Christian Theology Reader is now available in a new 5th edition featuring completely revised and updated content.Brings together more than 350 readings from over 200 sources that chart 2,000 years of Christian historySituates each reading within the appropriate historical and theological context with its own introduction, commentary, and study questions

Written by a preeminent religious historian, this book provides an introduction to early Christian thought. Focusing on major figures such as St. Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as a host of less well known thinkers, Robert Wilken chronicles the emergence of a specifically Christian intellectual tradition.In chapters on topics including early Christian worship, Christian poetry and the spiritual life, the Trinity, Christ, the Bible, and icons, Wilken shows that the energ...

Introduction to Catholic Theology is an accessible but in-depth examination of the ways in which Catholic theology is rooted in and informs Catholic practice.Weaves together discussion of the Bible, historical texts, reflections by important theologians, and contemporary debates for a nuanced look at belief and practice within the Catholic faithProvides an overview of all major theological areas, including scriptural, historical, philosophical, systematic, ...

Who is the Holy Spirit? What role does the Spirit play in the life of the Church and of the individual Christian? Beginning with the belief in the Holy Spirit as a Person of God, and not just a “force,” this book reveals the Catholic understanding of the presence and influence of the Spirit God in every aspect of the Christian life. The book focuses on the unique aspects and development of Catholic devotion to the Holy Spirit from antiquity to the present, culminating in a look at Catholic th...

This book aims at combating the Hostility Theory which claims that the Christians in the pagan Roman Empire had no images and rejected them as idolatrous. Did the early Christians, during the first three centuries, 33–313, have images in their churches or places of worship and homes? If they did not, was that because they thought that all images were idols or close to being idols? Did they think that making and having images of Old Testament people and events as well as of Jesus, the apost...

The Oxford History of Christian Worship is a comprehensive and authoritative history of the origins and development of Christian worship to the present day. Backed by an international roster of experts as contributors, this new book will examine the liturgical traditions of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant, and Pentecostal traditions throughout history and across the world. With 240 photographs and 10 maps, the full geographical spread of Christianity is covered, including Europ...

Guido Stucco holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Sait Louis University. He is currently working on a book documenting the developments in the doctrine of predestination, from the Council of Trent to the Jansenist controversy.

A survey of the principal themes of patristic writing, touching on the major Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church, now revised.