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How God Acts: Creation, Redemption and Special Divine Action

ISBN: 9781921511868
Author(s): Denis Edwards Publisher: ATF Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION
How does the Christian doctrine of creation square with the picture of an evolving universe we receive from science today? How do the badly predatory behavior and wasteful extinction of whole species fit in with a Christian understanding? How does miraculous divine action, pictured so vividly in the biblical narratives, square with the inexorable march of the laws of physics? How does a God of love permit so much death and destruction?

These and a host of related questions raised by ordinary experience are tackled in this important and original work from theologian Denis Edwards reconceiving divine action. From providence and miracles to resurrection and intercessory prayer, Edwards shows how a basically noninterventionist model of divine action does justice to the universe as we know it and also to central convictions of Christian faith about the goodness of God, the promises of God, and the fulfillment of creation. Here is wonderfully lucid theology supporting a vision of how God is at work in the universe.

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Church : Living Communion (Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives series)

ISBN: 9780814659939
Author(s): Paul Lakeland Publisher: Liturgical Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Drawing on the wisdom and teaching experience of highly respected theologians, the Engaging Theology series builds a firm foundation for graduate study and other ministry formation programs. Each of the six volumes — Scripture, Jesus, God, Discipleship, Anthropology, and Church — is concerned with retrieving, carefully evaluating, and constructively interpreting the Christian tradition. Comprehensive in scope and accessibly written, these volumes, used together or independently, will stimulate rich theological reflection and discussion. More important, the series will create and sustain the passion of the next generation of theologians and church leaders.

Paul Lakeland's recent award-winning books on the place of the laity in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church have prepared him well to take on this "ecclesiology from below." While paying close attention to the classical "marks of the Church," Lakeland's focus is on what we can learn about the nature of the Church as living communion by examining the values and practices of ordinary believers. Following the advice of Bernard Lonergan, Lakeland adopts a resolutely inductive approach to ecclesial reflection. He explores ten questions that the Church must address, both those that affect the internal workings of the faith community and those that have to do with its relationships to other groups, religious and secular. Finally, he offers a constructive proposal for a contextual ecclesiology of the U.S. Catholic Church that utilizes the images of hospice, pilgrim, immigrant, and pioneer.

Paul Lakeland is the Aloysius P. Kelley S.J. Professor of Catholic Studies, and director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University. He is active in the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the Workgroup for Constructive Theology. His two most recent writings, both winners of Catholic Press Association awards, are The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church and Catholicism at the Crossroads: How the Laity Can Save the Church.

REVIEWS
"Paul Lakeland's brilliant account of ecclesiology may well come to be recognized as the first truly twenty-first-century analysis of the Church. His study addresses the events and insights of the last decade and then transposes into a new key historical-critical readings of the New Testament, themes from Vatican II, ecumenical consensus statements, Lonergan's methodology, and postmodern concerns. In an engaging, refreshing style, he also faces up to the Church's failings in hard-hitting language, marked by stark realism. Finally, he gently poses ten challenges to the Church, which he deems eternal." ...Michael A. Fahey, SJ, Professor, Boston College

"This is a teaching moment in the Church and this is a teachable book on the Church. In this eminently readable book, Paul Lakeland offers his readers only what they need to know to think and talk intelligently about the identity and mission of the Church. With honesty, he describes the challenges facing the Church that perplex and polarize in a way suitable for debate in the classroom and in reading groups. He invites his readers to develop an inductive approach to ecclesiology, and in the process he promotes the cultivation of practical wisdom that can help communities respond to these challenges with genuine hope." ...Bradford Hinze, Professor of Theology, Fordham University

"Paul Lakeland's Church: Living Communion seizes the moment of a church on the brink of change and points the direction forward. He defines the church realistically through its marks, and leads us through the serious internal and external challenges to its authentic witness. Attentive to the laity, he then builds a practical strategy for moving beyond survival to revival. All this in limpid accessible prose: brilliance in simplicity. This authoritative book will appeal to everyone who has a stake in the Catholic Church in North America today." ...Roger Haight, SJ, Scholar in Residence, Union Theological Seminary

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God : Three Who Are One (Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives series)

ISBN: 9780814659908
Author(s): Joseph Bracken SJ Publisher: Liturgical Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Drawing on the wisdom and teaching experience of highly respected theologians, the Engaging Theology series builds a firm foundation for graduate study and other ministry formation programs. Each of the six volumes — Scripture, Jesus, God, Discipleship, Anthropology, and Church — is concerned with retrieving, carefully evaluating, and constructively interpreting the Christian tradition. Comprehensive in scope and accessibly written, these volumes, used together or independently, will stimulate rich theological reflection and discussion. More important, the series will create and sustain the passion of the next generation of theologians and church leaders.

The word God, said Martin Buber decades ago, "is the most heavy-laden of all human words. None has become so soiled, so mutilated." Twenty-first-century discourse and action often perpetuate that lack of reverence. In this volume Joseph Bracken shows us a better way.

• He begins with Christianity's roots in Judaism and the inherent struggle to explain the reality of three persons in God who is one.
• He allows readers to engage in the lively and fruitful trinitarian debates of the early church and discover how the classical doctrine of the Trinity has shaped the church through the centuries.
• He offers a solid theological treatment of the history of the doctrine of God and its relevance for Christians today—for dialogue between Christian men and women, between Christianity and other religions, and between religion and science.

Systematic theology at its best, God: Three Who Are One helps us find unexpected unity and consensus in a world full of troubling differences. Along the way, Bracken urges us to "pray as well as think" and to let rational reflection lead to praise and worship, thereby giving the doctrine of the Trinity its due reverence and care.

Joseph Bracken SJ, is Professor Emeritus of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has published ten books and more than 90 articles in academic journals in the general area of philosophical theology/philosophy of religion. His most recent books include The One in the Many: A Contemporary Reconstruction of the God-World Relationship (Eerdmans, 2001) and Christianity and Process Thought: Spirituality for a Changing World (Templeton Foundation Press, 2006).

REVIEWS
"This book is clearly the work of a master. In accessible prose and with probing questions, Bracken introduces his reader to a wide range of issues surrounding the doctrine of God. With resources that span from science to spirituality, interpersonal experience and classic texts of the theological tradition, as well as major contemporary movements in philosophy and theology, this short book seems to cover it all! Bracken offers a comprehensive treatment of a classic theme with innovations relevant to our 21st century context." ...Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Associate Professor of Theology, Fordham University

"Bracken appears to have done the impossible. First, he has written a remarkably clear and accessible text that will be widely used as an introduction to the history of Trinitarian theology and its contemporary applications. At the same time, he offers a bold new proposal for thinking the triune nature of God in dialogue with science, philosophy, theology, world religions, and contemporary culture. . . . Perhaps the best one-volume presentation of constructive Trinitarian theology in print today." ...Philip Clayton, Author of The Problem of God in Modern Thought and Adventures in the Spirit

"A masterful retrieval of the traditional teaching on the trinitarian mystery and a compelling introduction to its relevance today." ...Barbara A. Finan, Professor of Religion and Humanities, Ohio Dominican University

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Jesus : Word Made Flesh (Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives series)

ISBN: 9780814659915
Author(s): Gerard S. Sloyan STD PhD Publisher: Liturgical Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Drawing on the wisdom and teaching experience of highly respected theologians, the Engaging Theology series builds a firm foundation for graduate study and other ministry formation programs. Each of the six volumes — Scripture, Jesus, God, Discipleship, Anthropology, and Church — is concerned with retrieving, carefully evaluating, and constructively interpreting the Christian tradition. Comprehensive in scope and accessibly written, these volumes, used together or independently, will stimulate rich theological reflection and discussion. More important, the series will create and sustain the passion of the next generation of theologians and church leaders.

"This book means to explore who Jesus was, is, and is to come, and by what series of events this man of Jewish history came to be viewed by millions as a man of God-like powers in their present lives and their hoped for future." Rich in familiarity with Jesus' Jewish world, Gerard Sloyan helps us discover a Jesus thoroughly situated in his own time and place. Grounded in the New Testament gospels, Sloyan's study leads us to an already interpreted Jesus, distinctly portrayed by each evangelist. Going outside the New Testament, Sloyan takes us into the theological questions and developments that culminated in the affirmations of the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon. This impressive, clearly written work challenges readers to see both the historical Jesus who preached the in-breaking of God's reign and the post-resurrection Jesus whom Christians named Lord and Savior.

REVIEWS
Gerard S. Sloyan STD PhD, is professor emeritus of religion at Temple University and currently visiting professor at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He has written extensively on Jesus, including The Crucifixion of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1995) and Why Jesus Died (Fortress Press, 2004).

"[A]n extraordinary accomplishment. . . . to study Jesus: Word Made Flesh is to receive the wisdom of a 'Church Father' and hence to enter further into the mystery of Christ." ...Worship

"[T]his is a responsible book, written by a responsible scholar, using his responsibility to serve both the church and the academy." ...The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"Sloyan's approach, walking through various portions of the Scriptures with an eye to who Jesus is in each, yields valuable insights on almost every page." ...Libraries Alive "The book is written in an engaging, confident style and serves the purpose of this series well." ...The Bible Today

"[A] deftly written examination, and a top pick for Christian studies collections." ...Midwest Book Review

"Gerard Sloyan writes out of his vast knowledge of the biblical worlds and texts, and of the church's traditions and councils that offered the first interpretations of the significance of Jesus. Insightful and clearly written, Sloyan wrestles with these diverse presentations to offer a careful, accessible, and rich analysis." ...Warren Carter, PhD, Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas

"Fr. Sloyan here explores the story of the true Jesus of history—the Jesus whose influence redirected the course of history. His usual precise and accurate prose shows his easy command of the historic sources and of two centuries and more of debate about their interpretation. Jesus exemplifies how a man of faith can use historical work and how a historian can show his faith in his work. For someone smart enough to be perplexed by the differences in the gospels and the offerings of the 'Historical-Jesus of the Month' club, here is the book to study and contemplate." ...Terrence W. Tilley, President-elect, Catholic Theological Society of America, Professor of Theology and Chair of the Department, Fordham University, Bronx, New York

"Gerard S. Sloyan is one of those rare scholars who can claim an expertise in both Bible and theology that enables him to bridge the gap between exegesis and systematic theology. In this volume, he first explains how the writers of the New Testament understood the person of Jesus. Then he considers how some of the most significant figures of the Apostolic and Patristic periods dealt with the theological issues raised by the Biblical material. Compact and elegantly written, this volume will be of special interest to those who seek a comprehensive portrait of Jesus." ...Frank J. Matera, The Andrews-Kelly-Ryan Professor of Biblical Studies, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC

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Scripture : History and Interpretation (Engaging Theology: Catholic Perspectives series)

ISBN: 9780814659953
Author(s): Dianne Bergant, CSA Publisher: Liturgical Press

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Drawing on the wisdom and teaching experience of highly respected theologians, the Engaging Theology series builds a firm foundation for graduate study and other ministry formation programs. Each of the six volumes — Scripture, Jesus, God, Discipleship, Anthropology, and Church — is concerned with retrieving, carefully evaluating, and constructively interpreting the Christian tradition. Comprehensive in scope and accessibly written, these volumes, used together or independently, will stimulate rich theological reflection and discussion. More important, the series will create and sustain the passion of the next generation of theologians and church leaders.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." What Saint Jerome said centuries ago is surely still true today—any serious theological study must be grounded in Scripture. While there are plenty of biblical scholars today, few authors are able to introduce Scripture to students the way Dianne Bergant does. Bergant invites readers to genuinely engage Scripture, to enter the world of the text and explore some of the age-old questions that arise in every generation:

• What does it mean to say that the Word of God is both divine and human?
• Why is biblical history so important to the study of Scripture and theology?
• Why are there different literary forms in the Bible?
• Why the competing voices and apparent contradictions?

In language that is clear and compelling, Bergant explores the answers to these and other questions. She surveys the world of the Bible and biblical scholarship in an introduction that is sure to spark enthusiasm and further interest. This volume in the Engaging Theology series instills solid knowledge of Scripture and, thereby, knowledge of Christ, demonstrating that "the Bible is an inexhaustible source of challenge and delight, of inspiration and guidance, and a testimony to ultimate meaning and value."

Dianne Bergant CSA, is professor of biblical studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She is a member and past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and is an active member of the Chicago Catholic/Jewish Scholars Dialogue. She has published numerous works in the area of biblical scholarship, including Lamentations in the Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries (Abingdon Press); Song of Songs in the Berit Olam series, Collegeville Concise Glossary of Biblical Terms, and Israel's Story (Part One and Two), all published by Liturgical Press.

REVIEWS
"The publishers of this new series of studies from Collegeville, which they hope will create and sustain the passion of a new generation of theologians and church leaders, are indeed to be congratulated. Bergant's contribution should be a very useful source indeed." ...Review of Biblical Literature

"[T]his helpful volume . . . addresses fundamental questions about the nature of the Bible, the Catholic conviction that it is 'God's Word in human words,' the history of Israel, of Jesus and the early community from which it emerges, the various types of literature in the Bible, and the various methods and issues in sound interpretation of the Scriptures." The Bible Today

"In this introduction to the Bible, Dianne Bergant provides a refreshing and accessible account of what the Bible is, the history of the Bible's composition and reception, the history it reflects, its central themes, and the manifold ways it is legitimately read from author-centered, text-centered, or reader-centered perspectives. While written in a Catholic ethos, readers across the ecumenical spectrum will profit deeply from the wisdom embodied on every page." Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

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Meeting St Luke Today: Understanding the Man, His Mission and His Message

ISBN: 9780829429169
Author(s): Daniel J Harrington SJ Publisher: Loyola Books

BOOK DESCRIPTION
The theological and literary beauty of the Gospel of Luke comes to life in Meeting St. Luke Today, written by preeminent biblical scholar Daniel J. Harrington.

What truly sets this book apart is the way in which Harrington effectively bridges the gap between modern biblical scholarship and Christian spirituality. In addition to a brief but complete narrative analysis of the Gospel of Luke and essential background information on the Evangelist himself, this book includes suggestions for ways we might "pray" Luke's Gospel and live out its transforming message in our daily lives.

Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, is professor of New Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Cambridge, MA. He has been general editor of New Testament Abstracts since 1972 and is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America.

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Meeting St Paul Today: Understanding the Man, His Mission and His Message

ISBN: 9780829427349
Author(s): Daniel J Harrington SJ Publisher: Loyola Books

BOOK DESCRIPTION
Teachings based on the letters of St. Paul permeate just about everything Christians believe and practice, but many of us know very little about this great apostle of the Church. In Meeting St. Paul Today, pre-eminent scholar Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, brings the letters of Paul and the apostle himself to life.

Harrington, writing with great respect for St. Paul and his ministry, covers three main topics in this helpful and highly readable book for any discerning Christian. First, he describes what Paul was really like, from his days as a Pharisee to his arduous years as a missionary. Second, he helps readers interpret the letters of Paul through literary, historical, and theological lenses. Finally, he thoughtfully surveys the specific purpose, major points, and other compelling particulars of each of the letters of Paul.

Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, is professor of New Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Cambridge, MA. He has been general editor of New Testament Abstracts since 1972 and is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America.