Aidan Nichols shows how recovering the Church's traditional mission will re-energise its witness in such areas as philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, the family, economics, gender relations, and politics. Providing insight into the forces of mainstream culture, this volume will enlighten and embolden all those concerned for the renewal of Christendom in today's world.
This study is an introduction to Catholic theology designed both for the theological student and for the general reader willing to make a certain effort. After introducing the idea of theology adn the virtues desirable in the budding theologian, the bulk of the book falls intro the five sections: (1) the tole of philosophy in theology; (2) the use of the Bible in theology; (3) the resources of tradition, liturgy and sacred art; Fathers, Councils and Creeds; the sense of the faithful; (4) two 'aids to discernment in short history of Catholic theology from the New Testament to the present day. The conclusion considers the features of pluralism and unity which should typify Catholic theology as a whole and suggests how unity may avoid becoming uniformity without pluralism becoming anarchy.
Are you puzzled by the nature and system of Aidan Nicholss theological contribution? Are you looking for a way to renew your appreciation for Nicholss theological activity? Do you want to clarify your understanding of Nicholss anthropological view? Father Engoulou Paul discusses these and many others interesting matters in this book. He carefully analyzes the different layers on which Nichols posits his philosophical and theological principles of order. He explains historically each foundational step from which Nichols draws his public doctrine of man and God. He arrives at the conclusion that man arrives at a self-knowledge and the knowledge of God, to the extent that he makes use of practical, liturgical, and rational concepts and forms embedded in Philosophy, theology, and visual art. Designed to be primarily a scholarly treatment of Gods evidences into personal, communal nature of man, and the meaning of his life-work, this book is also a critical treatment of secularism and its attendants: liberalism, relativism and positivism.
It's hard to be the only one. That single sentence from a teenage congregant sums up the conviction that motivated Christian Theology for a Secular Society. In these dying days of Christendom, the reality that most Western Christians face is living out their faith as a minority in the midst of a culture that is at every level--personal, institutional, and societal--secular in nature. While most living in Western societies still affirm belief in God and often other vaguely recognizable Christian beliefs, these affirmations frequently have little to do with how daily life is lived. The idea that the God best known to us in Jesus Christ is actually in charge of life is foreign. For most, Christianity simply does not form an overarching system of meaning that shapes life. Instead, life is lived largely without reference to God. And to live any other way is often hard. In this volume, Mark McKim sets out to do theology in this context. How does one explain the core historic Christian doctrines in a way that makes sense in a secular culture--and in a way that will gain a hearing? What does it mean to be the church in this new situation? Throughout, McKim asks the question, so what? as he relates Christian teachings to a secular society and to what is actually happening in the local church. McKim's goal is to enable the singing of the Lord's song in the new and strange land of a secular society.
The Catholic Church in recent years, particularly in Europe, the USA and Australia, has suffered a series of crises. Catholics have been forced, whether willing or not, to perform collective examinations of conscience, and to investigate the causes of these problems. In the many books and articles written on this subject, authors have tried to point the blame one way or another. Turmoil and Truth takes a different approach. Drawing on his years of experience as a Catholic writer, Philip Trower offers a long view of how the Church arrived in its present situation. Whereas many analyses take the Second Vatican Council as their starting point, Trower turns his gaze back towards the previous centuries, searching out the roots of modern conflicts over authority within the Church, the nature of Scripture, the relationship with the secular world, and more. His central thesis is that the positive movement for reform, and the negative movements of rebellion against the Church's authority and elements of her teaching, grew up intertwined in the years preceding Vatican II, and that it was only really in the period following the Council that the division between the two became clearer. His analysis introduces the reader to a host of persons and movements who may be unfamiliar today, but whose legacy endures. Philip Trower's accessible style of writing and his attention to detail offer the reader a clear understanding of where the Church has come from in its recent past. Turmoil and Truth is essential reading for all who wish to understand the present and future direction of the Catholic Church Book jacket.
Western societies are experiencing a series of disorientating culture shifts. Uncertain where we are heading, observers use "post" words to signal that familiar landmarks are disappearing, but we cannot yet discern the shape of what is emerging. One of the most significant shifts, "post-Christendom," raises many questions about the mission and role of the church in this strange new world. What does it mean to be one of many minorities in a culture that the church no longer dominates? How do followers of Jesus engage in mission from the margins? What do we bring with us as precious resources from the fading Christendom era, and what do we lay down as baggage that will weigh us down on our journey into post-Christendom? Post-Christendom identifies the challenges and opportunities of this unsettling but exciting time. Stuart Murray presents an overview of the formation and development of the Christendom system, examines the legacies this has left, and highlights the questions that the Christian community needs to consider in this period of cultural transition.
We live in the wealthiest and most heavily defended world in history, so why do we feel so insecure? In a secular world, what does Christian theology have to say about this problem? Security after Christendom combines practical examples, social scientific research, and an ecumenical approach to political theology to answer these questions. It argues that Christendom was a plural phenomenon of imagined security communities of East and West whose unravelling continues to have implications for global politics today, as dramatically illustrated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. While notions of a new Christendom are idolatrous and delusional, secular imaginaries of national security or the liberal international order are both destructive and unstable. True security—radical inclusion, nonviolent protection, and abundant provision—is an eschatological phenomenon, inaugurated by Christ. Security after Christendom is neither found in faithful government nor an exclusive church-as-polis approach but in relations of tension where the fallen powers are continuously confronted by prophetic practices. A post-Christendom community expresses its love for the world by seeking its security, providentially limiting the disorders of the secular age, and offering glimmers of a new earth.
It’s tempting to believe that the Christian faith is alive and well in our country today. Our politicians talk about God. Our mega-churches are filled. Christian schools dot our landscape. Brace yourself. It’s an illusion. Believe it or not, only 8 percent of Americans profess and practice true evangelical Christian faith. There are more left-handed people than evangelical Christians in America. In this book, Mark Driscoll delivers a wake-up call for every believer: We are living in a post-Christian culture—a culture fundamentally at odds with faith in Jesus. This is good and bad news. The good news is that God is still working, redeeming people from this spiritual wasteland and inspiring a resurgence of faithful believers. The bad news is that many believers just don’t get it. They continue to gather exclusively into insular tribes, lobbing e-bombs at each other in cyberspace. Mark’s book is a clarion call for Christians. It’s time to get to work. We can only do this if we unite around Jesus and the essentials found in his Word, while at the same time, appreciating the distinctives within each Christian tribe. Mark shows us how to do just that. This isn’t the time to wait or debate. Join the resurgence.
