Systematic Theology

"The declaration that a saint is a Doctor of the Universal Church implies the recognition of a charism of wisdom bestowed by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church . . ." --   Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI   The 35 Doctors of the Church presents the most comprehensive and fasci-nating collection available anywhere on the lives and labors of the saints who have been declared the Church's Doctors. From St. Athanasius (c. 297-373) to St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), you'll find the amazing stories of 35 extraordinary men and women who are honored both for their holiness and for the eminence of their teachings about the Faith. Their work and witness are truly timeless; their lives and wisdom show us how to be holy in our own lives, how to confront the challenges of today, and how to proclaim the Gospel to a modern world hungering for Jesus Christ. Originally published as The 33 Doctors of the Church by Father Christopher Rengers, O.F.M. Cap., The 35 Doctors of the Church has been updated by Dr. Matthew E. Bunson, K.H.S., to include two new chapters about recently pro-claimed Doctors, St. John of Ávila and St. Hildegard of Bingen. The revised edition also includes a new Introduction with a detailed explanation of how the Church proclaims Doctors and their meaning for today. 

Here it is -- the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholic throughout the world believe in common. This book is the catechism (the word means "instruction") that will serve as the standarad for all future catechisms. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. Here is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is, as Pope John Paul II calls it, "a special gift."

The Dictionary of Historical Theology is a major new reference work designed for everyone with an interest in the history and development of Christian theology. With 314 entries covering the key figures, theological movements, and significant texts that have shaped Christian thought, The Dictionary of Historical Theology traces the doctrinal development of Christianity from the early church to the present. Varying in length from 500 to 15,000 words, these entries treat the intellectual antecedents and descendents of the figures or schools of thought covered as well as their influence on the wider development of the Christian theological tradition. The 173 contributors to The Dictionary of Historical Theology are without exception proven experts on the topics they address. Drawn from international and interdenominational circles, they tell the story of Christianity from a wide variety of perspectives, successfully capturing the great diversity of traditions that make up the Christian community today. -- Traces Christian theology from the early church to the present -- Covers the key figures, trends, and texts -- Written by

Although the word ecclesiology," meaning "the study of Church," is recent in the history of theology, ecclesiology as a recognized theology emerged slowly. Its reflections on the nature, function, and structures of the Church date back to New Testament times. "Ecclesia" sheds light on this study by presenting invaluable information on a wide range of toics about the Church. Since Vatican II, an integration of many theological disciplines and fields has enriched our understanding of the Church, and this reference work continues that education for al who seek a deeper understanding of the Church and its background."

The Encyclopedia of Christian Theology, translated from the French Dictionnaire Critique de Théologie 2nd Edition, features over 530 entries, contributed by 250 scholars fromnbsp;fifthteen different countries. Alphabetically arranged entries provide the reader a critical overview of the main theological questions and related topics, including concepts, events, councils, theologians, philosophers, movements, and more. Hailed as a "masterpiece of scholarship," this reference work will be of great interest and use for scholars, students of religion and theology as well as general readers.

The Encyclopedia of the Early Church is a two-volume reference work providing concise and precise information on all topics concerning the first eight centuries of Christianity. Valuable to historians, archaeologists, philosophers, and philologists as well as theologians, this work extends the knowledge of how Christianity evolved to become the most important influence in the history of Western civilization. Tracing the growth of the church from its tiny beginnings in an upper room to its dominance of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa in the eighth century, scholars from many disciplines produced articles ranging from a few sentences to ten thousand words on all the major and most of the minor people, works, ideas, and issues of the formative period of Christianity. The first major encyclopedia to cover the life, thought, and growth of Christianity, this work offers full treatment of doctrines, creeds, and heresies, of iconography and art history, of archaeology and geography, and of monasticism and asceticism.

The Middle Ages is often viewed as a period of low intellectual achievement. The name itself refers to the time between the high philosophical and literary accomplishments of the Greco-Roman world and the technological advances that were achieved and philosophical and theological alternatives that were formulated in the modern world that followed. However, having produced such great philosophers as Anselm, Peter Abelard, John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Peter Lombard, and the towering Thomas Aquinas, it hardly seems fair to label the medieval period as such. Examining the influence of ancient Greek philosophy as well as of the Arabian and Hebrew scholars who transmitted it, the Historical Dictionary of Medieval Philosophy and Theology presents the philosophy of the Christian West from the 9th to the early 17th century. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on the philosophers, concepts, issues, institutions, and events, making this an important reference for the study of the progression of human thought.

In recent years, the flow of Christian theology has been channeled in diverse streams represented by such trends and movements as black theology, liberation theology, feminist theology, and womanist theology. To survey this abundance and diversity of current Christian theology, this book examines the theologies of representative theologians. Particularly to help students navigate the sea of information, the editors have identified various routes for reading, and have traced several threads or issues common to many of the essays, thus demarcating such recurrent concerns as the ways in which the theologians consider the sources and goals for theology, their variant assumptions and conclusions about the nature of God, their divergent approaches to understanding the person and purpose of the Christ, and their distinct expectations for the destiny of history and faith.

At the dawn of the third millennium, what does it mean to be a Christian? This ambitious and imaginative new reference work is the most authoritative, yet accessible, introduction in English to the living tradition of Christian thought-the 'spiritual, moral, and intellectual luggage' that Christians carry with them into the future. It focuses on the broad sweep of ideas rather than factual detail, surveying all traditions and centuries but concentrating more on the present than the past.The profound pluralism of Christianity determines the choice of subjects as well as the way they are handled, with contributors from all the main traditions writing with sympathy on their own particular topic, expressing diversities of emphasis and even significant disagreements, making the text highly readable, challenging, and at times controversial. Over 600 alphabetically arranged articles cover * the roots of Christian belief in the Old and New Testaments * the major themes of belief and theology: creation, sin, resurrection, grace, justification, the eucharist * key schools and concepts of philosophy * spiritualities, lifestyles, and prayer * politics, social justice, and ethics * major Christian thinkers, and non-Christian influences * extensive surveys of Christian thought by period, denominational tradition, and region * controversial modern topics -globalization, medical ethics, sexuality The range of subjects is matched by an unrivalled selection of 260 contributors, scholarly, innovative, and cross-cultural. These include * MORNA HOOKER on Paul, CAROL HARRISON on Augustine, URSULA KING on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, KAREN KILBY on Karl Rahner, EUAN CAMERON on Martin Luther, BRIAN GERRISH on Friedrich Schleiermacher, BRUCE MCCORMACK on Karl Barth, ROGER SHINN on Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr * JOHN BARTON on the Authority and Interpretation of the Bible, DAVID FORD on Christology, AVERY DULLES on Faith, DAN HARDY on the Church, RICHARD BAUCKHAM onEschatology, WILLIAM LANE CRAIG on Cosmology, DIOGENES ALLEN on Philosophy * MARCELLA ALHAUS-REID on Liberation Theology, WILLIE JAMES JENNINGS on Black Theology, DAVID MCLELLAN on Marxism, DAVID BURRELL on Jewish-Christian Relations, JOHN BROOKE on Science * LLOYD PATTERSON on Pre-Constantinian Thought, ANDREW LOUTH on Byzantine Theology, ROWAN WILLIAMS on Russian Christian Thought, HUGH PYPER on the Old Testament, ADRIAN HASTINGS on God

In 1517, Martin Luther's legendary Ninety-five Theses set in motion a chain of events that fundamentally altered European history. The resulting Reformation of the sixteenth century proved to be one of the most important and far-reaching phenomena of an era marked by dramatic religious and social upheaval. A critical chapter in the history of Christian thought, the movement provoked political, social, and cultural transformations that profoundly changed the Western world. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation is the first major reference to cover the immense subject of the Reformation in its entirety. Setting the issues of theology and ecclesiology within the broader context of the social and intellectual history of the time, it is the most authoritative reference available on early modern European society as a whole. The Encyclopedia is a unique compendium of contemporary scholarship focusing on the complete range of religious and social changes wrought by the Reformation-- including not only issues of church polity and theology but also related developments in politics, economics, demographics, art, and literature. It is an unparalleled source of information on the personalities and events of the era, with broad coverage ranging from biographies to extensive treatments of topics such as Lutheranism, women, law, the Augsburg Confession, music, the Holy Roman Empire, peasants, the Bible, persecution, and literacy. Offering exhaustive interdisciplinary and international coverage of all aspects of the Reformation, this is the ultimate reference on the subject. Transcending the bounds of denominational encyclopedias and dictionaries of Reformation history currently available, it offers the only comprehensive picture of western Europe and the British Isles, along with southern Europe, Scandinavia, and east-central Europe in the early modern period. It is the first source scholars, students, and general readers in any discipline will reach for when studying the Reformation.

Philosophical theology is aimed primarily at theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. During the twentieth century, much of the philosophical community (both in the Anglo-American analytic tradition and in Continental circles) had grave doubts about our ability to attain any such understanding. In recent years the analytic tradition in particular has moved beyond the biases that placed obstacles in the wayof the pursuing questions located on the interface of philosophy and religion. The result has been a rebirth of serious, widely-discussed work in philosophical theology. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology attempts both to familiarize readers with the directions in which this scholarship has gone and to pursue the discussion into hitherto under-examined areas. Written by some of the leading scholars in the field, the essays in the Handbook are grouped in five sections. In thefirst ("Theological Prolegomena), articles focus on the authority of scripture and tradition, on the nature and mechanisms of divine revelation, on the relation between religion and science, and on theology and mystery. The next section ("Divine Attributes) focuses on philosophical problems connected with the central divine attributes: aseity, omnipotence, omniscience, and the like. In Section Three ("God and Creation), essays explore theories of divine action and divine providence, questions about petitionary prayer, problems about divine authority and God's relationship to morality and moral standards, and various formulations of and responses to the problem of evil. The fourth section ("Topics in Christian Philosophy) examines philosophical problems that arise in connection with such central Christian doctrines as the trinity, the incarnation, the atonement, original sin, resurrection, and the Eucharist. Finally, Section Five ("Non-Christian Philosophical Theology) introduces readers to work that is being done in Jewish, Islamic, and Chinese philosophical theology.

Identifies and clarifies a thousand central terms, providing necessary information about their origin, the history of their usage, and their place in the story of Christianity

In Essential Theological Terms, renowned church historian Justo González provides students with accessible discussions of over three hundred theological terms. Each entry in this two-column work gives more detail than those typical of a dictionary, introducing the meaning of the term, its importance, and ways it has been understood in both historical and contemporary theology. These reliable discussions of the most common ideas and concepts encountered in theological studies will make this book indispensable for students in all stages of their education.

This unique volume briefly identifies nearly six thousand theological terms. Its concise definitions capture a broad range of theological disciplines: biblical studies; church history; ethics; feminist theology; liberation theology; ministry; philosophy; Protestant, Reformed, and Roman Catholic theologies; and more. No other single volume provides such easy access to so many theological definitions. Both the novice and the theologically experienced reader will find theWestminster Dictionary of Theological Termsto be of immense value.