This collection, marking the centenary of Avery Dulles’s birth, makes an entirely distinctive contribution to contemporary theological discourse as we approach the second century of the cardinal’s influence, and the twenty-first of Christian witness in the world. Moving beyond a festschrift, the volume offers both historical analyses of Dulles’s contributions and applications of his insights and methodologies to current issues like immigration, exclusion, and digital culture. It i...

In September 2002, twenty-one prominent Catholic and Protestant scholars released the groundbreaking document 'A Sacred Obligation,' which includes ten statements about Jewish-Christian dialogue focused around a guiding claim: 'Revising Christian teaching about Judaism and the Jewish people is a central and indispensable obligation of theology in our time.' Following the worldwide reception of their document, the authors have expanded their themes into Seeing Judaism Anew. The essays in th...

This book presents research in three new areas: Sunday liturgies, homilies, and pastoral concepts. First it presents to the readers the major Latin American document, Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus-Christ, which sets the course of the Church in Latin America for the next decade. Next I present the findings about the Sunday liturgies in 100 churches, 50 in Guatemala and 50 the U.S. The following chapter analyzes 100 Sunday homilies in comparison to lay talks, homilies by Fr. Robert Bar...

Bart D. Ehrman, the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus, Interrupted and God’s Problem reveals which books in the Bible’s New Testament were not passed down by Jesus’s disciples, but were instead forged by other hands—and why this centuries-hidden scandal is far more significant than many scholars are willing to admit. A controversial work of historical reporting in the tradition of Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan, Ehrman’s Forged delivers a stunning explication...

A theologian advocates for the Catholic Church through this exploration of its teachings and controversies."An important book and a spectacular public service. It opens a window onto the Catholic faith and will open the minds of believers and skeptics alike." —Pulitzer Prize winner Peggy NoonanThe Catholic Church may be the most controversial institution in the world. Some find its teachings inexplicable, puzzling, even cruel. In this incis...

In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus’ mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition.Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular “mythicist” ...

There is today a dramatic reexamination of structure, authority, dogma -- indeed, every aspect of the life of the Church is held up to scrutiny. Welcoming this as a sign of vitality, Avery Dulles has carefully studied the writings of contemporary Protestant and Catholic ecclesiologists and sifted out six major approaches, or "models," through which the Church's character can be understood: as Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Herald, Servant, and, in a recent addition to the book...

The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world had not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed,...

As Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew is the symbol of unity for the self-governing national and ethnic Orthodox Christian churches throughout the world. He is well known for his commitment to protecting the environment, and for opening communications with other Christians as well as with Muslims and other religious groups. His efforts for raising environmental awareness globally have earned him the title "Green Patriarch."Written with personal warmth and great erudition, Encoun...

As the church marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, too few Catholics have an adequate grasp of what the council contributed to the life of the church. The problem is understandable. The Second Vatican Council produced, by far, more document pages than any other council. Consequently, any attempt to master its core teachings can be daunting. There is a danger of missing the forest for the trees. With this in mind, Keys to the Council identifi...

**From the National Book Award-winning and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition."Arresting...brilliant...this book illuminates the angels with which we must wrestle to come to the truth of our bedeviling spritual problems." —The Boston Globe**With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan’s story into an aud...

A study of the history of heresy and rival forms of Christianity, arguing that the church must continue to defend what is true about Jesus.Our ongoing fascination with alternative Christianities is on display every time a never-before-seen gospel text is revealed, an archaeological discovery about Jesus makes front-page news, or anew work of fiction challenges the very foundations of the church. Now, in a timely corrective to this trend, renowned church historian Al...