Faith, since the earliest Christian theologians, has been regarded as the fundamental Christian virtue--the prerequisite for hope, charity, and good works. In this book, Avery Dulles examines the biblical foundations and history of theological reflection on faith, from the Greek and Latin fathers to such modern giants as Tillich, Rahner, and Lonergan. Further, Dulles presents his own systematic synthesis, reflecting on such topics as the nature and object of faith; the certitude of faith; the birth, growth, and loss of faith; and faith and salvation. The result is a refreshingly relevant...

Avery Dulles, well-known for several previous works in ecclesiology, including Models of the Church, here surveys a theme that demands new treatment in the present global and ecumenical context. Nearly all Christians profess allegiance to the holy catholic church, but the meaning of the term "catholic" is widely disputed. This book investigates the historical use of the word and the various aspects of catholicity. Beginning with the word's divine source in Christ as "the first-born of all creation," Dulles goes on to discuss such topics as the "catholic principle," Catholicism as a specific...

Avery Dulles's theological career has spanned one of the most creative and confusing periods in the history of the church. With the goal of integrating new information from philosophy and the sciences into a deeper understanding of the world and society, the many theological schools pursued independent agendas, with the net effect of a loss of coherence. It is Fr. Dulles's contention that theological schools have drifted so far apart that what seems false and dangerous to one school seems almost self-evident to another. Theologians lack a common language, common goals, and common...

DullesO account, written in 1946, of his conversion to the Catholic Church. This special 50th Anniversary Edition contains a newly penned OafterwordO in which the author details his fifty-year journey from conversion to priesthood to theologian. Dulles describes the mentors and the experiences that shaped his perspective as a theologian.

One of the leading theologians of our time, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., has written and lectured on a wide range of topics across his distinguished career, and for a wide range of audiences. Integrating faith and scholarship, he has created a rich body of work that, in the words of one observer, is "both faithful to Catholic tradition and fresh in its engagement with the contemporary world." Here, brought together for the first time in one volume, are the talks Cardinal Dulles has given twice each year since the Laurence J. McGinley Lectures were initiated in 1988, conceived broadly as a...