Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Christian Theology - Soteriology

The church's development and use of sacraments has evolved in many ways from the days of the early church to the present. This sourcebook provides key theological texts that played a role in those movements. Johnson traces the history and theology of individual sacraments along with their liturgical context in the church's worship. He includes materials previously developed in James F. White's classic collection, Documents of Christian Worship: Descriptive and Interpretive Sources (Westminster John Knox Press, 1992), and supplements these to provide a wide range of indispensible...

Humanae Vitae predicted the disintegration of marriage and family life, partly as a result of the widespread use of contraception. Pope John Paul II has since articulated a fresh understanding of marriage, love and sexuality which takes account of the dignity of the human person, and especially of women.

Mary Shivanandan examines the scientific data and the theological analysis that underlie these teachings on marriage and sexuality.

Her book will be an essential text for the study of the development, meaning and implications of Catholic doctrine in this controversial area....

The concept of predestination has been an essential topic in theology and philosophy since at least the time of St. Augustine. It has also long been one of the most contentious of Christian doctrines. Many theologians and laypersons have found the doctrine a source of great comfort, but many others have found it deeply worrisome. Above all, those who reject predestination have been motivated by concerns about what the doctrine implies about human free will and divine responsibility for evil.

Couenhoven addresses these issues by taking up two main questions: 'what does a doctrine of...

Questions surrounding the understanding of "communion" are a significant feature of much contemporary ecclesiology, but their prominence calls attention to wider questions regarding ecclesiological method. Brian Flanagan addresses the questions of how to characterize a systematic ecclesiology and the possibility of a systematic communion ecclesiology through an investigation of the concept of communion in the work of Jean-Marie Tillard, OP. Tillard's theology is noted as the most prominent Roman Catholic communion ecclesiology. Flanagan argues that Tillard contributes to systematic...

One of the most pressing issues in the doctrine of the atonement today is the question of the unity and diversity of the work of Christ. What are we to make of the diversity within the biblical witness and the history of doctrine when it comes to explanations of the meaning and significance of Jesus' death and resurrection? Without a grasp of the unity of his work, our understanding and use of the diversity runs the risk of becoming haphazard and disordered. Proposals regarding the unity of Christ's work today tend to focus on the metaphorical nature of language, the role of culture, and...