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Overview
From the struggles of the very first Christians to the challenges and scandals of today, the Catholic Church has wrestled with how to organize itself, express its beliefs, and nurture its members. The Church has grown from a handful of disciples in the first century to over one billion members in the twenty-first, resulting in profound changes that demand a theological response. In this sweeping history, renowned scholar Richard McBrien reveals the evolution of the Church's relationship to the divine, its leadership of the faithful, and its role as a global religion. The Church answers the questions raised by this extraordinary history, including:
- Where did the idea of the pope's infallibility come from?
- Why are priests celibate and women barred from the priesthood?
- What inspired the Inquisition?
- What was the position of the Catholic Church on Hitler's policies in World War II?
- What is the Church's relationship to Islam?
- How will the growth of the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia shape its future?
McBrien helps the reader understand the evolution of the Catholic Church's understanding of itself through the centuries, its leadership, and its relationship to national governments and world religions. From Jesus's apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, The Church explains in layperson's terms the evolution of the Catholic Church, its power, its scope, its theology, and its influence.
Synopsis
From the struggles of the very first Christians to the challenges and scandals of today, the Catholic Church has wrestled with how to organize itself, express its beliefs, and nurture its members. The Church has grown from a handful of disciples in the first century to over one billion members in the twenty-first, resulting in profound changes that demand a theological response. In this sweeping history, renowned scholar Richard McBrien reveals the evolution of the Church's relationship to the divine, its leadership of the faithful, and its role as a global religion. The Church answers the questions raised by this extraordinary history, including:
- Where did the idea of the pope's infallibility come from?
- Why are priests celibate and women barred from the priesthood?
- What inspired the Inquisition?
- What was the position of the Catholic Church on Hitler's policies in World War II?
- What is the Church's relationship to Islam?
- How will the growth of the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia shape its future?
McBrien helps the reader understand the evolution of the Catholic Church's understanding of itself through the centuries, its leadership, and its relationship to national governments and world religions. From Jesus's apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, The Church explains in layperson's terms the evolution of the Catholic Church, its power, its scope, its theology, and its influence.
Publishers Weekly
McBrien's outspoken media commentaries on Catholic polity and pronouncements have earned him a loyal following and not a few critics. A theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, he has written 25 books including Catholicism, a 1,344-page theological survey. His newest study looks at one branch of theology, ecclesiology, which he defines as "theological reflection on the nature, mission, ministries, and structures of the Church." In good academic fashion, McBrien organizes his material thoroughly, with frequent introductions, summaries, lists and cross-references that make this an ideal textbook. At the same time, he writes clearly and passionately on topics of general concern such as papal authority, the church's social and political involvement, interfaith relations and the role of the laity. An ardent admirer of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), McBrien sets its documents and discussions at the heart of his presentation. Much of the rest of the book, including one breathless 30-page romp through 18 centuries, is either historical context for the Council or a discussion of its effects on the contemporary church. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
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Catholicism expert Richard McBrien offers the first modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. Encyclopedic in scope but accessible and written in laymen’s terms...Neil Ormerod
As always McBrien’s work is clear, concise and comprehensive in scope. Undoubtedly this book will become a standard ecclesiological reference point for students and teachers alike.Mary C. Boys
With characteristic clarity, Richard McBrien artfully tells the story of how Catholic theology developed over two millennia. In tracing the insights, conflicts, and fundamentals of Catholic thought, he has provided a superb resource for readers of all traditions.Sr. Joan Chittister
This is a superb book, as usual. What would we do without this great honest man and his great honest writing?Commonweal
The Church is a lucid, balanced, and readable book-a work of integration that is always reasonable, well informed, honest, and deeply hopeful.Christian Bookseller
Catholicism expert Richard McBrien offers the first modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. . . . Encyclopedic is scope, but accessible and written in layman’s terms.National Catholic Reporter
A work breathtaking in its scope and yet manageable in its presentation.America Magazine
This distinguished scholar and professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, candidly sketches out the pastoral challenges to, and the internal tensions within, the church today.Christian Bookseller
Catholicism expert Richard McBrien offers the first modern history of the Roman Catholic Church. . . . Encyclopedic is scope, but accessible and written in layman’s terms.Publishers Weekly
McBrien's outspoken media commentaries on Catholic polity and pronouncements have earned him a loyal following and not a few critics. A theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, he has written 25 books including Catholicism, a 1,344-page theological survey. His newest study looks at one branch of theology, ecclesiology, which he defines as "theological reflection on the nature, mission, ministries, and structures of the Church." In good academic fashion, McBrien organizes his material thoroughly, with frequent introductions, summaries, lists and cross-references that make this an ideal textbook. At the same time, he writes clearly and passionately on topics of general concern such as papal authority, the church's social and political involvement, interfaith relations and the role of the laity. An ardent admirer of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), McBrien sets its documents and discussions at the heart of his presentation. Much of the rest of the book, including one breathless 30-page romp through 18 centuries, is either historical context for the Council or a discussion of its effects on the contemporary church. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
McBrien's (theology, Univ. of Notre Dame) encyclopedic text examining Roman Catholicism from both a historical and a pastoral perspective is destined to be the definitive theological work on the topic. McBrien provided a solid base for this balanced and critical treatment of church life in several of his earlier titles, among them Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints. Here, drawing from biblical and patristic sources, he lays out the fundamental issues appropriate to our understanding of ecclesiology, then specifically engages the various historical epochs (e.g., the schism between East and West, the Protestant Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and issues of papal primacy and infallibility during Vatican I and Vatican II). Monumental in scope, the work clearly articulates the evolving self-understanding of this unique religious body's role and mission. Complete with 70 pages of detailed notes, a helpful glossary, a select bibliography, and a useful index, this superlative, splendidly written text is accessible not only to students and scholars but to anyone interested in understanding the Catholic Church's history and theology from a modern global perspective. Recommended for all libraries.
—John-Leonard Berg