Theology Books

Catholic Bioethics for a New Millennium

Anthony Fisher — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:27:57 PST

Can the Hippocratic and Judeo-Christian traditions be synthesized with contemporary thought about practical reason, virtue and community to provide real-life answers to the dilemmas of healthcare today? Bishop Anthony Fisher discusses conscience, relationships and law in relation to the modern-day controversies surrounding stem cell research, abortion, transplants, artificial feeding and euthanasia, using case studies to offer insight and illumination. What emerges is a reason-based bioethics for the twenty-first century; a bioethics that treats faith and reason with equal seriousness, that shows the relevance of ancient wisdom to the complexities of modern healthcare scenarios and that offers new suggestions for social policy and regulation. Philosophical argument is complemented by Catholic theology and analysis of social and biomedical trends, to make this an auspicious example of a new generation of Catholic bioethical writing which has relevance for people of all faiths and none.

Life, Death, and Catholic Medical Choices: 50 questions from the pews

Kevin J. O'Neil et al. — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:30:08 PDT

In Life, Death, and Medical Choices: 50 Questions from the Pews, Revs. Black and O'Neil bring professional training in Catholic ethics into dialogue with questions that people in the pews must face. Using precise language they help us understand the core values of respect for life and human dignity that are the heart of moral analysis and pastoral theological reflection.[From publisher's website]

ISBN: 9780764819537

Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed

Tracey Rowland — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:26:43 PST

This Guide provides students of theology with a guide around the theoretical axes upon which the theology of Joseph Ratzinger revolves.It begins with a presentation of the key ideas in the works of his intellectual antecedents and contemporary interlocutors and then moves to an account of Ratzinger’s responses to a number of theological crises.

The work then moves to an account of Ratzinger’s understanding of Christianity as an encounter with the Person of Christ and his placement of Christianity within the context of world religions in general.This theme is spread throughout his publications and recurs in the first encyclical of his papacy, Deus Caritas Est.This first encyclical will be treated in depth along with the second and third encyclicals which form a trilogy on the theological virtues (love, hope and faith).The work concludes with an assessment of the primacy of the transcendental of beauty in the theology of Ratzinger, his affinity with Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Augustinian motif of the relationship between love and reason. [From publisher's website]

ISBN: 9780567034366

Faith and Freedom : Christian ethics in a pluralist culture

David Neville et al. — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:47:34 PST

Australian Christians live in a pluralist culture. This makes the issues of Faith and Freedom and their interrelationship all the more critical. In a pluralist context, Christian faith and freedom must be expressed and embodied in a coherent rather than a discordant way. The authors of these reflections on key ethical concerns represent the Anabaptist, Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and Uniting Church traditions, yet there is harmony within this plurality of ecclesiological voices. Back Cover notation.

ISBN: 1920691162

The Case for Christianity: St Justin Martyr’s arguments for religious liberty and judicial justice

Robert M. Haddad — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:41:56 PST

Why is reading about St Justin of Neapolis, a saint and martyr of the second century AD, important for Christians of the twenty-first century? St Justin lived during times similar to our own in many ways. Rome was the dominant world power and appeared for all intents and purposes unassailable. Economically, militarily and geographically Rome was at its height. Yet, it was beset by a number of growing problems––moral decay, family breakdown, falling birth rates, just to name a few. Religiously, Rome was conservative, yet eastern religions and mystery cults were spreading westwards and gaining many adherents. Fidelity to the gods was seen as essential to Rome’s continued prosperity and survival. Failure to render the gods their due threatened to bring down their wrath and despoil the empire.

Hence, the problem of the Christians. They refused to give any acknowledgement to the Graeco-Roman pantheon, and thus were considered as dangerous and impious atheists. For Rome’s survival, they therefore needed to be eliminated. In their efforts to destroy Christianity the Roman judicial procedure was arbitrary and ruthless. All that was needed for summary execution was the admission of bearing the Christian name and refusing to sacrifice to the Graeco-Roman gods.

St Justin’s efforts were urgent and heroic. He petitioned the very authority that persecuted Christians with a series of arguments pleading for judicial justice and religious

liberty. His arguments appealed to the nobler sense in Romans, as well as to common sense. At the same time they contained an ‘evangelistic edge’ that sought his readers’ conversion to Christianity. This spirit of evangelism is very pronounced in St Justin’s other great work, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew.

In a number of respects the plight of second century Christians reflects the suffering of Christians in various modern-day contexts. St Justin’s arguments are, therefore, of a nature that can be appreciated by many a modern reader and should be of interest and relevance to Christians deprived of religious liberty today. St Justin’s struggle also reminds us that we in the West who enjoy religious freedom should never take it for granted. (From Publisher's website: http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/)

ISBN: 9781921421235

From East to West You Gather a People: Being Catholic in Australia through eight generations from the convict era to the new millennium

Russell Hardiman — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:25:53 PDT

Fr Hardiman weaves a vast human tapestry commencing with the arrival of Charlotte Simpson on the all-female convict ship, Lady Juliana, with the Second Fleet arriving in Port Jackson in 1790 and her incarceration on Norfolk Island. Here she enters into a relationship with Hugh Maginnis, who arrived in 1791 on the Queen, the first ship with an all-Irish contingent of convicts. Charlotte Simpson has five children to Maginnis, which is the beginning of eight generations of an Australian (mainly Catholic) dynasty, numbering in the thousands.

With the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 large numbers of "free Irish" flooded into the tapestry weaving the names of Russell, O'Connor, Crennan, O'Sullivan, O'Callaghan, Byrne, Morrissey and Hardiman.

In a sense this very large work is a compendium of individual family histories the research of which will be of inestimable value to the descendants. [Excerpt from a Review by Brian Peachey, accessed from: http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2004/nov2004p17_1800.html (8/10/10)]

ISBN: 0859053199

The Fulfilment of Doom?: The Dialogic Interaction between the Book of Lamentations and the Pre-Exilic/Early Exilic Prophetic Literature

Elizabeth Boase — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:31:28 PDT

The theology of the book of Lamentations has long been a vexed question for biblical scholars. With its strong expression of grief, suffering and anger, and seemingly random images of destruction and despair juxtaposed against confessions of sin and expression of hope, the book has defied attempts to draw together a "cohesive" statement of its theological position or thrust. Conversations continue as to the nature of the theological expression within Lamentations, a conversation into which the present work enters.

ISBN: 0567026728

ISBN-13: 9780567026729

The Essential Moral Handbook: A Guide to Catholic Living

Kevin O'Neil et al. — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:38:21 PDT

Moral theology is much more than a simple consideration of right and wrong. The Essential Moral Handbook will help readers grasp the basic principles of moral theology in the Roman Catholic tradition and apply them to their own lives. This handbook leads to solid answers that respect human dignity, promote the rights of the individual, and stress the importance of personal responsibility.

The Essential Moral Handbook will provide valuable assistance to lay ministers, members of evangelical teams, parents mentoring their children in the basics of the faith, RCIA candidates, teachers, and those who want a review of moral issues in light of current events.

[From Publisher's website: http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6306]

Kevin J O’Neil and Peter Black, The Essential Moral Handbook: A Guide to Catholic Living, (revised edition), Missori, Liguori Press, 2006.

ISBN: 0764809229