Download or read book History of the Catholic Church written by James Hitchcock and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history of the Catholic Church from its beginnings in Jesus' ministry to its current status in an increasingly secular world.

Download or read book A Concise History of the Catholic Church Revised Edition written by Thomas Bokenkotter and published by Image. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Expanded and updated for the new millennium. Covering the life of Christ, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and everything in between, A Concise History of the Catholic Church has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades and a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism. With a clarity that will appeal to any reader, Thomas Bokenkotter divides his study into five parts that correspond to the major historical and epochal developments in Catholicism. His authoritative, thorough approach takes readers from the Church’s triumph over paganism, through "the sound and fury of renewal," to a new section devoted to such topics as dissent and current developments in the ecumenical movement. Informative illustrations throughout the book, new to this edition, enrich the reader's experience, and the addition of a wide-ranging bibliography increases its value as a sourcebook.

Download or read book Far from Rome Near to God The Testimonies of Fifty Converted Roman Catholic Priests written by Richard Bennett and published by . This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains the moving testimonies of fifty priests who found their way, by the grace of God, out of the labyrinth of Roman Catholic theologyand practice into the light of the gospel of Christ.

Download or read book Bearing False Witness written by Rodney Stark and published by Templeton Foundation Press. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As we all know and as many of our well-established textbooks have argued for decades, the Inquisition was one of the most frightening and bloody chapters in Western history; Pope Pius XII was anti-Semitic and rightfully called “Hitler’s Pope,” the Dark Ages were stunting the progress of knowledge to be redeemed only by the secular spirit of the Enlightenment. The religious Crusades were an early example of the rapacious Western thirst for riches and power. But what if these long held beliefs were all wrong? In this stunning, powerful, and ultimately persuasive book, Rodney Stark, one of the most highly regarded sociologists of religion and bestselling author of The Rise of Christianity (HarperSanFrancisco 1997), argues that some of our most firmly held ideas about history, ideas that paint the Catholic Church in the least favorable light are, in fact, fiction. Why have we held these wrongheaded ideas so firmly and for so long? And if our beliefs are wrong, what is the truth? In each chapter, Stark takes on a well-established anti-Catholic myth, gives a fascinating history of how each myth became conventional wisdom and presents a startling picture of the real truth. For example, instead of the Spanish Inquisition being an anomaly of torture and murder of innocent people persecuted for “imaginary” crimes such as witchcraft and blasphemy, Stark argues that not only did the Spanish Inquisition spill very little blood, but it was a major force in support of moderation and justice. Stark dispels the myth of Pope Pius XII being apathetic or even helpful to the Nazi movement, such as to merit the title “Hitler’s Pope,” and instead shows that the campaign to link Pope Pius XII to Hitler was initiated by the Soviet Union, presumably in hopes of neutralizing the Vatican in post-World War II affairs. Many praised Pope Pius XIIs vigorous and devoted efforts to saving Jewish lives during the war. Instead of understanding the Dark Ages as a millennium of ignorance and backwardness inspired by the Catholic Church’s power, Stark argues that the whole notion of the “Dark Ages” was an act of pride perpetuated by anti-religious intellectuals who were determined to claim that theirs was the era of “Enlightenment.” In the end, readers of Bearing False Witness will have a more accurate history of the Catholic Church and will also understand why it became unfairly maligned for so long. Bearing False Witness is a compelling and sobering account of how egotism and ideology often work together to give us a false truth.

Download or read book The Unintended Reformation written by Brad S. Gregory and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-16 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a work that is as much about the present as the past, Brad Gregory identifies the unintended consequences of the Protestant Reformation and traces the way it shaped the modern condition over the course of the following five centuries. A hyperpluralism of religious and secular beliefs, an absence of any substantive common good, the triumph of capitalism and its driver, consumerism—all these, Gregory argues, were long-term effects of a movement that marked the end of more than a millennium during which Christianity provided a framework for shared intellectual, social, and moral life in the West. Before the Protestant Reformation, Western Christianity was an institutionalized worldview laden with expectations of security for earthly societies and hopes of eternal salvation for individuals. The Reformation’s protagonists sought to advance the realization of this vision, not disrupt it. But a complex web of rejections, retentions, and transformations of medieval Christianity gradually replaced the religious fabric that bound societies together in the West. Today, what we are left with are fragments: intellectual disagreements that splinter into ever finer fractals of specialized discourse; a notion that modern science—as the source of all truth—necessarily undermines religious belief; a pervasive resort to a therapeutic vision of religion; a set of smuggled moral values with which we try to fertilize a sterile liberalism; and the institutionalized assumption that only secular universities can pursue knowledge. The Unintended Reformation asks what propelled the West into this trajectory of pluralism and polarization, and finds answers deep in our medieval Christian past.

Download or read book Is the Reformation Over written by Mark A. Noll and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the last few decades, Catholics and Protestants have been working to heal the wounds caused by centuries of mistrust. This book, a Christianity Today 2006 Book Award winner, provides an evaluation of contemporary Roman Catholicism and the changing relationship between Catholics and evangelicals. The authors examine past tensions, post-Vatican II ecumenical dialogues, and social/political issues that have brought Catholics and evangelicals together. While not ignoring significant differences that remain, the authors call evangelicals to gain a new appreciation for the current character of the Catholic Church. Written by Mark Noll, one of the premier church historians of our day, and Carolyn Nystrom, this book will appeal to those interested in the relationship between evangelicals and the Catholic Church.

Download or read book Four Witnesses written by Rod Bennett and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was the early Church like? Contrary to popular belief, Rod Bennett shows there is a reliable way to know. Four ancient Christian writers - four witnesses to early Christianity - left us an extensive body of documentation on this vital subject, and this book brings their fascinating testimony to life for modern believers. With all the power and drama of a gripping novel, this book is a journey of discovery of ancient and beautiful truths through the lives of four great saints of the early ChurchClement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons. "A treasure! The early Church and its teachings come to life in this story. Did the first Christians believe what you believe? Buy this book, read the words of the early Church Herself, and fall in love with the historic Church that Christ Himself founded." - David Currie, Author, Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic "Rod Bennett has immersed himself in the fascinating writings of four early Fathers of the Church and has made the discovery from reading them that sincere and attentive readers of them ought to make. The author's imaginative account of these four great Church Fathers is not only an excellent introduction to their work; it is a convincing rendering of what the early Church must really have been like. This is an important new contribution to Christian apologetics." - Kenneth Whitehead, Author, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic

Download or read book Understanding Roman Catholicism written by Rick Jones and published by Chick Publications. This book was released on 1995-10 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are Roman Catholics REALLY Christians? This eye-opening book examines 37 main Catholic doctrines, quoting official Catholic doctrine, then compares each doctrine with the Word of God. Written in a loving style, yet without compromising, this book clearly shows the eternal destiny of those who follow the pope of Rome. If you want to talk intelligently with Catholics about their salvation, you first must know what they believe. If you are like most Christians you will be shocked when you learn what Catholicism really teaches. Must reading for every Chrisitan who knows or talks with any Roman Catholics.

Download or read book A History of the Church in 100 Objects written by Mike Aquilina and published by Ave Maria Press. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of two Catholic Press Association Awards: Design and Production (Second Place) and History (Honorable Mention). The star of Bethlehem exemplifies the birth of Jesus, the Wittenberg Door is synonymous with the Protestant Reformation, and “the pill” symbolizes the sexual revolution. It’s “stuff” that helps tell the story of Christianity. In this unique, rich, and eye-catching book, popular Catholic author and EWTN host Mike Aquilina tells the Christian story through the examination of 100 objects and places. Some, like Michelangelo's Pietà, are priceless works of art. Others, like a union membership pen, don’t hold much monetary value. But through each of them, Aquilina offers a memorable and rewarding look at the history of the Church. When Catholics tell their story, they don’t just write it in books. They preserve it in memorials, monuments, artifacts, and museums. They build grand basilicas to house tiny relics. In this stunning book, Aquilina, together with his writer-daughter Grace, show how the history of the Church didn’t take place shrouded in the mists of time. It actually happened and continues to happen through things that we can see and sometimes hold in our hand. The Christian answer to Neil MacGregor's New York Times bestseller A History of the World in 100 Objects, Aquilina’s A History of the Church in 100 Objects introduces you to: The Cave of the Nativity (the importance of history, memory, and all things tangible) Catacomb niches (the importance of Rome, bones, and relics of the faith) Ancient Map of the World (the undoing of myths about medieval science) Stained Glass (representative of Gothic cathedrals) The Holy Grail (Romance literature and the emergence of writing for the laity) Loaves and fish (a link from Jesus to the sacrament of the Eucharist) The Wittenberg Door (Martin Luther and the onset of the Reformation) Each of these and the 93 other items and places in the book tell part of the Christian story. Each is an essential piece of the story of our salvation. God makes himself known and accessible through material things, always accommodating himself to our condition. It is, after all, the condition he created for us—spiritual and material—and the form he assumed for our salvation.

Download or read book Exodus from Rome Volume 1 written by Dr. Todd D. Baker and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a former Roman Catholic of eighteen years and former candidate for the Roman Catholic priesthood, Dr. Todd Baker objectively and honestly examines the grandiose claims of the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church in the critical light of Scripture and the evidence of history to show where Rome has greatly erred. This multi- volume work provides a controversial overview on the basic doctrines distinctive of Roman Catholicism so the open Catholic can learn how these beliefs, practices, and traditions of Rome contradict Scripture and do not have the support of a consistent, uniform history from the days of Jesus, the apostles, and the first three centuries of the early church and on. With over 1 billion adherents to the Roman Catholic Church, it is incumbent for the Bible believer to know the difference between the real Gospel of Scripture versus the Gospel of Rome and how they are not one and the same Gospel in the end. In a day of man-pleasing, ecumenical compromise with Rome, this book is sorely needed to remind the Protestant church that the real differences between Rome and the Bible have not changed since the Reformation, and must be reiterated and defended today on the exclusive ground of Scripture alone being the supreme authority in faith and practice for every Christian believer! Dr. Todd D. Baker is president of Brit Hadashah Ministries and Pastor of Shalom, Shalom Messianic Congregation in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biblical studies, a Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Apologetics from Trinity Seminary under the auspices of Liverpool University at Liverpool, England. He is the staff theologian and writer for Zola Levitt Ministries and has appeared on the television program Zola Levitt Presents several times. With his extensive experience in Jewish evangelism, he conducts Gospel outreaches to Israel three times a year.

Download or read book Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation written by Pope Paul VI. and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document's purpose is to spell out the Church's understanding of the nature of revelation--the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches upon questions about Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." Key elements include: Trinitarian structure, roles of apostles and bishops, and biblical reading in a historical context.

Download or read book Night Journey From Rome written by Clark Butterfield and published by Chick Publications. This book was released on 2020-12-03 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1978 the Lord called a priest, Clark Butterfield, out of the Roman Catholic system. God gave him a mission to write this autobiography before he went home to be with his Saviour. Butterfield graciously reveals to both Roman Catholics and Christians the teachings of the Vatican and how they differ from God's holy word. NIGHT JOURNEY FROM ROME is tactful, compassionate, and candid. Any honest reader will be touched and enlightened by its contents. This is a beautifully written book for your library, and one you could put into the hands of Roman Catholics or Christians. The contrast between scripture and the teachings of Rome is very clearly explained. - Jack T. Chick

Download or read book The Roman Catholic Church A Critical Appraisal written by Hendrick Park and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination with 1.1 billion adherents. Recently the pope Benedict XVI reasserted that the Catholic Church is the only true church founded by Christ. Today there is a pervasive indifference as to the question what is the true Christianity. This is a serious situation because there are numerous false or only partly true versions of Christianity. The author of this book attempts a critical appraisal of the Roman Catholic Church by the criteria of the Bible and history. The conclusion he reached is that the Catholic Church is a perversion of the Christianity of the New Testament. The author believes that he has substantiated the proposition that there are many unbiblical pagan elements in the Church. To give one example the monarchical papacy and the authoritarian church structure developed after the model of the authoritarian government of the ancient Roman Empire. No wonder that its official name is the Roman Catholic Church. A theologian and a minister. Received a doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Toronto. He did the ministerial work for 17 years in the United Church of Canada. Took early retirement in 1990 to study and write books, which is, he feels, the talent and his main vocation he has received from God. He respects the Bible as containing the revealed word of God. According to the prophets of God "justice and mercy" and the pure preservation of the true religion of God are God's two major concerns. He believes that God's major concerns should be all Christians' major concerns as well. "The Roman Catholic Church - A Critical Appraisal" was written from that perspective in order to attest to the true religion of God and to keep Christians from heading onto the wrong path.

Download or read book Return to Rome written by Francis J. Beckwith and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2009-01-10 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to be evangelical? What does it mean to be Catholic? Can one consider oneself both simultaneously? Francis Beckwith has wrestled with these questions personally and professionally. He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president. This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. EXCERPT It's difficult to explain why one moves from one Christian tradition to another. It is like trying to give an account to your friends why you chose to pursue for marriage this woman rather than that one, though both may have a variety of qualities that you found attractive. It seems to me then that any account of my return to the Catholic church, however authentic and compelling it is to me, will appear inadequate to anyone who is absolutely convinced that I was wrong. Conversely, my story will confirm in the minds of many devout Catholics that the supernatural power of the grace I received at baptism and confirmation as a youngster were instrumental in drawing me back to the Mother Church. Given these considerations, I confess that there is an awkwardness in sharing my journey as a published book, knowing that many fellow Christians will scrutinize and examine my reasons in ways that appear to some uncharitable and to others too charitable.

Download or read book Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church written by Catholic Church. Pontificium Consilium de Iustitia et Pace and published by Veritas Co. Ltd.. This book was released on 2005 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Romans Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture written by Scott W. Hahn and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this addition to the successful Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS) series, Scott Hahn, a bestselling author and a leading Catholic interpreter of Scripture, examines Romans from within the living tradition of the Church for pastoral ministers, lay readers, and students alike. The CCSS relates Scripture to Christian life today, is faithfully Catholic, and is supplemented by features designed to help readers understand the Bible more deeply and use it more effectively in teaching, preaching, evangelization, and other forms of ministry. Supported by leading Catholic scholars as well as popular Bible teachers, the series offers a unique level of commentary for Catholic students of the Bible. Its attractive packaging and accessible writing style make it a series to own--and to read! Drawn from the best of contemporary scholarship, series volumes are keyed to the liturgical year and include an index of pastoral subjects.

Download or read book Pastoral Care written by Pope Gregory I and published by e-artnow. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastoral Care, or The Book of the Pastoral Rule, is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Gregory I in which he contrasted the role of bishops as pastors of their flock with their position as nobles of the church: the definitive statement of the nature of the episcopal office. Gregory enjoined parish priests to possess strict personal, intellectual and moral standards which were considered, in certain quarters, to be unrealistic and beyond ordinary capacities. The influence of the book, however, was vast and became one of the most influential works on the topic ever written. It was translated and distributed to every bishop within the Byzantine Empire.