The field of biblical history today is dominated by two approaches, both of which are skeptical about the historicity of biblical claims. The first approach regards with suspicion the historical claims of the Bible on principle because of a … [Read more...]
Recovering History
A BIBLICAL HISTORY OF ISRAEL. By Iain Provan, V. Phillips Long, and Tremper Longman, III, (West Minster john Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street Room 2047, Louisville, KY 40202-1396) 426 pp. PB $34.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
The Prophet of Arabia
THE LIFE AND RELIGION OF MOHAMMAD. By J. L. Menezes. (Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1912/2005 reprint), 194 pp. HB $24.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Mohammed, the founder of the Islamic religion, was born in Mecca, Arabia, in 570 and he died in 632. Father Menezes, the author of this book, lived and worked in India, which has a significant Moslem population. He wrote this book in 1911 … [Read more...]
The Highs and Lows of the Renaissance Church
THE POPE’S DAUGHTER: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF FELICE DELLA ROVERE, by Caroline Murphy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) 359 pages, ISBN 0-19-518268-5, $28.00
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Julius II is best remembered in history as the warrior-pope. Whether that image is of the belligerent figure trying to storm the gates of heaven in Erasmus’ satire Julius Excluded or the gold-armored pontiff (as played by Rex Harrison) c … [Read more...]
Catholic Priests in a Concentration Camp
CHRIST IN DACHAU. By John M. Lenz (Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1960/2005 reprint), x + 328 pp. BB $22.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Dachau is a small city of about 25,000 people in Bavaria, not far from Munich. A notorious concentration camp for so-called “enemies of the state” was built there by the Nazi government in 1933, the year Hitler took control. In 1957 while I … [Read more...]
The Crusades and the Catholic-Orthodox Schism
BYZANTIUM AND THE CRUSADES. By Jonathan Harris (London: Hambledon Press, 102 Gloucester Avenue, London NW 1 8HX, 2003). Available in US through Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Tel: +1 800 672 2054 www.palgrave-usot.com 256pp, $29.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
During his pontificate, one of John Paul II’s chief goals was to improve relations with the Orthodox Church, making reunion a more viable possibility. Only certain pontiffs during the medieval period were comparable to his efforts in this m … [Read more...]
Is Christianity a Comfortable Religion?
Right thinking about the Incarnation seems to be the single most important issue behind our contemporary turmoil.
March 25, 2009 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
“Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some second-hand philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ.” —Colossians, 2, 8. “Jesus’ mission concerns all humanity. Therefore, the Church is … [Read more...]
Ravenna and the Roman primacy
How is it that no other bishop but the Roman bishop ever claimed a universal primacy in the Church?
February 1, 2009 by Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton
After two decades of modest progress, the Joint International Catholic-Orthodox Theological Commission, meeting in Ravenna, Italy, October 8-14, 2007, issued a study document on ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority[1. … [Read more...]
Reading Genesis with Cardinal Ratzinger
The author answers Catholic creationists by arguing that contemporary exegetes have sufficient reason to go beyond a literalist reading of Genesis.
January 1, 2009 by Rev. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, OP
How is a Catholic supposed to read the first chapter of Genesis that details the six days of creation? In a lecture entitled, “Restoration of Traditional Catholic Theology on Origins,” given at the First International Catholic Symposium on C … [Read more...]
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
Pastors across the country know that large numbers of individuals who were baptized Catholic have left the Catholic Church.
January 1, 2009 by Rev. Joseph A. Sirba
From May 8 to August 13, 2007, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life surveyed over 35,000 adults in an effort to learn more about current religious beliefs and practices within the United States. The first report on survey findings, … [Read more...]
The Magisterium: A Precious Gift
Without an authority able to teach divine truth unerringly, we could never be sure we correctly understood divine revelation.
November 1, 2008 by John Young
The Magisterium is one of God’s greatest gifts to his Church. For without an authority able to teach divine truth unerringly, we could never be sure we correctly understood divine revelation. History confirms this, showing the variety of i … [Read more...]
Genesis 1: A Cosmogenesis?
“Nihil pulchrius Genesi, nihil utilius.” Nothing more beautiful than Genesis, nothing more useful.
August 1, 1993 by Rev. Stanley L. Jaki, OSB
Genesis 1 is the most newsworthy chapter in the Bible. There can never be more fundamental news than that all depends on God because he made all, indeed the all, or the universe. This news did not come from any of the sages of ancient … [Read more...]
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