Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 262.02
EAN: 9780061245213
ISBN: 0061245216
Label: HarperOne
Manufacturer: HarperOne
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: September 01, 2008
Publisher: HarperOne
Release Date: September 02, 2008
Sales Rank: 15306
Studio: HarperOne

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:


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.






Rating: - another great McBrien Book
This is a typical Richard McBrien book: Meticulously researched, beautifully written, and very accessible. All American Catholics who wish to know more about the richness of their Church will find this book well worth their effort. Father McBrien has presented us with another gift to ponder and savor.

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Rating: - OUR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH's EVOLUTION AS REPORTED BY ONE OF OUR FINEST PRIESTS AND SCHOLARS WRITING TODAY
The Reverend Father Richard P. McBrien, a Roman Catholic priest of the Hartford Archdiocese and for several decades a scholar and professor of theology at the Roman Catholic University of Notre Dame (Home of the Fighting Irish) was himself educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has served as President of the Catholic Theological Society of America, and is the respected and accepted author of several academic reference works on Catholicism, as well as popular books for the Faithful ... Read More

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Rating: - Scholarship to be enjoyed
One always expects Richard McBrien's books to be well organized and readable. THE CHURCH is a perfect example. It is a reference book that can be enjoyed as much as a history filled with the interesting people who influenced events. The book's organization makes it easy to choose at what level of detail you wish to read without interruption. He handles controversial subjects in a dispassionate and matter-of-fact way which is refreshing. This book helps put the Church of the 21st century into proper perspective.

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