Christianity 101: A Textbook of Catholic Theology

By Gregory C. Higgins

St. Anselm described the study of theology as "faith seeking understanding." Christians doing theology have strived in various ways to examine more critically, understand more fully, and live more faithfully. This important new introductory text for courses in Christian theology is designed to help students of theology understand that history. Christianity 101 provides a lucid and comprehensible history of Christian thought--classic questions, classic answers--in each of the key areas of Catholic theology and discusses the major debates and thinkers in the tradition. Organized according to the traditional outline of systematic theology, the text takes a historical approach, tracing the development of thought in the ancient church, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the modern era, and post modernity. It clearly reveals the scope and diversity of Christian theology that has existed over the past two millennia. Chapters include discussions on the nature of theology; the Bible; the Christian tradition; faith and revelation; the concept of God in patristic and medieval theology; the concept of God in Reformation and modern theology; Christ and salvation in scripture and the Fathers; Christ and salvation in the Middle Ages, Reformation, and modern age; the church; the sacraments of initiation; the sacraments of healing and commitment; moral theology; Christian spirituality; and eschatology. For each key area and period, the text identifies the relevant scriptural material and traces the developments within the field. Every chapter is followed by discussion questions and a list of suggested readings. Written in a clear and engaging style, Christianity 101 will appeal to faculty and students alike, and will serve as the ideal basic text for introductory theology courses at the college level. +

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809142082
• ISBN13: 9780809142088
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Paulist Press
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A time line and an index round out this succinctly organized, methodological comprehensive text

Christian Brothers Academy religious studies chair Gregory C. Higgins presents Christianity 101: A Textbook of Catholic Theology, an introductory text especially for college-level courses in Christian theology, also useful for self-education among lay readers. Chapters cover the nature of theology, the concept of God in medieval vs. Reformation and modern theology, the sacraments of initiation, healing, and commitment, moral theology, eschatology, and much more. A time line and an index round out this succinctly organized, methodological comprehensive text for novice to intermediate students. "Among the more significant developments in the twentieth century thought regarding God were the philosophical discussions about the meaningfulness of religious language, the psychological atheism of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), and the creative theological syntheses produced by, among others, Paul Tillich (1886-1965) and Karl Rahner (1904-84)."

The whole package

Greg Higgins has done it again. This time his work encompasses substantive theology and history with a clear and engaging writing style. As a high school teacher at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, NJ. Higgins is no stranger to the tasks necessary to make theology come alive through the written word. His previous books showed his abilities in this regard and his latest one is a tour de force which will be welcomed by college professors and faculty who work with upper division, bright students in high school wanting to get the full sweep of Christianity's place in the theological world. Concepts, people, schools of thought and traditions all come together in a synthesis that will serve educators well as they put together courses for the inquiring, young theological mind. Bravo!

Theology 101

A masterpiece of protestant theological inquiry. The sophisticated yet subtle intricaciesof Jansenism are finally explicated. Abby Port-Royal