BIBL 102.H2 Early Christianity: Life, Literature, & Community - Spring 2024

Methodists to Congregationalists, Mormons to Jews, Church of God to the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel--the story of religion in the United States is in large part the story of its paradoxical religious organizations. Through both words and maps, The Atlas of American Religion brings coherence to the shifting picture of 200 years of American religious history. From independence to the present, the Atlas charts the evolution of the 39 major denominations and sects in the U.S. Also, Newman and Halvorson offer a new five-fold typology categorizing religious organizations. Their definitions of national denominations, multiregional denominations, classic sects, multiregional sects and national sects brings new precision and clarity to our understanding of religious organizations...
See, especially, "Catholic Church," 69-72; "Churches of Christ," 88-9, and "Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 105"; "International Church of the Four Square Gospel," 133-35; and "Seventh-Day Adventists,"159-61.

A gift of nourishing words and freeing insights for every catechist. Here is an encouraging "thank you" to all whose ministry of religious education is vital to the church and world in an age of uncertainty. It is also a unique and needed spirituality. The catechist is often the frontline evangelist and thus needs to discover an authentic spirituality that harmonizes her work and prayer. Bishop Hubbard suggests ten qualities of spirituality essential for that life and ministry. Integrating these ten qualities will give honor and glory to God and hope to God's people.

The Handbook of Denominations in the United States has long been the gold standard for reference works about religious bodies in America. The purpose of this Handbook is to provide accurate and objective information about the most significant Christian traditions and denominations in the United States today. It contains descriptions of over 200 distinct Christian denominations as well as overviews of the several major Christian traditions to which they belong--based on shared historical and theological roots and commitments. The information for each denomination has been provided by the religious organizations themselves and focuses on the denominations' doctrines, statistics, and histories...

See "Catholic Churches," 41-51; "Christian and Restorationist Churches," 245-55, and "Churches of Christ," 252-53; "International Church of the Foursquare Gospel," 234-35; "Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches," 14-40; and "Seventh-Day Adventists," 271-73.

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity investigates the various ways in which Orthodox Christian, i.e., Eastern and Oriental communities have received, shaped, and interpreted the Christian Bible. The handbook is divided into five parts, including the introduction ("Balancing Tradition with Modernity") that sets the tone and scope of the volume. Part I: Text The Orthodox Church has never codified the Septuagint or any other textual witnesses as its authoritative text. Textual fluidity and pluriformity, a characteristic of Orthodoxy, is demonstrated by the various ancient and modern Bible translations such as, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, etc. Part II: Canon Unlike the Protestant and Roman-Catholic situations where the canon of the Bible, specifically the Old Testament canons which are "closed" and limited to 39 and 46 books, respectively, the Orthodox canon is "open-ended" consisting of 39 canonical books and 10 or more (e.g., Ethiopian canon) anaginoskomena "readable" books (Septuagint additions). Part III: Scripture within Tradition Unlike the classical Protestant view of sola scriptura and the Roman Catholic way of placing Scripture and Tradition on par as sources / means of divine revelation, the Orthodox view accords a central role to Scripture within Tradition, with the latter conceived not as a deposit of faith but rather as the Church's life through history. Part IV: Towards an Orthodox Hermeneutics and Part V: Looking to the Future The last two parts survey Orthodox "traditional" hermeneutics consisting mainly of patristic commentaries and liturgical interpretations found in hymnography and iconography, and the ways by which Orthodox biblical scholars balance these traditional hermeneutics with modern historical-critical approaches to the Bible.

The Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology provides a one-volume introduction to all the major aspects of Catholic theology. Part One considers the nature of theological thinking, and the major topics of Catholic teaching, including the Triune God, the Creation, and the mission of the Incarnate Word. It also covers the character of the Christian sacramental life and the major themes of Catholic moral teaching. The treatments in the first part of the Handbook offer personal syntheses of Catholic teaching, but each offers an account in accord with Catholic theology as it is expressed in the Second Vatican Council and authoritative documentation. Part Two focuses on the historical development of Catholic Theology. An initial section offers essays on some of Catholic theology's most important sources between 200 and 1870, and the final section of the collection considers all the main movements and developments in Catholic theology across the world since 1870.This comprehensive volume features fifty-six original contributions by some of the best-known names in current Catholic theology from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The chapters are written in an engaging and easily comprehensible style functioning both as a scholarly reference and as a survey of the field. There are no comparable studies available in one volume and the book will be an indispensable reference for students of Catholic theology at all levels and in all contexts.