Reviews for Catholicism

The average rating for Catholicism based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-12-29 00:00:00 B J Cook A very thorough synthesis of Catholic beliefs placed within wider theological debates-particularly from theologians of the 20th century. McBrien explicitly states that he is mainly inspired by Rahner and Lonergan's Transcendental Thomism, so that is the major bias. Most of McBrien's historical segments focus on post Vatican II developments. This is all to say, that it is not going to be a book that is simply about doctrine; rather, it places Church teachings and documents within a larger conversation with Catholic (and non-Catholic) theologians (and sometimes McBrien does not give Church pronouncements the weight they deserve). But, as an entry point into understanding how different concepts and ideas fit together within Christian theology, it is an excellent starting point. I personally felt a renewed excitement for studying theology after reading it. I would highly recommend it to any reader who wants to begin to delve deeper into Christian theology. (NB: I read the 1981 study edition, not the revised edition that was published some years later.)

Review # 2 was written on 2016-04-04 00:00:00 Trevor Bates When I was a junior in a Catholic high school (fall 1984), we had to buy this tome, which was the textbook in our dauntingly rigorous Theology III class. I still have it. And I still go back and look stuff up in it when there's a question I can't answer. I see it's been revised (and boy, so has my belief system), but I'll bet the Church hasn't changed enough for me to need a new copy.