Reviews for From alms to liberation

The average rating for From alms to liberation based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-10-20 00:00:00 Dean Chen When I go to my local library, I will get a slip of paper with all my check out information. Then I will double fold it several times and tear strips of them to mark places I think are noteworthy in any given book. This means: 1. I usually end up paying for fines, even though I get alerts online, and 2.any book reviews by yours truly will take between an hour and a half to two hours. Suffice it to say, if I really like a book, there will be several strips of paper hanging over the fringes of the top of the book, frozen in time like willows in a summer wind. Such is the case of 'Five Great Catholic Ideas', by Edward William Clark, who is currently Auxiliary Bishop for the Los Angeles Diocese. This work of 144 pages in length is part Catechism and part Apologetics in the way it is presented. The five ideas are as follows: 1. We are saved as a community. 2. The Kingdom of Heaven begins on earth. 3. God respects our human freedom. 4. Scriptural interpretation is a work of the whole church, 5. Great ideas develop over time. The five chapters are broken up into two parts, the central issue (i.e. “We are saved as a community”) and related doctrines, which gives the book an overall feel of a small catechism. Chapter one begins with an illustration that most Catholics, whether they understand their theology or not face from time to time, that is, with an encounter by either a Protestant or Evangelical, starting with the phrase, “Do you believe Jesus is your personal savior?”Are you saved?” Bishop Clark dives right in by showing that while Catholics may say “yes” to both questions, the implications and meaning of both statements are different between the Catholic and their Protestant/Evangelical brothers and sisters. There is a distinction made of the word “personal savior.” While Bishop Clark does not embark on a lengthy discussion on the five solas of the Protestant Reformation (1 Sola Scriptura- “by Scripture alone”, 2. Sola Fide-“by Faith alone”,3. Sola Gratia-”by Grace alone”, 4. Solus Christos-”Christ alone”, and 5. Soli Deo Gloria-”Glory to God alone”), the Apologetic attempt to show the difference between these notions and the Catholic Church's begins with the first chapter by illustrating that the Church is not made up of single individuals receiving a “private” and individualistic salvation, but rather, it is through the Tradition of the mother Church: “Among the oldest and most consistent teachings of the Fathers of the Church is the notion that we are saved not alone, but as members of a community. By faith and through baptism God calls us into the community of the Church, and it is here, within the fellowship of the saved, that we find our own salvation. It is true that God calls us each by name, that God reaches into our personal histories and, through faith, summons us to salvation in the Church. However, God does not save us independently and separately from others. God does not so individualize salvation that the only thing that should concern me is to know for certain that I am saved, disregarding what happens to anyone else. Moreover, God does not save me on the basis of my confidence in the providence of the Father and Jesus as my own private savior, but on the basis of the faith of Jesus, which remains present in the community of his followers, and which extends to me as a member of that community. Jesus is not my savior, he is our savior, and we are not saved alone, but we are saved in community. This notion was the tradition of Christianity for sixteen centuries before the Reform theologians called for a new understanding of Christianity, for a privatizing of faith and an individualizing of the Christian life, and this notion has continued to be the teaching of Catholicism during all the centuries since.” (Great Catholic Ideas, 16-17; Italics mine) The cited paragraph above could be considered the thesis upon which Bishop Clark bases his whole book upon. The difference between Catholic notions of applied theology, sacramental and liturgical theology, scriptural interpretation and biblical inerrancy (or Prima Scriptura in Catholicism), and Church Tradition are dealt with in a systematic way by first presenting the Catholic community as something to be differentiated and defined in such a way as to illustrate what makes the five Catholic ideas he highlights as truly something which is not common to Protestant or Evangelical thinking, and that a true Catholic response should be one informed of what makes the Church unique to her non-Catholic counterparts. He does this expertly by taking all five ideas, discussing them, then piggybacking other doctrinal matters that relate to the overall theme of the five chapters, all titled “related doctrines”. For example, on his second chapter, “The Kingdom of Heaven begins on Earth”, Bishop Clark continues his argument of what the Church terms salvation by illustrating that our position in the Church, rather than being a “one-time-salvation-and-then-the-judgment”, salvation in Christ is a continual work, and that of proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is here now, universal (in the Catholic sense of correct, or Orthodox, teaching), and eternal. He argues that the human condition (using Americans as an example) is contradictory in wanting a liberal freedom, yet demand a collective consensus when faced with dueling ideas (39). Having it both ways is,”The root of...amazing contradictions is an exterior projection of no-nonsense practicality and an interior desire for transcendence and the supernatural (40).”, and, “The supernatural life is not reserved for heaven; it begins on earth and involves the transformation effected by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a transformation elicited by grace.” He argues that the import of this resides in the fact that, instead of waiting for a pre-determined time (parusia), that life in Christ is begun and must begin, now. He makes this argument very clear by appealing to St. Paul's juxtaposition his life in the present, with the presence of Christ living in him now, and arguetively, in eternity (42; Gal.2:19-20). He goes on to his 'Related Doctrines' section to include the Incarnation, arguing that the Catholic notion of the Incarnation and our relation to it, that is being both natural (created) and through Christ, transformed into the supernatural, and his opposition to Luther's rejection of this elevated state in the life of the Christian: “Luther denied that human beings were thereby elevated to the supernatural state, experienced an ontological change of a supernatural nature, or were empowered by sanctifying grace to perform meritorious acts (an opposition to Sola Fide). For Luther, grace does not elevate impaired human nature to a supernatural state. Rather, grace overrides the effect of a deprived human nature with the effects of Christ's redemptive death for us. We are not made just; we are declared to be just. (52)” He argues further below that Luther's arguments have a a threefold problem: 1. That he separates sanctification from justification, 2.Luther,”overlooks the extensive patristic witness regarding divination and sanctification, which the Fathers of the Church expounded in writings frequently documented with references to Sacred Scripture.”3. that, “Luther fails to offer a satisfying explanation for bridging the infinite gap between finite, limited human beings and God who is eternal and without limit.” Going further in the next section, by analyzing the arguments of Luther and the Catholic's objection, Bishop Clark embarks on the Church's teaching on Meritorious acts, Immortality, Marian Doctrines, and providing, Implications for an Applied Theology, as he does in the other chapters of this book. This is just two examples of how Bishop Clark goes about illustrating that before Catholics can begin a discussion with our Protestant brothers and sisters, it is important to understand the pillars of Catholic expression and doctrine. Again, looking at this little work, it comes highly recommended as both a little Catechism and as a work of Apologetics. Concise, not hard to read (I actually complicated this review with the five solas. He, however, will not!), and simple theology for the common parishioner, yet yielding enough depth as to start energetic theological discussions, 'Five Great Catholic Ideas' should be a good read for Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-31 00:00:00 Marck Binette For all you Catholics (and non-Catholics) who wonder what the different symbols, numbers, Saints, and other "Catholic Culture" things really mean: GET THIS BOOK! Seriously - I am a life-long Catholic (and a well-read and educated one, particularly about my faith), and I still learned many things from reading this book (e.g., the origin of Nativity sets/creches, the significance of the 153 fish pulled in at the end of the Gospel of John, different Saints I'd never heard of before). I just recently gave this book to my sister as a Christmas present (because she wish-listed one of those "New Age" numerology books by Doreen Virtue). She loves that this book gives an authentically Catholic understanding of what various Christian symbols mean (including the infamous "666" of Revelation). This book will strengthen the faith of those already strong, as well as pull others back from the brink of secularism and New Age "cosmology/psychology". Highly recommended for all Catholics, as well as those who want to understand their Catholic friends (and converts in the family) better.