An Introduction to Catholicism

I much more enjoyed the second half of the book on the Catholic church in contemporary times, more like a conclusion in a traditional essay. But also chapters on the reformation(s) within the church and the legacy of Vatican 2. Who can benefit from this book? I would have to say sympathetic Catholics more than other Christians or religious traditions. For those readers I would have to suggest An Introduction to Christianity by Linda Woodhead which looks critically at the Catholic church and Reformation churches. However, those who this author refers to as schematics (especially after Vatican 1 and 2) from the Roman church have a real interest in how their practice of Catholicism differs from Roman practice. Many Old Catholics and those in the independent sacramental movement, or Liberal Catholic movement see themselves as fulfilling Vatican 2 or conserving "old" Catholicism after the Tridentine church separated from them. Which brings us down to the central book claim that "Catholicism" is synonymous with in communion with the Pope and not just any Pope, but the one in Rome. For example, Catholicism at this this sees its self-identity tied up intimately with the historical Roman church and it's successor Bishop. Only the Roman Pontiff (successor to Peter, first Bishop of Rome) can lead the worldwide church and has been given the charism of infallibility. I can't see this claim as "essential" to Christianity which the author acknowledges is an abstract category; but it is essential to ecclesiology. Since ecclesiology, including the concern for unity (both political and against heresy) was a central concern of the Roman church during Constantine, it is understandable how this became central to the self-identity of Roman Catholics. However, once again ecclesiology is only one branch of Christian theology and therefore cannot be essential as is baptism is. Vatican 2 went in the right direction understanding that Christianity is made up of competing claims of the meaning of Jesus just like in the beginning when the Roman church with the power of the State tried to eliminate all contenders.

I bought this book for selfish reasons. I have recently started dating an amazing boy. Only problem: He is Catholic. After 10 minutes of talking with him, I realized how LITTLE I understood about Catholicism. After all of the books I read for my classes in college, I still didn't even come close to understanding his religion. I am not one to make judgments without at least attempting to understand things (which I mistakenly thought I did). So... off I went to attempt to understand Catholicism. To reiterate: I know nothing about the practice and beliefs of religion (I am not religious at all). I have sorta read the bible once for a class (so you know I didn't internalize any of it) and I have a good understanding of the history/origin of Christianity. That being said, this book was incredibly informative. It opened my eyes to WHY he felt the way he did on certain issues. Positives: Concise Well-written and easy reading (finished the book with annotations in 5 hours) Good summaries every chapter Amazing sources/further reading This book was incredible easy to read and presented material in a concise and efficient manner (lots of bullets, etc). It had extensive further reading (AWESOME). Lots of direct quotes from letters/Catechism in regard to Catholic belief. Neutral: Mostly Partial Lack of Citations Overall, (except a couple places.. pretty easy to figure out where) it sought neither to condemn nor praise the Church's ideology or actions. I would have really liked to see his citations (Would NOT use as a textbook... maybe as a supporting book) Cons: HORRENDOUS layout Lack of definitions/Glossary Assumption of knowledge The layout was just bad (as was the indexing and chapter headings). I like my chapters to be informative (instead of Catholic Worship.. just put what you actually talked about "Sacraments".) Honestly, the Chapters are: 1) Understanding Catholicism, Tradition, and Sacrament 2) History of "Roman" Catholicism (There are better books out there for this if you only want this part--get Brown's book) 3) Individuals of the Church 4) This chapter is a bunch of things loosely strung together (could have sections placed elsewhere) 5) Sacraments 6) Liturgy 7) Spirituality 8) Missionary 9) Reform (i.e. More history) 10) Morality 11) Contemporary Issues The order in which the material was confusing to me.. I read them in the following order instead: 2/4/9, 3, 1, 5, 10, 7, 6, 8, 4/11 (so History, Composition, Beliefs, Methodology, Current Issues) My only other complaint is the assumption of prior knowledge/definition. The author states this book to be used as a "textbook" for those to learn about Christianity and Catholicism. However, he defines NOTHING. He often uses words that are defined CHAPTERS later (if you read in the order I did, it helps with this problem). For someone with little knowledge of the actually words used in religion (i.e. sacrament, liturgy, episcopal, diocese, etc) it made it more difficult to read. I just kept a sheet of paper in the back with all my definitions (you will need Google). Overall, it was a decent book. If you are interested in understanding Catholicism from a Catholic point of view, this is a great stepping point before the Catechism or Compendium. It is not conversion-al, but conversational and informational. Best of Luck!

Full disclosure: I am a Roman Catholic, and therefore I will be biased about the content of the book. However, I am also an academic in the fields of Anthropology and Religious Studies, and as such approached this book with skepticism and a very critical eye. After reading this book, therefore, I can honestly say...that I absolutely love it! The author is a Roman Catholic, as well, but does an excellent job of giving full disclosure and keeping his description of Catholicism, its history, its beliefs & practices, etc. professional and unbiased. He does not shy away from the controversies, past and present, which have plagued the Church (though critics will likely say that he doesn't linger on these problems long enough - to which I would reply that this is not the aim of the book to begin with; this is an overview of a few thousand years of history, belief, and practice). The text is written for an undergraduate audience, meaning that the text is very comprehensible and approachable; it is also very engaging and enjoyable, to boot. Cunningham has managed to expertly achieve the very difficult task of writing an introductory text which is neither too shallow or broad in its description and subject matter, nor too bogged down in detail and academic theory. If you are a student of Religious Studies, history, Christianity, Catholicism, or merely interested in learning more about one of the largest and most influential institutions in the history of humankind, I would highly recommend this book!

きわめてタイムリーが入門書と言えよう。 今日のカトリック神学の全貌を外観するために必読の書である。

I much more enjoyed the second half of the book on the Catholic church in contemporary times, more like a conclusion in a traditional essay. But also chapters on the reformation(s) within the church and the legacy of Vatican 2. Who can benefit from this book? I would have to say sympathetic Catholics more than other Christians or religious traditions. For those readers I would have to suggest An Introduction to Christianity by Linda Woodhead which looks critically at the Catholic church and Reformation churches. However, those who this author refers to as schematics (especially after Vatican 1 and 2) from the Roman church have a real interest in how their practice of Catholicism differs from Roman practice. Many Old Catholics and those in the independent sacramental movement, or Liberal Catholic movement see themselves as fulfilling Vatican 2 or conserving "old" Catholicism after the Tridentine church separated from them. Which brings us down to the central book claim that "Catholicism" is synonymous with in communion with the Pope and not just any Pope, but the one in Rome. For example, Catholicism at this this sees its self-identity tied up intimately with the historical Roman church and it's successor Bishop. Only the Roman Pontiff (successor to Peter, first Bishop of Rome) can lead the worldwide church and has been given the charism of infallibility. I can't see this claim as "essential" to Christianity which the author acknowledges is an abstract category; but it is essential to ecclesiology. Since ecclesiology, including the concern for unity (both political and against heresy) was a central concern of the Roman church during Constantine, it is understandable how this became central to the self-identity of Roman Catholics. However, once again ecclesiology is only one branch of Christian theology and therefore cannot be essential as is baptism is. Vatican 2 went in the right direction understanding that Christianity is made up of competing claims of the meaning of Jesus just like in the beginning when the Roman church with the power of the State tried to eliminate all contenders.

きわめてタイムリーが入門書と言えよう。 今日のカトリック神学の全貌を外観するために必読の書である。