Catholic Worldview

The numerous debates about how culture is changing in many Western societies call Catholics to the scene. In a course for university students seeking to be leaders in society, Gabriel von Wendt has reflected on the implications of cultural change from the standpoint of a "Catholic worldview". Alongside his students, he has explored attitudes to adopt while engaging with culture in a positive and proactive way. This book seeks to make his reflections available to the wider audience of people asking themselves: What is the role of Catholic leaders in our changing culture?

Conceiving of Christianity as a "worldview" has been one of the most significant events in the church in the last 150 years. In this new book David Naugle provides the best discussion yet of the history and contemporary use of worldview as a totalizing approach to faith and life. This informative volume first locates the origin of worldview in the writings of Immanuel Kant and surveys the rapid proliferation of its use throughout the English-speaking world. Naugle then provides the first study ever undertaken of the insights of major Western philosophers on the subject of worldview and offers an original examination of the role this concept has played in the natural and social sciences. Finally, Naugle gives the concept biblical and theological grounding, exploring the unique ways that worldview has been used in the Evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic traditions. This clear presentation of the concept of worldview will be valuable to a wide range of readers.

Jon Sweeney, a self-described “evolved Protestant” and noted religious writer, has long been fascinated by the Catholic Church. However, it wasn’t until he was a young missionary in the Philippines that he truly began to understand the Church’s traditions, mysteries, and religious beliefs and its hold on those who follow the tradition. As he explains, Catholic spirituality is all about responding to the fundamental mystery of Jesus, the incarnation, and what it all meant in the beginning as well as what it means today. In Almost Catholic, Sweeney offers an appreciation of Catholicism, weaving in the story of his own explorations with those of others who have also been attracted to this tradition. He finds himself drawn to the Church’s ancient and medieval traditions out of a desire to connect with the deepest and widest paths on the way. Two millennia of saints and practices and teachings and mystery form a connection for him to the very beginnings of Christianity.

"A landmark achievement that will no doubt be cited again and again for years to come. It is a thoroughly-researched and authoritative work."--Allen J. Christenson, author of Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community "While this book explains what brought about the Maya uprisings in Chiapas and Guatemala and answers questions about the role of the Catholic Church in the development of the uprisings, the heart of the book is about the Mayan quest to live with dignity as Maya in the modern world."--Christine Gudorf, author of Catholic Social Teaching on Liberation Themes In his most recent book, The Maya and Catholicism: An Encounter of Worldviews, John Early examined the relationship between the Maya and the Catholic Church from the sixteenth century through the colonial and early national periods. In Maya and Catholic Cultures in Crisis, he returns to delve into the changing worldviews of these two groups in the second half of the twentieth century--a period of great turmoil for both. Drawing on his personal experiences as a graduate student, a Roman Catholic priest in the region and his extensive archival research, Early constructs detailed case histories of the Maya uprisings against the governments of Guatemala and Mexico, exploring Liberation Catholicism’s integral role in these rebellions as well as in the evolutions of Maya and Catholic theologies. His meticulous and insightful study is indispensable to understanding Maya politics, society, and religion in the late twentieth century.

This collection of essays explores convergences and divergences between process thought and Roman Catholicism with the goal of identifying reasons for why process philosophy and theology has not had the same impact in Roman Catholic circles as in Protestantism, and of constructively navigating avenues of promising engagement between Process thought and Roman Catholicism. In creatively considering the Roman Catholic tradition from the vantage point of Process thought, different theoretical perspectives are brought to bear on Catholic characteristics of historical theology, fundamental theology, systematic theology, moral theology, social justice, and theology of religions. While the contributors draw upon a broad range of resources from the disciplines of the physical and social sciences, philosophy, and ethics from a process perspective, the primary methodology employed is theological reflection.

During the first decade of the 21st century the Catholic Church in the developed world has faced a decline in its moral authority, increasing accusations of irrelevance to a secular age, and a steep and steady decline in commitment among successive generations from the 1960s on. Despite this Catholic schools have multiplied and grown in popularity and educational achievement. The book sets out a programme for the contribution of Catholic schools to the future of the Church, covering such topics as the religious education curriculum in its cognitive and affective aspects, the sacramental life of the school, selection of staff, the issue of staff and Catholic witness and many other topics. Engebretson argues that Catholic schools are a powerful key to the future of the Church and shows how, within their diversity, Catholic schools can be ecclesial communities, which have at their heart the building up of the Church.

Between Human and Divine is the first collection of scholarly essays published on a wide variety of contemporary (post 1980) Catholic literary works and artists. Its aim is to introduce readers to recent and emerging writers and texts in the tradition.

Gnosticism developed alongside Judeo-Christianity over two thousand years ago, but with an important difference: It emphasizes, not faith, but direct perception of God--Gnosticism being derived from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "knowledge." Given the controversial premise that one can know God directly, the history of Gnosticism is an unfolding drama of passion, political intrigue, martyrdom, and mystery. Dr. Hoeller traces this fascinating story throughout time and shows how Gnosticism has inspired such great thinkers as Voltaire, Blake, Yeats, Hesse, Melville, and Jung.