Theology For Beginners

In Theology For Beginners the late Frank Sheed conveys all his own excitement about theology, and shows us how to pass that excitement on to others. His book is now established throughout the English-speaking world as one of the outstanding modern introductions to theology for the layman.

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Vatican II issued an urgent call for the laity to take a more active role in the life of the Church. What should the life of the Christian believer be like? How are average lay Christians called to help save the world? How does theology fit into the picture? One of Frank Sheed's most popular books, this ideal volume for the layman shows the practical aspects of theology in the life of a Christian believer. Logic, clarity, and simplicity permeate this eminently readable book. Drawing from his fifty years of street-corner preaching, as well as his long career as an author, lecturer and publisher, Sheed understands and communicates better than anyone the importance of theology and its relationship to living sanely in today's world. A brilliant synthesis of the Catholic view of life.

"According to Pope John Paul II, if we live according to the true meaning of our sexuality, we "fulfill the very meaning of [our] being and existence." The human body is a "theology" because it is meant to be a sign of God's own life and love in the world. With clarity and precision, Christopher West unpacks John Paul II's Theology of the Body, translating it into a language everyone can understand"--Amazon.

Are you hungry for God to reveal Himself to You? Do you want to know more about God? How He works in your life? What about your purpose in life? Maybe you wonder, why did God create the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why pray? Is there a heaven and a hell? Does God heal? What does He think about women in ministry? How can the Holy Spirit live within you? When it comes to serving God, we have thousands of questions. While this book doesn't answer all of them, it does provide a solid framework for our faith. Knowing what we believe and how God works in this world and in people equips us with answers. It opens up new vistas of faith and helps us relate to God in our everyday lives.

Whenever we read, think, hear or say anything about God, we are doing theology. Yet theology isn't just a matter of what we think. It affects who we are. In the tradition of Helmut Thielicke's A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, Kelly Kapic offers a concise introduction to the study of theology for newcomers to the field. He highlights the value and importance of theological study and explains its unique nature as a serious discipline. Not only concerned with content and method, Kapic explores the skills, attitudes and spiritual practices needed by those who take up the discipline. This brief, clear and lively primer draws out the relevance of theology for Christian life, worship, mission, witness and more. "Theology is about life," writes Kapic. "It is not a conversation our souls can afford to avoid."

Divorce. Broken families. Sexual abuse. Addiction. Pornography. Same-sex "marriage." Gender issues. Everywhere we look, we find more and more confusion about the most fundamental truths of human life. As we lose our basic understanding of the meanings of man, woman, marriage, and sex, the question becomes ever more urgent: What does it mean to be a human being? Against this backdrop, St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body appears as a bright light in the darkness. His writings go straight to the heart of what it means to be hilly human-but they are often difficult for most of us to grasp easily. That's where Christopher West comes in. He covers the main points of this revolutionary teaching in a way that you can understand. You'll see desire- physical, emotional, and spiritual-in a whole new light! The first edition of this book was released in 2004 and instantly became an international best seller. In this updated, revised, and expanded edition, you'll have access to new insights gleaned from West's ongoing study on the subject, as well as wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. You'll also discover brand-new insights on how to respond with clarity and compassion to the gender chaos so prevalent in our world today. Book jacket.

This modern spiritual classic by Frank Sheed, the renowned author, publisher and lecturer, is brought back into print for the benefit of new generations of readers to develop a deeper, more profound knowledge of Jesus Christ. Sheed's concern with the Gospels is to come to know Christ as he actually lived among us, interacted with all the various people he encountered from his infancy to his passion and death--the God-man who was like us in all things except sin. Sheed has tried especially to see Our Lord in his effect upon others--seeing how they saw him, trying to see why they saw him so. There is much about Mary and Joseph in their task of bringing up a baby who was literally adorable; about John the Baptist; about Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalen; about Nicodemus; about people we meet only for a moment, like the man born blind and the owners of the drowned swine; and why the Pharisees, not only the worst of them but some of the best, would not accept Christ. Faith, doctrine, prayer, worship--all the content and consequences of Christian belief--rest on the person of Christ Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. In this classic study, Frank J. Sheed employs wide learning, theological sophistication, spiritual insight, and a lucid style to bring the reader to a personal encounter with the living Lord. To Know Christ Jesus has been justly called "one of the most satisfying studies of the Gospel ever made." Frank J. Sheed had a distinguished career as a publisher, lecturer, street-corner evangelist, and popular writer. He and his wife Maisie Ward were the founders of the publishing house Sheed & Ward. His many books include Christ in Eclipse, What Difference Does Jesus Make?, Theology and Sanity, and A Map of Life. "My concern with the Gospels is to see the Face which through all the centuries has looked out from them upon men. The object is not to prove something but to meet someone--that we should know Christ Jesus, know him as one person may know another. As Christians we love him, try to live by his law, would think it a glory to die for him. But how well do we know him?" -Frank Sheed, from the Foreword