Best of
Theology

1950

The Pursuit of Man: The Divine Conquest of the Human Heart


A.W. Tozer - 1950
    Admitting to having been forced by "inward pressure" and an "unbearable burden" to write it, Tozer's aim was to assure believers that if they want to know the power of Christ, they must be invaded by God.

The Science of the Cross


Edith Stein - 1950
    John of the Cross in 1542, Edith Stein received the task of preparing a study of his writings. She uses her skill as a philosopher to enter into an illuminating reflection on the difference between the two symbols of cross and night. Pointing out how entering the night is synonymous with carrying the cross, she provides a condensed presentation of John's thought on the active and passive nights, as discussed in The Ascent of Mount Carmeland The Dark Night.

John Cassian: Conferences (Classics of Western Spirituality)


John Cassian - 1950
    Religious Studies Review John Cassian: Conferences translation and preface by Colm Luibheid introduction by Owen Chadwick I f you wish to achieve true knowledge of scripture you must hurry to achieve unshakable humility of heart. This is what will lead you not to the knowledge that puffs a man up but to the lore which illumines through the achievement of love. John Cassian (c. 365-c. 435) At the turn of the sixth century the Mediterranean world was witnessing the decline of Roman rule that had formed the bedrock of its civil order. During the chaos of those years, there arose in the deserts of Egypt and Syria monastic movements that offered men and women a radical God-centered alternative to the present society. Among the most eloquent interpreters of this new movement to western Europe was John Cassian (c. 365-c.435). Drawing on his own early experience as a monk in Bethlehem and Egypt, he journeyed to the West to found monasteries in Marseilles and the region of Provence. Included in this volume is Cassian's masterpiece, the Conferences, which is a study of the Egyptian ideal of the monk. The new translation by Colm Luibheid is coupled with an insightful introduction by the distinguished Regius Professor Emeritus of Modern History, Cambridge University, Owen Chadwick, who writes of Cassian's achievement: Like the Rule of St. Benedict, his work was a protection against excess and a constant recall to that primitive simplicity where eastern spirituality met western. +

Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought


Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange - 1950
    This volume is his attempt to summarize a philosophical and theological worldview by interpreting the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas and his successors: Reality is seen in light of the central doctrines of the Trinity, of Creation, and of the Incarnation of the Son as Jesus Christ, in Whom humankind is drawn into the intimacy of the inner life of the Triune God. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange argues on behalf of 24 thomistic theses, which he presents as a lens through which to view salvation, the Sacraments, the Mother of the Redeemer, and the spiritual life whereby the divine image is restored in the soul. This work is of interest to any who wish to enhance their understanding of the Catholic theological tradition through an acquaintance with this major and often controversial figure. (Ex Fontibus Co.)

Life Everlasting: A Theological Treatise on the Four Last Things


Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange - 1950
    Shows the exalted \"immensity\" of the human soul and that only possession of God in the Beatific Vision can completely satisfy man\'s desires. The author touches on many theological aspects that bear fruit on our final end - the roots of vice and virtue, the grace of a happy death, the pain of loss, the nature of eternal beatitude, and many more. An enlightening study of man\'s final destiny that will inspire the reader with its many insights. 288 pgs, PB

Finite and Eternal Being: An Attempt at an Ascent to the Meaning of Being


Edith Stein - 1950
    With her careful step-by-step analysis, she gradually shows how the being of all finite existents (especially the human "I") finds its ultimate ground and destiny in the eternal Divine Being, the Creator whose trinitarian nature is reflected throughout creation.

Humani Generis: Some False Opinions Which Threaten To Undermine Catholic Doctrine


Pope Pius XII - 1950
    

Day by Day We Magnify Thee


Martin Luther - 1950
    These statements of faith, bound together by a central theme for each week, offer insightful, inspirational reading for daily reflection.

Ascetical Works


Basil the Great - 1950
    Basil the Great devoted his considerable talents. His life both exemplified and shaped the ascetical movement of his time. After renouncing a brilliant career as rhetorician, he traveled widely, studying the various forms of asceticism practiced in Eastern Christendom. On his return, he retired in the year 358 to a place near Neocaesarea to put into practice the best of what he had seen, and there disciples soon joined him. When his friend Gregory of Nazianzus visited him there in 358, he began to write his Rules and other works that have had great importance in promoting and regulating the common life of monasticism. This life, regulated and freed from excess, as an expression of the law of charity was to be the monk's path to union with God. Basil's concept of the monastic ideal, socially directed and moderate without being lax, became the fundamental concept of Greek and Slavonic monasticism, and it influenced St. Benedict in legislating for Western monasticism.The ascetical writings of St. Basil contained in this volume, addressed to both monks and laymen, are of prime importance for understanding the role their author played in the Church of the fourth century and, through his influence, still plays today.

The Person and Work of Christ


Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield - 1950
    This classic answers the question, "What does the Bible teach concerning the person of Christ and his work as Redeemer?"

Munificentissimus Deus: Apostolic Constitution Defining the Dogma of the Assumption


Pope Pius XII - 1950
    

The Advent of Salvation


Jean Daniélou - 1950
    The author begins by posing the problem: since we say it is possible for those outside the Church to be saved, why do we insist that everyone ought to be a Catholic? Do we look upon other religions in the optimistic light tha much of what they contain is true and therefore a preparation for Christ; or in the pessimistic light that they contain much that is false and by the hold they have on men are the greatest barrier to the coming of the age of the fullness of Christ?