Bøger af Paul O'Callaghan

**Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice Magazine**Christ Our Hope is a masterful reflection on Christian eschatology, in a textbook of twelve accessible chapters. Paul O'Callaghan considers the return of Christ in glory at the end of time, final resurrection, the renewal of the cosmos, and general judgment. An extensive chapter explores eternal life, perpetual communion with God in heaven, as well as perpetual condemnation, the possibility of forever losing what God has promised to those who are faithful to him. The guiding principle of the work is the theological virtue of hope, in keeping with Benedict XVI's 2007 encyclical, Spe Salvi. The book also considers the impact of hope on the earthly life of the believer, and especially the process of the purification of hope through death and purgatory. O'Callaghan highlights two significant developments of twentieth-century eschatology. First, the ecumenical challenge, mainly deriving from Protestant and Eastern theology, and centered on what is often called "intermediate eschatology." And second, an awareness of the presence of eschatology at the very heart of Christian theology as a whole: Christology, ecclesiology and sacraments, anthropology, ethics, and spirituality. Several interesting features inform the work. The discussion of each topic is rooted in Scripture. The author uses New Testament eschatology to re-work Old Testament apocalyptic material in light of Christ. He also considers the principal elements of eschatological fulfillment in light of the doctrine of the Trinity, and especially of the Holy Spirit. Christ Our Hope includes extensive references to the Fathers of the Church and to the history of theology. Especially important is the author's effort to inform the discussion with a contemporary focus on the person, taking into account both human aspirations and the findings of various sciences. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul O'Callaghan is professor of Christian anthropology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and fellow of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. He is the author of The Christological Assimilation of the Apocalypse as well as other books and numerous articles in six languages that have been published worldwide. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "A concise yet inclusive survey of the major topics of eschatology--the return of Christ in glory at the end of time, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of humanity, and the renewal of the cosmos. . . . The discussion of purgatory is of special interest to Catholics, and the nature of the resurrected body is an issue of contemporary concern. Highly recommended."--Choice "As a brief introduction to the eschatology of the Bible, this book has no equal. O'Callaghan gives attention not only to the exegesis of the biblical texts, but also to the understanding of these texts in the Fathers of the Church, and to the discussion of these issues in both ancient and contemporary writers. The result is an exceptionally rich theological feast that informs and edifies."--Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary "With so many developments and discussions in the field of eschatology, it is past time for a new handbook. As an active participant in those discussions, O'Callaghan is the ideal author for such a book. Carefully researched, clearly written, and profoundly synthesized, this book offers many useful insights over a broad range of topics for scholars and students alike."--Scott Hahn, Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation, St. Vincent Seminary "Christ Our Hope provides a comprehensive and concise overview of the major issues of eschatology. It is in the best tradition of 'handbooks' providing the reader with judicious and well-structured

The modern culture we live off and take for granted is an elevated, sophisticated one, containing a great variety of precious anthropological insights and strengths, with a surprising adaptability and openness to absorb, to clarify and to unite. However, in the present moment it comes across, in many cases, as a culture detached from the faith that gave life to it in the first place, and without which it may simply not survive. In fact it has become, of late, a fragile culture, a culture less and less capable of adapting and absorbing and uniting. This may be seen in the way many aspects of modern culture and public life have fallen into a pathology of rationalism, individualism, inequality, discord, ingratitude. This may be seen in our attempt to live in isolation from our fellow humans, unwilling to recognize the world we live in and the privileges we enjoy as God's gifts. Faith Challenges Culture: A Reflection of the Dynamics of Modernity describes the process in two directions: how culture challenges faith to provide answers that have not been previously given, and how faith challenges culture not only by showing modern culture's fragility and ambivalence, but also by posing new questions.

Martin Luther‘s effort to put God at the very center of human life hinged on five principles: sola gratia, sola fide, sola Scriptura, solus Christus, and ecclesia semper reformanda. They formed the basis for a much-needed reformation of the Christian church projected by Luther and others. Besides inspiring an important renewal of Christian life, however, the Reformation also occasioned the breakup of Western Christianity, which in turn justified religious wars, provided an anti-witness to Christian revelation, privatized the faith, and facilitated the secularization of society as a whole. On the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, this book attempts to appropriate, situate, and to some degree reinterpret Luther‘s most precious and enduring insights on the basis of the above five principles, which come to mean that God‘s being and action must always come first. On the basis of Luther‘s writings, the book also attempts to consider how grace reaches out to freedom, faith to reason, Scripture to church tradition, Christ to ministry, church to mediation. God‘s being and action always come first, yet God‘s first gift, creation, and the mediations that derive from it are not undone or rendered irrelevant.

A textbook of theological anthropology structured in four parts. The first attempts to clarify the relationship between theology, philosophy and science. The second part provides a historical overview of the doctrine of grace. The third part provides a systematic understanding of Christian grace. The fourth part deals with different philosophical aspects of the human condition.

Pope Francis has stated that his own vocation as a Christian came to him as an awareness that God is ahead of us, that God thinks about us and looks after us before we even realize it. This is the essence of grace, a love story that begins with God. The present book is an introduction and exploration of that storyof the Christian life as not about humans looking for God but God seeking us out.The story that unfolds demonstrates that grace is not something secondary or superficial but primary and constitutive, from crucial beginnings in election and creation to the divine actions of justification and renewal, fostering a life of virtue and obedience. Within this context, the book explores the issues of the relationship of grace and freedom, the dynamics of justification, the true meaning of merit, life as a son or daughter of God, the action of the Holy Spirit, the sacraments and the Church, the role of the ascetical life, and the eschatological horizon of the life of grace. In an accessible account, the author narrates the doctrine of grace as directed toward and explained by the fact that God has destined humans to spend eternity in communion with the Triune creator.