Avery DullesReviews

studies in magisterium

bibliography

50th Anniversay Edition

scholar's defense of conversion

The Craft of Theology illustrates how a "post-critical" theology can draw on the riches of Scripture and tradition as it reflects on the faith of the church in new contexts. Fr. Dulles discusses the freedom of theology within the university and sets forth principles for a fresh dialogue with philosophy, the sciences, and other Christian churches.

. As in his earlier groundbreaking books, Models of the Church and Models of Revelation, this work uses models as a basis for theological reflection to explore the continuity and development of thought of current trends in evangelization, catechesis, and apologetics. “Cardinal Dulles maintained that Pope Paul VI’s 1975 apostolic exhortation on evangelization, Evangelii nuntiandi, was one of his greatest and most important contributions to the life of the Church in our time. It was his hope that the present book would play a role in revitalizing this subject, and for this reason he devoted the last days of his life to working on it.”

This book is authored by Avery Dulles. His collection of essays is a welcomed discussion of many of the issues the church faces in trying to clarify its notions of the magisterium. Though one might not always agree with the author's treatment of a certain point, one needs to listen to his solid reasoning on that point.

I use this book with fist year undergarduate theology students as a catalyst to discussing issues of theological methodology and fundamental theology, as such I find it very useful. Each of the fourteen chapters, all of which had origins in indeopendent articles, deals with some aspect of the discipline of theology and its relationship to the Church and other academic disciplines. Obviously on many of the subjects more could be said, but Dulles is for the most part clear and engaging, and draws attention to the key issues well.

This book seeks to both to explore ways in which revelation may be viewed (Doctrine, History, Inner Experience, Dialectical Presence and New awreness) and argues that while all five models capture something of the truth none is adequate in itself.

The second half of the book is dedicated to exploring how these models might be synthesised into a sort of 'metamodel', and how this relates to wider questions such as Christology and the relation with other religions.

The book is effectively a metodological step forward from Models of the Church, in that Dulles gives a lot more space to the synthetic questions. As such whereas one could argue that his use of models in Models of the Church was mainly heuristic, here it is more foundational.

Dulles went on to address theological methodology more directly in The Craft of Theology

From Amazon...

Just based on the number of sentences I've underlined, "Models of the Church" is one of the most logical and readable books about Catholic ecclesiology that I have every read. Cardinal Avery Dulles lays out the pros and cons for 5 model of the Church -- Church as Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Herald and Servant. Later he looks at the Church as a Community of Disciples. The models are evaluated on their basis in Scripture, their link to Catholic traditional teaching (including Vatican II) and their resonance with the modern world. Dulles' presentation is thoroughly sane and "unchurchy", describing the pros and cons of each model fairly and honestly. Dulles also examines each model in light of its approach to eschatology, revelation and its ecumenical fitness.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants an honest look at a variety of valid means for imaging the Church. Dulles is the kind of Catholic churchman who is certain enough of his faith that he is willing to judge his Church dispassionately, letting let the chips fall where they may.

all topics on evangelization

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BIBLIOGRAPHY; ILLUSTRATINS; INDEX OF SUBJECTS

INDEX; SOURCES; NOTES