Christian Community in History Volume 2 - by Roger D Haight (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Ecclesiology from below," as it operates in this work, is directed to history; it moves through the actual church of history to ecclesiology or to an understanding of the church both as it is and as it should be. In the first volume that passage was fairly explicit because comprehensive ecclesiologies in our sense did not exist. In this volume ecclesiology itself becomes much more directly the subject matter of the book, but without losing sight of concrete history and the degree to which these ecclesiologies are historically conditioned. Put somewhat differently, the main goal of this "comparative ecclesiology" is not simply to lay down one after another different ecclesiologies that emerged over the last five hundred years, although that describes the book with empirical accuracy. Its larger intent is to show the richness, vitality, and creativity of the whole church as it moves through history, adjusting to new times, places, and cultures.

Review Quotes

"The esteemed Roger Haight excels in addressing where the church and theology currently find themselves. This represents his most extensive work to date in ecclesiology and is a monumental two-volume study in comparative ecclesiology, building upon the insights developed in recent years in the more general subdiscipline of comparative theology." --Journal of American Academy of Religion, June 2006

""Roger Haight has made a major contribution to the area of ecclesiology. His contributions will clearly have a lasting value. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in theology and the history of the Church." - Catholic Library World, September 2005" --Catholic Library World

""Roger Haight's massive work, Christian Community in History, is a significant achievement... Haight writes clearly, with a deep historical sense and a good understanding of theological issues" --T.P. Rausch, Scottish Journal of Theology

"[Part of a] landmark work ... For many who are familiar only with the ecclesiology of their own church or denomination, it can be a horizon-expanding experience. And for someone who has given up hope of the churches ever reaching an ecumenical understanding of church, it can give a sense of how that might be accomplished." --Reviews in Religion and Theology

""With the first volume of his 'ecclesiology from below, ' Roger Haight has clearly again established himself as a pioneer in the creation of historical theology. Using historical study to recover as far as we can the actual experience of Christians in past centuries and then drawing on social scientific methodology to analyze this evidence, he has reflected on this 'data' theologically to distill the dynamics inherent in the development of structured Christianity. I eagerly await volume 2 that promises a truly theological tracing of Christianity's evolution from the Reformation to the present." -Bernard Cooke" --Bernard Cooke, Blurb from reviewer

"Review in German in Theologische Literaturzeitung 131 (2006)" --Theologische Literaturzeitung

About the Author

Roger Haight, SJ, has a PhD from the University of Chicago (1973) and a STL from the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago (1981). He has taught for over 30 years in Jesuit schools of theology in Chicago, Toronto, the Philippines, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has been a visiting professor in France, India, Peru, and Kenya. He is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (1994/95). Jesus Symbol of God won 1st place in the Catholic Press Association's 2000 Book Award for theology. Dynamics of Theology won 2nd place in CPA's 1991 Book Award for Theology. His most recent work is Christian Community in History in 2 volumes. He currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.