Faith of Our Fathers - (Continuum Icons) by Eamon Duffy (Paperback)

About the Book

Distinguished scholar addresses the key issues an intelligent person needs to tackle in making sense of being a Catholic today. >

Book Synopsis

'The richness of the Church's past is a liberation, not a straitjacket. It is a source of confidence in launching into and uncharted future.' Eamon Duffy is both a practising Roman Catholic and distinguished historian, whose writings have changed the course of English Reformation studies. In Faith of Our Fathers, Duffy considers the range of Catholic belief and practice, from prayer for the dead and veneration of the Eucharist, to the place of Mary and the authority of the Pope. In the process he explores the ways in which religious tradition can be a vital Christian resource in the turbulent modern world.

'A lively and vivid assessment' Universe

'Erudite without being didactic, reflective and personal without being uncomfortably confessional... Duffy's exploration is lucid and sincere.' Doctrine & Life

Review Quotes

"Beautifully written and enjoyably provocative... a profoundly optimistic, life-affirming text... Duffy's is a truly prophetic voice, and these essays should be carefully read and pondered by all who have an interest, not just in the Church's past, but in its future." --Music and Liturgy

"'A lively and vivid assessment' Universe" --Blurb from reviewer

"'Not only is Duffy's appraisal of key topics of Catholic piety and life fascinating - in each essay he shines the light of historic faith on an issue of concern to contemporary church practice - it is a job to watch a historian at Cambridge write about his own faith in an engaging manner... This is the sort of history we need - history that serves an ambassadorial role between past and present, illumining our life with wisdom.' Christian Century" --Christian Century

"Faith of our Fathers is a spirited defense of Catholic ritual, discipline, and communal observance... the essays are all short and easy to read; they are often insightful and always historically well informed... Faith of our Fathers ranges far and wide over the present state of Catholicism. But Duffy never wanders too far from this one persistent argument - that much of the vitality and resiliency of Catholicism is found in its rituals and worship... it is a welcome and timely work. And it is very good to have it from a scholar as learned and reflective as Eamon Duffy." --First Things, First Things

"'This book is an important and well-argued book about the value of traditional patterns of practice and ritual...As so often, Duffy's analysis is acute.' David Jones, The Pastoral Review, Vol 2, Issue 6" --David Jones, pastoral review, the

"'With few exceptions, the essays collected here deliver on the promise of their title. They are sound essays on vexing Catholic issues, composed to help practicing and thinking Catholics, clerical, and lay, resolve puzzles and discover a bigger picture.' Theological Studies" --Theological Studies

About the Author

Eamon Duffy is Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Fellow of Magdalene College. His most recent book was Fires of Faith (Yale UP, 2009).Two previous titles, Faith of Our Fathers (2004) and Walking to Emmaus (2006), were both published by Continuum.