Liturgical Press
My Account
Catholic Social Teaching Faith and Justice Ecology Ethics Eucharistic Revival Parish Ministries Liturgical Ministries Preaching and Presiding Parish Leadership Seasonal Resources Worship Resources Sacramental Preparation Ritual Books Music Liturgical Theology The Liturgy of the Church Liturgy and Sacraments Liturgy in History Biblical Spirituality Old Testament Scholarship New Testament Scholarship Wisdom Commentary Little Rock Scripture Study The Saint John's Bible Ecclesiology and Ecumenism Vatican II at 60 Church and Culture Sacramental Theology Systematic Theology Theology in History Aesthetics and the Arts Prayer Liturgy of the Hours Spirituality Biography/Hagiography Daily Reflections Spiritual Direction/Counseling Give Us This Day Benedictine Spirituality Cistercian Rule of Saint Benedict and Other Rules Lectio Divina Monastic Studies Monastic Interreligious Dialogue Oblates Monasticism in History Thomas Merton Religious Life/Discipleship Give Us This Day Worship The Bible Today Cistercian Studies Quarterly Loose-Leaf Lectionary Bulletins
Liturgical Press

The Gift of Being

A Theology of Creation

Zachary Hayes, OFM

The Gift of Being
The Gift of Being

ISBN: 9780814659410, 5941

Details: 136 pgs, 6 x 9
Publication Date: 01/01/2001
Paperback  
$24.95
eBook
$22.99
Quantity    
Add to Cart
In Stock

In view of the critical environmental problems confronting the modern world, reflection on the nature and meaning of the world and on humanity's place in it becomes increasingly important. While Christian theology has done this for centuries, the present situation calls for a serious rethinking of many issues in the light of contemporary physics, biology, and cultural history. The Gift of Being presents insights of the sciences in a way that is helpful for Christians today.

Creation theology helps believers come to a stronger sense of their own identity as they come to an awareness of the world. This enables them to gain a deeper insight into how they ought to relate to that world if they wish to find meaning in their lives. This state of being requires a willingness to distinguish between the medium and the message in approaching the Scriptures. It also requires a willingness to take the sciences seriously.

In The Gift of Being, Hayes focuses on traditional questions of creation, but also comments on where science is with creation, anthropology, and destiny. He begins by discussing the relation between faith and reason, and hence between theology and science, from a historical perspective, moving to the most current statements of modern Popes. He follows with a summary statement of the possible retrieval of the biblical religious insights that can be distinguished from the physical worldview that stands behind much of the biblical material. This allows for a discussion of the traditional concept of creation from nothing in the form of a conversation with contemporary physics. He then discusses the Christian idea of God as the primal mystery of creative love from whom all of creation flows. With these foundational ideas in place, Hayes looks at such questions as the origin of humanity and the failure of humanity throughout history. He then focuses on the tradition of cosmic Christology. Finally, the theological issues of the final outcome of God's creation and its history is discussed against the background of the current scientific projections of a future for the cosmos.

Chapters are "Science, the Bible, and Christianity," "The Vision of the Hebrew Scriptures," "Creation and the Christian Scriptures," "Creation from Nothing," "The Triune God, the Creator," "Humanity in the Cosmic Context," "Sin and Evil," "Christ and the Cosmos," and "Creation and the Future."

Zachary Hayes, OFM, PhD, (1932-2014) was a professor of systematic theology at Catholic Theological Union. He taught and wrote extensively on matters related to the theological understanding of creation and the relation between theology and science. He was on the staff of the Chicago Center for Religion and Science. He was the author of Visions of a Future: A Study of Christian Eschatology from the New Theology Studies series published by The Liturgical Press.

ISBN: 9780814659410, 5941

Details: 136 pgs, 6 x 9
Publication Date: 01/01/2001

Reviews

As an avenue for further study of creation theology via an extensive bibliography (from 1979 to 2000), The Gift of Being is recommended enthusiastically.
Australian Catholic Record

This is a book full of illuminating insights. It will stimulate students and inform those who are seriously interested in the science and religion debate today.
Catholic Library World

© 2024, Liturgical Press. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use