Religious Books > O Religious Books

Advantages: Great informative read
Disadvantages: no

The Oxford Dictionary of Popes is basically an encyclopaedic listing of all Popes of the Roman Catholic Church. It begins with Saint Peter and progresses in very fine style all the way through to Pope Benedict XVI. It is very laid out and it is obvious that the compilers and authors (J. N. D. Kelly, with new material from Michael Walsh) have really got to grips with a very complex subject matter and field of research. Some of the popes have relatively ...
...Hardly more than a paragraph or two in some instances, but this is due to the fact that some popes very little is known about them, or what works, great or more modest, they might have accomplished, whilst serving as pope. Not only does the book list "legitimate" popes, it also lists what are known as "antipopes", these being clerics raised to the position of pope in circumstances that were thought to be heretical, illegal or perhaps both. The ... Read review

Advantages: Good perspectives on different groups of people
Disadvantages: -

...a mixture – rarely does one get a congregation that fits any particular model. The authors give fair warning up front: 'Belonging to a particular cohort does not completely predetermine how a person will respond to a particular mode of expression or to a particular sermon.' This book will provide clues to finding the answer, but that answer may still remain elusive. In looking at generational issues, the task is more complicated than young versus ...
...at sexuality and orientation issues, one of the hot-button issues confronting many denominations today. Jeter and Allen are generally open and affirming toward such populations, recognising the real issues and pain others have confronting such issues in their home churches. In looking at multicultural issues, Jeter and Allen look at race issues, but also beyond to nationality and linguistic differences. They are honest about the church's lack of ... Read review

Advantages: Good introduction to the Orthodox Church, broad and concise
Disadvantages: I would like a bit more detail about the specific churches.

...and dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, he was also author of many texts dealing with Orthodox history and spirituality. This book, 'The Orthodox Church: Its Past and Its Role in the World Today' is perhaps the foundation for understanding his writing. Originally published in 1960, it was reissued in an American edition in 1981, and is currently available in the revised fourth edition, produced in 1996, four years after Meyendorff's ...
...the historical development of the Orthodox Church from the apostolic time to our own. It is the interpretation we will give to the stages of this history which will permit the reader to understand the essential dogmatic positions of Orthodoxy. The basic dogmas about Scripture and Tradition, about the Church and about ecclesiastical authority will thus be defined in the opening chapters. At the conclusion of the book, we will return to certain other ... Read review

Advantages: Historical documents
Disadvantages: A bit cumbersome for modern use in some ways

'The Old Catholic Missal and Ritual' is a primary text for worship developed by one of the earliest figures in Old Catholicism in the English-speaking world, Archbishop Arnold Harris Mathew. Mathew had a quite colourful history, recounted by many as well as by his own autobiography, candidly entitled `Episcopal Odyssey'. Whether Mathew was more sinned against than sinner in his travels through Christendom is a debate better engaged elsewhere; suffice ...
...remains a primary cornerstone of Old Catholic history. A missal is a guidebook or instruction book for leading and participating in worship. Catholics, Anglicans and other high-liturgical traditions have missals; it is a more formal text than the BCP or other such primary liturgical sources. During the medieval period, liturgical worship books included the Sacramentary, used by the celebrant of a service; the antiphonale missarum, for use during ... Read review

Advantages: Good insights, good collection
Disadvantages: -

In her book, `Ordinary Ministry, Extraordinary Challenge', edited by Norma Cook Everist, is an exploration through the personal stories, experiences and insights of women in ministry. In this work, she explores the unique and not-so-unique aspects of being a woman in ministry. Female clergy and lay leaders have been sought for their input in putting together a collection based on the full range of issues, drawing on years of experience in preaching, ...
...a book just for women, but rather one for all people involved in the life of the church to help understand some of the challenges and difficulties that women face in different types of churches. This is not a book that is a 'how-to' or a handy-dandy guide. These are reflections of experiences, and from these stories lessons can be learned; alas, not always happy lessons. These lessons can be broadly categorised into theology, leadership, context ... Read review