Handbook of Catholic Theology
A translated and updated version ofLexikon der Katholischen Dogmatik(Herder, 1987), this volume features 337 alphabetically arranged entries from 20 contributors. Beinert, professor of dogmatics at the University of Regensburg, Germany, was editor of the original version. Fiorenza is the Charles Chauncey Stillman professor of Roman Catholic theology at the Harvard Divinity School.According to Fiorenza's preface, the handbook "seeks to present an objective and balanced introduction to the basic notions of Catholic theology." Most of the essays are translations from the original edition, though the bibliographies were specifically created for this edition, referring primarily to English works. In addition, "several North American theologians have been asked specifically not only to provide additional perspectives but also to discuss contemporary issues." There are 13 such essays, all bearing the subtitle "Contemporary Issues" and all directly following articles of the same title from the original edition.Entries vary from 300 words (God's Knowledge) to more than 3,000 (Sacraments: Contemporary Issues). There are 59 tables, listed at the front of the volume. The work concludes with a listing of abbreviations, a list of translators, and an index. Oddly, there is no complete listing of all the contributors with their academic affiliations. With the exception of the "Contemporary Issues" essays, all entries are divided into five sections: "Biblical Background," "History of Theology," "Church Teaching," "Ecumenical Perspectives," and "Systematic Reflections." This, combined with the relatively few contributors, creates a certain uniformity to the work.On the other hand, a work originally written eight years ago with new bibliographies leads to certain omissions.Historical Jesus, for example, cites in the bibliography John Dominic Crossan's 1991 work,The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, but the work is not mentioned in the entry proper, since the entry was written before Crossan's work was published. On the other hand, some entries mention works not cited in the bibliography.Institution of the Sacramentsmentions a theory by the famous theologian Karl Rahner, but no Rahner work is cited in the bibliography. Given his output, someone who is not a scholar in the field will be frustrated if he or she wishes to pursue this further. Considering that the preface specifically mentions that the volume attempts to meet the needs of the "educated adult who in reading theology comes across terms and definitions with which he or she is not familiar," the frequent mention of theologians' theories without documentation is an obstacle. Fortunately, the entries consistently cite biblical passages and various church documents using parenthetical references in the essays.Taking into account the 1987 publication date of most of this work, this volume will be beneficial in academic and public libraries with a strong interest in Catholic theology. It will nicely complementThe New Dictionary of Theology, edited by Joseph A. Komonchak, Mary Collins, and Dermot Lane (Michael Glazier, 1987), which has many more entries, though the essays seldom go into the depth of detail of those in this handbook.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.