- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Modern Library (April 24 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679640924
- ISBN-13: 978-0679640929
- Product Dimensions: 18.3 x 12.4 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#144,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Church History
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Product Description
From Amazon
Hans Kung's The Catholic Church: A Short History is a small masterpiece of historical and theological writing. Kung fairly and comprehensively presents almost 2,000 years of Church history in a mere 207 pages. He begins with Jesus, who "radiated a democratic spirit in the best sense of the word" and "did not proclaim a church, nor did he proclaim himself, but the kingdom of God." Throughout, in his analysis of every phase of Church history, Kung builds a case for a populist church, challenging the idea of a hierarchical Roman Catholic Church led by an infallible pope. The book concludes with a harsh analysis of the Church's betrayal of Vatican II. Kung, the primary writer of Vatican II, was censured by the Vatican in 1979 for questioning Church doctrine and banned from teaching as a Catholic theologian. Here, Kung levels particular criticism toward Pope John Paul II, whose primary accomplishment, he argues, has been to revive a "conservative and authoritarian" spirit in the Church. The pope's conservative views on the ordination of women, sexual morality, mixed marriages, and ecumenism draw Kung's fire. He calls for nothing less than a new Vatican council in order to bring the Church hierarchy back in line with the Church faithful.
The view of the papacy held by the Catholic Church fellowship, oriented on the New Testament, is different from that of the Roman church bureaucracy. It is the view of a pope who is not over the church and the world in place of God, but in the church as a member (instead of the head) of the people of God.The Catholic Church is the best history of the Church in many years. Unlike many such books, it is written clearly enough to be understood by lay readers, regardless of their knowledge of Christian history; and it is short enough that it can be read in a day or two. Furthermore, Kung's controversial views are not presented as mere polemic. They are grounded in objective historical facts. Thus, he succeeds in providing a history that is both committed and objective. Readers who share those commitments will find a trove of knowledge to support their beliefs; readers who disagree will be moved to consider carefully the question of whether and how the Church should be further reformed. --Michael Joseph Gross
From Publishers Weekly
The latest volume in the Modern Library Chronicles series looks at the history of the world's largest Christian body through the eyes of a theologian whom most Catholics regard as either a beloved reformer or an annoying dissident. King, a Swiss priest, was disciplined by the church in 1979 and prohibited from teaching as a Catholic theologian. Through a 1980 agreement with the Vatican, he is now permitted to teach, but only under secular auspices. In his compressed history of the church that traces its roots to Jesus Christ and the Apostle Peter, King continues to ply his trade in controversy. Woven through his mostly readable account is a consistent call for the abolition of the doctrine of papal infallibility, one of the stances that got him into trouble with church authorities two decades ago. King also uses his book to criticize the church's present efforts to safeguard its teachings through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His 1979 censure, he says, was a "personal experience of the Inquisition," yet he claims to remain faithful to the church in what he calls "critical loyalty." In concluding statements about the future, Kng says the church must open all ministries to women (although the current pope has quashed discussion of women's ordination) and be more open ecumenically. Church progressives will warmly embrace King's version of Catholic history, which is sure to be dismissed by loyalists.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
According to the gospels, the man from Nazareth virtually never used the word "church." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
According to the gospels, the man from Nazareth virtually never used the word "church." Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book is unresearched and factually errant,
By Ann Robbins (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Catholic Church: A Short History (Hardcover)
Being a history buff, I usually enjoy a good historical chronology. Kung's work is neither good nor historical. It is propaganda crafted to suit his own agenda.None of his historical accounts, beginning with the early church through the Holocaust to present day, are accurate. The facts he did give which were true, were only true in part and presented with a distinctive bias. On other issues, Kung lied, pure and simple, especially in regards to Pope Nicholas I, Pius XII, the role of Constantine in Rome, and so on. As a Catholic, Kung questions whether or not Christ actually founded a Church (read Matthew and John), doubts the Holy Trinity, papal primacy and most of the basic tenets of the Church. He is pro-choice, for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the compromise of basic Catholic dogma in favor of ecuminism. The facts are in error and his conclusions are garbage. Don't waste your time or money on this book..... Peace,
4.0 out of 5 stars
In spite of itself...,
By
This review is from: The Catholic Church: A Short History (Hardcover)
Hans Kung's brilliance as an author and a theologian is not to be faulted, and in this volume he shows us how the Roman Catholic Church has survived 2,000 years in spite of itself. There is very little new here for anyone who has read church history. For those who haven't, the author rips through 2000 years with the highlights, and he basically tells us that good leadership has been the exception in Roman Catholocism, rather than the rule. The rule has been power politics at the expense of strengthening and sustaining a religious structure that serves the spritual needs of its members. At least, until Pope John XXIII and his miraculous Vatican II - ultimately betrayed by every succeeding Pope. The author's ire is especially aimed at John Paul II who's pronouncements to the world at large have been borderline progressive, though not followed by much action; and his pronouncements and actions to the church family which have been ultra-conservative. I have no disagreements with Kung's history or analysis, however, he weakens his case by using the final chapters to carry on about his own troubles with the Pope and the curia. This failing aside, Kung (whose volume "On Being a Christian" helped bring me back into the fold)gives us a factual and highly readable account of Mother Church, and some basic proposals for a Vatican III that could re-energize Roman Catholocism, and bring our Church into a more democratic model of a "people's church" in the new century. I won't be holding my breath, though.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
catholic history for the anti-catholic,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Catholic Church: A Short History (Hardcover)
Is there any element of Catholic tradition that this guy likes? If so, he hides it well. Credit the publishers for finding the most anti-Catholic "Catholic" intellectual available to write this book. Kung wants, among other things, a rehabilitation of Luther in the Church, reconsideration of the Church's beliefs and teachings on the nature of marriage and human sexuality, and an end to the Pope's role as final arbiter of disputes within the Church. A well-written book, but one that tells the reader a lot more about those who object to Catholicism than about the Church. At the end, the thoughtful reader has to ask, "Why isn't this guy a Protestant?" Try the more reliable H. W. Crocker's "Triumph" for a more balanced and theologically reliable view of the Church.
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