versione italiana
|
Christian Faith: acceptable?
CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK "FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY"
"Preach the Gospel to every creature" - (Mark 16:15)
"Every speech is left incomplete" - (Qo 1:8)
Publishing this book (which was never reprinted, and therefore made available on this website for posterity) represented in some ways the apex of the activity of thorough study and evangelization of Didaskaleion Center.
The book was aimed at a very large and etherogeneous auudience. The structure given by the author, Rev. Piero Ottaviano, is in strict adherence to the methodology of the Centre: an extremely rigoruos, precise and well-documented cultural overview of Christinanity, aimed both at believers and non belivers and particularly well suited for those who wish to build a solid knowledge on the foudantions of Christian Faith. The underlying theme is weteher these foundations can be considered "rationally acceptable" for modern men and women, provided of course the necessity of the Act of Faith.
Following the original edition of the book of August 15th, 2004 (one year before Rev. Piero Ottaviano passed away) we provide in this page the printable .pdf files for each chapter (italian tongue), and subsequent insights, notes and refinements (never published) meant for following revised editions.
- 00 - Christian Faith: acceptable? - presentation and introduction
- Frontespice
- Presentation
- Introduction: aim of the book
- Guidelines
- Book's schema
- 01 - The foundation of Christianity: Jesus' Resurrection
- The New Testament
- The object of our research
- Conclusions
- 02 - Reactions to the Resurrection's announcement
- Premise
- Reactions to the Resurrection's announcement
- Doubts
- Our purpose
- 03 - The existence of Jesus of Nazareth: historical sources
- The issue
- The answer
- Historical sources
- Minimal conclusions
- 04 - Christian sources
- Issues
- Books in the first christian communities
- The Canon of the New Testament
- Conclusions
- 05 - Historicity of the Resurrection
- Issue of the historicity of the Resurrection
- Methodology of analysis
- Documents to solve the issue
- Our purpose in the documents' analysis
- Reading the documents
- Documents concerning burial and Resurrection
- 06 - The Sepulchral Shroud
- Preliminary informations over the 4th Gospel
- Text analysis
- Attempt at understanding the text
- Considerations
- 07 - Guards at the Sepulchre
- Informations in the Gospel of Saint Matthew
- Text analysis
- Evaluations regarding the presence of guards
- Incontrovertible fact: the Sepulchre was empty!
- 08 - Discrepancies among the sources
- Discrepancies in canon sources
- Resurrection according to the Gospel of Saint Peter (apocryphal)
- 09 - Interpretations of the documents
- Issue: historicity of the documents
- Interpretations of the documents
- Conclusion
- 10 - The act of faith in Catholicism
- Introduction: the act of faith
- Act of faith for the Apostles' direct listeneres
- Act of faith for today's Christians
- Act of faith for the Apostles
- Structure of the act of faith
- Reactions of the listener
- Christian judgement over these topics
- Faith as God's gift
- Heresy
- Addendum I: informations over the Apostles
- Addendum II: the act of faith, generally speaking
- 11 - The christian, disciple of Christ
- Who the (adult) christian is
- The "law" of Jesus: love
- Christian life and external laws
- Sin
- Addendum: human life in light of Jusus' Resurrection
- 12 - Christian vocations
- Premise
- Consacrated religious life
- Secular life
- relations between secular and religious life
- 13 - The Church, community of the Christians
- How the Church was born
- Nature of the Church
- Features of the visible Church
- Organization of the Church
- "Laypersons" in the Church
- Conclusion
- Addendum: bishops' election in the West
- 14 - Interpretation of the Gospel of Jesus: infallibility
- Issue: Jesus' teachings
- Answer
- The Church is infallible
- Infallibility in the Church
- The christian and infallibility
- Dogmas and ecclesiastical magisterium
- 15 - The Bible, word of God
- The work of the Church over the New Testament
- The work of the Church over Jewish writings
- Conclusions
- Addendum: "method" for reading the Bible
- 16 - Conclusion
- C1 - Complements 1: Cathechistical methods
- Different ways of introducding Christian Faith
- The chosen method and how to implement it
- C2 - Complements 2: Fist christian communities
- Origins of Christianity according to christian sources
- Premises
- Origins of the first communities
- Their organization (in Palestine)
- Missionary activities
- Communities beyond Palestine
- Development
- Internal life in the communities
- Christian books (hints)
- C3 - Complements 3: The Life of Paul of Tarsus
- Sources about his life
- Formation
- His "conversion" to Christianity
- Missionary travels
- Epistles (hints)
- C4 - Complements 4: The composition of synoptic Gospels
- Geneal informations on the Gospels
- Common structure of synoptic Gospels
- The "Synoptic Issue"
- Composition of synoptic Gospels - asnwers provided in different ages
- Addendum: authenticity of the Holy Gospels
- C5 - Complements 5: The Gospel of Saint John
- Structure of the Gospel of Saint John
- Specific features
- Place of composition
- Age of composition
- Author
- Unity and integrity of the 4th Gospel
- Purpose
- Cultural milieu
- Interpretations
- Relations with the Synoptic Gospels
- C6 - Complements 6: Historicity of the Holy Gospels
- Historicity of the Holy Gospels: the issue
- Answers provided by Tradition
- Answers provided by the "Critical School"
- Answers provided by the "Mythical School"
- Current state of the art of reasearches
- Addendum: the concept of "history" for the ancients
Zip file with the whole set of the book's chapters, book version, downloadable here.
Zip file with the whole set of the book's chapters, booklet version downloadable here.
|
