Religious Studies Faculty Book Gallery

This collection features books and book contributions written by faculty in the Department of Religious Studies at Fairfield University.

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The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism

James J. Buckley, Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Trent Pomplun, and John E. Thiel

John E. Thiel is a contributing author, "The Development of Doctrine," Chapter 17, pp. 251-267.

The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism offers an extensive survey of the history, doctrine, practices, and global circumstances of Roman Catholicism, written by a range of distinguished and experienced Catholic writers.
- Engages its readers in an informed and informative conversation about Roman Catholic life and thought
- Embraces the local and the global, the past and the present, life and the afterlife, and a broad range of institutions and activities
- Considers both what is distinctive about Catholic life and thought, and how Catholicism overlaps with and transforms other ways of thinking and living
- Topics covered include: peacemaking, violence and wars; money, the vow of poverty and socio-economic life; art by and about Catholics; and men, women and sex
The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism

J. J. Collins, D. Harlow, and Angela Kim Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins is a contributing author, "Hymns, Prayers, and Psalms” pp. 753-757.

Book description: This comprehensive and authoritative volume is the first reference work devoted exclusively to Second Temple Judaism. A striking and innovative project, it combines the best features of a survey and a reference work. The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism is ecumenical and international in character, bringing together the contributions of a superb group of Jewish, Christian, and other scholars.
Qumran Cave 1 Revisited: Texts from Cave 1 Sixty Years after Their Discovery

Daniel K. Falk, Sarianna Metso, Donald W. Parry, Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar, and Angela Kim Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins is a contributing author, "A New Proposal for Thinking about 1QHa Sixty Years after its Discovery.” Pages 101-134.

Book description: This volume contains a selection of the papers presented at the sixth meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies, held in 2007 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on the topic Qumran Cave 1 Revisited: Reconsidering the Cave 1 Texts Sixty Years after Their Discovery. While the opening paper assesses theories about the character of Qumran Cave 1 in relation to the other Qumran caves, all other papers discuss texts from Cave 1, in particular six of the seven large scrolls found there in 1947: the two Isaiah scrolls, the Rule of the Community, the War Scroll, the Thanksgivings Scroll, and the Genesis Apocryphon. Many papers revisit those texts in light of the corresponding versions found in Cave 4.
From Turfan to Ajanta: A Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, vol. 1

Eli Franco, Monika Zin, and Ronald M. Davidson

Ronald M. Davidson is a contributing author, "The Place of Abhiseka Visualization in the Yogalehrbuch and Related Texts", pp. 185-198.

The dedicated study of South Asia, its classical culture in all its myriad forms, including its literature and religion and not least, its art, has distinguished the entire scholarly life of Dieter Schlingloff. With his vast panoply of interests and his insatiable curiosity, well reflected by his publications, both in their impressive number and their diversity, he has enriched the field of South Asian Studies to a momentous degree. This work is a Festschrift on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Transforming Relations: Essays on Jews and Christians throughout History in Honor of Michael A. Signer

Franklin T. Harkins and Angela Kim Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins is a contributing author, "Biblical and Historical Perspectives on ‘the People of God’.” Pages 319-339.

Book description: Transforming Relations is a collection of original essays on the history of Jews and Christians in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the modern era that honors the influential work of Michael A. Signer (1945-2009). Reflecting the breadth of Signer’s research and pedagogical interests, the essays treat various aspects of the Jewish-Christian relationship through the centuries, from the divine law in antiquity to philosemitism in contemporary Christianity, from scriptural interpretation in the twelfth century to Christian Hebraism in the fifteenth, and from the presentation of Christianity in the Talmud and Midrashim to modern Christian understandings of Judaism. The essays are unified in their emphases on two principles that pervade Signer’s own scholarly work: that the sacred texts shared by Jews and Christians serve simultaneously as a point of convergence and divergence for the two religious communities, and that modern practitioners of Judaism and Christianity must recognize and appreciate the other as part of a living tradition.
The Embrace of Eros: Bodies, Desires and Sexuality in Christianity

Margaret Kamitsuka and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, "Ecclesiology, Desire and the Erotic" p. 247-260

Book description: The topic of sexuality intersects directly with the most contested historical, theological, and ethical questions of our day. In this edgy yet profound volume, noted scholars and theologians assay the Christian tradition's classic and contemporary understandings of sex, sexuality, and sexual identity.

The project unfolds in three phases: contemporary assessments of the Christian tradition, new thinking about eros and being human religiously, and new perspectives on classic mysteries in light of eros and embodiment. – Publisher description.
The Embrace of Eros: Bodies, Desires, and Sexuality in Christianity

Margaret Kamitsuka and John E. Thiel

John Thiel is a contributing author, "Augustine on Eros, Desire, and Sexuality," Chapter 4, pp. 67-82.

The topic of sexuality intersects directly with the most contested historical, theological, and ethical questions of our day. In this edgy yet profound volume, noted scholars and theologians assay the Christian tradition's classic and contemporary understandings of sex, sexuality, and sexual identity.

The project unfolds in three phases: contemporary assessments of the Christian tradition, new thinking about eros and being human religiously, and new perspectives on classic mysteries in light of eros and embodiment.
Yves Congar: Essential Writings

Paul F. Lakeland

Yves Congar (1904-1995), a French Dominican theologian, was a prophet in the church of the mid-twentieth century, persecuted in the 1950s only to become perhaps the single most formative influence on Vatican II. To the extent that the agenda of Vatican II remains to be fulfilled, one could say that it is Congar's vision that provides the ongoing agenda of the church. Congar's many contributions ranged from ecumenism to social justice, the Holy Spirit to the identity of the church. Perhaps his most significant and far-reaching influence was his commitment to the role of the laity. Throughout his life he embodied the struggle to join faithfulness to the church with an ongoing commitment to reform and renewal. In recognition of his service to the church, Pope John Paul II named him a cardinal just before his death. This volume provides real insight and fresh hope for those concerned to breathe new life into the church of the twenty-first century. – Publisher description.
Eusebius of Caesarea: Gospel Problems and Solutions

Roger Pearse, David J. D. Miller, Adam C. McCollum, Carol Downer, Thomas C. Schmidt, Joshua McManaway, and Ambrose Boles

Ever since the four gospels were first collected together, Christians have asked why they diverge in some respects. Why is the genealogy in Matthew different to that in Luke? Why is there more than one ending for Mark? In 320 AD Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, wrote one of the first collections of such 'questions' and gave scholarly answers to them. Because of his early date, his answers are of great interest to scholars and general readers alike.

A few snippets of the work have been translated into English in the past, but this volume is the first ever translation into English of all the material that has reached us today.

The book is laid out with facing pages, the original language on the left, and the translation on the right. It includes the Greek text of the epitome printed in the Sources Chrétiennes edition, with a new English translation by David Miller. But it also gives the most recent edition of fragments of the text in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic and Arabic, taken from medieval bible commentaries, with translation. Two fragments of the Syriac, and all the Coptic and Arabic fragments, are collected here for the first time.

It also includes the full text and translation of a 16th century letter by Latino Latini, giving the whereabouts of the last known full copy of the Greek text.
Ministries in the Church

Susan Ross, Maria Clara Bingemer, Paul Murray, and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, "The Lay Ecclesial Minister: is S/he a Theological Monster?" p. 55-64.

Book description: Concilium is a theological review, perhaps, the most subscribed in the world. It is published five times a year. The editors of the review belong to "who's who" in the world of theology. Each issue takes up and studies a relevant and contemporary theme. The writers of the articles are chosen from among the best scholars of the question in the world. Every contribution reflects deep knowledge and scholarship presented in a highly readable style, and each issue brings home the salient aspects of the question treated. – Publisher description.
Church: Living Communion

Paul F. Lakeland

Drawing on the wisdom and teaching experience of highly respected theologians, the Engaging Theology series builds a firm foundation for graduate study and other ministry formation programs. Each of the six volumes—Scripture, Jesus, God, Discipleship, Anthropology, and Church—is concerned with retrieving, carefully evaluating, and constructively interpreting the Christian tradition.

While paying close attention to the classical "marks of the Church," Paul Lakeland's focus is on what we can learn about the nature of the Church as living communion by examining the values and practices of ordinary believers. Following the advice of Bernard Lonergan, Lakeland adopts a resolutely inductive approach to ecclesial reflection. He explores ten questions that the Church must address, both those that affect the internal workings of the faith community and those that have to do with its relationships to other groups, religious and secular. Finally, he offers a constructive proposal for a contextual ecclesiology of the U.S. Catholic Church that utilizes the images of hospice, pilgrim, immigrant, and pioneer. – Publisher description.
The Vision of John Paul II: Assessing His Thought and Influence

Gerald Mannion and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, "John Paul II and Collegiality" p. 184-199.

Book Description: The Vision of John Paul II assesses the writings, work, and ecclesial vision of this long-serving pontiff. Moving beyond the scope of so many other books on John Paul II, this volume seeks to fill a gap by focusing on his lasting influence on pressing issues facing the church today: social justice, women’s roles, collegiality, ecumenism, and interreligious dialogue. – Publisher description.
Catholic Identity and the Laity

Tim Muldoon and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, "Maturity and the Lay Vocation: From Ecclesiology to Ecclesiality" p. 241-260.

Original essays explore the role of the laity within the Catholic Church and the nature of Catholic identity. –Publisher description.
Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage

Larrisa J. Taylor and Martin Nguyen

Martin Nguyen is a contributing author, "Carvan," p.84-86.

Book description: The Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage is an interdisciplinary reference work, giving wide coverage of the role of travel in medieval religious life. Dealing with the period 300-1500 A.D., it offers both basic data on as broad a range of European pilgrimage as possible and clearly written, self-contained introductions to the general questions of pilgrimage research. Also available online as part of Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online (BRMLO) - Webpage BRMLO. Despite widespread modern interest in medieval pilgrimage and related issues, no comprehensive work of this type exists and it will be of interest to scholars and students for personal and academic use. Local sites of pilgrimage are represented in this work as well as the main routes to Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago. Written and material sources relating to pilgrimage are used to illustrate aspects of medieval society, from brewing, book production and the trade in relics, to the development of the towns, art, architecture and literature which pilgrimage engendered. The Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage will serve as the main starting point for any serious study of this phenomenon.
Facts on File Encyclopedia of World History. Vol. 1 (“Ancient World, 8000 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.”)

Marsha E. Ackermann, Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, Mark F. Whitters, and Angela Kim Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins is a contributing author, "Essenes,” pp. 133-35, "Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” pp. 379-80, and “Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism” pp. 18-19.

Book description: In today's world of globalization, there is a growing trend among historians and students alike to study the common challenges and experiences that unite the human past. Facts On File's seven-volume Encyclopedia of World History is a truly groundbreaking work and one of the first to offer a balanced presentation of human history for a global perspective on the past. A team of distinguished world history academics has brought together scores of specialists in writing signed entries based on the latest scholarship.
The Diaconal Church: Beyond the Mould of Christendom

David Clark and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul Lakeland is a contributing author. "Breaking the Mould of Christendom: David Clark’s Challenge to Catholicism", pp. 23-34.

Book description: This symposium presents a highly topical debate about the nature and significance of an innovative model of church described in David Clarka??s book Breaking the Mould of Christendom: Kingdom Community, Diaconal Church and the Liberation of the Laity, published by Epworth in November 2005. In that book, David Clark argues that a??the diaconal churcha?? is the only form of church that can set us free from the continuing domination of the Christendom model and offer genuine hope to a world now facing a stark choice between community and chaos. Since publication, the book has been widely reviewed nationally and internationally. It has become a catalyst for wide-ranging discussion about the kingdom as a community, the servant nature of the church and the primacy of the laity. In this symposium, 13 scholars discuss the key themes, summarized as eighteen theses, which underpin the model of the diaconal church. Their common concern is whether the diaconal church can take us a??beyond the mould of Christendoma??. The contributors represent Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Quaker, Baptist and Anabaptist traditions. They come from England, Scotland, New Zealand and the United States. The result is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking debate about the significance and implications of the diaconal model of church.
Routledge Companion to the Christian Church

Gerald Mannion and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul F. Lakeland is a contributing author, "The Laity" p. 511-523.

Book description: The nature and story of the Christian church is immensely important to theology students and scholars alike. Written by an international team of distinguished scholars, this comprehensive book introduces students to the fundamental historical, systematic, moral and ecclesiological aspects of the study of the church, as well as serving as a resource for scholars engaging in ecclesiological debates on a wide variety of issues. – Publisher description.
Syriac and Antiochian Exegesis and Biblical Theology for the 3rd Millennium

Robert Miller and Angela Kim Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins is a contributing aurhor, "What do Syriac/Antiochene Exegesis and Textual Criticism Have to do with Theology?" Pages 151-187.

Book description: The observation that scholarly work on the Bible is of little use to theologians is the starting premise for this volume. As a possible solution to this impasse, the contributors explore the potential insights provided by a distinct tradition of biblical interpretation that has its roots in both the patristic School of Antioch and in the Syriac Fathers, such as Ephrem and Jacob of Sarug, and which has survived and developed in the Churches of the Antiochene Patrimony, such as the Maronite and Syriac. Some of the essays have a patristic focus, examining Aphrahat (Craig Morrison), Ephrem (Sidney Griffith), the 4th-century Book of Steps (Robert Kitchen), John Chrysostom (Paul Tarazi), and other Syriac fathers (Edward Mathews). Others engage with modern historical-critical method more directly (Angela Harkins, Stephen Ryan, Anthony Salim). Another still challenges the very assumption assumed by other contributors of an Antiochene “School” (John O’Keefe). The volume concludes with a series of responses from Paul Russell, Robert Miller, and Ronald Beshara, respectively, that consider the various essays from different angles. Here one of the key questions asked is whether biblical interpretation done “with Antioch” is relevant to the church today.
Receptive Ecumenism and the Call to Catholic Learning: Exploring a Way for Contemporary Ecumenism

Paul D. Murray and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul Lakeland is a contributing author, "Potential Receptive Learning Within Catholicism: Lay Participation in Decision-Making".

Book description: Draws on the expertise of an internationally regarded team of authors, representing a diversity of denominational perspectives and disciplinary expertise to give comprehensive and balanced coverage of ideas. Includes a foreword and original essay by His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Provides readers with fresh and distinctive perspectives on the ecumenical endeavor in general and contemporary Roman Catholic ecclesiology in particular Helpfully structured into five sections with an explanatory preface for ease of use.
Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States

Jocelyne Cesari and Martin Nguyen

Martin Nguyen is a contributing author, "Apostasy," "Bawa Muhaiyadin Fellowship," "Khan, Hazrat Inayat (1882-1926)," "Muhammad (570-632)," "Quran," "Sufism," "United Submitters International."

Book description: This A-to-Z encyclopedia will help students and other readers get a fast grip on pertinent holidays, terms, beliefs, practices, notables, and sects of the Islamic faith and Muslim practitioners in the United States. The accompanying primary documents volume provides 93 crucial articles, speeches, essays, poems, songs, and more to flesh out the encyclopedia entries. The primary focus is contemporary but the entries are historically contextualized, so the fuller picture of origins outside the country and practice now in the United States is clear. Further reading suggestions accompany each entry. The primary documents volume enhances the encyclopedic entries with annotated selections such as an article from an entry on a leading Muslim American magazine or an essay by a Muslim American scholar to illuminate an entry on her.
Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition

Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson, and Martin Nguyen

Martin Nguyen is a contributing author, " "Daqqāq, Abu ʿAlī," "Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Aḥmad," "Ibn Fūrak, Abū Bakr Muḥammad," "Jurayrī, ʿAbdallah".

Book description: The Third Edition of Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Islam appears in four substantial segments each year, both online and in print. The new scope includes comprehensive coverage of Islam in the twentieth century and of Muslim minorities all over the world.
Catholicism at the Crossroads: How the Laity Can Change the Church

Paul F. Lakeland

Try to define a layperson without using the word not: cannot preach or say mass, is not a priest, is not in a position of leadership in the church. This generally negative or passive understanding of the laity was epitomized in a statement of Pope Pius X: “The one duty of the multitude [i.e., the laity] is to allow themselves to be led and, like a docile fl ock, to follow the Pastors.” The Second Vatican Council, with its emphasis on the priesthood of all believers rooted in baptism, changed all that. Yet, writes Paul Lakeland, “many of our bishops and not a few of the lay members of the church are attracted to a dangerously incomplete vision of Catholicism…one that sidesteps the major themes and key insights of Vatican II.” In Catholicism at the Crossroads, he teases out themes first developed in a much more formal way in his prize-winning The Liberation of the Laity. In his new book he is “talking to ordinary Catholics in language that requires no special expertise in theology and does not necessitate constant reference to a dictionary.”

Baptism, says Lakeland, not priestly ordination, is the basis for all mission and ministry, and the mission of those baptized into Christ is to be the sacrament of God’s love in a world rife with violence and brutal inequity. The specific mission of the laity is to the world, whereas the mission of the clergy is to the household of the faith. Yet lay people can’t leave “church business” exclusively to the clergy, and the clergy can’t leave the church’s “worldly mission” exclusively to the laity. The key to resolving these overlapping responsibilities is by becoming an adult church, an open church in an open society. In pursuing this goal, Lakeland develops “ten steps toward a more adult church.” -- Publisher description.
Encyclopedia Judaica. 2nd edition

Fred Skolnik, Angela Kim Harkins, and Franklin T. Harkins

Angela Kim Harkins (with Franklin T. Harkins) is a contributing author, "Old Latin/Vulgate," section in “Bible, ancient translations.”

Book description: Provides an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition is important to scholars, general readers and students.
From Trent to Vatican II: Historical and Theological Investigations

Raymond F. Bulman, Frederick J. Parrella, and Paul F. Lakeland

Paul Lakeland is a contributing author, "The Laity", pp. 193.208.

Book description: The second Vatican Council was convened by Pope John XXIII between 1962 and 1965. It marked a fundamental shift towards the modern Church, and many of the rules and practices established in the 16th century at Trent collapsed and were replaced. In this book a distinguished team of Catholic scholars offers a close examination of the full nature and scope of these changes. Each contributor offers an impartial investigation of a particular issue. Included are chapters on such topics as scripture and tradition, priestly formation, women, popular devotion, canon law, church music, marriage, and the universal catechism. The first book to present a comprehensive overview of the relationship between the two great Councils, this will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of theology and ecclesiastical history, as well as for bishops, priests, and ministers.
Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Praxis: Studies in its Formative Period, 900-1400 Proceedings of the Xth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies

Ronald M. Davidson and Christian Wedemeyer

Ronald M. Davidson, in addition to being a co-editor, is a contributing author, "Imperial Agency in the Gsar-ma Treasure Texts during the Tibetan Renaissance: the Rgyal po bla gter and Related Literature", pp. 125-148

Collectively, the papers of this volume reveal the cultural dynamism of Tibet in the period between 900 and 1400CE, when the fundamental contours of Tibetan Buddhism were still fluid and highly contested. The papers address a spectrum of issues in Tibetan religion and literature, ranging in time and space from the far eastern oasis of Dunhuang in the tenth century through ‘high classical’ developments in Central Tibet in the early fifteenth century. It is divided into four parts, addressing respectively literary and religious issues in tenth-century Dunhuang, the textual history of the Old Tantric Canon (Rnying ma’i rgyud ’bum), the development of Tibetan religious literature in the new translation period, and the history and transmission of several influential systems of esoteric Buddhism.