The Sacraments: An Interdisciplinary and Interactive Study [Paperback]

Joseph Martos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2009 | ISBN-10: 0814653693 | ISBN-13: 978-0814653692

What are the sacraments, really? For centuries, the religious lives of Catholics and other Christians have revolved around church rituals with generally accepted individual and social effects. What, precisely, are those effects, and how are they produced? Traditional theology used Greek philosophy to understand the sacraments and how they work. But is there no other way to understand them? In fact, there are a number of ways, and this book invites you to look at the sacraments through a variety of lenses: psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, theology, morality, and spirituality. As the introduction to this volume challenges, "If you read this book, and especially if you engage in the interactive study to which it invites you, your understanding of sacraments will be changed forever."

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

What are the sacraments, really? For centuries, the religious lives of Catholics and other Christians have revolved around church rituals with generally accepted individual and social effects. What, precisely, are those effects, and how are they produced? Traditional theology used Greek philosophy to understand the sacraments and how they work. But is there no other way to understand them? In fact, there are a number of ways, and this book invites you to look at the sacraments through a variety of lenses: psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, theology, morality, and spirituality. As the introduction to this volume challenges, "If you read this book, and especially if you engage in the interactive study to which it invites you, your understanding of sacraments will be changed forever." To help personalize your investigation, the author has created a web site with thought-provoking questions that encourage you to interact with the ideas being proposed in this volume.

About the Author

Joseph Martos is author of Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church, which for more than a quarter of a century has been the most widely read book on the subject. Recently retired from full-time teaching, he has been a visiting professor in universities and theology schools in Canada and Australia as well as around the United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Press (October 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814653693
• ISBN-13: 978-0814653692
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Martos is a nationally recognized authority on the sacraments of the Catholic Church and one of the few people in the world who understand how symbols work in human consciousness and society.

His book on the history and theology of sacraments, Doors to the Sacred, has been in print for almost three decades and has been used in hundreds of university and seminary courses. He is regularly invited to speak and teach about religious rituals and the spiritual realities to which they refer.

His latest book on sacraments is both interdisciplinary and interactive, for it invites readers to think about their personal experiences, to look at church ceremonies from many perspectives, and to contact him at www.TheSacraments.org.