Hope and Life Press is pleased to announce the release of the first three ebooks in our new Christianity Series, which we are launching in response to several questions repeatedly received over this past year. Intended to educate and suitable for easy reference, these ebooks, shown below, provide summary overviews of hot topics in our current times and present the mind and teachings of the Church in a handy format with regard to the various subject matters addressed. The first three topics are (1) Can 'Just War' Exist?, (2) Is Islam a Religion?, and (3) Migrants and Refugees in Catholic Social Doctrine. The Hope and Life Press Christianity Series ebooks are available directly from the publishers and the usual book outlets including Amazon.
Can 'Just War' Exist? (Vol. 1)
'Just War' doctrine has been a feature of Christianity since ancient times. But can a war ever be just? Addressing the 'just war' concept from its formulation in the writings of Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, through Patristics, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, and the writings of modern Popes including Saint John XXIII and his landmark encyclical Pacem in Terris, this book outlines the slow, but steady, movement away that has taken place from the original concept as postulated by the Scholastics. It also presents the conclusions of postmodern Christian leaders on 'just war' including those of Pope Francis, the Patriarch Bartholomew I, and the 2017 Vatican first-ever conference on the subject.
Islam has been mentioned for centuries in Christianity. But is Islam a religion or a sect? Addressing the way in which the Catholic Faith has viewed Islam from Vatican Council II onwards, this book outlines the teachings of the Catholic Church about Islam starting with Lumen Gentium, Ecclesiam Suam and Nostra Aetate, followed by the writings of various Popes on the subject including those of Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. It also presents the teachings found in The Catechism of the Catholic Church about the relationship between Catholics and Muslims, as well as the true meaning of the famous saying "Outside the Church There is No Salvation."
Migrants and refugees have long been considered vulnerable populations within Christianity, but many, Christians included, remain to this day insufficiently knowledgeable about the specificity of the Church's views on the matter. Addressing the way in which the Catholic Faith has regarded voluntary and forced migration from the time of Pope Pius XII onwards, this book provides the teachings of the Catholic Church about the fundamental human rights of migrants and refugees, commencing with Exsul Familia Nazarethana, Pacem in Terris, and Gaudium et Spes. These are followed by the writings and speeches of various Popes on the subject, including those of Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, in addition to the more structured teachings on as set forth in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
