Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, Book 1, Part 1 Theological Epistemology: The Objective Principles of Theological

Where and how do we encounter God's revelation made once for-all in Christ Jesus? The answer to this urgent question is explored in Matthias Joseph Scheeben's Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics, Book One: Theological Epistemology, Part One: The Objective Principles of Theological Knowledge, here translated for the first time in English by Michael J. Miller. Scheeben (1835-1888), a renowned German theologian, in this unabridged first part of a two-volume set, begins with a discussion of the nature and scope of dogmatic theology as a science. He treats divine revelation as the source of theological knowledge and as transmitted in Scripture and in the Apostolic Tradition. Included in this volume is Scheeben's treatise, "The Objective Principles of Theological Knowledge." Scheeben writes on faith in its source, contents, and handing on in the Church as it confronts the believer, eliciting his or her assent.

Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888) was a German priest and scholar whose theology points to the inner coherence of the Christian faith and its supernatural mysteries. Notable in his own time, Scheeben later received praise from Pope Pius XI, who in 1935 encouraged study of the late theologian's works, reflecting: "The entire theology of Scheeben bears the stamp of a pious ascetical theology." Hans Urs von Balthasar credited Scheeben as "the greatest German theologian to date." Scheeben's works include Nature and Grace, The Mysteries of Christianity, and the unfinished Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics.