Zaccheus Studies New Testament

In From the Beginning to Baptism, Linda Gibler takes readers on a journey 'from the depths of space and the beginning of time through sacred Scripture and church history 'to discover the origins and creative power of water, oil, and fire. She traces the lives of those elemental entities through their cosmic history, to the point at which they are poured over the head and light the way of one being baptized. These elemental sources of al life are the substances through which new life in Christ begins in the sacrament of baptism. The journey through space and time, through the birth of the Universe and of life, and Gibler's reflections on this drama, help readers to enter into the cosmocentric spirituality" at the heart of al things. No one who reads this book will ever again look at a drop of water, an olive, or a candle with the same eyes. Linda Gibler, PhD, a Houston Dominican Sister, is currently associate academic dean at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. She has several years ' experience as a parish minister and is the science editor and a contributing author for the Collins Foundation Press, which hosts conferences on the significance of recent scientific revelations for faith, meaning, and the well-being of Earth and al her species."

The incredible technical achievements of recent history may make us feel little less than gods," but we also find much that cuts us down. When we face our own limits and failures, upon what or whom can we rely? The biblical "answer" to questions about the ultimate nature and meaning of human life begins with the experience of Semitic slaves led out of Egyptian slavery beautifully recounted in Deuteronomy 26:5-11. The New Testament presents Jesus as the culmination of God's Old Testament promise. Christian faith has a particular Vision of the world and of humanity founded upon the relationship between God and creation. Its key elements are found in the inviolable dignity of every person, the essential centrality of community, and the significance of human action. These are the main themes of a Christian anthropology developed in this book.

This examination of the Eucharist is divided into two parts. The first seeks to uncover the origins of the Eucharist and to trace developments in the earliest eucharistic practice and understanding. The second part studies the eucharistic theology of the New Testament writers.