A Manual of Catholic Theology: Based on Scheeben’s “Dogmatik”, Vol. II
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
A Manual of Catholic Theology is Joseph Wilhelm and Thomas B. Scannell’s classic two-volume English adaptation of Joseph Scheeben’s Dogmatik. In his preface to the Manual, Henry Edward quotes St. Anselm, saying, “… the right order of things requires that we should first believe the deep things of the Christian faith before we presume to discuss them by reason, so it seems to me to be negligence if … we do not study to understand what we believe.” A Manual of Catholic Theology addresses this negligence by scientifically examining the first principles of faith. Originally begun by Scheeben in 1873, A Manual of Catholic Theology takes the fundamentals of the Christian faith and sorts through them with a fine philosophical knife. Volume one covers the epistemology of faith and the nature of God, while volume two covers the narrative of the Gospel: fall, grace, redemption, grace, the Church, and the new creation.
Top Highlights
“After being cleansed in the laver of regeneration, strengthened by the Holy Ghost, and fed with the body and blood of Christ, man would seem to need no further aids to secure his salvation. But his will is free; his flesh, since the Fall, is weak. He is therefore able and inclined to transgress.” (Page 464)
“Sins committed after baptism do not altogether undo the work of that sacrament. The original sin cannot return; the baptized sinner does not cease to be a Christian and a member of the Church. It is not fitting, therefore, that these sins should be remitted by a repetition of baptism, even if that were possible. Hence our Divine Lord instituted a special sacrament—Penance—for the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism.” (Page 464)
“Venial sin only impairs the natural disposition for good, while mortal sin destroys the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 6:19), and changes man from spiritual into animal (1 Cor. 2:14); it infects the whole nature, and thus becomes the cause of new sins or of acts deficient in goodness.” (Page 10)
“the form of the sacrament of Penance—is the priest’s absolution” (Page 465)
- Title: A Manual of Catholic Theology: Based on Scheeben’s “Dogmatik”, Vol. II
- Authors: Joseph Wilhelm, Thomas B. Scannell
- Edition: Third Edition, Revised
- Series: A Manual of Catholic Theology
- Volume: II
- Publisher: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
- Print Publication Date: 1908
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Era: era:modern
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Catholic Church › Doctrines; Theology, doctrinal
- Resource ID: LLS:MNCTHTHLGY02
- Resource Type: Systematic Theology
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-08-08T21:28:18Z