WALLACE S. JUNGERS
This book encompasses an overview of the institutional and theological issues of Christianity during the period from Hilary of Poitiers until Ignatius of Loyola, i.e., from the 4th to the 16th centuries. It evaluates the impact that the great Christian teachers had on the development of Christianity during this period: teachers such as Paul, Hilary, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Loyola.
Luther’s revolt with his 95 theses began the Reformation, so badly needed at the time. Some few years later, Ignatius and his followers began a Counter-Reformation. Bellarmine and Suarez, both Jesuits, were the principle disputants for the Roman offensive.
Ignatius was a military man, strongly imbued with the 16th century Spanish vision of crusading idealism, and just the right antidote needed in Western Europe to bring the masses back to Rome. Ignatius gathered a band of like-minded men around him and established the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, in 1534. They understood themselves to be a company of light cavalry who freely placed themselves in the service of the Roman Church.
Ignatius chose for his motto, “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”, (For the Greater Glory of God), and his loyal band of soldiers embarked on the ministry to educate the layity, not only in Catholic doctrine, but also in the great classics of humanist culture.
The decrees of the Council of Trent were formative for the Catholic Church for the following four centuries and missionaries brought the Gospel to the New World as the Church prepared to face the challenges of the modern world.
Wallace S. Jungers, S.T.B., is a graduate of Woodstock College in Theology, where he studied under the renowned theologian, John Courtney Murray. He also has been awarded degrees in Philosophy, Ph. L., and in Chemistry, B.S.
Mr. Jungers taught Chemistry at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia and at Loyola College in Baltimore.
With this book, “Christianity: From Hilary of Poitiers to Ignatius of Loyola”, he continues his research into Christianity, which he began with his other books:
Jesus Christ in Glory (Rev. 2nd Ed.),
St. Paul, St. John and St. Augustine,
Reflections on Christ in Glory,
Prayers of Early Christianity,
Of the Holy Spirit,
Resurrection,
The Beautiful One,
Augustine Latine,
The Evidence of Christianity,
The Confessions of St. Augustine,
The Passion of Jesus Christ,
Ancient Christian Prayers,
The Victory of the Early Christian Martyrs,
Epistles From a Modern Christian,
Letters to Companions in Christ, and
War and Christian Principles.
From the viewpoint of a modern Christian, Mr. Jungers has been explaining the New Testament to believers who are searching for a better understanding of the “vera et sincera” (true and honest) deeds of Jesus of Nazareth. Well versed in Greek and Latin, Mr. Jungers translates from the Greek text of Mr. Kurt Aland et alii (4th Ed), called UBS4.
As an advocate of the modern trend of “Praying the Scriptures”, Mr. Jungers brings life to these ancient documents, which form the basis of the Christian Faith.
He lives in La Mesa, California with his wife, Sue, who is the retired long-term principal of Mt. Carmel Academy in Chicago. They have two married daughters, Jane and Jennifer, and three grandchildren, Jane’s Kurtis, and Colin, and Jennifer’s Amber.
Recently, Mr. Jungers’ wife, Sue, wrote these words to a friend, who had inquired about Wally:
“Describing Wally is really very easy.
He is not at all complicated or complex.
In fact, he is a very simple man.
He is always smiling, loves his wife, and daughters, and grandchildren.
You can set your watch by him. When he was in Chicago he got up at the same time every day, meditated and prayed regularly, read scripture and scripture scholars, wrote about the early Church, swam for an hour, had a half a glass of wine and three crackers with cheese while watching Tom Brokaw, ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed at 9:00 every night.”
Who sits on his little mountain in California
And tries to find more ways to love God and his family.”
This book, “Christianity: From Hilary of Poitiers to Ignatius of Loyola”, is another collection of e-mails that I wrote in 2004 to my friends who are interested in the faith and morality of Christianity. I am a member of a group of ex-Jesuits who regularly correspond by e-mail with one another on matters of faith and morals. There are presently two list-serves, one on the East coast made up mainly of Maryland and New York ex-Jesuits, and the other on the West coast with former members of the California and Oregon Provinces. There are about 300 members who receive these mailings, and about twenty to thirty who engage in active dialogue.
It has been said that if you put three Jesuits in a room you will get five opinions on any given subject. The dialogue among the ex-Jesuits is brisk and brutal: no one gets a free ride on any opinion. Everything is up for debate. The topics range over all the spectra: the sex abuse scandal in the Church, homosexuality, gay marriages, Republicans vs. Democrats, WMD and the war on Iraq, liberal interpretations of the Bible vis-a-vis fundalmentalistic views, etc. You name it and we will talk about it.
This book encompasses an overview of the institutional and theological issues of Christianity during the period from Hilary of Poitiers until Ignatius of Loyola, i.e., from the 4th to the 16th centuries. It evaluates the impact that the great Christian teachers had on the development of Christianity during this period: teachers such as Paul, Hilary, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Loyola.
Luther’s revolt with his 95 theses began the Reformation, so badly needed at the time. Some few years later, Ignatius and his followers began a Counter-Reformation. Bellarmine and Suarez, both Jesuits, were the principle disputants for the Roman offensive.
Ignatius was a military man, strongly imbued with the 16th century Spanish vision of crusading idealism, and just the right antidote needed in Western Europe to bring the masses back to Rome. Ignatius gathered a band of like-minded men around him and established the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, in 1534. They understood themselves to be a company of light cavalry who freely placed themselves in the service of the Roman Church.
Ignatius chose for his motto, “Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam”, (For the Greater Glory of God), and his loyal band of soldiers embarked on the ministry to educate the layity, not only in Catholic doctrine, but also in the great classics of humanist culture.
The decrees of the Council of Trent were formative for the Catholic Church for the following four centuries and missionaries brought the Gospel to the New World as the Church prepared to face the challenges of the modern world.
For general educational purposes, I have added three separate chronologies at the end of this book, which I have carefully put together from various historical sources.
The first is a chronology for the time period covered in this book, i.e., for the period 315-1556.
The second is a chronology for the period of the Early Church, with many footnotes.
The third is a chronology for the establishment of the Canon of the Scriptures.
Wallace S. Jungers
August 15, 2004
