Called to Grow

The issue of divisions has been continuing through the centuries to date; it has broken the community of the people of God and caused separations among Christians. The point of view is that brokenness might be interpreted in a way which discloses it as gate to healing and wholeness. When applying it to the broken people of God, it can be reinterpreted as a developmental step towards unity. The possibility of growth is what gives hope in human life; further, the possibility of growth and the hope it generates apply to Church division because it too is an effect of human brokenness. The distinct value of this book is that it links the particular issue of human brokenness, within a Christian theological framework, with sin, salvation history, and Church division. Thus, it creates a supportive understanding of (salvific) brokenness in terms of theological anthropology and ecclesiology and thereby encourages the inner growth of human beings.

Markus Schmidt SJ studied philosophy in Munich, theology in Vienna and Ecumenical theology in Dublin. He is a priest and a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He served as university chaplain at Graz and currently is a lecturer of Ecumenical theology at the University of Innsbruck (Austria).