“Exciting reading for anyone who wants to experience the initial development of Christianity as the work of humans essentially just like us.” —David Goldfrank, Professor of History, Georgetown University This book brings to life the lived experience of the disciples after Christ’s death, the possibilities they faced, and the choices they made—and how these all shaped the direction the Church would take. “In The Earliest Church, the late Rev. William P. Sampson, SJ, takes us on a journey of imagination, spirit, and theological contemplation. By helping us to explore the earliest days of the Church, he guides us into a deeper understanding of our Church in the present day. Just as Fr. Sampson guided so many on spiritual retreats, this book continues his legacy of scholarship, reflection, and helping others to most authentically live their faith.” —John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University “Applies a unique combination of historical and exegetical imagination and scholarly rigor…

The late Jesuit theologian shares how the imagination “animates our aspirations, our service, and a deeper connection to God and to one another” (John J. DeGioia, President of Georgetown University). “This book is a pedagogical memoir enabling the reader to enter the late Jesuit Professor James Walsh’s Georgetown University classroom in various moments. Rev. Walsh considered imagination central to lived religion in the broadest sense, namely the vision of the prophet, the exegesis of the theologian, the teaching of the professor, the preaching of the pastor, and the experiences of the student, the seeker and the believer. And [Seeing Things] stands as an eloquent and accessible mini-course in the place of imagination in moral theology, as well as the spiritual testament of a caring and loving teacher, healer, and friend.” —David Goldfrank, Professor of History, Georgetown University “This study is a fascinating presentation of how we imagine ourselves and the context of the world…