On the same day last week, I received both Scott Hahn's new book (Reasons to Believe) and Pope Benedict's new book (Jesus of Nazareth) in the mail.
It's not hard to imagine why I haven't been blogging much during the spare time that I have.
I tried to read Hahn's book first, or at least at the same time as the pope's, because his is a breezy, interesting, and easy-to-read style -- as well as insightful -- and anything by Pope Benedict seems a little daunting. I wanted to "warm up" to it.
But now I've put Scott's book aside. B16's is so rich, yet accessible. I don't generally like the overused term, but this pope's latest book is "spiritual food," and it really hits the spot. It's a nutritious alternative to the junk that's been coming out for years about the so-called "historical Jesus" (who barely resembles the Jesus of faith in any way). The book's forward and introduction alone are well worth the money. I'm looking forward to getting deeper into this great work.
Since Christians believe that everything revolves around the truth of Jesus, it is good to occasionally knock down the false "Jesuses" that are fabricated from the minds of pseudo-intellectual unbelievers.
No, not just knock them down. Knock them out of the park!
And this theologian extraordinaire-turned-pope is just the heavy hitter to do it.
8 comments:
I recently watched an interview with Scott Hahn on EWTN and he had such high praise for 'Jesus of Nazareth that i went an bought the book. I was pleasantly surprised when i started reading and realized that I dont have to be a Theologian scholar to understand what the pontiff was writing. I'm looking forward to getting into it.
I recently thumbed through it again and realized I should re-read it. It's profound stuff.
the popes book isn't as pro Jesus as I would like
he seems to over-symbolize
he tends to treat the 4 gospels more as allegory than fact which places him more or less in agreement with the agnostical modernist scholars like marcus borg
Beowulf2k8,
Your impression is incorrect. The whole point of the book is that the Jesus of faith IS the Jesus of history. B16 can hardly be described as "agnostical" or a "modernist." A person cannot be any more "pro-Jesus" than B16 in his book.
Beowulf2k8,
Your impression is incorrect. The whole point of the book is that the Jesus of faith IS the Jesus of history. B16 can hardly be described as "agnostical" or a "modernist." A person cannot be any more "pro-Jesus" than B16 in his book.
Perhaps I can put it simpler this time: He tends too much toward allegorical interpretations and thus makes people doubt the literal history of the accounts.
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