Lenten Reading
Heigh-ho, Jesus fans, if you haven't read Pope Benedict XVI's two volume (but short) work Jesus of Nazareth, allow me to recommend it wholeheartedly. Finished the newly published second volume last night and, like the first, it is luminous, mind-blowing stuff. His ideas on the resurrection are so fresh and riveting I'd never even thought of them before - and I've been Pope in my own imagination for years!
I'm not a Catholic, but I truly believe PB XVI to be one of the great men and great minds of the age - maybe the last great man and mind of Europe. (When they put him up for sainthood, his first miracle should be writing lucidly in German!) The way he's covered in the media is (oh, well, of course) despicable. But when every reporter on the planet is forgotten dust, he'll be remembered as a beacon of high-minded intelligence in a darkening corner of the world. Turn the lights of the continent out when you leave, Pope-man, cause you're all there is, there ain't no more.
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Re: Lenten Reading
I'm very close to biting and buying both volumes, but I need just a little more teaser material before I'm sold. Curious about what you found mind-blowing and fresh about what he says about the resurrection. Of course, the resurrection itself is pretty mind-blowing, but I'd love to hear a little more about what the Pope said on the topic that was so riveting...
Jun '10
Re: Lenten Reading
"Heigh-ho, Jesus fans..."
HA HA !!!
Feb '11
Re: Lenten Reading
If “there ain’t no more,” then by whom, exactly, will he be remembered as a beacon?
If the future is so dim, then isn’t it rather foolish of the Pope to keep on writing books? Doesn’t sound like a very intelligent man to me, writing smart books to a futureless world.
Jun '10
Re: Lenten Reading
Surely you jest, Andrew.
Herman Van Rompuy, President of the EU, is obviously the last great man in Europe. He was Prime Minister (President, whatever) of Belgium for eleven full months (in which not a single thing happened in the entire country). Other than that he's pretty much been a bureaucrat or politician in every bureaucracy and parliament in Europe.
With Herman in the running, I can't imagine how you could even consider that religious guy.
May '10
Re: Lenten Reading
The thing I love about Pope Benedict XVI is his commitment to engaging and explaining errant philosophies. If he disagrees with an ideological trend, he tries not only to address it head-on but also propose reasons for its popularity. It's important to understand how people get misled.
As for media coverage, I only knew him by still pictures and articles while he was known as Cardinal Ratzinger and The New York Times was calling him an attack dog. Having seen and listened to him speak several times since, I'm struck by his meekness. The man exudes patience and kindness.
Jesus of Nazareth is on the bookshelf behind me now. I'll move it up on my to-do list.
Jun '10
Re: Lenten Reading
SMatthewStolte: If “there ain’t no more,” then by whom, exactly, will he be remembered as a beacon?
If the future is so dim, then isn’t it rather foolish of the Pope to keep on writing books? Doesn’t sound like a very intelligent man to me, writing smart books to a futureless world. · Mar 23 at 12:34pm
At the time of his election there was much speculation that he chose the name Benedict in part because, like the original St. Benedict, he saw his role as preparing the Church to weather another Dark Age. For a Christian there is always Hope, and even if our civilization goes over the cliff there may be another Renaissance 1000 years from now. Along those lines I recommend the sci-fi classic A Canticle for Liebowitz.
May '10
Re: Lenten Reading
By the way, I was fortunate enough to be on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York when Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass there. While on the steps, we could hear the Mass but not see it. People across the street could see it on a screen but not hear. It's amazing to worship God alongside so many people. How often are that many people so joined in any action?
It was worth it just to see all the tiny nuns running around in a variety of habits. Seriously, some of those foreign nuns couldn't have been 5-feet tall, and they were giddy as schoolgirls.
Jun '10
Re: Lenten Reading
Joseph Stanko
SMatthewStolte: If “there ain’t no more,” then by whom, exactly, will he be remembered as a beacon?
If the future is so dim, then isn’t it rather foolish of the Pope to keep on writing books? Doesn’t sound like a very intelligent man to me, writing smart books to a futureless world. · Mar 23 at 12:34pm
At the time of his election there was much speculation that he chose the name Benedict in part because, like the original St. Benedict, he saw his role as preparing the Church to weather another Dark Age. For a Christian there is always Hope, and even if our civilization goes over the cliff there may be another Renaissance 1000 years from now. Along those lines I recommend the sci-fi classic A Canticle for Liebowitz. · Mar 23 at 12:57pm
Canticle for Liebowitz is a great book--a religious and conservative classic.
Feb '11
Re: Lenten Reading
Agree with the comments about A Canticle for Leibowitz...anyone who hasn't read it should do so yesterday if not sooner.
Feb '11
Re: Lenten Reading
Some people of my acquaintance would find the use of "Pope-man" despicable, but I have to say I quite like it... we usually call him Papa B here at the Toad Pad...
Jan '11
Re: Lenten Reading
I'm glad you mentioned that, Andrew, because I'm someone who believes that theology is alive and well. The Catholic Church may be having a bumpy stretch, but the church's theologians (in the last fifty years or so) are about as good as they've ever been.
If you enjoy thinking about God, the last couple of decades has produced a banquet to feast on.
Before he was Pope, Benedict's great intellectual rival was a man named Karl Rahner, SJ (died 1984). These two were both crucial advisors to the bishops at Vatican II. They were rivals on the highest order. They were giants of theology, and history will remember them well. And that's only in the Catholic sphere. I can't speak for other denominations, but the "banquet" isn't restricted to Catholics. Bible history alone has advanced more in the last fifty years than (perhaps) the previous thousand.
It's a cruel irony that Europe and America's overt adherence to Christianity is declining at the very moment that its theology is getting so good.
Edited on Mar 23, 2011 at 2:32pmNov '10
Re: Lenten Reading
Thanks, Mr. Klavan. I've just ordered it from Amazon. His earlier books have been quite helpful to me.
Re: Lenten Reading
He speaks about the originality and, to put it into my own words, essential weirdness of the accounts of Jesus's appearances after death, then tries to reason out exactly what it is they're trying to describe - and it's not what you see in the paintings or the movies. The Pope is wonderfully unafraid to discuss the differences between metaphor, mysticism and history and, because of his directness, he ultimately comes upon something that both stretches our imagination of the event and potentially stands up to scientific thought. I'll say no more because I'm still thinking it through.
Jun '10
Re: Lenten Reading
One reason that Jesus needed a system of apostolic succession was, the audience (of potential Christian disciples) would keep changing over time, over distance, and He wasn't going to be there preaching on the hill anymore. During His ministry, Jesus' audiences were priests, royals, soldiers, farmers, herdsmen, fishermen, craftsmen, slaves, beggars, criminals, etc., all living where ancient civilizations collided, and all familiar with lots of competing religious traditions--Judaism, mysticism, paganism. He gave examples that they could understand. His apostles were there with Him then, learning, and are everywhere now, to translate the meaning of what He said across all subsequent changes in cultural knowledge and technology. The other reason for apostles, was to pass on the sacraments of the Church. They're the physical glue that holds the teaching together over generations.
Nov '10
Re: Lenten Reading
This is why I love B16. The idea that one's status as a Christian is not only a prerequisite, but the sole deciding factor in whether or not one is saved always struck me as ludicrous, unjust, and impossible to associate with a God who is constantly described as just, merciful, and all loving. "I don't care how many good deeds you've done, you didn't pay sufficient homage to me therefore I'm going to subject you to indescribable torture for an indefinite period of time," is the sort of statement one would associate with the likes of Saddam Hussein, not Jesus of Nazareth.
Pope Benedict set the record straight, and brought me back to the Church in the process.
Re: Lenten Reading
Andrew, I think partly what's exciting for non-Catholic Christians is that Christ is at the center of all Benedict's works. And that is so apparent.
A little side story about the pastoral side. The priest who married my wife and I had been an assistant to Cardinal Ratzinger for ten years, so, in contrast to all the news reports, i had always had first-hand reports about how thoughtful and soft-spoken Ratzinger is. A year before Ratzinger became pope, this priest -- a very healthy man in his 50s -- came down with a terrible form of cancer. He went through terrible suffering, and became somewhat listless. One day a letter came from Ratzinger. It was so impressive: he spoke as a mentor and a friend, and basically urged this priest, in the most positive way, to pick up his cross. When I saw the priest two days after the letter, he was absolutely transformed, still suffering terribly, but light-hearted. As Catholics would say, he died a brave and beautiful death.
I'm sure there are many other small pastoral acts like this from Benedict, about which we know nothing.