Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Pope Benedict XVI
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Book Reviews of Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration
Book Review: Jesus of Nazareth
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent. I couldn't put it down. I turned from the last page back to the first to re-read the book.Book Review: The Jesus we're all meant to know...
Summary: 4 Stars
As most of the reviewers have described, Jesus of Nazareth is Pope Benedict XVI's search to find and reveal the true face of Jesus Christ.
In this book, Pope Benedict XVI reveals the first part of Jesus' life. Moreover, the Pope also explains God's purpose in sending Jesus and His way of preparing for Jesus' path. For example, the author draws a parallel between the parable of the Good Samaritan and the entire history of the Earth. In this parable, a man is beaten and left for death outside of the City Walls. High Priests and others walk by the man and scurry onward to the City out of fear and disgust of the man. It is at this time that a Samaritan, a word used to describe a stranger or foreigner, stops to help the injured man and to take him to an inn to recover. This is a metaphor for the "injured" state of man after Adam and Eve's Original Sin. Before Jesus, religion and society scurried on judging but not helping its brethren. This is why God sent Jesus. Jesus is the Samaritan, who has come to care for us and help us recover in his "inn." Jesus' inn is the Church, God's word.
Jesus of Nazareth is full of insights that help followers of Christ get to know Jesus and his real message for us. Pope Benedict XVI offers us explanations of the Our Father prayer and of some of the Bible's parables. Additionally, the author takes us on a journey to major events in the life of Christ, such as his baptism and the Sermon on the Mount.
I do not give this book 5 stars, because at times it gets to be too academic. For example, the Pope addresses and frequently quotes works that I am not familiar with. In fact, I believe that only theologians would have enough background information to understand most of the author's references to other works on Jesus in this book. Aside from this, Jesus of Nazareth is a great book that will allow you to treasure Jesus for what he has done for Mankind.
Book Review: Scholarly Look at Jesus from Baptism to Transfiguration
Summary: 4 Stars
With the second volume coming out next week, I reread "Jesus of Nazareth" by Benedict XVI. Taking aim at scholars who prefer only to focus on the historic Jesus, the Holy Father offers a Jesus who is both human and divine and one very tied in with the prophecies of the Old Testament. When I first read the book, I thought that the Holy Father wrote a book that would appeal more to scholars than general readers. Rereading the book did little to change that. While Benedict does not offer copious notes and citations, he does bring up the works of many other theologians. When I first read the work, I was surprised that Benedict seems to more concerned with correcting works from the early part of the 20th century instead of more recent scholars. On second reading, I changed my view. Benedict may focus on the earlier scholars since they paved the way for later works that he disagrees with. There are more recent works brought up in the work that somehow escaped my attention when I first read the work. Benedict presents a solid argument throughout the entire work. The book, unlike say "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" by John Paul II, is not the most accessible of works--but it is not meant to be. But there are wonderful moments and Benedict is able to offer concise analysis of a number of the more interesting parts of Jesus' ministry such as the baptism by John, the temptation in the desert, the calling of the disciples, the transfiguration. There are occasional slow parts. The Holy Father goes a bit too in depth as he offers analysis on the sermon on the mount and the Lord's Prayer. But these are minor quibbles. While not for readers who lack a theological or Biblical study background, the first volume of "Jesus of Nazareth" is a major book by one of the leading Christian intellectuals of recent decades--who also happens to be Holy Father. I'm counting the days till the second volume is released.Book Review: A learned discourse.
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a well-written and insightful book about the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is not an easy read in that it is not for entertainment but rather it is a study of a period of time during Jesus' time on earth. I am not a Catholic so I did not have any idea as to the Pope's qualification as a theologian. Obviously, he is very qualified. I am a more informed Christian for having read this book.Book Review: thorough and predictable
Summary: 3 Stars
For over a century, the historical-critical study of Scripture has been pre-occupied with the chasm separating what we can reliably know about the Jesus of history and the Christ of post-Easter faith. Efforts have been made to identify layers of traditions, with contradictory results but widespread agnosticism about the historical Jesus. Ratzinger believes that the historical-critical method is an "indispensable dimension of exegetical work," but he also insists that the method has its limits and is not, therefore, sufficient by itself. Despite the wide variation of texts in the Bible, he assumes "a prior act of faith" that believes in "a single overall direction" or "overall unity" of the Bible. "I trust the Gospels," he says.
After his short methodological introduction, Pope Benedict offers a comprehensive survey of the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus was not just a rebel rabbi or an enlightened teacher of "prudential morality." In one of the most interesting portions of the book (pp. 103-127), he uses as a friendly foil the book by the acclaimed Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner called A Rabbi Talks with Jesus. Neusner gets it right, he thinks, even though he cannot commit himself in faith to Jesus, because he understands that Jesus substituted his very own self for all that Jewish history and theology holds dear. Jesus himself, in this view, is the new Torah, the new Temple, the new Sabbath, the new Israel. Benedict shows this to be the case as he works through chapters on the baptism and temptation of Jesus, his proclamation of the kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, the Disciples, the parables, the Johannine material, Peter's Confession, and the Transfiguration.
There are few surprises in this book by the leader of global Catholicism. He aims to write in a personal and pastoral style but sometimes digresses into more scientific theological jargon, much of it about older German thinkers like Bultmann, Harnack and Julicher. This gives the book a distinctly Eurocentric feel. The book is "in no way an exercise of [his] magisterium, but is solely an expression of my personal search 'for the face of the Lord' (Psalm 27:8). Everyone is free, then, to contradict me."