Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.65 You Save: $14.35 (55%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.52 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Jesus of Nazareth
Book Review: Emanuel - God with us
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book with great expectation and a little trepidation.
It is a good book and a good translation. I wondered how much the translation reflects the understanding of the author.
This book is not for recreational reading because it can be deeply theological in its way, althought many parts became recreational as I went along. I got a particular satisfaction from his teasing out how Bread and Wine have a particular relevance for human life and that the presence of God exists therein as it does in all other matter. It is wise to have a Bible handy although the notes and glossary are quite extensive.
The author clearly has a really deep understanding of Jesus and I suspect he has the little flame that he wrote about elsewhere when he said (and I paraphrase from memory) 'when you come in contact with Jesus you will burn, not with a destructive burning but that contact can light a little flame in you'. He says the the historical Jesus is most important to us otherwise we are left with an insipid, vapid figure like an unreachable icon. The Jesus he depicts walks and talks and lives with us.
His explanation of Christianity as not being a religion of the last days (Escatology) but a faith in the presence of Jesus (Yaweh) in our lives and how that faith brings salvation. He follows up this with the analysis of the Lord's Prayer.. 'Thy Kingdom come' really means that the kingdom or the presence of (God) Jesus should come to each one of us now in the present time. It is not a looking forward to a worldly kingdom that some people thought should be established on earth later.
The section on the sermon on the mount is extensive and leaves one with food for thought and a new look at what Jesus was saying. His Biblical scholarship is outstanding and he is willing to look at the scriptures in the light of all the new thought that is available from recent scholarship. The scriptures should be taken as a whole and New Testament and Old merge into a great round plan and message for our salvation. He says we can experience this by reading and re-reading.
He expands the Gospels and how they relate to each other and in what way the Gospel of John difers from the others. He even tackles the difficult topic of the authorship of John's Gospel.
The last section on the Transfiguration is more dificult and I will have to read it again. He spends a lot of time proving the primacy of Peter and the establishment of the Church.
As the Pope says that anyone is at liberty to disagree with him, so Im sure people may disagree with me and everyone id welcome to do just that.
Book Review: An Excellent First Volume in Christology
Summary: 5 Stars
This text encompasses much of the thought of Pope Benedict XVI and serves as an excellent text for the study of this brilliant theologian. The book is not an exhaustive consideration of all historical or theological considerations about the character of Christ, his person and message. Instead, the Pope means to highlight the points of unity in the message of Christ and how that relates to humanity's response to the visible face of God. Much of the work is visibly influenced by the writer's former experiences of both Nazi Germany as well as Marxism in Europe. Throughout each section, one may be tempted to assert that Pope Benedict has little care for any social interpretation of the Gospel. It doesn't take much to realize that the hopes of singularly-human establishment of a perfect order played its devastating visage out in his life enough to prove to him the need to view the Gospel as an encounter of God in visible form and not as a call to human social action.
Nonetheless, the text's combined method of theological discourse as well as scriptural exegesis bridges this fact, which often has given many people difficulty with the works of Pope Benedict (and in his days as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger). Through each "practical" section on subjects like the parables, the Lord's Prayer, and the beatitudes, Pope Benedict creates a singular whole between Christ's message and his person. This is of course not the complete end of the story, leaving the Gospel as a remote past, or an individual experience. Although only briefly hinted throughout this text, the Pope's thought has always extended the experience of Christ to the encounter of the faith community of the Church.
This little gem is, like all of the works of this brilliant theologian, a veritable call to understand the true nature of Christianity. For Benedict true religion, by its very nature, must transcend the boundaries of political action and progress. If anything, all action is secondary to an encounter with the Truth. This text furthers that dialogue, realizing that the true message of the Gospel is the encounter of Truth in the person of Christ. It reorients the question of "following the Gospel" from the often-held framework of "following the precepts of Christ" to the more true framework of "becoming more like (and united to) Christ."
Book Review: A Reasoned and Prayerful Reflection
Summary: 5 Stars
JESUS OF NAZARETH is the first book written by Pope Benedict XVI since he assumed the title. It is not a historical or biographical work, but rather a theological reflection on who Jesus was and is: his teachings, ministry and essence as the Son of God, whose paschal sacrifice won for us our redemption. It is the first of several planned books and is both clearly and eloquently written.
Beginning with an initial reflection on the Mystery of Jesus, Pope Benedict reflects upon different aspects of Jesus in each chapter:
1) The Baptism of Jesus
2) The Temptation of Jesus
3) The Gospel of the Kingdom of God
4) The Sermon on the Mount
5) The Lord's Prayer
6) The Disciples
7) The Message of the Parables
8) The Principal Images of John's Gospel
9) Two Milestones in Jesus' Way: Peter's Confession and the Transfiguration
10) Jesus Declares His Identity
All of the reflections, which stand alone and can be read thematically or sequentially, are well done. The two chapters that I found to be exceptional were those on "The Disciples" and "The Message of the Parables." One caveat: While the book is beautifully written, it is best not to read it in short bits; rather one should devote time in a quiet space for proper reflection upon at least one chapter in its entirety.
With respect to other reviews, it appears that there are those who are reviewing the "man" rather than the book itself. As head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict is unwavering in his assertion that the Catholic Church represents the fullness of Christianity - this is clear from his other writings and proclamations. While that should be expected, it is also important to note that Benedict has been, and continues to be, an ardent advocate for religious freedom. These two concepts are not incompatible. Still others argue that he is not using the John Dominic Crossan model as shown in "The Historical Jesus . . ." (in itself a fine work). This is true! The books are written for entirely different purposes.
JESUS OF NAZARETH is a fine resource for both study and reflective prayer. It is not the definitive work on Jesus: that description is reserved to the Sacred Scriptures. However, it is a marvelous brief study of the essence of Jesus.
Book Review: A luminous book, elegant in its simplicity
Summary: 5 Stars
Folks, I finally finished reading Jesus of Nazareth, by Pope Benedict XVI. I am not qualified to judge the substance of it because I recognized the mastery that Ratzinger the Theologian had over the subject matter. As a theology student myself, who likes to challenge my teachers to see things in new ways, would have found it very difficult to do so had the Pope been my teacher.
Ratzinger the Teacher and Theologian come through in this book. His style is very conversational and his method elegant in its simplicity. First, the Pope talked about three or four parallel ideas and he developed them at length to the point I had to ask "where is he going with this"? Then, suddenly, he would bring a new thought that unified all parallel tracks and in the process, brought new light to the subject matter.
Pope Benedict didn't discriminate against any scholar who had something to contribute, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish, liberal or conservative. If that scholar had achieved a unique insight that the Pope thought was true and valuable, he brought it to bear. The final product was not obfuscated, but clarity itself.
Jesus of Nazareth is a thoroughly biblical book. It breathes and lives the Holy Scriptures. The Pope took the Bible seriously as the principal source of Christology - of information about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and the appraisal given to him by his disciples, his contemporaries, and other scholars. From the Pope's analysis arises afresh the historical figure of Jesus as Son of God, Son of Man and mighty "I am," in all its originality.
The Pope's work proves that theologians can avail themselves of every tool provided by modern biblical criticism, as well as all the insights provided by the Church Fathers, and still yield a Christology that is orthodox, concrete, unique, saving and life-giving.
Jesus of Nazareth is a work that actualizes the apostolic kerygma or proclamation regarding the words and deeds of the Savior. The Pope succeeded in telling us that Jesus' message and example are intelligible for us living in this day and age.
I think you should seriously consider adding this work to your personal library. With it, you will learn to theologize with the Pope as your teacher.
Book Review: One of the greatest books on Jesus ever written . An absolute masterpiece by a great theologian.
Summary: 5 Stars
First, I am not a Catholic, but a Protestant. Second, I have read a vast array of Jesus books, over the last three years, by countless, great, respected: scholars, theologians, commentators, pastors, bishops, etc. I am doing research for a project, and therefore I have read quite a broad spectrum of material about Christ.
"Jesus of Nazareth", by Pope Benedict XVI, is the greatest book on Christ that I have ever read, or at least have yet read. The depth and spiritual insight in this book is hard to describe except to say, it's incredible what you can get from just reading one page. The impressive spread of Ratzinger's knowledge of the scriptures, literature, the writings of the Church fathers, sermons, academic works, etc, will blow you away. It's staggering how much knowledge this man has, and how well and artfully he wields it. He draws beautiful and insightful connections between the scriptures and many outside sources.
The most impressive thing in the book is just how deeply spiritual it is, and how much spiritual insight one obtains from reading it. Benedict reveals the intricate spiritual truths that connect major events in Jesus' life, as described in the gospels. The chapters on Jesus Baptism, the Tempations, etc, are packed so tight that it will take you hours to read just a chapter and reflect on it.
Keep in mind, this book is not written in lofty, theological language. It is written for a layperson to read, quite easily - it is only the concepts and the spiritual truths, connections, and revelations that Benedict makes that force one to read slowly, to absorb and contemplate what Benedict is writing.
I highly recommend this book to all Christians, non-Catholic, Catholic and everyone in between. This book is full of beauty and truth and you will truly feel close to Jesus, as if you are reading a book written about him by one of his close, personal friends who truly knows him.