Pope Benedict has just released a new book about Jesus Christ.
It's appropriate that he released it now--just before Christmas--because it deals with the birth of Jesus.
It's called Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives
Here are 9 things you should know about it . . .
1. Why did Pope Benedict write this book?
Originally, before he was elected pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wanted to retire and write a book about his own personal views on Jesus Christ, as he is presented in the gospels. He read many books like this when he was younger, and now he wanted to write his own to help people grow closer to Jesus.
He had even begun working on it in the summer holidays he had in 2003 and 2004, before John Paul II passed on in 2005.
But then he was elected pope and all his free time vanished. He still cared enough about the project, though, to make time for it.
Because he was elected pope at an elderly age, he wasn't sure how long he would live and if he would have the time and energy to complete the project, so instead of writing one book covering all of the gospels, he wrote three, covering different parts.
Volume 1
2. What are the "infancy narratives"?
The infancy narratives are the parts of the gospels that deal with Jesus' life before his adult ministry--that is, the parts when he was an "infant."
That's an approximate term, though, because they actually cover the period before he was born (in fact, before he was even conceived) and also an incident later in his childhood, when he was about twelve years old.
Only two of the four gospels--Matthew and Luke--cover this period, and they each devote the first two chapters of their gospels to it.
Properly speaking, the infancy narratives are Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.
3. Does Pope Benedict think that these parts of the gospels are historical?
Whether these chapters in the gospels record true history is a hot topic among Bible scholars today.
Many Bible scholars think that they are not historical--that Jesus was not really born of a Virgin, and that the events recorded in these chapters convey theological ideas that were not part of the original gospel message.
Pope Benedict rejects this view and argues that the chapters are fundamentally historical.
They may be written according to somewhat different conventions than we use to write historical books today, and they may involve a certain amount of literary artistry, but they fundamentally record the truth--the historical truth--about Jesus Christ and how he came into the world.
4. Does the Pope reject modern biblical scholarship?
On the contrary. Pope Benedict does not take a hostile view toward modern biblical scholarship in any of the books of his series.
He thinks modern scholarship has produced worthwhile insights.
But he also recognizes that it has its limits, and many people have taken ideas to extremes that are not justified by the evidence.
He thus strives for a balanced view that incorporates genuine insights from recent scholarship but that also displays a healthy respect for the gospels and that does not simply dismiss things that they record based on the whims of modern authors.
5. Does the Pope try to debunk Christmas?
No, but you wouldn't know that from the coverage that the book received in the press.
Modern "journalism" is too often obsessed with trying to paint things in shocking, arresting terms to get ratings, and some reporters have tried to portray the pope as attacking Christmas traditions.
This is not the case at all.
What he does do in the book is simply point out which common ideas about Christmas are recorded in the gospels and which ones aren't.
6. Does Pope Benedict say that the angels didn't sing when they appeared to the shepherds?
Some reporters made a big deal out of the fact that Pope Benedict noted that the gospels do not record that the angels sang when they appeared to the shepherds upon Jesus' birth.
The angels not singing? Horrors!
As if this was a crucial point of faith.
But the pope didn't even challenge the idea. Here is what he actually wrote:
According to the evangelist [Luke], the angels “said” this.
But Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually song, in which all the glory of the great joy that they proclaim becomes tangibly present.
And so, from that moment, the angels’ song of praise has never gone silent.
It continues down the centuries in constantly new forms and it resounds ever anew at the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
So however the shepherds may have perceived the angels' message (as speech, chant, or full song), it is entirely natural for us to envision and celebrate this event in song.
7. Does the Pope say that there was no ox or ass at the manger?
Similarly, some journalists were startled when Pope Benedict noted that the gospels do not mention an ox and an ass being present at Jesus' birth.
No ox and ass? What kind of anti-Christmas view is this?
But while Pope Benedict does say "In the Gospel there is no reference to animals at this point," he had just finished saying:
The manger [in which Jesus was laid], as we have seen, indicates animals, who come to it for their food.
So how much does it matter that the gospels do not mention specific animals, and how much of this is just reporters trying to drum up readers, viewers, or listeners by painting things in an extreme light?
8. Do I have to agree with everything Pope Benedict says in the book?
We do need to agree with him whenever he is articulating a point of Catholic doctrine--for example, that Jesus is the Son of God and that he was born of a Virgin.
However, when it comes to the interpretation of particular passages in the infancy narratives, there is more flexibility.
As he famously wrote in the introduction to Volume 1
It goes without saying that this book is in no way an exercise of the magisterium [that is, the Church's teaching authority], but is solely an expression of my personal search “for the face of the Lord” (cf. Ps 27:8). Everyone is free, then, to contradict me. I would only ask my readers for that initial goodwill without which there can be no understanding.
Let's make sure we give him that good will.
After all, he felt so strongly about this work that he has made the time, across his years as pope, to continue work on it, despite all the other things that claim his attention.
Let's give him a good and sympathetic hearing.
9. Where can I get the book?
Pope Benedict's book Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives
Click here to use my own Amazon affiliate link to buy it in print, electronic, or audio format.
I hope you enjoy it and grow closer to Our Lord!
Merry Christmas!
What Now?
If you like the information I've presented here, you should join my Secret Information Club.
If you're not familiar with it, the Secret Information Club is a free service that I operate by email.
I send out information on a variety of fascinating topics connected with the Catholic faith.
In fact, the very first thing you’ll get if you sign up is information about what Pope Benedict says about the book of Revelation.
He has a lot of interesting things to say!
If you’d like to find out what they are, just sign up at www.SecretInfoClub.com or use this handy sign-up form:
Just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com if you have any difficulty.
In the meantime, what do you think?
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks Jimmy - very informative, as always!
Christ’s Peace,
Bill T.
Thank you for your insights on this book, Mr. Akin. I am hoping to read all three books over the next year. Would you recommend that I read them in the order that they were published? Or would you say they are all “stand alone” works? Lastly, do you know why His Holiness chose to write the works in the order that he did?
Dear Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI
We love you very much and thank you for your service to the Church.
We wish you would excommunicate heretics like the pro-abortion Catholic politicians. We ask that you would strike down liberals, dissenters, modernists, and once again return to the teachings of the Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Dear Holy Father, please stop all the abuses at the Mass. If you don’t want to stop communion in the hand, then we ask that you would at least tell your priests to teach the people how to receive communion in the hand in the proper manner. Thank you very much. We love you Vicar of Christ and we pledge to you our obedience and affection.
Krimuel, that was quite interesting and awesome note for Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, poor man he is stretching himself too much with hectic schedule day in and day out at Vatican meeting officials of various countries, religious leaders from across the globe, Catechesis for the year of faith, homily for the pilgrims, interpreting the sacred texts, and all other pressing needs. Let us implore the Spirit to work on Bishops who have relatively equal power to do that. I think the day is certainly in the offing when those heretics - who profess belief but live their lives as if faith has nothing to do with their real lives. And Christ Himself has not spared pharisees of that kind. Anyway, thank you for that post. Above all, let us pray that the Spirit rekindles in them during this ‘Year of Faith’.
Jimmy, thank you very much for the information on the ‘Infancy Narratives’, very thoughtful of you, and very helpful for us. May our Lord bless your good work.
Krimuel, I would also love to see, out of respect for The Holy Eucharist, the return of The Altar Rail. Thank you, Jimmie, for this information on Pope Benedict’s new book, although I will have to assume that Pope Benedict does not realize that there are many examples of erroneous biblical “scholarship” in the public square, including in our Catholic schools and universities that are being presented as if they reflect The Truth, when, in fact, they serve to lead many astray. While it is true The Bishops have the duty, if they desire Salvation for their flock, to separate the wheat from the chaff, and that the charitable anathema exists for the sake of Christ, His Church, all who will come to believe, and those prodigal sons and daughters who, hopefully, will return to The Flock- because of the “big tent” mentality, which makes it appear as if there is division in Christ’s Church, and that one can be with Christ, and against Christ, simultaneously, The Bishops have allowed those who have left Christ’s Church spiritually, to remain within His Church physically, causing chaos and confusion, while leading many astray. Since The Bishops have failed to address the heresy that, like a virus, has infiltrated into His Church, by removing the source so that The Truth can be reflected wholly and unubstructed, it is the duty of Pope Benedict XVI, and those Bishops in union with him, to make it clear that one cannot be Catholic if one is not in communion with Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. (Catholic Canon 750)
If, in fact, Pope Benedict believes that Our Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima, then I respectfully request that he, and The Bishops in union with him, do exactly what she requested.
Since it is true that in The Communion of Perfect Love that Is The Blessed Trinity, there can only be ONE Spirit of Love between The Father and The Son, and thus the denial of The Filioque is the source of all heresy, then should we be surprised that Our Lady desires that the schism in her Son’s Church, be healed from the beginning?
As one who spent some time in the legal profession with some familiarity with the deft production of diplomatic communiqués, I often marvel at Pope Benedict’s sheer ability to bring down the mailed fist he so comfortably nestles inside his velvet glove.
The “historical critical approach” is a term that has come to be applied to both a methodology and those who profess to follow it. As a methodology, the HCA is a bona fide and legitimate tool that can and has produced interesting insights. As such, Pope Benedict is open to its use.
The problem, however, is that there has also been a movement of hyper-secular, hyper-skeptical, hyper-deconstructionist, and dubiously scientific scholars that identify their work product as being the product of HCA analysis. From the very beginning, starting with Volume 1 of JESUS OF NAZARETH, in the most pleasant of terms, after upholding the HCA as a methodology, after stating their arguments before countering them, Pope Benedict dismantles them with a simplicity that is brutal in its effect and in-so-doing exposing those views for their sophistry when done by Protestants and utter casuistry when done by Catholics.
I have yet to read Volume III of JESUS OF NAZARETH but if it holds to form, it will reflect Pope Benedict’s sustained corrective refutation of the dubious scholarship done under the faux scientific rubric of the historical critical approach.
Post a Comment
By submitting this form, you give The National Catholic Register permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
The time period for commenting on this article has expired.