If you've read Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to The Transfiguration, you know that Pope Benedict XVI interacts at some length with the thought of "the great Jewish scholar Jacob Neusner" (p. 69). It is now reported Rabbi Neusner, who is professor at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., has confirmed that the Holy Father has finished work on the second volume of his Christological trilogy. Via Catholic News Service:
On a related note, I hope to soon conduct and post an interview with Adrian J. Walker, who translated Jesus of Nazareth from German into English. Dr. Walker has translated several books for Ignatius Press and is an editor for Communio. I had the pleasure of meeting him this fall when he was visiting family in the Northwest, and he kindly agreed to an interview about the art of translation and the work of Ratzinger/Benedict, as well as von Balthasar and others.
Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (paperback edition, with a new index)
Pope Benedict XVI
In this bold, momentous work, Joseph Ratzinger--in his first book written since he became Pope--seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular" depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
From Jesus of Nazareth: "the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature--the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.
"He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love." Continue reading...
Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide
Mark Brumley, Matthew Levering, Tom Harmon, and Laura Dittus
This easy-to-use companion study guide helps the readers who approach Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth without the benefit of extensive theological or biblical training. The goal is not to replace Benedicts book but to make it more accessible, more fruitful for the average reader--whether lay, religious, priest or deacon. Designed for individual study or for group/parish discussion, this guide has the following features for each section and chapter of Jesus of Nazareth:
• a reader-friendly summary
• an outline
• a list of key terms
• questions for understanding, reflection, application and discussion
• a section for readers to include their personal reflections on the reading
The guide also includes an ample introduction explaining the background for understanding Pope Benedict's approach and how to use this guide as an easy-to-use glossary that defines important terms and identifies key people discussed in Jesus of Nazareth.
The rabbi says the pope told him so during their 20-minute meeting yesterday.Read the entire piece.
The fact that the pope would tell a U.S. rabbi that the manuscript is finished isn’t quite as odd as it would appear. In the pope’s first volume, “Jesus of Nazareth,” there were more quotes from Rabbi Neusner than from anyone but the Gospel writers and St. Paul. ...
The rabbi was in Rome to speak at a Jan. 18 event sponsored by the Italian Catholic Church to mark its annual day of Catholic-Jewish dialogue. He was able to attend Pope Benedict’s visit Sunday evening to Rome’s synagogue and then met privately with the pope yesterday morning.
He told L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, that their 20 minutes together “was sufficient time for a good meeting between two professors. I have always admired the scholar Joseph Ratzinger for his honesty and lucidity and I really wanted to meet and get to know the man.”
“We spoke about our books and he confided to me that he has finished writing his second volume on Jesus,” the rabbi said.
On a related note, I hope to soon conduct and post an interview with Adrian J. Walker, who translated Jesus of Nazareth from German into English. Dr. Walker has translated several books for Ignatius Press and is an editor for Communio. I had the pleasure of meeting him this fall when he was visiting family in the Northwest, and he kindly agreed to an interview about the art of translation and the work of Ratzinger/Benedict, as well as von Balthasar and others.
Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (paperback edition, with a new index)
Pope Benedict XVI
In this bold, momentous work, Joseph Ratzinger--in his first book written since he became Pope--seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular" depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
From Jesus of Nazareth: "the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature--the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.
"He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love." Continue reading...
Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide
Mark Brumley, Matthew Levering, Tom Harmon, and Laura Dittus
This easy-to-use companion study guide helps the readers who approach Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth without the benefit of extensive theological or biblical training. The goal is not to replace Benedicts book but to make it more accessible, more fruitful for the average reader--whether lay, religious, priest or deacon. Designed for individual study or for group/parish discussion, this guide has the following features for each section and chapter of Jesus of Nazareth:
• a reader-friendly summary
• an outline
• a list of key terms
• questions for understanding, reflection, application and discussion
• a section for readers to include their personal reflections on the reading
The guide also includes an ample introduction explaining the background for understanding Pope Benedict's approach and how to use this guide as an easy-to-use glossary that defines important terms and identifies key people discussed in Jesus of Nazareth.
Are you sure it's a trilogy? I thought there were only to be two volumes.
I look forward to reading the next book anyway.
Posted by: Bern | Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Do you know if Adrian Walker will be translating volume two?
Posted by: David | Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 01:32 PM
I am looking forward to reading Vol 2 and I hope that you will be providing a study guide for it; I have found the study guide for Vol I an invaluable help for this lay reader.
Posted by: Sharon | Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 02:06 PM
Great news. I'm really looking forward to this, along with Theodore Dalrymple's new book.
Posted by: Jackson | Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 02:24 PM
Great news on Vol 2. Is Ignatius Press set up for advance sales for both the book and a study guide?
Posted by: Rudy | Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:40 AM