Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed

by Tracey Rowland

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2010

Overview

This is an upper-level introduction to the thought and theology of Pope Benedict XVI. The book explains the foundations of Ratzinger's thought by analyzing the theological axes upon which his works turn and helps readers to place his thought in the context of his intellectual antecedents and contemporary interlocutors.

Key Features

• Presents a clear and concise introduction to one of the leading theological thinkers of the 20th century
• Emphasizes Pope Benedict's thought in the context of his contemporaries
• Adds helpful insights for those already familiar with Benedict's writings and thought

Contents

• The Intellectual Antecedents and Contemporary Interlocutors
• The Response to the Modernist Crisis
• The Response to Heidegger
• The Essential Difference of Christianity
• The Response to Kasper and Küng
• The Theological Virtues
• The Importance of Beauty & other Augustinian Motifs

Top Highlights

“he has called ‘pious Pelagianism’ and a ‘narrow-minded individualistic Christianity” (Page 75)

“the pious Pelagians err by focusing on their own salvation a” (Page 76)

“The core of Pelagianism is a religion without love” (Page 76)

“As a young priest he was often shocked to find Catholics who obeyed all the ecclesial rules and regulations and assented to all the doctrines but did not experience any joy in the faith because the whole affective side of their souls was not integrated with the intellectual side. Their faith as such was an intellectual assent they gave to a series of dogmatic propositions.” (Page 50)

“There was also a tendency to read Aquinas abstractly without regard to his historical context, or to read him as an interlocutor for post-medieval philosophers such as Descartes and Kant, and to sever the philosophical components of Aquinas’s synthesis from the theological and present them in separate intellectual packages.” (Page 2)

Praise for the Print Edition

If to be famous is also to be misunderstood, then Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI must count as one of the most misunderstood theologians of our time. No wonder even sympathetic readers find themselves perplexed and on the lookout for a reliable guide. In this latest in T&T Clark's Guide for the Perplexed series, Tracey Rowland has given us just what we need: the best overview of the pope's thought currently available.

—Edward T. Oakes, S.J., Chester & Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake and Mundelein Seminary

Tracey Rowland's beautifully composed book is a masterpiece of scholarship and argument. With exceptional clarity, she shows that Pope Benedict's critique of secularism and his defense of traditional Catholicism are grounded in a symphonic synthesis - of Scripture, the living Tradition of the Church, the teachings of its Doctors and Fathers as well as a modern attention to history and culture. His Romantic Orthodoxy is key to a Christian Renaissance and the reunification of the episcopally-based Churches. As Rowland's vivid portrait reveals, Benedict's theological vision makes him one of the most significant pontiffs since the Reformation.

—Adrian Pabst, Lecturer in Politics, University of Kent at Canterbury

Product Details

• Title: Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed
• Author: Tracey Rowland
• Series: Guides for the Perplexed
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2010
• Pages: 216
• Resource Type: Introduction
• Topic: Theology

About Tracey Rowland

Tracey Rowland is dean and associate professor of political philosophy and Continental theology at the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Australia. She is a member of the Centre for Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham and a member of the editorial board of the English language edition of Communio, founded, among others, by Joseph Ratzinger. She is the author of Culture and the Thomist Tradition: After Vatican II and Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Benedict XVI.