Gift to the Church and World: Fifty Years of Joseph Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity

by John C. Cavadini; Donald Wallenfang

Publisher:

Wipf and Stock

, March 2021

Overview

Few books in theology have faced the twentieth century with all its horrors and yet convincingly revoiced the redemptive Christian antidote that compels us to reawaken to our true identity as beloved children of God. Joseph Ratzinger's 1968 masterpiece, Introduction to Christianity, is one of those rare books. On the fiftieth anniversary of this classic book's publication, English-speaking scholars from around the globe gathered at the University of Notre Dame to celebrate Ratzinger's lasting influence on the world of Christian theology. Bishops, priests, and lay men and women set their hands to "the trowel of tribute," honoring the theological legacy of Joseph Ratzinger and the pivotal role he has played in the recent history of the Catholic Church, from his early days as a parish priest and university professor, all the way to his election to the Chair of Saint Peter as Pope Benedict XVI.

Readers of this collection, Gift to the Church and World, will enjoy the beautiful variety of essays penned by notable scholars that decorate the timeless insights of Ratzinger's theological genius. Thematic topics include an overview and context of Ratzinger's work, fundamental theology, philosophical theology, dogmatic theology, spiritual theology, and pedagogy. Altogether, readers will deepen their appreciation and understanding of the theological contributions of Joseph Ratzinger to the mission field of the New Evangelization today.

With contributions from: Catherine R. Cavadini Leonard J. DeLorenzo Patrick X. Gardner Robert P. Imbelli Jennifer Newsome Martin Aaron Pidel Francesca Murphy Anthony J. Pagliarini Timothy P. O'Malley Cyril O'Regan Tracey Rowland Richard Schenk (HC) Anthony C. Sciglitano, Jr. Clemens Sedmak Rudolf Voderholzer

Key Features

• Sets forts its essays in such a way that readers may see the fundamental connection among all of them
• Notes and uplifts, in all of its works, some dimension of Ratzinger's fundamental contribution to the book
• Recognizes and calls attention to the way in which Ratzinger has featured and made visible the element of "introducing" as an element proper to all of theology

Contents

Overview and Context

• Integral Faith Formation in the Spirit of the Second Vatican Council: Joseph Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity - Most Rev, Rudolf Voderholzer
• The Articulation of Faith Between Memory and Recollection - Rev. Richard Schenk, OP
• The Reception of Einfürhrung in das Christentum among the Reviewers - Tracy Rowland

Fundamental Theology

• The Introduction to Christianity in Light of Principles of Catholic Theology - Cyril O'Regan
• Ratzinger on Lessing's "Ugly Broad Ditch": Augustinian Ressourcement and Modern Rationalism - Rev. Aaron Pidel, SJ
• An Introduction to Tradition in Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity - Catherine R. Cavadini
• An Introduction to Scripture in Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity - Anthony J. Pagliarini

Philosophical Theology

• Nein und doch: Ratzinger's Philosophy of Renunciation in an Augustinian Key - Donald Wallenfang, OCDS
• "Being for" and Normativity in a Post-Durkheimian Age - Anthony C. Sciglitano, Jr.

Dogmatic Theology

• Joseph Ratzinger's Spiritual Christology - Rev. Robert P. Imbelli
• Touching the Void: Ratzinger's Soteriology - Francesca Murphy
• The Homelessness of Pneumatology: Ratzinger on the Spirit and the Church in the Modern World - Patrick X. Gardner
• Hide and Seek: The Eschatology of Introduction to Christianity - Leonard J. DeLorenza
• The Liturgical Metaphysics of Gift in Introduction to Christianity - Timothy P. O'Malley

Spiritual Theology

• On Christian Structures - Clemens Sedmak
• On the Absenting of Christ: Cruciform Beauty in Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity - Jennifer Newsome Martin
• Epilogue: "The Pedagogy of Introducing", by John C. Cavadini

Praise for Gift to the Church and World

Joseph Ratzinger’s demanding and original Introduction to Christianity deserves a set of interlocutors able to rise to its own high level. It has found them in the studies collected here, ranging as they do from close-up snapshots of the work in its place and time to confrontations with a choice of theologians, culture-critics, filmmakers, and visual artists closer either to now or to home.

—Aidan Nichols, OP, author of The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger

This collection provides sixteen precious vignettes into Ratzinger’s celebrated classic Introduction to Christianity. These eminently scholarly perspectives celebrate a book that presents in 1968 divine-human relationality as the concrete Vatican II watershed. The authors convincingly argue that this christocentric shift grounds the believer in the life and charity of the Blessed Trinity, which in turn permits genuine interhuman charity to flourish. This volume is indispensable for understanding deeper Ratzinger. Most welcome and highly recommended!

—Emery de Gaál, Chairperson of Dogmatic Theology at Mundelein Seminary

This book identifies a classic that has never received the notice it’s due. Ratzinger’s Introduction is so much more than a book; it’s a pedagogy, a way of teaching. This fact shines through every contribution here, but especially in the pages that compare Ratzinger’s masterpiece with C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. Ratzinger did not simply introduce people to Christianity; he invited them into communion, where the mysteries lead to a living faith. Gift is the rare book that acknowledges the deeply mystical element in the theological task and a person’s intellectual life.

—Scott Hahn, founder and president of the St. Paul Center of Biblical Theology

Product Details

• Title: Gift to the Church and World: Fifty Years of Joseph Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity
• Authors: John C. Cavadini, Donald Wallenfang
• Series: Global Perspectives on the New Evangelization
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Print Publication Date: March 2021
• Pages: 364
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:GIFTCHURCHWORLD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2021-06-18T16:40:27Z