Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church and the World

by Pope Benedict XVI

Publisher:

Ignatius

, 1999

Overview

In Many Religions, One Covenant, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spans the deep divides in modern Catholic scholarship to present a compelling biblical theology, modern in its concerns yet classical in its breadth. It is his classical mastery, his ressourcement, that enables the Cardinal to build a bridge.

Cardinal Ratzinger seeks to deepen our understanding of the Bible’s most fundamental principle. The covenant defines religion for Christians and Jews. We cannot discern God’s design or his will if we do not meditate upon his covenant.

The covenant, then, is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old, the scriptures with tradition, and each of the various branches of theology with all the others. The covenant does more than bridge the gaps between these elements; it fills in the gaps, so that biblical scholarship, dogmatic theology, and magisterial authority all stand on common ground—solid ground.

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• Presents a biblical theology that is both modern as well as classical
• Provides valuable insight into the Bible’s most fundamental principle
• Includes a profound biblical teaching for both Protestants and Catholics

Contents

• Israel, the Church, and the World
• The New Covenant
• The New Manna
• The Dialogue of the Religions and the Relationship Between Judaism and Christianity

Top Highlights

“Through the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, relatio moves out of the substance-accident framework. Now God himself is described as a trinitarian set of relations, as relatio subsistens.¹⁸ When we say that man is the image of God, it means that he is a being designed for relationship; it means that, in and through all his relationships, he seeks that relation which is the ground of his existence. In this context, covenant would be the response to man’s imaging of God; it would show us who we are and who God is. And for God, since he is entirely relationship, covenant would not be something external in history, apart from his being, but the manifestation of his self, the ‘radiance of his countenance’.” (Pages 76–77)

“In the New Testament there are not two effects of the Cross: a damning one and a saving one, but only a single effect, which is saving and reconciling.” (Page 40)

“Thus, as the Bible sees it, the unconditional nature of God’s action results in a genuine two-sidedness: the testament becomes a covenant.” (Page 74)

“The ‘covenant’ is not a two-sided contract but a gift, a creative act of God’s love.” (Page 50)

“The Torah of the Messiah is the Messiah, Jesus, himself.” (Page 70)

Praise for the Print Edition

A book we have long awaited. By renewing the Church’s appreciation of the new covenant, Cardinal Ratzinger proposes a fully integrated Christian life, with Christ at the center of the Scriptures, but also at the center of the Church today. For in the Eucharist he is still, as ever, fulfilling the old covenant and ratifying the new.

—Scott Hahn, author, Rome Sweet Home

A clear assessment of the covenants of God with his people. This timely book will improve dialog and understanding between all those who love and serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—especially important as we enter the third millennium.

—Stephen K. Ray, author, Upon this Rock

Product Details

• Title: Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church and the World
• Author: Joseph Ratzinger
• Translator: Graham Harrison
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Publication Date: 1999
• Pages: 120
• Christian Group: Catholic
• Resource Type: Monographs
• Topic: Covenants

About Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI was the 265th pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship.