I'm reading a lot, but just not havaing time to post reviews .
Back in a while.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
The Gospel of Judas... credible?
Judas and The Gospel of Jesus
N.T. Wright is an Anglican bishop and has taught at Oxford, Cambridge and McGill Universities. He is a prolific writer of New Testament studies.
With the manifestation of a new finding, bursting upon the scene in pre-Easter of 2006, Wright looked at the ‘new’ Gospel of Judas with the curiosity of an historian and the challenge of a theologian.
Wright offers the reader insight and information relative to various questions.
What is Gnosticism all about? Does the writing of extra canonical gospels inform us or dissuade us from our tradition? Is the Gospel of Judas apt to change our understanding of Jesus and the message of Christianity? Does this finding of the Gospel affect the relationship between Jews and Christians?
In this short but concise and readable account, Wright offers us precise and clear answers to the above questions.
Read and reflect.
N.T. Wright is an Anglican bishop and has taught at Oxford, Cambridge and McGill Universities. He is a prolific writer of New Testament studies.
With the manifestation of a new finding, bursting upon the scene in pre-Easter of 2006, Wright looked at the ‘new’ Gospel of Judas with the curiosity of an historian and the challenge of a theologian.
Wright offers the reader insight and information relative to various questions.
What is Gnosticism all about? Does the writing of extra canonical gospels inform us or dissuade us from our tradition? Is the Gospel of Judas apt to change our understanding of Jesus and the message of Christianity? Does this finding of the Gospel affect the relationship between Jews and Christians?
In this short but concise and readable account, Wright offers us precise and clear answers to the above questions.
Read and reflect.
Rise and Shine ... and more ....
Rise and Shine, a novel written by Anna Quindlen. This is the latest in the sequence of the writings of Quindlen.
Again, the line between fiction and non-fiction remains somewhat flexible and translucent. In her earlier novel, One True Thing, the reader could easily suspect that there were quasi-biographical aspects to the narrative.
In Black and Blue, there was so much reality that the story almost certainly was taken from the knowledge of a particular set of circumstances.
How can writers of fiction produce stories of verisimilitude without access to the events themselves?
In this story of sibling rivalry and love and competition, Quindlen has exceeded her skill level in describing how and when and why.
The plot is tricky; the characters are developed beyond the capability of the reader to assimilate; and the underlying theme is nearly hidden.
Read and reflect and enjoy.
Again, the line between fiction and non-fiction remains somewhat flexible and translucent. In her earlier novel, One True Thing, the reader could easily suspect that there were quasi-biographical aspects to the narrative.
In Black and Blue, there was so much reality that the story almost certainly was taken from the knowledge of a particular set of circumstances.
How can writers of fiction produce stories of verisimilitude without access to the events themselves?
In this story of sibling rivalry and love and competition, Quindlen has exceeded her skill level in describing how and when and why.
The plot is tricky; the characters are developed beyond the capability of the reader to assimilate; and the underlying theme is nearly hidden.
Read and reflect and enjoy.
Monday, July 17, 2006
The Sh'ma ... Dt 6:4
In Matthew 22: 36-40, they asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus replied making reference to the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6 verses 4 and 5.
“ …Hear, O Israel,: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might…”
This is the great Sh'ma.
For Jews there is no more important statement than the Sh'ma.
Rabbi Joseph Meszler, Temple Sinai in Sharon, Massachusetts has had published his treatise on the exegesis of Dt 6:4 and the many different historical analyses of the Sh'ma by rabbinical scholars.
This is a very fruitful exercise that will be a powerful tool for discussion purposes.
The book is: "Witnesses to the One: Spiritual History of the SH'MA"
“ …Hear, O Israel,: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might…”
This is the great Sh'ma.
For Jews there is no more important statement than the Sh'ma.
Rabbi Joseph Meszler, Temple Sinai in Sharon, Massachusetts has had published his treatise on the exegesis of Dt 6:4 and the many different historical analyses of the Sh'ma by rabbinical scholars.
This is a very fruitful exercise that will be a powerful tool for discussion purposes.
The book is: "Witnesses to the One: Spiritual History of the SH'MA"
Thursday, May 25, 2006
‘Digging to America’, by Anne Tyler
This is the seventeenth novel written by Anne Tyler. And, it continues the basic skeletal structure of Tyler who writes about families and sibling relationships and intergenerational themes.
What sets apart each of the novels is the context and historical environment and the ethnic issues surrounding the story line.
In this latest endeavor, Tyler writes about:
- adoption
- cultural contrast with mid-eastern immigrants and American citizens
- the plight of the widowed and widowers
- the need for family support and neighborly support
- differing parental styles.
Tyler is her usual self in the description of the joys and confrontations that arise out of the above themes. She writes with insight and humor.
An example of her insight is the following paragraph depicting the language issues (i.e., dialect) that are common to Iranians.
“…Uttering the phrase “Vigor-Vytes” led Farah to change over to English, probably without meaning to. It was a phenomenon Maryam had often observed among Iranians. They’d be rattling along in Farsi and then some word borrowed from America, generally something technical like ‘television’ or ‘computer’, would flip a switch in their brains and they would continue in English until a Farsi word flipped the switch back again…” P. 143.
What sets apart each of the novels is the context and historical environment and the ethnic issues surrounding the story line.
In this latest endeavor, Tyler writes about:
- adoption
- cultural contrast with mid-eastern immigrants and American citizens
- the plight of the widowed and widowers
- the need for family support and neighborly support
- differing parental styles.
Tyler is her usual self in the description of the joys and confrontations that arise out of the above themes. She writes with insight and humor.
An example of her insight is the following paragraph depicting the language issues (i.e., dialect) that are common to Iranians.
“…Uttering the phrase “Vigor-Vytes” led Farah to change over to English, probably without meaning to. It was a phenomenon Maryam had often observed among Iranians. They’d be rattling along in Farsi and then some word borrowed from America, generally something technical like ‘television’ or ‘computer’, would flip a switch in their brains and they would continue in English until a Farsi word flipped the switch back again…” P. 143.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
What is the teaching of the Catholic Church ---?
Fill in the blanks. But how do we find the definitive answer to the question?
Is it a matter of canon law? Is it a matter of sacramental reality? Is it a matter of liturgical law?
The church has a body of teaching that is explicated through several sources. In 1992, Pope John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in which could be found the body of doctrine as understood at that post Vatican II era. The catechism in fact was the result of a proposal of the Synod of Bishops in 1985 meeting to celebrate the 20th year after the close of the Second Vatican Council.
After the publication of the catechism in 1992, produced in its original form in French and translated thereto into other languages, the church accepted revisions to the text for clarification, and published the ‘Latin Source’ for what is now the formal text of the catechism. This ‘editio typica’ was issued in 1997.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II established a commission to draft a concise formulation of the contents of the catechism into a dialogic format. Thus, work was initiated to produce a ‘Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church’.Pope Benedict XVI promulgated this compendium on 28 June 2005.
It has been translated into English and is available through many publishing houses.
Read and reflect.
Fill in the blanks. But how do we find the definitive answer to the question?
Is it a matter of canon law? Is it a matter of sacramental reality? Is it a matter of liturgical law?
The church has a body of teaching that is explicated through several sources. In 1992, Pope John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in which could be found the body of doctrine as understood at that post Vatican II era. The catechism in fact was the result of a proposal of the Synod of Bishops in 1985 meeting to celebrate the 20th year after the close of the Second Vatican Council.
After the publication of the catechism in 1992, produced in its original form in French and translated thereto into other languages, the church accepted revisions to the text for clarification, and published the ‘Latin Source’ for what is now the formal text of the catechism. This ‘editio typica’ was issued in 1997.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II established a commission to draft a concise formulation of the contents of the catechism into a dialogic format. Thus, work was initiated to produce a ‘Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church’.Pope Benedict XVI promulgated this compendium on 28 June 2005.
It has been translated into English and is available through many publishing houses.
Read and reflect.
Friday, April 07, 2006
What Did Jesus Mean?
Garry Wills, professor emeritus at Northwestern University, is best known for his writings on American history. His work also includes substantial contributions to the religious studies in contemporary literature. His writing on St. Augustine is critically acclaimed.
His most recent work, ‘What Jesus Meant’, is a very personal approach to a reflection on the underlying message of Jesus. Wills states clearly in the beginning that this work is not a piece of exegesis or scholarly analysis, but the work is his insight into the effect of the gospel message as discerned by Wills.
Thus, we have a very nuanced reflection that looks like a window into the sublime but falls neatly into the subjective opinion of a frustrated commentator.
Wills is in a stage of discontent with the church as order and authority. He suggests that Jesus had it right and the present church leaders have it wrong.
For example, Wills targets the present pope as being inimical to the example Jesus set. Wills says that “…Not for him the Epistle to the Hebrews, which says that Christ is the unique priest making the one last sacrifice. The pope, like his predecessors, is returning to the religion Jesus renounced, with all its paraphernalia of priesthood, separation from the laity, consecration of places and things, distance from the ‘unclean’ life of those not privileged by consecration…” p. 132.
This is pure opinion stated as pure fact.
His most recent work, ‘What Jesus Meant’, is a very personal approach to a reflection on the underlying message of Jesus. Wills states clearly in the beginning that this work is not a piece of exegesis or scholarly analysis, but the work is his insight into the effect of the gospel message as discerned by Wills.
Thus, we have a very nuanced reflection that looks like a window into the sublime but falls neatly into the subjective opinion of a frustrated commentator.
Wills is in a stage of discontent with the church as order and authority. He suggests that Jesus had it right and the present church leaders have it wrong.
For example, Wills targets the present pope as being inimical to the example Jesus set. Wills says that “…Not for him the Epistle to the Hebrews, which says that Christ is the unique priest making the one last sacrifice. The pope, like his predecessors, is returning to the religion Jesus renounced, with all its paraphernalia of priesthood, separation from the laity, consecration of places and things, distance from the ‘unclean’ life of those not privileged by consecration…” p. 132.
This is pure opinion stated as pure fact.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Catholic Matters...
Catholic Matters: Confusion, controversy, and the Splendor of Truth.
Richard John Neuhaus is the editor-in-chief of the magazine First Things. He is a convert to Roman Catholicism from the Lutheran denomination. He is now a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.
This book is his most recent publication that reflects on his journey of faith from one Christian denomination into full communion with Roman Catholicism.
He writes about Catholicism from this perspective.
“ … Catholicism is not a theological construction, and certainly not the construction of a school of brilliant intellectuals. It is not a code of moral rules or an instructional supplier of spiritual uplift. One cannot begin to understand it without theology; moral rules mark the path to the holiness to which we are called, and Catholicism offers a spiritual alternative to the world’s abandonment to nihilism and despair. But, mainly, Catholicism is a habit of being in the centuries-long company of those , living and dead, who are part of a distinctive society with its own memories, vocabulary, rituals, devotions, and, yes, confusions and controversies, that are necessarily part of living in the splendor of the truth who is Jesus Christ…” pp. 244,245.
Richard John Neuhaus is the editor-in-chief of the magazine First Things. He is a convert to Roman Catholicism from the Lutheran denomination. He is now a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.
This book is his most recent publication that reflects on his journey of faith from one Christian denomination into full communion with Roman Catholicism.
He writes about Catholicism from this perspective.
“ … Catholicism is not a theological construction, and certainly not the construction of a school of brilliant intellectuals. It is not a code of moral rules or an instructional supplier of spiritual uplift. One cannot begin to understand it without theology; moral rules mark the path to the holiness to which we are called, and Catholicism offers a spiritual alternative to the world’s abandonment to nihilism and despair. But, mainly, Catholicism is a habit of being in the centuries-long company of those , living and dead, who are part of a distinctive society with its own memories, vocabulary, rituals, devotions, and, yes, confusions and controversies, that are necessarily part of living in the splendor of the truth who is Jesus Christ…” pp. 244,245.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
I'm slowly winding my way through another complicated narrative by Ms. Picoult. This is a convoluted tale of people relating to one another and being in dysfunctional relationships nearly simultaneously.
Mother/child is the core topic and the inability of folks to see the other in themselves is another topic that is interpsersd amidts the story line.
Let's see where it ends up before I conclude my brief review.
Mother/child is the core topic and the inability of folks to see the other in themselves is another topic that is interpsersd amidts the story line.
Let's see where it ends up before I conclude my brief review.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Christ the Pastor
Reading for reflection, insight, and affirmation…
That’s how I am feeling about my browsing through and settling in with ‘Gilead’, a novel written by Marilynne Robinson.
This is a story and not a story. From my perspective, it is a range of thought about life put into the context of a father and son dialogue. It is almost as a series of essays that are illumined by the historical narrative of a particular family.
As a minister and preacher, the storyteller frequently drifts into his pattern of explaining how a particular sermon came into being.
Of interest to me, as an ordained minister (permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church) is the following.
“ …I noted that Abraham himself had been sent into the wilderness, told to leave his father’s house also, that this was the narrative of all generations, and that it is only by the grace of God that we are made instruments of His providence and participants in a fatherhood that is always ultimately His.
At this point I departed from my text to say that an old pastor’s anxiety for his church is likewise a forgetfulness of the fact that Christ is Himself the pastor of His people and a faithful presence among them through all generations…” p. 129.
That’s how I am feeling about my browsing through and settling in with ‘Gilead’, a novel written by Marilynne Robinson.
This is a story and not a story. From my perspective, it is a range of thought about life put into the context of a father and son dialogue. It is almost as a series of essays that are illumined by the historical narrative of a particular family.
As a minister and preacher, the storyteller frequently drifts into his pattern of explaining how a particular sermon came into being.
Of interest to me, as an ordained minister (permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church) is the following.
“ …I noted that Abraham himself had been sent into the wilderness, told to leave his father’s house also, that this was the narrative of all generations, and that it is only by the grace of God that we are made instruments of His providence and participants in a fatherhood that is always ultimately His.
At this point I departed from my text to say that an old pastor’s anxiety for his church is likewise a forgetfulness of the fact that Christ is Himself the pastor of His people and a faithful presence among them through all generations…” p. 129.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Anne Rice has brought to fruition a novel with enormous benefit for the reader and consequent benefit to our society.
Rice has worked at understanding the history, the sociology, and the religious culture of the first century CE. She has studied the scriptures and the corollary commentaries of contemporary scholars. Rice has written the story that is absent from the Gospels. Rice writes of Jesus, born in Bethlehem and exiled to Egypt, as a youngster discerning his role in life and identity as a young boy.
This story, 'Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt', is fiction and non-fiction.
The story is narrative woven by Rice from the threads of the clues in the Gospels and the historical understanding of life in Judea at that time.
Read and reflect upon that great mystery.
Rice has worked at understanding the history, the sociology, and the religious culture of the first century CE. She has studied the scriptures and the corollary commentaries of contemporary scholars. Rice has written the story that is absent from the Gospels. Rice writes of Jesus, born in Bethlehem and exiled to Egypt, as a youngster discerning his role in life and identity as a young boy.
This story, 'Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt', is fiction and non-fiction.
The story is narrative woven by Rice from the threads of the clues in the Gospels and the historical understanding of life in Judea at that time.
Read and reflect upon that great mystery.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Reading and Writing
The New Year and its attendant demand for work has minimized my irregular reading time.
There are books to read and to digest and report upon.
Meanwhile, check out the bi-weekly column accessible at www.walpoletimes.com
Click on my name.
There are books to read and to digest and report upon.
Meanwhile, check out the bi-weekly column accessible at www.walpoletimes.com
Click on my name.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)