c. 2007 Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY _ A new book by Pope Benedict XVI arriving in American stores next Tuesday (May 15) is already an international best-seller.
“Jesus of Nazareth” has sold more than 1 million copies since it was released in Italian, German and Polish versions last month. The book will eventually be published in 20 languages.
“There is a huge interest in transcendent matters which secular reporters tend not to see, but which the market demonstrates,” says the Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The pope’s book, Sirico says, is aimed at educated general readers, not experts _ “at the same level that a pastor in a university parish might pitch a class or a homily.”
“Jesus of Nazareth” is the first book Benedict has written since becoming pope. He had published widely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger prior to his election two years ago.
A study of the life of Jesus from his baptism in the Jordan River to his Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the 400-page book is based on an exegesis, or close reading, of Old and New Testament Scripture, with a special emphasis on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Single chapters look at some of the best-known passages in the New Testament, including Jesus’ temptation in the desert, the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord’s Prayer.
Some commentators see the book as a reply to the “historical Jesus” movement, whose proponents have sought to reconstruct the life of Jesus based on archaeological and other non-Scriptural evidence.
Writing in the National Catholic Register last month, Tim Drake cited “Jesus of Nazareth” as part of a scholarly trend “away from the skepticism and suspicion of the past four decades toward an acceptance of the Gospels.”
While acknowledging the value of “historical-critical interpretation” to understanding Christ and his message, Benedict is emphatic that the “Jesus of the Gospels (is) the real `historical Jesus.”’
Benedict also rejects arguments that would downplay or deny messianic elements in the Gospels. A belief in the divinity of Christ is indispensable to a proper understanding of Christianity, Benedict argues; to portray Jesus as merely a prophet or sage, rather than the son of God, is fundamentally to contradict his teachings.
“The central message of Benedict’s book is that we must meet Jesus as he presents himself, and not whittle him down to meet our own expectations or to gibe with our personal theories,” says the Rev. Thomas D. Williams, an American who serves as dean of theology at Rome’s Regina Apostolorum University.
Despite its biblical grounding, the book includes notable references to non-Scriptural and even non-Christian sources.
An analysis of the parable of the Good Samaritan invokes Karl Marx’s concept of alienation; a chapter about the Sermon on the Mount includes numerous citations of the work of Rabbi Jacob Neusner, an American biblical scholar.
Benedict uses references to the contemporary world _ including Third World poverty and the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl _ to illustrate some of his theological concepts.
Sirico likens this technique, which he calls characteristic of Benedict’s writing, to Jesus’ use of parables in “getting his message across.”
Having finished the first four chapters before he assumed the papacy in April 2005, Benedict writes that he dedicated all his “free moments” afterward to producing the remaining six.
In the book’s preface, the pope notes that its contents are not official church teaching but merely an “expression of my personal search `for the face of the Lord.’ Everyone is free, then, to contradict me.”
The new book is the first of two planned volumes on the life of Christ. Benedict explains that he chose to publish a partial study now “as I do not know how much time or strength I am still be given” to finish the work.
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Eds: This story, originally moved May 7, includes new quotes from Sirico, Drake and Williams
A photo of the book jacket for `Jesus of Nazareth’ is available via https://religionnews.com
