Books

The Bible presents many ldquo explanations rdquo for suffering punishment for sin part of the human condition a test of character a discipline to make us better persons an element in God rsquo s mysterious plan and so on But does the Bible contain a distinctively Christ-centered approach to

A book review is meant to give a rough outline of the structure and content of a work some assessment of its merits and a recommendation to those who would most benefit by reading the book Yet as I engage Meeting Mystery and Nathan Mitchell rsquo s exquisite invitation into the realm of Christian

Do not be misled by this book 8217 s title The use of girl here hints at a touch of innocence and na vet that assuredly does not apply to the book 8217 s subject The art journalist Lindsay Pollock 8217 s The Girl With the Gallery reconstructs the life of a groundbreaking and largely overlook

The first impulse of many particularly on the right will be to dismiss this book immediately upon reading its title Indeed by mentioning the political F- word and linking it with a war on America Hedges takes to a new level an already ongoing critique of the Christian right developed in a spate

Holocaust literature that grimmest of subgenres may be said to have begun with Primo Levi 8217 s devastating and indispensable though wretchedly translated Survival in Auschwitz 1947 But Levi was little read at first not until the trial of Adolf Eichmann unforgettably reported by Hannah Ar

In this thought-provoking study Brother Patrick Hart former secretary to Thomas Merton has drawn from a notable list of collaborators a full spectrum of ideas on the future of monasticism In his Introduction Dom Bernardo Olivera O C S O warns that if monastic life is not continually updated

In a few months we will reach the 70th anniversary of the publication of Gilbert Garraghan 8217 s three-volume history of the Jesuits in the 19th-century Midwest Don 8217 t have a copy beside your night table Join the club I teach American history for a living I write about the history of Catho

Most people find few aspects of Jesuit history more fascinating than the mission of the Jesuits to China Matteo Ricci invariably depicted wearing Mandarin dress has assumed legendary status as a precocious herald of cultural accommodation He was succeeded by such other Jesuits of heroic stature

In his encyclical Deus Caritas Est Pope Benedict XVI explored the relationship between eros and agape desire and self-gift with pastoral sensitivity and theological depth A few days before publishing the encyclical the pope himself gave an important indication of his intent He sought he said

The words ldquo messiah rdquo and ldquo messianism rdquo are often used loosely not only in popular culture but also in religious discourse even in biblical scholarship This magisterial study of these terms in the Bible and related ancient sources by a premier biblical scholar of our time brin