Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions

This book should be read by anyone who wonders why the Church insists that truth is not relative... Ratzinger [now Benedict XVI] makes a strong case for the following: 1. Truth is a reality 2, Truth is not relative 3. Truth can be known 4. This Truth is revealed in Christ 5. Relationship between what Christ showed the world and other forms of belief. Ultimately the author states that beliefs can be broken down into the one Christ revealed in contrast with the Eastern belief that Gdd is not knowable. He goes onto show why this latter belief system is misguided. Even if you do not agree with his view point, you can clearly see where the battle lines are drawn. I am not sure you will find a better book on this subject. This Shepherd of the Church will keep you on the straight path!

When Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope, many people - Catholics and non-Catholics alike - struggled for an understanding of the man. Previously limited to media-sound-bites and shopworn caricatures drawn by myriads of agenda-driven individuals (both pro- and con-Ratzinger), I felt that the Pope's own writings would best provide the full scope of his beliefs and approach to Catholicism. TRUTH AND TOLERANCE: Christian Belief and World Religions, brilliantly and beautifully examines the Catholic teaching of salvation through the risen Christ in the light of religious freedom and respect. The author forcefully presents his (and all Catholics' belief) that the fullness of salvation is contained in the Scriptures, Tradition and Magisterium of the Church. Yet, echoing the documents of the Second Vatican Council, he addresses the fundamental universality of salvation to all, who explicitly and implicitly, seek an intimate relationship with God. Pope Benedict XVI has long been a gifted and disciplined theologian, writing with focus and clarity of expression that yields an abiding sensitivity to other cultures and religions. Yet he never wavers or apologizes for his beliefs in his pursuit of the ultimate expression of truth - the existence of God and the fullness of faith in the Church. "We must also bid farewell to the dream of the absolute autonomy of reason and of its self-sufficiency . . . When the existence of God is denied, freedom is not enhanced, but deprived of its basis and thus distorted . . . Only the truth makes us free." The book is beautifully written and organized. As with any theological work, it requires effort. The rewards, however, are a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith.

I picked up a copy of this book because I was curious what the "inflexible chief enforcer of John Paul's fundamentalist prohibitions" had to say on the topics of tolerance and truth. As a scientist, I was exceedingly skeptical of the book and expected to put it away after a few pages. I was wrong; the book not only held my attention, I found it quite fascinating. It is lucidly written and shows an astonishing knowledge and understanding of science and technology and their imprints on present day Western thought. Ratzinger presents a compelling argument for Christianity as the religion of reason, compatible with modern science yet demanding transcendence of the empirical and, of course, ultimately, faith. But I could appreciate his thoughts on a purely secular level. I always feel that the best compliment I can make an author is that I would like to meet him, in this case definitely not because of his elevated position, but because he has important things to say that might be fun to discuss.

According to Cardinal Ratzinger (now, of course, Pope Benedict XVI), religious relativism, the popular dogma that the major world religions are equally effective ways of attaining human fulfillment and even eternal salvation, is "the central problem for faith in our time." "Truth and Tolerance" is a collection of essays and speeches addressing this problem. In them, Cardinal Ratzinger explores a variety of approaches - anthropological, philosophical, and theological - but his essential point is that religion cannot prescind from the criterion of truth. Pontius Pilate may have asked it sarcastically, but the person of faith must sincerely pose the question "What is truth?" because truth is an irreplaceable good. The goodness of the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement, for example, depends on their being true. Cardinal Ratzinger argues persuasively that the inescapable cultural diversity of postmodernity does not necessarily prove the superiority of relativism. Instead, the mass media, global economy, and other current realities can be seen to illustrate our common humanity and our need for universal truth. The truth is that, in the face of contemporary pluralism, the Christian faith offers meaning of absolute value.

This book by Cardinal Ratzinger, the new pope Benedict XVI, is an exploration of the philosophy of religion. As such, it is an important guide to the philosophical underpinnings of the theological statements made by Ratzinger while he was Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (one of the 'high offices' of the cardinals in the Vatican), and the kinds of philosophical guidelines he is likely to follow in the future. He explores the construct of religion and religious truth from an historical perspective, drawing from three primary strands - ancient mysticism, the development of monotheism, and the Enlightenment. What we in the West live in today is a post-Enlightenment world, with monotheistic tendency in religion, with continuing strands of mysticism that often impact society in unpredictable and uncomfortable ways. With regard to monotheism, he explores through different religious traditions the way in which this concept can be played out in culture. In terms of the Enlightenment, he explores philosophical antecedents in Plato and Aristotle carrying forward through the Phenomenologists of the early twentieth century. This is where Ratzinger's academic strength lies - in philosophy and theology. Ratzinger also looks at the different ways in which Christian perspectives of the idea of philosophical and theological truth are seen in other religions, including perspectives can lead to the idea of the anonymous Christian (a Rahner-ian concept, often termed inclusive or pluralistic, depending upon the details), as well as an exclusivity standpoint - this is not where Ratzinger ultimately comes down in terms of philosophy. This book is derived from lectures and sermons, it is clear. There are times when it seems to be survey, and times when it seems to be more argumentative/persuasive. Because it is an academic text, it provides a broader range than a papal encyclical might, but it is still a good resource for exploring the insights of the man now Pope Benedict XVI.