Why the Slow Updates?

Published by Peter Mains on October 13, 2009 at 10:21 PM

If you've been following my site, you've probably noticed that the frequency of posts and articles has slowed considerably over the last 2 months. Well, there are a couple reasons for that. One is that Chapter 14 of John has given me a lot to ponder. So much, in fact, that I postponed any future writing on it until I finished "Jesus of Nazareth," by Pope Benedict XVI.

If you haven't read it, I recommend you get a copy. It's been an invaluable aide to me in understanding scripture and the person of Christ. It answers many common questions about who Jesus Christ is, and demonstrates why attempts to secularize the "historical" Jesus always fail. What we know about Jesus Christ can't be "demythologized." His person only makes sense if we accept that he truly is the Son of God. Turning him into a political radical or a squishy, apolitical liberal rabbi just leaves more questions than it answers.

Even more tremendous, though, is the way in which Benedict argues. He assumes a certain level of sophistication on the part of his audience. This allows him to take a bird's eye view of the various arguments, while also thoroughly arguing his points. That is, he doesn't get bogged down in explicitly defining every contrary position, but he does address them. And, for the curious reader, he provides a fascinating bibliography (no, seriously, even the bibliography of this book is interesting...) if you want to explore those other views.

The genius of this is that he's rejecting the small-minded constraints that often bind authors who are too monomaniacally focused on the scientific method. The manner in which he argues is authentically Christian.

Anyway, that has sent me on a lot of other reading (Charity in Truth, A Rabbi Talks to Jesus ...), which I suppose I should blog. But, I haven't yet.