« Crickets Chirping | Main | Diocese, Thy Name is Irony »

June 19, 2006

Summer Reading List

Following below are 6 books that I had on my reading list for school over the last 2 semesters that I found to be the cream of the crop and 2 other favorites that I can't pass up mentioning:

Chance or the Dance - Thomas Howard

This is, as the book's cover says, "a critique of modern secularism." Howard focuses on the modern secular viewpoint that nothing means anything as opposed to the older viewpoint that everything means everything. It's a witty take on the different philosophies and succeeds in taking secularism to the woodshed.

Eschatology - Joseph Ratzinger

Part of a series on dogmatic theology written toward the end of Ratzinger's academic career, this book is a snapshot on the study of eschatology as it existed in the mid 1970s, the issues then being dealt with, the biblical evidence on the subject, and his outlines on solutions. This is a more deeply theological book than the other books on the list, but I found it to be one of Ratzinger's best books, even though all of them are good reads.

The God of Faith and Reason - Robert Sokolowski

Not having the book home with me, I can only say of this work that the distinctions made in the book and the treatment of theology here were very good when I was reading it.

Sanctified Vision - John O'Keefe and R Reno

This book looks at the way the Fathers of the Church interpreted Scripture in a very open-minded manner, opting to simply point out how it was done. A valuable book for improving one's bible-reading skills, as this work was influential in my two exegeses.

Scholasticism - Josef Pieper

Pieper was influential on Ratzinger, and I can see why, having read this and other excerpts of his work. Scholasticism analyzes its subject manner rather in depth in a way that is intelligible to those not well versed in medieval theology. Again, as this book is not home with me, I cannot say too much more of it, except that it is a good companion to Sokolowski's book.

The Spirit of Early Christian Thought - Robert Louis Wilken

Arguably the best book I read all year. Wilken covers a broad amount of Christian history (most of the first millenium) in an informative, informal, and often witty style.

OTHER TITLES

The Everlasting Man - G.K. Chesterton

I never cease to find more wisdom from this look at man's history, both pre-Christian and post-Christian. The chapters I always keep returning two are the last 2 before Christ enters the picture, The War of the Gods and Demons, and The End of the World. In an ideal world, this would be a required text in every history class.

The Spear - Louis de Wohl

The story of Cassius Longinus, a Roman nobleman who happens to be very skilled with a spear. The events of the story attempt to paint the backstory and the behind-the-scenes workings behind the death of Christ, in a way that is highly believable. This remains my favorite work of fiction.

- Posted by in Catholic at 7:38 PM