February 09, 2004
The Truth of Catholicism Book Review
I just finished The Truth of Catholicism by George Weigel subtitled Ten Controversies Explored. Weigel is the author of Witness to Hope, the biography of Pope John Paul II, and is considered a fairly influential Catholic thinker. This was actually the first full book by him that I’ve read, so I went in with reasonably high expectations.
At a basic level this book tackles ten “controversies” of the Church. These are primarily problems that non-Catholics have with Catholic teaching and expectations. However, the explanations are very well done and provide a strong understanding of how the Catholic church, and specifically Pope John Paul II, view the world. Using this as a basis, Weigel provides a great understanding of Catholicism and its role in the modern world. The ten controversies?
- Is Jesus the Only Savior? Also explores the nature of fear
- Does Belief in God Demean Us? Discusses the freedom of doctrine
- Liberal Church? Conservative Church? Why Catholicism is not a Denomination
- Where Do We Find the “Real World”? Explores liturgy and reality
- How Should We Live? Morality, conscience, and Truth
- How Should We Love? Sex and the modern world.
- We Do We Suffer? Excellent analysis of suffering and how it affects us
- What About the Rest of the World? Other religions and ecumenism
- Is Catholicism Safe for Democracy? Is democracy safe without Catholicism?
- What Will Become of Us? Saints and how we should live.
Overall, this was a very well done book. I learned quite a bit through Weigel’s analysis and use of examples. It’s not a huge book (@ 180 pages), but is very well written and thought out. I think it’s a good read for non-Catholics, but an excellent one for Catholics. Highly recommended. As you’ve seen, I’ve quoted it twice already on this blog in The Liturgy and the People and in The Moral Needs of a Democracy. Take a look and then buy the book for the full story.
God bless,
Jay
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