Customer Reviews

Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

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Like most of us, I'm too busy to read even a fraction of what Benedict XVI has written, before and after he became Pope. But I'm very interested to know what he thinks and why. I converted from Evangelical Protestantism in 2001, and understanding the current Pope's approach to the scriptures is extremely important to me. For my money, this book is just "a good read" and a great value. I not only learned what Benedict believes and why, but my own understanding of the bible and my Christian faith have been greatly enriched. The following quote from David Lyle Jeffrey of Baylor University on the dust jacket says what I think better than I can say it: "Scott Hahn has done us a tremendous service by synthesizing Benedict's erudite and prayerful biblical theology into a lively, readable and intellectually reliable conspectus. This excellent volume will be indispensable for all Christians who seek to be more maturely grounded in Scripture."

This book is fantastic. Dr. Scott Hahn describes the rich theological method of Pope Benedict XVI as a canonical approach to theology, which locates theology within the history of salvation. If John Paul II will be remembered for his Theology of the Body, then I'll wager that Benedict XVI will be remembered for his profound biblical theology.

Hahn's presentation will likely resonate with conservative Evangelicals and Protestants who have a love for Sacred Scripture. Hahn reveals Benedict as a biblical theologian par excellence. This has been noted before, but Hahn demonstrates the Holy Father's biblical theology in detail with seven academic essays collected together in this one volume. Hahn also quotes the Holy Father's writings frequently (several times per page) making this book a fine collection of the Holy Father's teaching in his own words. I have already collected a dozen priceless Benedict quotes from this book. It is a great resource.

I especially appreciated the following two chapters:

Chapter Two: The Critique of Criticism: Beginning the Search for a New Theological Synthesis
Chapter Six: The Theology of the Divine Economy: Covenant, Kingdom, and the History of Salvation

If you're a fan of Pope Benedict or if you're a non-Catholic interested in how Catholics do biblical theology, then this is the book for you.

I picked up this book 10 days ago while I was at a conference at the University of Notre Dame. I began reading it yesterday and could not put it down. It is the clearest, and yet most detailed, presentation of Pope Benedict's theology I have ever read. It certainly helps that Scott W. Hahn is an outstanding writer who has plumbed the depths of Pope Benedict's body of work.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about what the Bishop of Rome thinks about Scripture and theology and their relationship to the life of the Church and its witness in the world.

(reviewer is author of Return to Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic)

In order to properly comment on the "Covenant and Communion", it is essential to establish author Scott Hahn's impressive credentials, in order to put his work on Pope Benedict's biblical theology into the appropriate perspective. Here an excerpt from WikipediA:

Hahn received his B.A. in 1979 from Grove City College in Pennsylvania with a triple major of theology, philosophy, and economics (magna cum laude). He obtained his M.Div. (summa cum laude) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1982. In May 1995, he was awarded a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Marquette University (Phi Beta Kappa). His dissertation, entitled Kinship by Covenant: A Biblical Theological Analysis of Covenant Types and Texts in the Old and New Testaments, is a significant example of contemporary covenantal theology.

In the book "Covenant and Communion" Hahn provides us with an eminently readable introduction into the very core of of Pope Benedict's theological vision. It also elucidates the Pope's view on historical criticism, faith and reason, covenant, liturgy and a variety of other topics. Possibly the most important aspect of Hahn's book was the introductory chapter "Ignorance of the Scripture is Ignorance of Christ". For Pope Benedict the Church lives and "takes its being" from the Word of God. Here, with Scott Hahn's exposition on Pope Benedict's book, we have but one example of one of the world's finest theological minds.

All in all,Hahn's succinct summary of a range of Pope Benedict's theological themes, makes this book of relevance to all Christians, leading them into a deeper reflection of modern theological thought as proposed by Pope Benedict XVI. As a non-Roman Catholic, and not necessarily agreeing with everything, I highly recommend "Covenant and Communion" to clergy and laiety alike.

Good book. Especially for people who have written off the Catholic church; Benedict focuses on Jesus. Benedict's book Jesus of Nazareth is worth reading as well.

Hahn is absolutely correct in his estimation of Pope Benedict'ts Scriptural knowledge. But not only knowledge in terms of "scientific" exegesis, but most especially of his grasp of the wholeness and depth of Scripture and it's relationships to Christ, the Church, etc,etc.

Hahn is VERY familiar with all of Benedict's material and build's his essay masterfully, to a crescendo even, when he discusses the Eucharist. There is very significant Lectio Divina here, and one can feel themselves entering into the drama! - Exquisite!

Pope Benedict XVI (Josef Ratzinger) has stated that he is not a systematic theologian. His theology is a biblical theology that does not lend itself easily to systemization into a series of lesser truths leading to more complex ideas. All the ideas are intertwined into a whole with each part dependent on all other parts. Few have taken on the task of systematizing such thought so successfully as has Professor Hahn in this little book.

Fr. Ratzinger has been a champion of the challenge to historical-critical methods that, when used exclusively, reduce the interpretation of scripture to merely a series of hypothesis, none of which bring us any closer to knowing what the scripture teaches us. He has shown us convincingly that historical-critical methods alone will lead us down a road to agnosticism and practical atheism. But in addition to leading us to a shipwrecked faith it also does not deliver what it promises - it fails to give us a satisfactory understanding of scripture.

From this thinking we come to an epistemology of faith as a legitimate way of knowing. There is no true dialectic or dichotomy of faith or reason. It is not faith-or-reason but faith-and-reason that leads to the most satisfying hermeneutic.

Context. All theology is nothing more than interpretation. And interpretation is based on presuppositions the interpreter carries into his trade. Those presuppositions depend on the context in which he is forming his trade - Church, tradition, liturgy. This context is what gives the scripture their living relevance to us through history. Removing scripture from the context in which it was formed removes our ability to understand it. For this reason, the principle of scripture alone is doomed to the assumptions of historical-criticism.

Taking all these factors into account, he goes on to describe how Pope Benedict XVI has shown the need and legitimacy of the literal, historical, allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses of scripture. Pope Benedict XVI refers to the four senses hermeneutic as "the four degrees of exegesis" and espouses the typological approach to scripture as one of the normative approaches to relate old and new testaments into a coherent whole. This is one of the clearest examples of how faith and reason work together in the hands of the biblical theologian. This ancient interpretative model has been discounted by many as subjective to the whims of the interpreter and therefore of no value. And here is where context is related to the question in that the interpreter is not left to the whims of his fancies but is guided by the context of liturgy, analogy of faith, and authority of the Church to the interpretation that matches the traditions handed down from the early fathers.

Fr. Ratzinger's understanding of covenant goes beyond the mere legal contract between two parties. It is not a legal contract but the creation of a familial bond. This is the significance of the blood in the old and new testaments where God, through his condescension to mankind, declares that his blood is now our blood - we are not merely his legal wards but his children.

In addition to challenging the faith/reason dichotomy, Fr. Ratzinger also takes aim at Martin Luther's false dichotomy of law and gospel and asserts instead that they are both part of the same consistent story of God's approach to mankind. All of history is part of the story of salvation. Indeed, all creation declares this history and culminates at the cross. All of history, therefore, is truly understood only in light of the cross.

Any work such as this explaining the core teachings of a mind such as the theological giant of Josef Ratzinger, is going to require more than a book of less than 200 pages. However, Professor Hahn has boiled down some of the essentials you will want if you wish to plumb those theological depths yourself. This is a roadmap to a much larger world. In addition, you will find that much of what is contained in this little work is expounded a great deal in the Letter & Spirit series - some of which have the same titles as chapters in this book. See Letter & Spirit, Vol. 1: Word, Worship, and the Mysteries (Letter & Spirit: A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology), Letter & Spirit, Vol. 2: The Authority of Mystery: The Word of God and the People of God (A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology), Letter & Spirit, Vol. 3: The Hermeneutic of Continuity: Christ, Kingdom, and Creation (Letter & Spirit: A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology), Letter & Spirit, Vol. 4: Temple and Contemplation: God's Presence in the Cosmos, Church, and Human Heart (A Journal of Catholic Biblical Theology) and Letter & Spirit, Vol. 5: Liturgy and Empire: Faith in Exile and Political Theology.

[...]

In this book, I really appreciated how Scott Hahn brought to light the Pope's teaching that the Scriptures are to be read and interpreted both scientifically and through the eyes of a historical faith.

But for me one of the more significant teachings of the Pope that Scott Hahn highlighted was that the Word of God is not only informative, but it is also performative and transformative. That is, it is not only a dead letter, but it really achieves what it sets out to achieve. For example, when God said "Let there be light", He was not simply stating a fact, but His very words spoken transformed the formless void and the heavens and earth came into being. And just as Jesus, who is the True Word of God, transformed water into wine, so too by His words the bread and wine are transformed into His Body and Blood.

The summit of the Pope's teaching then is that the goal of the Word of God is not only to inform us about where we came from and how we relate to God, but it's goal is to transform all of creation. And this transformation begins with the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, in the Gospel. And truly the Gospel is not just a message about a Messiah that died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Certainly it is that, but it is also so much more. The Gospel is the Word that transforms those who hear it; and through this Word God conforms us more and more to our Lord Jesus Christ. So it is that by the Word of the Gospel, and the Gospel of the Word, that God completes the work that He began when He first spoke the universe into existence.

This book was very helpful to me in that Scott Hahn demonstrates how Benedict's theology is able to make traditional Catholic (and general Christian) teachings relevant among modern theologic academics. He starts out by explaining how traditional Biblical theology came under attack around the turn of the century. This was done by theologians employing a critical historical methodology in their Biblical interpretation. This methodology led such theologians to abadon many of the perspectives that had been crucial to Christianity throughout its history. But in this book Hahn shows how Benedicts theology is able to give respectability back to traditional Christian distinctives while harmonizing them with the best historical data we have. This is a must read for any Christian (Catholic or Protestant) that is sick of feeling that their faith is being made to seem absurd in the face academics that cannot reconcile what they say is the true historical Jesus and the Jesus of the Christian faith. This book shows how Benedict in the long run will be seen as one of the great theologians that gave the Christ of faith back to those who are searching for the historical Jesus. Benedict's theology, as it is shown in this book, shows how the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith is one and the same Christ.

I haven't finished this book yet but enjoying what I've read so far. Scott Hahn clearly expresses the results of his work.