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Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church, and the World

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Cardinal Ratzinger presents a lucid summary of the central theological issues arising out of the covenant shared by Jews and Christians. Insisting (properly) that the Abrahamic and Chrisitian covenants represent a single movement of God in his work of reconciliation of human kind, Ratzinger shows how the work of Christ is a fulfillment of God's promise announced in the covenant with Abraham-- 'all the nations of the world shall be blessed through you'

Ratzinger recognizes that for this blessing to be realized, priority must be given to the relationship between Jews and Christians. Until Christians recognize their fundamental kinship with Judaism and Jews, and until that recognition leads to reconciliation between them, the proclamation of God's reconciling work in the world will be truncated and compromised. He recognizes that the often tragic misunderstandings in Chrisitian Jewish relationships raise very specific difficulties, especially for Jews, and Christians have a major responsibility to address those difficulties.

Ratzinger's presentation should be read by Christians, Jews and others for the clear and consise scriptural and theological perspective it offers. I am not a Roamn Catholic but one need not be Roman Catholic to appreciate the charity and discipline that inform this work.

Jim Woods

Cardinal Ratzinger, the new pope Benedict XVI, spent much of his career prior to being in the Vatican teaching theology and philosophy; after his move to the Vatican, he spent much of his time in the work of clarifying the theology of the church. One of the hallmarks of his predecessor's papacy (John Paul II) was a concerted effort at Jewish-Christian dialogue, and Benedict XVI as Joseph Ratzinger was an integral part of these conversations.

Ratzinger is a theologian of wide reading and study, and not just within the confines of official Catholic doctrine. One of his frequent references, in this work and in others, is to the twentieth-century Jewish theologian, Martin Buber. His work on Jewish-Christian dialogue in this text is very biblically grounded, looking at ideas of 'covenant' and 'testament', seeing the covenant of God as crucial for understanding our relationship to God either as Christians or as Jews. Israel is the root from which Christianity's branches grow, so a clear understanding of that basis as well as the understanding of the continuing covenant God has with the Jews is an important consideration.

This work falls under the category of post-Holocaust or post-Shoah theology. Ratzinger wrote, 'After Auschwitz the mission of reconciliation [of Jews and Christians] permits no deferral.' Very importantly, Ratzinger dispels the age-old idea of the collective guilt of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus, arguing that 'all sinners' participate in the problem of Jesus' death.

Jewish-Christian dialogue and post-Shoah theology is one of the issues that concerns me greatly in my theological studies, so this text has been an important one. There are a few pieces where Ratzinger and I might have more extended discussions - he tries hard to avoid the simple supersessionism that has long plagued Christian thinking with regard to the status of Judaism, but there is still some fuzziness in this regard when one speaks of 'fulfillment'. It just goes to show that there are conversations still worth continuing.

The work of Jewish-Christian dialogue, begun in earnest by the Roman Catholic Church in Vatican II, and intensified during the papacy of John Paul II, should be in capable hands with the new pope. This book is a good guide to see the points from with Benedict XVI will start in this ongoing, developing relationship.

This book by Joseph Ratzinger is not, as one might expect, a treatise on the relationship between Catholicism and Judaism. Rather, it is a collection of four lectures that the author gave at different points on different occasions, all dealing with the subject of the meaning of the "New Covenant" as contrasted with the covenants (plural) in the old testament. One of the talks does address slightly the implications for this study for current-day Jewish/Catholic interaction, but a footnote indicates that this section was appended later to a previously written lecture.
The third piece in this collection is simply a homily that Ratzinger gave one Sunday on the subject of God's covenantial relations with us. The fourth piece deals more with ecumenism in general, and only peripherally in relation to Judaism.
I don't speak German, so I can't be sure, but I strongly suspect that the title of this book is mistranslated. The German title is "Die Vielfalt der Religionen und der Eine Bund." If this were translated as "The variety of religions and the one covenant," this certainly would better reflect the content of the book. With the current title one is inclined to suspect the author of a mealy-mouthed relativism; this is decidedly not the case. The title seems to come from a phrase in the fourth lecture, but in context the author is presenting a case that the headship of Peter (i.e. the Pope) is the proper expression of the one new and everlasting covenant of Christ's body and blood. This is seemingly the opposite of what the title implies.
I find it useful to contrast this author with the works of the previous Pope. John Paul II shows a propensity to break a question down into every possible category, and then fully analyze each category. Perhaps it is the limitation of the form in this book, but Ratzinger here instead will explain the limited scope of the particular question he wants to answer, and then find one or two small germs of truth that advance the discussion without fully answering it. The result is touching and very affecting. His analysis in the first section on what does it mean when Christ says he is the fulfillment of the law is striking: Jesus is speaking of his own death as the fulfillment of the ritual sacrifices of the law. Ratzinger's treatment of new-age style "ecumenism" as offsive to human dignity cuts right to the heart.
This book is an easy read for an educated layman. It won't give you in itself a full understanding of the relationship between Catholicism and Judaism, but it will lay out some of the stones along the path in beautiful detail.

The foreword begins "This book is a majestic bridge, fashioned by a master builder." Possibly this represented a prescient moment for the forward writer, Dr. Scott Hahn, who penned this years before Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI and became Pontifex Maximus, or "the bridge builder". This book deals with the bridges God has made with his people, commonly referred to as "covenants" and our attempts to build bridges through ecumenism.

Of great interest to me is the relationship between the covenants with Israel and Judah and the new Christian covenant. This is dealt with in the sections I, II and III of the book. Section I, "Israel, the Church, and the World" starts off by demonstrating in the story of the Magi that the world has always looked to Israel and Judah for guidance in some degree. It goes on to explain why Jews should not be collectively blamed for Christ's death and how Christ and his contemporaries who were Rabbi's and Jewish officials didn't really have any argument about the Law, the Torah, but rather primarily the argument was about his proclaiming his divine identity.

Section II deals with the Christian belief of the uniqueness and fulfilling nature of the "New Covenant" as compared to the old covenants. He goes into depth looking at the Eucharistic institution accounts, especially those of Mark and Matthew, and comparing these to the covenant institution at Mount Sinai.

The third section is my favorite where he deals with the "New Manna", the Holy Eucharist. In the institution of the Holy Eucharist we find the only mention Christ makes of the word "covenant", so it is proper that this be included in the book. It was originally a homily; I wished it could have been longer or supplemented by other material.

The fourth section is where the former Cardinal is going to lose some people because of some very technical and scholarly language. He discusses the history of ecumenism and affirms the desire to see all Christians re-unified. He discusses the problems with Jewish-Christian dialogue. His concluding point is profound, he states "Let me speak plainly: Anyone who expects the dialogue between religions to result in their unification is bound for disappointment." Anyone offended by this might be tempted to say "Speak for yourself!" and I think he is; primarily he is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church for which he is a representative.

Because this book consists of an assemblage of two lectures, an essay and a homily it is not as cohesive a work as "God Is Near Us", "Spirit of the Liturgy" or one of my favorites, "The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood." One of those might be a better one to start off with if you are just beginning to read works written by the new pope. (In fact, "Spirit of the Liturgy" was recommended as a good first book in a recent lecture given by Dr. Hahn.)

Just when you think all's been said on a topic, Joseph Ratzinger throws yet more light from a different yet utterly orthodox angle. I bought this book thinking Scott Hahn was co-author, but he writes only the foreword. Ratzinger isn't afraid to raise difficult questions and tackle them head-on. O, the lucidity of the catholic mind.

Much of what Cardinal Ratzinger has said here has been said in other works (by him or by others). However, the given text functions as a thoughtful synthesis of these movements of thought. It is not an attempt to completely answer the question of pluralism or of the Christian-Jewish relationship. Instead, this text lays a basic framework for considering Christ's role in fulfilling the Jewish faith, the nature of Covenant as God's self-communication, the nature of the New Covenant, and religious dialogue.

I suggest this text to all but not lightly. While it is not very esoteric, it is weighty enough to require quiet reflection. The fruits of reading it are great and also give one a starting point for further thought on the subject material. I suggest it to all open minds.

This is a surprising book! I was amazed to read of such views taken by the Holy Pontiff. I have a more positive view after reading this short but important book.

As always, Card. Ratzinger approaches the issues at hand, gives an overview of various approaches to the topic, and critiques each of them. You can read other reviews to see what the book is "about" but let me just add to those and say that it is also worth reading simply for the covenant theology that is presented, which is certainly related to the topic.

At the end is an address he gave regarding dialogue with other religions, and he says that dialogue can by no means replace missionary/evangelization activity. Again, he critiques 3 different views regarding "unification of world religions" and shows how 2 of them are certainly not faithful to the Catholic faith, despite their reminding us of the "mystical" elements of our own faith. Then he says that anybody who expects the world religions to be united is in for a sad disappointment, and it's probably not even desirable that they all unite as such. But he is for some "togetherness" in working for world peace and ideals that the big 3 (Jews, Christians, Muslims) have in common.

It seems that Christian theologians have attempted to find the continuity of the faith with it's ancient Jewish roots since the beginning. This has overflowed into the extremes such as Marcion and others who found little or no continuity and another extreme that attempts to liberalize and distill Christianity and Judaism to their lowest common denominators to the point of them losing their significance altogether. As with his work, Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI once again draws us back to the essentials of our faith in order to provide an honest comparison. He finds the essential link of Old/New Testament and Judaism/Christianity lies in God's revealing himself to man by way of covenant. Therein is the key to understanding the continuity of the two faiths and the common ground for dialog and understanding.

The identification of covenant makes the Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn, who lectures and writes extensively on covenant theology, all the more appropriate.

A well reasoned, concise, and helpful discussion leading to a deeper understanding of the continuity of faith in Christianity from Judaism. A must have for any Christian or Jewish theologian's library.

Cardinal Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI. At the time of this writing he was Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Propogation of the Faith.

This small book is his exploration of ressourcement involving but not limited to a very broad sketching of biblical theology, involving "not just a recovery of the Fathers, but a return to the place where the Fathers returned, again and again: the living oracles, the Word of God" (15).

In Part One, "Israel, the Church and the World," Ratzinger considers whether a rapprochement between the Church and Israel is possible after Auschwitz, and if so toward what end. He begins by examining how the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) highlights the role of Jesus in uniting Jew and Gentile in the worship of the true and Living God. Through His coming, Jesus "brings together the histories of the nations in the community of the the history of Abraham the history of Israel. His mission is unification, reconciliation, as the Letter to the Ephesians (2:18-22) will then present it. The history of Israel should become the history of all" (27). Focusing on how the history and status of the Jews as the chosen people is foundational to the identity and reality of the Church, he establishes the continuing importance of Israel for the Church. The key theme of Jesus' coming is reconciliation, not only of Jew and Gentile to God, but of Jew and Gentile to one another.

Besides reconciliation, Ratzinger explores continuity in the realm of Torah, highlighting the catechism's avowal that Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill (and thus, validate) the Law. There must also be a continuity between Jesus and Israel, or he is an agent of division rather than reconciliation. Ratzinger tends to collapse the Law into the moral law, and sees Jesus as elevating that moral Law to its highest plane and deepest focus, thus validating rather than replacing it. He sees the Older Testmant as fundamentally Law and Promise, and Christ as the interpreter of the former and the fulfillment of the latter.

In Part Two, "The New Covenant," he explores whether the older and New Covenants are each a vassal covenant or a grant covenant, and collapses the covenants plural and lower case into the one Covenant singular and upper case, failing to adequately explain the rationale for and the nature of this shift. I find his theologizing too abstract and self-consciously christocentric, as if all of God's doings collapse into the work of Christ. Part Three is a Homily, "The New Manna," exploring the paradoxical nature of our relationship with God and of His work in the world, forswearing force, accepting weakness and vulnerability, yet inexorably transforming everything.

Part Four, "The Dialogue of The Religions and the Relationship Between Judaism and Christianity," is the most crucial chapter for my work. It involves a bare and careful sketch of a kind of logos theology, in which the truths we know of God are always partial, and the revelation we receive is often a journey in the dark, yet toward the light.

The chapter includes a sletch of the birth and nature of ecumenism, and how Christendom discovered and began to honor the religious imprinting of peoples whom it simply viewed as a target audience. He views discussions of unity and diversity to be crucial, since the geopolitical realities we all live with require of us progress in peace, justice, and preservation of the earth.

He broadly divides world religions into two categories: tribal and universal, and then divides universal religions into theistic ones (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and mystical ones. He opens the question as to whether unity is to be attained either by mystical religions absorbing the theistic ones, or vice versa. To these two options he adds a third, the pragmatic solution, orthoprzxy, by which any religion would be evaluated and disciplined through its practice of the Golden Rule.

He identifies four problems, or four losses, if mystical religion were to absorb theistic religion: loss of a distinction between theistic and mystical religions, loss of the cosmos through all embracing interiority, loss of the relevance and meaning of history, and loss of binding ethics. As for the pragmatic model (orthopraxy) he indicates that religion must inform and structure ethics and morality which are not free-floating self evident categories, and that the goal is not religion as moralism but rather growth in the knowledge and service of God.

As for theistic religion absorbing the mystical, he first considers the unique relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and the question for their peaceful reconciliation (he would probably view coexistence as inadequate). He identifies two key ideas to reduce the tension and increase agreement between the Church and Israel: that through Jesus Israel's God becomes the God of the nations, and that Jesus is the servant of Israel's God for the nations' sake. These two facts can be freely acknowledged by both Jews and Christians. He suggests that two poles anchor the faith of Israel: Torah and the Messianic hope. He sees Christianity as similarly anchored, with Jesus as the Church's Sinai, and the second coming as her messianic hope. These two poles--Torah and hope link past, present and future for Israel as obedience to a received deposit, present living out of God's will, and hope in the Messiah to come. The same is true for the Church, living in the obedience of faith (past/faith), anticipation of the parousia (future/hope), and love in the present. Ratzinger avers that Christ therefore both separates and unites the Church and Israel.

Finally, in configuring the relationship between the Christian faith and mystical religions, Ratzinger says Christianity has room for a God who s always greater than our formulations, and that God's self-revelation simultaneously conceals, as in the kenosis (the self-emptying of Christ in the Incarnation). In structuring and conceiving the dialogue or religions, he says (1) the encounter of thr religions is not possible by renouncing or downplaying truth but only by encountering truth more deeply; (2) We must be prepared to acknowledge and find the truth others have found even when it comes to us in strange and foreign garb; (3) Mission and dialogue go hand in hand, since dialogue aims at finding truth and missionaries must always be learners as well as teachers. Returning to his logos imagery, he closes by indicating that all of us have encountered truth to some degree and we must learn from each other, listening to the Logos.

Clearly, Ratzinger is a first-class thinker. That the book is so brief is both a strength and weakness, as matters are repeatedly sketched instead of drawn. One wants to know more, and yet, appreciates the momentum of the overview. I appreciate the book as a summation of now Pope Benedict XVI's perspective, and have three problems with the treatment. First, I find myself alienated and unconvinced by overly abstract theological arguments: it seems a linguistic game to me (cf. Wittgenstein). Second, to the degree he seeks to speak for Israel, as in the case of what Jews believe, he offends. He would not welcome a Jews defining and characterizing the Holy See. The editors should have had a rabbi on hand to Jewishly validate or invalidate the portrait of the Jewish people Ratzinger constructs. Finally, I find myself far less sanguine about the prospects of absorbing or reaching rapprochement with the world religions. My evangelical conditioning suggests that the voices heard in some religions come from a different kingdom.

Despite these caveats, this is an important book for those seeking an orientation to the current pope's mindset and views on the Jews.