Customer Reviews

Trojan Horse in the City of God: How Godlessness Crept Into the Sanctuary--And How to Thrust It Out Again

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Recently, I have been reading quite a few of Alan Watts books in an attempt to understand the worldview he, and others like him, represents. This has, in turn, led me into Vedanta-ism, New Age-ism, modernism, secularism, moral relativism, existentialism, nihilism, determinism, behavioralism, humanism, and probably a few more -isms that I have lost track of and haven't seen since college anyway. What began as an intellectual adventure turned into a descent into hell. How do people live with this stuff? Personally, I prefer the Light of Christ, but it seems so hard to come by these days.

Luckily for me, and Amazon.com's seemingly endless link system, I came across several wonderful books which served as a rope to haul my head out of that pit. One of those books is Von Hildebrand's book, "Trojan Horse in the City of God." He is observant and he writes it as he sees it. The Second Vatican Council has been much abused, both by Progressives who have twisted its message almost beyond recognition, and by Traditionalists, who mostly spit when the subject of the Council comes up. I appreciate Von Hildebrand's recourse to calm reason and well-derived philosophical argument.

The book is easy enough to read, given the complexity of the subject matter. The chapters are short, and are divided into even shorter sections. Easy to pick up and put down and return to later.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to figure out what it means to be a Catholic Christian in the present age, and who wants to be able to counter some of the nonsense that so often passes for Catholic teachings these days.

Von Hildebrand has written many great books on some key problems that exist in the Roman Catholic Church and gives thoughtful reflections in this volume on where "we should be". Not a radical conservative or restorationist, he tells it like it is and makes you think. Easy read, but a lot of meat! Highly recommended for anyone who cares about the Church and her future!

Written in 1970, and revised in 1993, TROJAN HORSE IN THE CITY OF GOD offers a prescient analysis of the crisis in the Catholic Church. Dietrich von Hildebrand was a convert to Catholicism who resisted the rise of Nazism. He foresaw the horrors to come as Nazism first emerged in Germany; and in this book he demonstrates the same ability to read the signs of the times.

Unlike many books written by traditional Catholics, von Hildebrand begins by conceding that prior to Vatican II, the Church was in need of reform. He points to the excessive legalism that threatened to squelch the spirit - especially as expressed in religious life. His great insight here, though, is that the antidote to the problem is not excessive liberalism, but rather the need to refocus on our primary task as Catholics, which is to seek transformation in Christ.

TROJAN HORSE catalogues the tendencies in progressive Catholicism that led us away from genuine spiritual renewal. Many of the errors von Hildebrand identified in 1970 have taken firmer hold today: disregard of tradition; secularism; an overemphasis on the immanence of God at the expense of His transcendence; scientism; and others. The book is very readable and moves briskly from topic to topic. Many penetrating insights are to be found along the way.

There are a few minor weaknesses in the book, however. Von Hildebrand critiques the errors of progressive Catholicism without always identifying exactly who has espoused the error. In the few cases when the errors that he discusses seem, in fact, to have ebbed away this can be a bit confusing. There are sections of the book which do seem dated. Still, this is an excellent analysis of the problems that confront the Church today - and it reminds us of what should really matter to us as Catholics.

Before reading this, I was already leaning towards a more traditional view of my Catholic faith. This superb book shoved me right over the edge. It describes, in vivid detail, how the forces of 'change' and 'modernity' within the Church are in many cases just disguises for secularism and atheism. Von Hildebrand pulls no punches and his erudite writing, though difficult in spots, is truly inspirational. But then again, what would we expect from a man who counted among his many accomplishments arousing the ire of the Nazi party in Germany prior to World War II?

I would describe Dietrich von Hildebrand's books as pruning the orchard without intransigence. No integrist, von Hildebrand states the case for his considerable position with a confident intelligence and virtually no mud-slinging; in the intra-Catholic battles that rampage the landscape these days, that's no small feat! Von Hildebrand is first a philosopher, but he acquits himself as a theologian no less assuredly. His diagnoses of the ills that afflict the Roman Church in the modern age, with the possible exception of Michael Davies, are without peer, and are certainly born of profound scholarship. His language is firm and clear, and without conceit. 'Trojan Horse in the City of God' is his most consistently engaging work, especially in terms of identifying the nature and cause of the Church's affliction; when it comes to answers, von Hildebrand's choices may please or displease, but his argument is noble and more than reverent- it incorporates the most elemental aspects of human common sense, making it stronger than the sum of its parts. The mystery of the Church is more than a quagmire of infractions, a recompense of abject violations; the Aristotelian in von Hildebrand tends to spin from the center down, not out. The Thomism never runs dry. That, perhaps more than the argument itself, keeps his voice from resounding more than it does throughout this admirable book. Nevertheless an important read for anyone interested in the scholarship of the Counter-Reformation in the XXth century.

While this book was written quite a few years ago, it is still a very valuable resource for any Catholic who wishes to be educated about the modern Church. It covers many of the most destructive intellectual trends in the Church, and does a brilliantly thorough job of destroying these ways of thinking. At the same time, the style is quite readable, even for those without any extensive background in philosophy or theology (like me). I recommend it!

Yes, this is, by far, my favorite book I've ever read - period, and I read a LOT.

I know, you're saying "Get a life," but I'm not the only one that has gotten so much out of this book. Many Vatican officials have HIGHLY recommended this book to explain the crisis of the Church after the Council (Vat II). von Hildebrand is pro-Vatican II, but anti "Spirit of Vatican II." He talks a lot about how our current problems are the result of over-reactions to past abuses in the Church - and what prinicples need to guide us in finding the truth beyond mere action-reaction hypotheses.

It is a breath of fresh air that arms you with very, very powerful information on the bad theology out there - and how to combat it with truth.