Customer Reviews

Values in a Time of Upheaval

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The insights Pope Benedict XVI gives to the world are brilliant. This book is one small example of his contribution to improving the life we all live. After reading it I am convinced that Ratzinger has been truly appointed to his position by the Holy Spirit.

I must first qualify myself as an average man, living an average life with an average intellect. I really feel I shouldn't be writing a review on such a brilliant book as this. Who am I to comment on the Popes work? That being said I will venture forward and try my best to do this book the justice it deserves and offer my observations.

This collection of writings is truly awe inspiring on many levels. The ideas and insights he writes about are so deep and meaningful on one hand, yet presented so clearly and thoughtfully that anyone can understand what he is saying. Most authors writing about complex topics make the writing so complicated only a few reads truly get it. Not with the Pope, I was able follow his crystal clear vision as he lead my heart and mind down a beautiful path of ideas about many important things: obviously religion, but also politics, money, power, life, family, work, values and the importance of God in all of our lives.

Being he is the leader of the Catholic Church and therefore Christian you may think his writings would be biased and one sided in this direction. But his thoughts and writings are not. He offers wonderful insights into all of the major religions of world with details of the possitive contributions they have made thoughtout man's development . He offers very positive ideas of how they can work together to improve the life of we are all living.

This book also does something most political writings fail to do. He is able to illustrate a very large societal problem, show its history and how it came to be a problem, and the offer direction for a solution. He never leaves you wondering his position on the subject. And even better he is able to do it in a very warm and loving way. Although the subjects he writes about are very large and complex it doesn't feel that way as you read the book. He has the rare ablity to make sense of big things.

This book, as well as many others by the Ratzinger, should be required reading for almost ever college student, particularly those going into politics, ethics and religion. It should also be `must read' for each and every member of the Catholic Church.

God bless bless the Pope!

Ratzinger's reason for writing this book is found most cogently stated in the epilogue when he notes, "Man feels truly free, truly himself, only when he has got rid of God." He wrote this book to combat that error, to point out the historical developments of various political movements and to urgently demonstrate the need for God and the role of faith in modern life. This is not novel ground, even Ratzinger as then cardinal and now as Pope Benedict XVI has made similar remarks. Yet what makes this book unique is it's focus on man's departure from God, how it came about and the urgency for a return. I would hardly say it's his best book, but he is a phenomenal writer and it's well worth reading.

Values in a Time of Upheaval is a title perfect for modern times: a discussion in which the author defends the role traditional Judeo-Christian values in the world. His survey of the Christian faith and its place in a changing modern society of competing values and religions makes for an excellent review of his ideas and solutions on world problems and is a recommended pick for any Christian spiritual library interested in dialogues surrounding contemporary issues.

I was unaware of this little gem until I was visiting the refectory of the monastery which is affiliated with my former undergraduate institution. While eating, the spiritual reading progressed as it normally does, although the tone most definitely sounded somewhat contemporary. Hearing the text, I though that it might just be something by Pope Benedict, for the presentation and style surely sounded like his. Additionally, the no-nonsense, profound approach to the subject set of "Ratzinger-sirens" in my brain. Once it was confirmed that this was a work of His Holiness, I made certain to place it on my "to buy" list because of my deep love for his work.

I must say that this book should be a necessary read for all politicians in the Western World, as West that is losing its conviction for the truth and is slowly slipping into the hole of relativism. What we have here is an enlightened testimony on the power of the Truth, a power which is not coercive, as the Pope affirmed in Regensburg. Although I am not ready to proclaim this from the roof-tops, it is my conviction that we have forgotten the nature of democracy and are slipping into a "mob-rule" (or "majority rule") society which has little conviction for the Truth but instead embraces the agonal principles of political power, particularly in the factionalistic party system. Although it is my conviction that the political realm will never be perfect on its own (for the world will not be perfect on its own), I do think that steps must be taken in the right direction in order to ensure that we function as Collaborators in the Truth and not partisan dialecticians. I must say that this text is very accessible and yet profound and is therefore suggest it to all Catholics, as well as all persons of good intent who are open-minded enough to reflect upon the thoughts of a profoundly brilliant man.