In Many Religions, One Covenant, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spans the deep divides in modern Catholic scholarship to present a compelling biblical theology, modern in its concerns yet classical in its breadth. It is his classical mastery, his ressourcement, that enables the Cardinal to build a bridge.
Cardinal Ratzinger seeks to deepen our understanding of the Bible’s most fundamental principle. The covenant defines religion for Christians and Jews. We cannot discern God’s design or his will if we do not meditate upon his covenant.
The covenant, then, is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old, the scriptures with tradition, and each of the various branches of theology with all the others. The covenant does more than bridge the gaps between these elements; it fills in the gaps, so that biblical scholarship, dogmatic theology, and magisterial authority all stand on common ground—solid ground.
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“Through the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, relatio moves out of the substance-accident framework. Now God himself is described as a trinitarian set of relations, as relatio subsistens.18 When we say that man is the image of God, it means that he is a being designed for relationship; it means that, in and through all his relationships, he seeks that relation which is the ground of his existence. In this context, covenant would be the response to man’s imaging of God; it would show us who we are and who God is. And for God, since he is entirely relationship, covenant would not be something external in history, apart from his being, but the manifestation of his self, the ‘radiance of his countenance’.” (Pages 76–77)
“In the New Testament there are not two effects of the Cross: a damning one and a saving one, but only a single effect, which is saving and reconciling.” (Page 40)
“Thus, as the Bible sees it, the unconditional nature of God’s action results in a genuine two-sidedness: the testament becomes a covenant.” (Page 74)
“The ‘covenant’ is not a two-sided contract but a gift, a creative act of God’s love.” (Page 50)
“The Torah of the Messiah is the Messiah, Jesus, himself.” (Page 70)
A book we have long awaited. By renewing the Church’s appreciation of the new covenant, Cardinal Ratzinger proposes a fully integrated Christian life, with Christ at the center of the Scriptures, but also at the center of the Church today. For in the Eucharist he is still, as ever, fulfilling the old covenant and ratifying the new.
—Scott Hahn, author, Rome Sweet Home
A clear assessment of the covenants of God with his people. This timely book will improve dialog and understanding between all those who love and serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—especially important as we enter the third millennium.
—Stephen K. Ray, author, Upon this Rock
Joseph Ratzinger is one of the most revered Catholic prelates, scholars, theologians, teachers, and authors of our time. He has spoken on many crucial subjects, including sexual consumerism, roles of men and women today, marriage, the priesthood, and the future of the world. On June 29, 1951, Joseph Ratzinger was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of Freising on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. He also received his doctorate in theology in 1953 from the University of Munich. Starting in 1959, Ratzinger taught theology at the University of Bonn.
After many years of teaching at several German universities, Ratzinger was appointed by Pope Paul VI as Archbishop of Munich and Freising in March 1977, and was elevated to cardinal in June 1977. In November 1981, Ratzinger was summoned by Pope John Paul II to Rome, where he was named Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and President of the International Theological Commission.
On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to be the 265th pope. He took the name Benedict XVI, after St. Benedict of Nursia. As pope, he received worldwide respect and was a spiritual influence to Christians and non-Christians alike. In 2013, he resigned the papacy, becoming the first pope to do so in since the fifteenth century. He retired to a monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where he continues to study and write.