From Library Journal Having faced a barrage of critics for his New York Times best seller, Papal Sin, Pulitzer Prize winner Wills (history, Northwestern Univ.) responds to the frequent question, "Why do you remain a Catholic?" Considered by many a traitor to the Church, he passionately reaffirms his allegiance and loyalty to the constitutive elements of Catholicism. In a deeply personal narrative, he writes about a wonderful Catholic boyhood and an honorable Jesuit formation. No hint of anger here! The core of the text rearticulates the vicissitudes within the history and cultural context of the papacy from Peter, a companion of Jesus, to Pope John Paul II, the worldwide Vicar of Christ. The papacy is a living entity that evolves and changes much as society experiences a constant ebb and flow. Wills concludes this timely and hopeful work with an articulate reflection on the creed the real object of belief. A scholarly and serious analysis of examined faith, this is recommended for all public and academic libraries.- John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin, Platteville Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Although Papal Sin (2000), Wills' dissection of "structures of deceit" in the papacy, infuriated some Catholics, it gratified many more readers, in and out of the church. Detractors and sympathizers alike, however, asked why Wills remained in the church. This book, his reply, is one part autobiography, three parts history, and one part confession of faith. The autobiography covers his Catholic upbringing and education; his abortive Jesuit novitiate; his discovery of the first of his Catholic personal heroes, G. K. Chesterton, whose writings lifted Wills' depression over leaving the seminary; and his first practical encounters with papal encyclicals and their uses while working for the National Review. The historical parts analyze the development of the papacy from centuries-long nonexistence to temporal power in the Middle Ages to institutional calcification and authoritarian dogmatism during modernity to Vatican II and subsequent attempts to undermine it by the curiae of Paul VI and John Paul II. Finally, Wills parses the Apostles' Creed, drawing on another personal hero, St. Augustine, as well as Chesterton, again, to argue that professing the creed with complete sincerity entails endorsing freedom of conscience, democracy, and ecumenism. Although it is unlikely that this book, which cites many more papal sinners than its predecessor did, will mollify Wills' critics, it is compellingly argued, intellectually satisfying, and spiritually moving. Ray OlsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved See all Editorial Reviews
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这本书最让我印象深刻的是它在探讨“个人体验”与“普世真理”之间的张力时所采取的平衡术。作者似乎非常清楚,信仰的本质必然关乎个体生命的根本触动,但要将其系统化并传承下去,又必须依赖于一套清晰、可被理解的结构。书中穿插的一些简短的、近乎散文式的个人反思,虽然篇幅不长,却像是一股清泉,冲刷掉了前文积累的学术气息,让人重新感受到这份信仰背后那份深沉而朴素的人性渴望。它成功地避免了将信仰塑造成一个高高在上、不食人间烟火的抽象概念。反而,它将信仰的根基牢牢地锚定在人类共同的情感需求——对意义的追寻、对超越性的向往,以及对社群归属感的需要之上。我个人特别欣赏作者对于“矛盾性”的坦诚。他并没有试图用完美的逻辑链条将所有看似冲突的元素强行粘合在一起,而是承认了生命和信仰中必然存在的张力,并将其视为一种活泼的、动态的张力,而非需要被消除的缺陷。这种对复杂性的接纳,极大地增强了文本的说服力和共鸣感。
评分这本书的封面设计着实吸引眼球,那种沉稳的深蓝和少许烫金的字体搭配,立刻给人一种庄重而又不失现代感的感觉。我原本是抱着一种探究的心态翻开它的,毕竟“为什么”这个词本身就带着一种强烈的追问意味。刚开始阅读时,我感觉作者的叙述方式非常像一位经验丰富的导师在娓娓道来,没有那种咄咄逼人的布道感,反倒更像是一场深入心灵的对话。书中对信仰的起源和发展脉络的梳理,展现出一种扎实的学术功底,但即便如此,它依然保持着一种极高的可读性。我尤其欣赏作者在处理那些历史上的复杂议题时所展现出的那种不偏不倚的态度,它没有回避那些令人困惑或充满争议的时刻,而是将其置于更宏大的历史背景下去审视。这种处理方式让一个像我这样对教义了解不深,但对人类文明进程充满好奇的读者,也能从中汲取到不少有价值的思考。它不像是一本教义手册,更像是一部关于“信念的建构”的精彩案例分析。特别是关于早期教父们的论述部分,作者用非常生动的笔触描绘了他们在那个动荡时代如何坚守并发展出一套完整的精神体系,那种面对巨大外部压力时,内在力量的凝聚与爆发,读来令人动容。
评分坦率地说,如果不是我对这个主题有长期的兴趣,我可能会在第三章左右就感到有些吃力。这本书的论证深度,要求读者必须对西方哲学史和早期教会的政治格局有一定的基础了解,否则很容易在细节中迷失方向。它毫不留情地将读者置于一个需要主动学习和思考的环境中,没有任何降低难度的“友好提示”。然而,正是这种“高要求”,保证了它能够触及到最深层的议题,而不是停留在泛泛而谈的层面。它成功地将那些看似遥远的神学争论,与当下人们在面对不确定性时的焦虑感和道德选择紧密地联系起来。作者对“传承”的定义尤其深刻,他认为传承不是简单的复制过去,而是在尊重历史的基础上,对永恒真理进行当代的、真诚的回应。整本书读下来,感觉像是一次严谨的学术考察,又像是一次充满敬意的精神朝圣。它没有给我一个简单、一劳永逸的“信不信”的答案,而是提供了一整套精密的工具,让我自己去构建和捍卫我的理解框架。这是一本值得反复研读、每次都能从中发掘新维度的作品。
评分这本书的文字密度和信息量之大,着实让我有些措手不及,得益于作者那近乎百科全书式的知识储备,但坦白讲,对于一个只想快速了解核心观点的读者来说,这可能略显“沉重”。每一章似乎都像是一个知识的深水区,需要你放慢呼吸,细细品味每一个引用的典故和精确的术语。我发现自己不得不时常停下来,查阅一些背景资料,以确保我完全捕捉到了作者想要传达的细微差别。例如,书中对某个特定世纪神学辩论的深入剖析,简直可以作为一篇博士论文的精髓提炼。它的优点恰恰在于其彻底性——它似乎不满足于给出简单的答案,而是致力于揭示答案背后的所有支撑结构。这种严谨性无疑是对严肃阅读者最大的馈赠,它提供了一个极佳的参照系,让你能够跳出碎片化的信息流,建立起一个更坚固、更立体的知识框架。虽然阅读过程充满挑战,但每当攻克一个复杂的段落,那种豁然开朗的感觉,远胜于读十本肤浅的入门读物。它要求你付出,但回报也同样丰厚,让你真正理解“信仰”二字在历史长河中究竟意味着什么。
评分从文体风格上来说,这本书的节奏把握得非常巧妙,它像是一部精良的交响乐,有高亢激昂的主旋律,也有低回婉转的过渡乐章。作者在陈述教义时,语言是精确且充满权威性的,如同建筑师在绘制蓝图,每一个线条都必须准确无误。然而,当他转而探讨教会历史对现代社会伦理的影响时,笔锋一转,变得更加富有激情和辩论色彩,仿佛一位资深的公共演说家正在陈述自己的立场。这种角色的切换非常自然,使得阅读体验始终保持新鲜感,避免了长时间处于单一叙事模式的疲劳。值得一提的是,书中对“美学”与“信仰”之间关系的探讨,令人耳目一新。作者并未将此流于表面地赞美宏伟的教堂建筑或古典音乐,而是深入挖掘了仪式本身所蕴含的结构化美感,以及这种美感如何潜移默化地塑造信徒的感知世界。对于那些寻求艺术与精神深度结合的读者而言,这无疑是一个极具启发性的切入点,它提醒我们,信仰的表达从来就不仅仅是文字和说教,更是通过感官和形式的整合来实现的。
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