''Introduction to Christianity'' () is a 1968 book written by
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Considered one of his most important and widely read books, it presents a "narrative Christology" that demonstrates the place for faith is in the Church. The book offers a "remarkable elucidation of the Apostle's Creed" and gives an "excellent, modern interpretation of the foundations of Christianity".
Overview
Originally published in German in 1968 under the title ''Einführung in das Christentum'', Ratzinger restates the
Apostles' Creed and the meaning of this foundational text in language that has a greater contemporary resonance than the Creed itself. Like the Apostles' Creed, the book presents the doctrines pertaining to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in sequence.
The book lays the foundations for a new kind of theological
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...
of the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, based on the document
Dei verbum of the
Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), co-authored by Joseph Ratzinger, which combines two quite different ways of
hermeneutics, the interpretation of faith and historical-critical interpretation. This exegesis of the Bible is fully developed in his book
Jesus of Nazareth, published in two volumes as Pope in 2007 and 2011, some of whose ideas are rooted in ''Introduction to Christianity''.
Editions
The English edition of ''Introduction to Christianity'' was revised in 2000 by Ignatius Press with a new preface by Joseph Ratzinger. A second revised edition was released in 2004 by Ignatius Press.
Reception
The book started in 1968 with a print run of 4500 copies, and by 1969 45,000 copies had been sold.
The Protestant theologian
Helmut Gollwitzer wrote in his preface to the German paperback edition of ''Introduction to Christianity'': "Ratzinger's book is a document of the stormy ecumenical breaking down of old barriers. ... The reader, wherever he may stand himself, is made to understand how Christian faith presents itself under the spiritual conditions of our time, what faith is in the biblical sense."
[''Einführung in das Christentum''. dtv, München 1971, , S. 1.]
References
;Notes
;Citations
External links
Ignatius Press
Google Books
{{Benedict XVI
Books about Christianity
Books by Pope Benedict XVI
1968 non-fiction books
1968 in Christianity
Ignatius Press books