This book, On Heaven and Earth, by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) and Rabbi Abraham Skorka, is released by Image Books and includes conversations by these men on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century. You can find more info on the book and purchase it on ImageBooks' website here; you can also read Chapter One of the book to get a feel for it here, and you can find the book on Amazon here. You can also read more book reviews that I have done by going here: My Library.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Abraham Skorka
ImageBooks 2013
Like many others, I am sure, I was most interested to pick up this book because it was our new Pope in his own words. When I heard that this book was out there, I was intrigued; rarely do we get an insight into a Pope's mind like this, where it is not teaching but rather simply discussion. From the outset of this book, you get a good idea of what the the book will be like: friendly, intriguing dialogue which is not about debate but rather about finding common ground and looking at life from one's own perspective. As the Pope says in his introduction to this book, "Dialogue is born from a respectful attitude toward the other person, from a conviction that the other person has something good to say" (p. XIV). With this in the introduction, one learns a lot about how the actual dialogue will play out: a dialogue which involves truly listening to the other and discussing the things which the other person has to say on the world.
Due to the nature of this book as a personal conversation and not a theological analysis, it is quite readable for nearly any audience. While both of these men have deep convictions about their faith and the world, they do not allow their convictions to destroy conversation, but rather they are used to further dialogue. Whether the reader is Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, or of any other belief system, this book is one that would be an interesting read about the state of world affairs and two well-learned men's opinions on dealing with current issues. In reading this book you will learn a lot about what is happening and has happened in Argentina over the last half-century, as well as a lot about the way that a Catholic or Jewish worldview would go about dealing with these specific problems. On top of reading the opinions, what you will also experience in reading this book is a personal look at the man who is the new Pope; whether you are Catholic or not, he is an important man in the world, and it is good to know a little bit more about him.
Dialogue in Respect and Love
Since the book has 29 unique chapters touching on subjects from God to guilt to fundamentalism to science to the family and including nearly everything in between, it will be impossible here to discuss any of their thoughts in a profound or really worthwhile way. What I want to look at, instead, is the way that the whole book is framed in conversation, and what we can learn from reading the way that these two men interact. One of the most fascinating encounters of the book, for me, was in the Chapter "On Death" (Chapter 10), in which the two men's views differ quite drastically. Often in this book, one will notice that the basis for viewing the world is very similar in Judaism and Christianity; here, however, we find that this is not the case. Cardinal Bergoglio's understanding of death and the afterlife comes from the Catholic understanding of original sin, which he explains is what leads to death (cf. p.77). Rabbi Skorka, in his response to the Cardinal, lays out the Jewish point of view when it comes to the Garden of Eden, heaven and hell, and sin and death, which are all very different from the Catholic perspective on these things. When it is time for the Cardinal to respond, he does not spend time laboring these points in debating theology, but immediately finds common ground by picking out the topic of "inheritance" which Rabbi Skorka had mentioned and discussing this point. For me, this was a perfect example of what the whole book was about: he didn't need to argue or debate here, as these are points of intricate theology which would be difficult to discuss in a cursory way as they do with many topics, but rather he wants to find common ground, and allow his point of view to come across in a way that the Rabbi can relate to. This, I believe, is something which is often missing in the dialogue which we experience today; today, we will argue our point of view vehemently, without finding common ground. What our new Pope does here has a profound point: if you ever want to get somewhere in argument, you can't start by trying to destroy their points, but rather you must start by showing an understanding of common ground and building from that point.
Impressions
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For someone who wants to understand the mind of Pope Francis, this is a great place to start. It is important to note, however, that more time in many parts of this book is definitely given to Rabbi Skorka's words as compared to the length of responses given by Pope Francis. If you are simply looking to read Pope Francis, then, this might catch you off guard; the Rabbi, though, is a brilliant man, and his insights are worth the time to read. I would encourage anyone, no matter where they are on their journey in life and in faith, to take the time to read this book. Whether or not you agree with the arguments, you will learn something; if nothing else, Americans can learn a lot from this book about recent history in Argentina and the way that it has affected those who are from there.
Unity of Truth
As a final note, I would like to draw back to what I think is the most important and concrete thing I have taken from my reading of this conversation, the importance of dialogue based on respect and care for the other. In Chapter 27 of this book, which is on Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and other conflicts, Cardinal Bergoglio has a section where he talks about an idea presented by German theologian Oscar Cullman. Cullman's idea is that in dealing with conflicts we need to start by affirming the things which are the same between the two parties, and using that sameness to begin moving forward hand-in-hand instead of throwing rocks at one another (cf. p.217). I would like to close this review with a quote from Pope Francis which concludes his comments in this section, which to me wraps up the way that we see these two men interact. This interaction involves much respect for the other person as an individual worthy of love and respect, an individual who is seeking truth and needs to be respected before they can be encountered in dialogue. In this quote, Pope Francis tells us that when dealing with others who think differently, we always need to go forth with "(e)ach one, from their identity, in reconciliation, seeking the unity of truth" (p.218, emphasis added).
"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their blogging for books program; you can learn more about this by visiting the program's website here Blogging for Books."
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