In the Beginning...': A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall

In four superb homilies and a concluding essay, Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, provides a clear and inspiring exploration of the Genesis creation narratives.

While the stories of the world's creation and the fall of humankind have often been subjected to reductionism of one sort or another -- literalists treat the Bible as a science textbook whereas rationalists divorce God from creation -- Ratzinger presents a rich, balanced Catholic understanding of these early biblical writings and attests to their enduring vitality.

Beginning each homily with a text selected from the first three chapters of Genesis, Ratzinger discusses, in turn, God the creator, the meaning of the biblical creation accounts, the creation of human beings, and sin and salvation; in the appendix he unpacks the beneficial consequences of faith in creation.

Expertly translated from German, these reflections set out a reasonable and biblical approach to creation. 'In the Beginning . . .' also serves as an excellent homiletic resource for priests and pastors.

Author: Pope Benedict XVI
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Published: 11/02/1995
Pages: 112
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.36lbs
Size: 8.99h x 6.04w x 0.35d
ISBN: 9780802841063


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 10/01/1995 pg. 87

About the Author
Benedict XVI, Pope: - Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger in 1927, served as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Churchfrom April 2005 through February 2013. Formerly he wasDean of the College of Cardinals, Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and President ofthe International Theological Commission. An outstandingtheologian and teacher, he was one of the founders, alongwith Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac, of theinternational Catholic journal Communio, and he hasalso enjoyed a distinguished teaching career at suchuniversities as T?bingen and Regensburg in his homecountry of Germany.