Road Map to "Christianity and the Crisis of Culture"

The time has come! I don't know how many people have been anxiously awaiting this, but I've been excited about it! As a precursor  I have not yet finished the entire book, merely 2/3 of it. But I feel that from that 2/3 I can begin to piece my way through it. The way I see it, by the time I catch up with blog posts to how far I am in the book, I'll be finished and ready to wrap up this exciting series.

Why does this book excite me so much? Well, it puts into glorious perspective the unique crosses believers face in our current culture. Not only that, but it points to deeper truths. These truths, if we take the time to reflect on them can make us more human, more real, and more fully alive in ourselves.

I spoke briefly about how interesting the choice of cover for this book was in my last post. This particular epitome will focus on the mode of "Christianity and the Crisis of Culture," so that in my next post, I can dive into the matter without further ado. This post can also serve as a valuable road map and reference to my future posts.

Simply put, "Christianity and the Crisis of Culture" is a collection of three essays written by, then, Cardinal Ratzinger. Here's the layout:

• Introduction
• Essay 1: The Crisis of Cultures
• Reflections on Cultures that are in Conflict Today
• The Significance and Limits of Today's Rationalistic Culture
• The Permanent Significance of the Christian Faith
• Essay 2: Right to Life
• Why We Must not Give Up the Fight
• The Law of the Jungle, the Rule of Law
• We Must Use Our Eyes!
• Essay 3: What Does it Mean to Believe?
• Faith and Everyday Life: A Fundamental Human Attitude
• Can Agnosticism be a Solution?
• The Natural Knowledge of God
• "Supernatural" Faith and its Origins
• Development of Premises
• Faith is anchored in what Jesus and the saints see
• The verification of faith in life
• Faiths "I," "you," and "we"

Here's how I plan to proceed:

I'm going to take one essay at a time. I will offer one post summarizing each of the chapters of that essay and then a final post at the end of an essay to tie it all together.