Strata: Pope Benedict XVI to Write Biography of Jesus
The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict XVI will publish the first volume of a longer work on the life of Jesus titled Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. The book is intended to be a reflection of Cardinal Ratzinger’s personal research as a scholar and theologian and not a statement by the head of the Catholic Church. In the foreword that was released in November, Pope Bendedict opened himself, and his arguments, up to debate and stated that “everyone is free to contradict [him].”
The work, which the pope began before he was elected to the Holy See, will follow the life of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to his transfiguration before Peter, James and John. The pope said that he has noticed a growing distinction among scholars between Jesus the man and Jesus the messiah, and he stated that he wished to reconcile the difference and “present the Jesus of the Gospels as the true Jesus, as the ‘historical Jesus’ in the true sense of the expression.”
The book is slated for publication in March in both Italian and German. It is the first work from Ratzinger since becoming the pope, although he previously published dozens of works on theology. The pope said he wanted to finish the book now because he wasn’t sure “how much time and how much strength [he] will still be given.”—K.E.M.
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