"'You have heard that it was said, "Do not commit adultery." But I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart' (Mt. 5:27-28.) …
"In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ fundamentally alters the way we should think about the Old Testament Law… Looking beyond the exterior, he shifts our attention inward… [T]he Gospel can transform lives…
"The Sermon on the Mount is a turning point in the understanding of morality. It isn't enough to stop at the surface of our actions — we must penetrate inside."
Notes: I wouldn't be posting about the Theology of the Body if I didn't think it had implications for gay people as well. The focus on what is in our hearts also applies to looking at men lustfully as much as to looking at women lustfully, IMO. And even if you don't agree with me that homosexual sex is wrong, I think the teaching on lust is still applicable to gay men. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus applies the same principle of going beyond externals to the heart as well to the rest of morality as well. It's not just about sex.
The author of the book, who took the pope's talks and put them into simplified Language is Sam Torode; and the book was copyright 2008 and published by Philokalia Books.
7 comments:
Dear John, do you think there is a German translation? Btw. you've just made your 3rd comment at my blog and I havn't responded yet. I'm sorry. I will try to make a translation instead.
I'd be surprised if there were a German translation of the book I'm quoting. It's published by a small company.
Apparently John Paul II had written a book to be called "Man and Woman He Created Them" while he was still Archbishop of Krakow, but before he could publish it he was elected Pope. Popes weren't supposed to publish books so he "smuggled it out" by using it as the text for his talks at his Wednesday general audiences. There is no German translation of the talks on the Vatican website, and in English only the first of the four series has been provided there. But publishers have had translations made into English and published them in book form under the Pope's intended title. The version I have gives the text in 532 pages. There are also several books which attempt to explain the Theology of the Body (also a term used by John Paul II), because the original is not easy reading for one who is not a philosopher/theologian.
I would think that there must be something comparable available in German, but I have not been able to locate anything, either on the German Bishops' Conference website or on Herder Verlag's.
So I'm sorry to say the answer is I don't know where you might find something in German, whether the actual text, an explanation, or a simplification.
why werent/arent popes supposed to publish books?
Gosh!Who was John Paul II.?
@ tom — It just wasn't "the done thing." It may have had to do with there being "official" ways for a pope to teach, and an idea that a book would be "unofficial" but be taken as "official." Ironically, by giving the material as his weekly addresses to his general audiences, he turned it into something official (not "infallible" but official). I think JP II kind of broke the ice. Some of Benedict XVI's talks as pope have been gathered and published in book form.
@ Pilgrim — lol
Try this for starters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II
i answered your comment on my blog. just wanted you to know. also will be doing a post on the homeless tomorrow.
Not only some of Benedict XVI's talks, there is his book “Jesus von Nazareth” from 2006 which I appreciate a lot. And thanks for your effort about the German translation.
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