This book is a collection of four sermons (and an appendix) on Creation by Cardinal Ratzinger before he was elected to the papacy. Its subtitle: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall gives a very accurate summary of its content.
In his introduction, Cardinal Ratzinger explains the reason for his preaching these sermons: his observation that Creation - and more importantly, God as Creator - has been largely disregarded in many strands of contemporary theology. That he sees as a foundational error: without a theology grounded in an understanding of a Creator God and us as created beings, we are in error from the start.
Thus the first sermon is on God the Creator. Here the author takes time to educate us about how to read the Creation stories in Genesis. He tackles head on the apparent conflict between the Creation accounts and the findings of Science, and stresses the difference between form and content in the narrative. However he is also alive to the risks of simply saying there is a difference between image and intention: if we say that about Creation, why not about the Resurrection? As he points out, that way lies 'a Christianity that is no longer true to itself.' So haw are we to interpret the Scriptures in a way that is true to them and to the tradition of the Church? He offers two essential criteria, which he also explains and explores: The Unity of the Bible, and Christology. This is a rich and important sermon, which I cannot adequately summarise without typing it out in full...
The second sermon is on The Meaning of the Biblical Creations Accounts. Here, Cardinal Ratzinger starts by picking up themes from the first sermon, and in particular the reasonableness of faith in Creation. He then goes on to say that while the primary truths underlying the Creation stories - that there is One God, that the Universe is not a struggle between good and evil, but the creation of his Word in love and reason - are important, the forms in which they are expressed are also important. The symbolic elements of the text have enduring value. For example, the seven days of Creation teaches us that Creation is oriented to the Sabbath, to worship. Likewise the command to 'subdue the earth' needs to be read in conjunction with the command 'to till and keep it.' These teach us that while man is master of the earth, man must also rule it in ways that respect the natural created order, rather than seeing nature merely as matter that man may do with as he wishes (which is the result of believing existence to be a product of mere chance) - a false notion of progress.
The third sermon is on the Creation of Human Being. This starts with a reflection on the fact that we are taken form the earth: and how that concept is humbling and consoling, and also stresses the unity of the human race. But we are also in the image of God, and this is the deepest reason for the inviolability of human dignity. Further, based on the criteria for correct reading of the Bible previously elucidated, we have to look forward to Christ to find the true meaning of what it is to be a Human Being, for He is the New Adam, the definitive human being. We are en route to becoming what we are called to be: unified with God. 'Here in the midst of our thoughts on creation there suddenly appears the Easter mystery, the mystery of the grain of wheat that has died.' Cardinal Ratzinger then addresses the whole question of Evolution head on. Again, this needs to be read in full, but I was struck by this in particular: 'But we must have the audacity to say that the great projects of the living creation are not the products of chance and error. Nor are they the products of a selective process to which divine predicates can be attributed in illogical, unscientific and even mythic fashion. The great projects of the living creation point to a creating Reason and show us a creating Intelligence, and they do so more luminously and radiantly today than ever before.'
The fourth sermon is perhaps the most explosive of the series: Sin and Salvation. Unlike some modern bishops, Cardinal Ratzinger believes that without a proper understanding of sin - Original Sin and personal sin - we cannot understand redemption. He laments the fact that 'Religious education of whatever kind does its best to evade it.' He also adds a great insight (applicable, for example, to those who live by and those who refute Humanae Vitae): 'People recognise the good only when they themselves do it. They recognise the evil only when they do not do it.' But as always, Cardinal Ratzinger (who explores the story of the Fall with great insight) always sees the Old Testament looking forward to the New: 'Therefore the Eucharist, as the presence of the Cross, is the abiding tree of life, which is ever in our midst and ever invites us to take the fruit of true life.'
As always, one finishes reading anything by Cardinal Ratzinger, now gloriously reigning as Pope Benedict XVI, with the knowledge that one has been in communion with a great and holy mind. Part of his genius lies in the depth and wisdom of his understanding, but part also lies in his skill as a teacher, whereby he takes us with him on a journey which I for one could not make without such a guide.
Very highly recommended: now I need to re-read it...
NB: My edition was published by T & T Clark of Edinburgh, who have since been acquired by Bloomsbury. I am not sure if it is currently in print, but it is easily available second-hand through the usual suppliers.