I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my third monorgraph with CUA Press this week: The Experiment of Faith: Pope Benedict XVI on Living the Theological Virtues in a Secular Age. Writing this book took me a number of years as I read–as far as I know– everything that Pope Benedict / Joseph Ratzinger had to say on the theological virtues and have sought to make that amazing vision of Christianity accessible to all. I hope that this text will help many Christians to grow in their understanding of what it means to believe and to live a vibrant, intelligent faith in the modern world.
Check out the publisher’s description below!
Pope Benedict XVI memorably remarked that the Christian faith is a lot like a Gothic cathedral with its stained-glass windows. From the outside, the Church can appear dark, dreary, and worn with age―the crumbling relic of an institution that no longer speaks to men and women living in our modern world. Indeed, for many people today, Christian morality with all of its commandments appears to be a source not of life and joy but instead of suffering and oppression. Even within the Church, many wonder: why should I submit to ancient doctrines and outdated practices that restrict my freedom and impede my happiness?
In this timely and original book, his third exploring the riches of Benedict XVI’s vast corpus, theologian Matthew Ramage sets out to meet this challenge with an in-depth study of the emeritus pontiff’s wisdom on how to live Christian discipleship in today’s increasingly secularized world. Taking as his starting point Benedict’s conviction that the truth of Christianity―like the beauty of a cathedral’s glorious windows―can be grasped only from the inside, Ramage draws on Benedict’s insights to show how all Christians can make the “experiment of faith” by living the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in daily life. Along the way, he shares his personal reflections on how Benedict’s wisdom has helped him to navigate difficulties in embracing the faith and provides a way forward to those struggling to live as disciples in a way that is intellectually serious without remaining merely intellectual. In so doing, he also presents a highly nuanced yet accessible approach to defending the truth of the gospel in a world where life in Jesus Christ tends to be seen as unfulfilling, irrelevant, or just one lifestyle choice among others.
REVIEWS:
“Ramage’s contribution is significant, he treats the issues in a spirited, witty and easy-to-read manner without simplifying matters. In an age that is increasingly un-intellectual he successfully shows how very important philosophy and theology are for the well-being of human beings. This may well become a bestseller!”
―Emery de Gaal, author of The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI: The Christocentric Shift
“Matthew Ramage’s exploration of Pope Benedict’s apologetic against secularism will be a fantastic tool to help Christians engage a ‘post-Christian’ culture the Pope shrewdly warned us about just a few decades ago.”
―Trent Horn, author of The Case for Catholicism
“In this beautiful and illuminating study, Ramage concludes that each of us must choose between two competing worldviews: either nihilism or faith, either Friedrich Nietzsche or Pope Benedict XVI. The former pontiff recognized the same battlelines, engaging Nietzsche’s work throughout his voluminous writings. Ramage guides us through these reflections, focusing especially on Benedict’s teachings on the theological virtues–faith, hope, and love–which Benedict saw as the path to human fulfillment and the counter to Nietzcheian skepticism. Ramage is a masterful guide who knows the Benedict corpus well and conveys it with great clarity and warmth. He smoothly transitions from theology to philosophy, to apologetics, and even to personal reflection. The result is a model of theological study–not dry and detached, but alive, prayerful, culturally engaged, and in continuity with the magisterium. Pope Benedict would be proud!”
―Brandon Vogt, author of Why I Am Catholic and founder of ClaritasU
