Reviews for Evangelization Homily Hints: A Resource for Catholic Preachers

The average rating for Evangelization Homily Hints: A Resource for Catholic Preachers based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-03-10 00:00:00 Brett R Grimes The premise of this book is fairly simple and plain and yet as with all things Balthasar it remains incredibly dense. Here are two quotes that capture a sense of what is being purported. "... love hopes all things (1 Cor 13:7). It cannot do otherwise than to hope for the reconciliation of all men in Christ. Such unlimited hope is, from the Christian standpoint, not only permitted but commanded" (213). "I would like to request that one be permitted to hope that God's redemptive work for his creation might succeed. Certainty cannot be attained, but hope can be justified" (187). He covers a lot of ground in this small book and the tension he holds is commendable and I believe thoroughly biblical. This work is actually composed of three shorter writings. The first (Dare We Hope) is chronologically where he began to layout his thoughts on this controversial topic. The second (A Short Discourse) is a response to the critics of the first. The third and last portion is basically an epilogue comprised of two chapters dealing with 'apokatastasis' (i.e. universal salvation). Overall, this work definitely provides one with some thoughtful fodder for meditation on an oft neglected subject.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-05-09 00:00:00 Lina Lam Hans Urs Von Balthasar narrowly avoids outright heresy by offering his book as mere speculation and possibility rather than an assertion. He is flatly contradicted not only by the witness of scripture but by the regula fidei (rule of faith); throughout all of historic Christian orthodoxy it has been agreed that hell is everlasting. So, based on this fact, we may not have a reasonable hope that all men may be saved. If this was the case, the implications for the meaning and purpose of the cross, the resurrection, the judgment and the electing purpose of God in Christ would all be cheapened. Just bad stuff. A more intellectually rigorous and sophisticated version of Rob Bell's "Love Wins".