Reviews for Un feu sur la terre

The average rating for Un feu sur la terre based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-03-10 00:00:00 Daniel Fick The Councils of the Church were called at various times in history in order to combat a heresy or to otherwise clarify an important matter of Church Teaching. Man's ingenuity, however, is virtually endless. He is able to invent error virtually at will, which is why heresies have been combated since the very beginning of the Church. It is interesting, therefore, how swiftly following the Second Vatican Council this book was written. Its purpose, of course, is to guard against, and to correct, misinterpretations of the documents of Vatican II. The devil has always worked against God's creation and the Salvation he offers to us. He continues in this effort by attempting to sow confusion. Anytime there is a major movement in the Church, such an opportunity for confusion presents itself. Vatican II was called not to change the Church, but to correct misunderstandings and to insure that the teachings of the Church were understood and, more importantly, were properly understood in the current times. This book explains how the True Church did not change, but many have tried to change it. There is a difference between translating the Bible into modern language, accommodating the changes in vocabulary and idioms and the meanings of particular words, and rewriting the very words of the Bible. A mark of a timeless work is that it is always timely. This book, 45 years old, is still cutting-edge current. Dietrich von Hildebrand patiently takes his readers through various secular philosophies. He carefully explicates the issues of Faith and the moral eternal teachings of the Catholic Church and how others attempt to coopt these teachings and lead others astray by the subtle use of vocabulary. One must always look to the substance of what is said, and not be misled by the pleasant sound of the words. Hildebrand lived through the horrors of National Socialism and saw firsthand the evils of communism. He warns against the union of the Church with such ideologies. At the same time, it is not a full endorsement of capitalism. He presciently warned of the crisis within the Church engendered by historical relativism and temporal parochialism. He cogently set forth the difference between the study of science and science fetishism, and their relationship to Faith. Ultimately, this book is not only a strong defense of the Catholic Faith, but is a warning sign and a guidepost to help the faithful avoid being misled by popular fads in thinking and in the secular world. It is also a reminder that Christ has called us to be a sign of contradiction in the world, and that the way of the World is frequently not the way of God. While the thoughts are deep, the writing is very readable and are set forth in a fashion that is at once persuasive and accessible.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-09-19 00:00:00 Diana Vernon This is an excellent book. The author was not out to make friends in writing it, apparently. He covers all the philosphical and theological problems in the Church in the Vatican II era. It's exceptionally clear and simple, devout and charitable, but not pretty: he lines up and knocks down a complete list of heresies, with special attention to those of Teilhard de Chardin. Mind you, I'm not sure that anyone takes him de Chardin seriously anymore, which might be a shortcoming of this book: it was written in the sixties, and could be a bit dated. Anyway, I would recommend it for thinking laymen.