As Monty Python has taught us to say: and now for something completely different! Don't be surprised if a non-fiction book shows up here now and then. Sometimes I read 'em, and they always like reviewing.
Fulton Sheen, one-time bishop and wacky television personality, explores themes across the four Gospels, attempting to put together a biography of Jesus only as the Bible portrays him. His biggest theory is that rather than Jesus' bringing his glory to the Cross, the Cross cast a shadow backward across his life to the moment of the Annunciation. Sheen doesn't move systematically from Gospel to Gospel, but tries instead to construct a chronological portrait of events, bringing the perspective of each applicable Gospel to each chapter.
The best part about this book is its readability. Look up Sheen's videos online; he wasn't a televangelist as much as he was the Bill Nye of Catholicism, albeit with a chalkboard instead awesome sound effects. Sheen manages to break concepts down without dumbing them down. This sometimes lengthens his topic considerably, but I admire the way he manages to weave the longer, more intricate themes among specific, shorter examples in order to keep the flow of the book moving.
Plenty of Sheen's contemporaries, a friend tells me, looked down on him for his surface-level theology, which engages in simple observation more often than complex reasoning. Although I don't deny that detailed analysis of theological concepts, scripture, reports of miracles, and other starting points can be the basis for useful conclusions, Sheen's work is more valuable to me than that of a Dantean super-scholar. His thesis is fresh but not tough to grasp, and it's not his main purpose for writing. As on his television show, he aims here to teach basic theology in a useful way, so that we regular folks who haven't spent decades in the seminary can keep up. It turns out most people enjoy learning: even people who aren't Catholic priests have brains!
Sheen can be a little over the top at times, but his fervor doesn't surpass cheerful enthusiasm. And, in case you're worried, proselytism isn't the name of the game, either. In fact, if you're a stranger to the Gospel and just looking for a basic education of the concepts without a guilt trip, this is a surefire hit. And if you're a connoisseur of Christian theology, this covers all the bases.
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