A little over a month ago, I finished reading Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s book Jesus of Nazareth Volume One. I did a minor post about a small little blurb on what then Pope Benedict said on asking God for Signs and Revelations.

The book is a tough read. It definitely takes an advanced mindset to understand it, although, if you are not at that advanced stage yet in your faith, you can read smaller pieces and digest it a bit better.

I really did enjoy this, even though I could only read about fifteen minutes at a time. For me, it took a while to realize this, mainly because I’m used to sitting down for an hour at a time with a book and understanding what I read. However, this is a fault of pride, so it was humbling to have to take my time with it.

Benedict spends much time debunking the falsity that has occurred over the last few decades building Jesus up as a “happy go-lucky kind of a guy” and really diving deep into understanding Jesus’ Divinity and Humanity and restoring this image of Christ.

For too long, Jesus has had His identity stripped from Him, and is not seen in the right light these days. Benedict is able to really understand this, and sheds original light on who Jesus really is.

I recommend this book, as it is such a crucial read if you want to understand Jesus more. Using theology, philosophy, tradition and scripture, Benedict does a wonderful job revealing the Christ that we should know and love, and tearing down the strawman that is the “Hippy Jesus” that we have been exposed to for far longer than we should have.

Again, take your time with the book. Do not try to rush through it, as you will miss a lot. Even taking your time, there will be much you might miss. You will feel accomplished after reading this. I am looking forward to getting the second volume and reading that soon.