Product Description Scott Hahn reflects on how we share in the immense love between God the Father and God the Son, as displayed in the seven spiritual petitions of the Our Father. Includes four timeless selections from the Fathers of the Church.
Sappy BenevolenceApril 29, 2008 0 out of 4 found this review helpful
My reviews of Hahn seem to have struck a nerve. Here, Hahn again provides theological fluff, popular and trite, his ruminations are not classic theology; he is not a latter day Aquinas or Augustine. Hahn converted to Catholicism via an academic spiritual experience, i.e., Pedantic Enlightenment. This man would argue with Jesus about scripture. He turns Catholicism into a hybrid Protestantism. Be one thing or the other. For someone liberated from sola scriptura, he remains remarkably laden with words, boxed into Biblical frameworks. Constantly quoting biblical passages and citing their numbers, Hahn misses the bigger, far more complex picture.
Hahn again and again is a reliable provider of Spiritual Velveeta, lacking depth, complexity, and historical perspective. Reader Beware of Hahn's cheesy chapter subtitles: "Bread for Greatness," groan "Send in the Crowns," "From Heir to Paternity," or, how can you take any more of this!?
I feel an obligation to warn others about Hahn's sincere drivel. As C.S. Lewis wrote in "The Problem of Pain," what people like this want: "is not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven ~ a senile benevolence who, as they say `liked to see the young people enjoying themselves,' and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, `a good time was had by all'" (pg 35-36). I feel an obligation to warn others seeking truth about this enthusiastic theological Mass Marketer (it's catching!). Hahn aspires to be a new Aquinas or Augustine, but future theologians will wonder at this man's success. Real faith is not necessarily easy or cozy or comfortable. Hahn needs to soak his head in Joseph Ratzinger's (Pope Benedict XVI) "What It Means to Be a Christian." The Pope wrote, "Everything we believe about God, and everything we know about man, prevents us from accepting that beyond the limits of the Church there is no more salvation, that up to the time of Christ all men were subject to eternal damnation" (pg 45).
Mystery. This is one of the keys to faith, but the absolutism and literalism of Hahn and his ilk remains untempered. Hahn and his wife were "convicted" to become Catholic (their word, not mine). In Hahn's conversion story, he broke his covenant with his wife in order to leave her behind and convert to Catholicism without her, breaking a promise to wait till she was ready to handle such a drastic change. Why not walk the path of the saints and suffer to wait? But no, this holy man exhibited the typical, self-centered narcism of his generation, focusing primarily on his own personal "divinization." As one other reviewer noted, the only part of "Understanding Our Father" that is worthwhile are the translations in the back of Saints Cyprian, Cyril, and Augustine, available elsewhere. It would be better to find other sources for this information, rather than waste time with this trite book. Catholics need to look to their heritage of early Jewish and Christian writers for their theology, rather than this pseudo-padre.
wonderful bookMarch 10, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a wonderful reflection on the Our Father. Scott Hahn combines a vast knowledge of scripture with heartfelt reflection as he delves into the heart of the Our Father prayer. A must read for a deeper journey into the heart of God.
Understanding "Our Father"October 19, 2007 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book for those looking to deepen thier faith. It is an excellent follow up to the book 'Left To Tell' since the Our Father is the prayer that brought her through her ordeal in Rowanda. Worth every penny of the earthly price...priceless for someone on a journey towards eternity!Understanding "Our Father": Biblical Reflections on the Lord's Prayer
A Book for Body and HeadApril 6, 2006 171 out of 171 found this review helpful
Depending on who you talk to Scott Hahn is either a hero or a turncoat. He was raised Presbyterian, and was even on the fast track to be a president at a Presbyterian seminary when he began to doubt two protestant main stays: `by scripture alone' and `by faith alone'. So he did what any academically trained person would do, he decided to research and went back to school to do a masters in Roman Catholic thought, eventually converting to Catholicism. Since then he has been a prolific writer and speaker on things Catholic, and why the catholic faith is the one true valid faith.
This book is part academic treatise and part faith discovery. The book will lead you through each of the different petitions in the Lord's Prayer, both in historical perspective and in reflection for what it should mean for us today. The sections are:
Part 1 Contemporary Reflections by Scott Hahn
0. Introduction 1. Our Father 2. Our Father ... In Heaven 3. Hallowed Be Thy Name 4. Thy Kingdom Come 5. Thy Will Be Done 6. On Earth As It Is In Heaven 7. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread 8. Forgive Us ... As We Forgive 9. Lead Us Not Into Temptation 10. Temptation Part II 11. Deliver Us from Evil 12. The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory 13. Last Words
Part 2 Wisdom From The Fathers Of The Church
14. Saint Cyprian: Treatise on the Lord's Prayer 15. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem: Mystagogic Cathechesis 16. Saint John Chrysostom: Homily XIX o the Gospel of Matthew 17. Saint Augustine: Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount
Hahn open's up this prayer in ways you could never imagine. I have been serious about being a Christian for nearly 20 years and this little book helped me to see this prayer in a whole new light.
"Why Bother? Still, it's fair to ask, Why Bother to pray, `Thy will be done'? Isn't it presumptuous, or even redundant? Isn't God's will what happens anyway? Why pray for God's will? It Seems like praying for gravity to continue. The answer is simple. When we pray. `Thy will be done,' we do not change or strengthen the will of God, but we do change and strengthen ourselves. Such prayer disposes our hearts to de the will of the Father." p31,32
Hahn goes on to say later: "Often, it seems that people pray in order to change God's mind. But God is eternal, perfect, unchanging, and unchangeable. We pray so that God can change our minds." p74 what would our lives be like is we truly prayed for the fathers will to be done. Later Hahn states: "First in importance is the centrality of divine fatherhood and our share - our real participation - in Christ's divine sonship. Next, notice how the Fathers insist that our goal is virtue, and not mere learning." p75 That is why the second part of the book goes into the writings of the church fathers. To show us that intellectual understanding is not enough, it must impact our hearts and move us to action and a deeper relationship with God. This book will help you move from your head to your heart, but it will feed both mind and spirit.
I did not post my review on this siteFebruary 15, 2006 7 out of 17 found this review helpful
I did not post my "review" of this book on this Amazon site. I did not post a star rating on this first "review." Someone -- I have never been able to find out who, despite contacting the publisher several times -- took a book review that I had published in the National Catholic Review and without consulting me, edited it (editing out anything less than enthusiastic) and, again without consulting me, posted it on this page.
Here are some portions of my original book review what were cut out: "It's worth noting here that only the first half of the 146-page book is written by Hahn. The rest of the pages offer commentaries on the Lord's Prayer by four Church Fathers: St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Cyprian. These selections, 19th-century translations now in the public domain, can make for tough going at times, especially for those unfamiliar with reading ancient or doctrinally dense writing. Unfortunately, Hahn provides only three paragraphs of guidance on how to read these commentaries. I suspect some readers will, upon reaching this point, feel as if they're being sent off on an exploration without a map. Also, the Church Fathers can be downloaded from the Internet for free -- which makes the book's $15.95 price tag seem a bit steep. Despite these not-insubstantial reservations, Understanding "Our Father" provides some startling and worthwhile insights that can serve as powerful aids to prayer."
I am a journalist and I object to my work being edited and used without my permission for marketing purposes.
