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Brant Pitre, a Catholic professor of scripture at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, said the book was unprecedented, given that the pope, who turns 84 next month, is fairly busy running the 1 billion-strong Catholic Church and administering the Holy See. "Never before in the history of the church have we had a reigning pope write a full-length study of the life of Jesus," Pitre said. "Just on that level this is truly a historic publication." In the book, Benedict gives a chronological account of Jesus' final days, citing Gospel accounts and scholarly commentaries. He said his aim wasn't to make a purely historical or faith-based analysis, but rather a combination that would allow for the reader to experience a "personal relationship with Jesus." "Even if there will always be details that remain open for discussion, I still hope that I have been granted an insight into the figure of our Lord that can be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in him," Benedict wrote. That said, biblical experts agreed the book isn't for everyone. It's dense and academic, in Benedict's scholarly, theological style. "My guess would be that this book is specifically user-friendly for entry-level seminary students, educated lay people with a lot of theological acumen, obviously clergy of various kinds," said Ben Witherington III, an evangelical
biblical scholar at the Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.
But Craig Evans, a Protestant biblical expert, said Protestants of many stripes would be surprised at how Protestant the book reads, and that he wouldn't hesitate to put it on his syllabus for his conservative, Baptist seminary students. "If it didn't say Pope Benedict on the cover, they might not even be sure they were reading a Catholic book," he said. Benedict said that he plans to write the third and final installment of the trilogy, on Jesus' infancy, "if I am given the strength."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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