Christopher West is a masterful author. His book, "At the Heart of the Gospel" reveals his ability to explain and defend his ideas, as well as his ability to develop his ideas more precisely in response to constructive criticism. This book is a result of the sabbatical that Christopher West took in 2010. In his introduction he explains: "I reflected prayerfully on the challenges my work has received, seeking to glean as much as possible from what various authors were saying.This book is the fruit of those reflections" (p. 3). West truly produced a masterpiece here.
His main premise in this book, at least, what I took to be the main premise (there are many things that you argue are a "main premise") is that without properly understanding human sexuality we cannot truly understand the Incarnation or the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church,which is so often portrayed in Sacred Scripture as a marriage. With this premise, West makes it easy for us to desire to study the Theology of the Body. If we understand this premise, we cannot help but desire to know more!
West does a great job discussing the 2 extremes that are often taken by people regarding human sexuality. The first, which many Good Christians inadvertently take, is that we should try to crush/repress our sexual desires in order to be "holy". West does a good job explaining that this "Wound of Puritanism," as he calls it, does violence to the human person. It also implies that the body is evil, which can't be true if the Word became incarnate. West also says that this extreme facilitates the other: that of understanding our sexuality apart from our desire for holy love. I love what West says: "When believers demand a holiness free from eros, the secular world, for its part, quite happily demands an eros free of holiness."
Perhaps my favorite part of West's book though, is not even directly related to human sexuality. West does a good job discussing one of the finer, more subtle points of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body, the need to overcome concupiscence. West discusses the fact that avoiding sin is not virtue. Jesus gives us a "New Law" in the New Testament, that of living a life of virtue, not just of avoiding sin. There is a difference between not doing something that is wrong, and doing something that is right. As West says, "In effect, if all we've been given when it comes to Church teaching is a list of rules to follow, then we have yet to 'pass over' from the Old to the New Testaments" (page 81-82).
My only 'bone to pick' so to speak is not one of doctrine but one of style. West ends up quoting quite copiously from his previous books, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I thought that he would find new ways to explain himself after spending so much time reflecting on the criticisms of his work. Also, West spends a lot of time on some foundational principles. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a basic understanding of Theology of the Body, parts of this book will seem a little dull/slow. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, regardless of your understanding of Theology of the Body. Christopher West has done an incredible job making the teachings of Blessed John Paul II both relevant and accessible.
I especially appreciated this book since I am a Theology teacher at a Catholic High School. It has really helped me in teaching Theology of the Body to my students! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
You can read chapter 1 here You can find more info about this book and the author's bio here You can find the author's website here.
*I received this book free from WaterBrooke Multnomah Publishing for this review.
