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Benedict proposes, then, not the Uncaused Cause of Greek philosophy or the unnamable, unknowable Absolute of Eastern religion, but the God of love revealed in Jesus Christ. He stated this forcefully in his inaugural homily as pope: "If we let Christ in our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation."

Murphy traces this double motif of joy and love in the pope's writings. Benedict presents the persons of the Trinity as essentially related by love; Jesus Christ as uniting all mankind to himself so that we might participate in the Trinitarian life of love; and the church as the communion of believers making Jesus — and his joy — present in the world. He presents the Eucharist as the sacrament whereby Jesus gives himself fully to each of us so that our joy might be complete; Creation as the intelligible, loving work of the Creator, intrinsically ordered toward the Sabbath rest that allows man to worship his Creator and thus discover his true and lasting joy; and the Holy Spirit as the one whose indwelling makes our joy manifest.

Of course, no book can exhaust its subject. Christ Our Joy passes over Benedict's extensive work in moral and liturgical theology, as well as his writings on European culture and Western civilization. Likewise, there is little on Benedict's place within history or his theological influences. Also problematic is Murphy's failure at times to distinguish his own reasoning, Benedict's thought, and standard Catholic theology.

But the book is a fine introduction to Christian theology through Benedict's eyes, especially suited for anyone suffering the existential crisis of meaninglessness. Evangelicals will particularly appreciate Benedict's focus on Christology and his firm grounding in Scripture and in the church's early tradition, particularly Augustine and the church fathers. By his own admission, Benedict has "never tried to create an individual theology. … I simply want to think in communion with the faith of the church … in communion with the great thinkers of the faith."

What he has discovered by thinking with the church is friendship with Jesus Christ, who is our joy, and the call to communicate that joy — as priest, professor, bishop, cardinal, and pope. As Benedict proclaimed at the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, "Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on."

Ryan T. Anderson is the editor of Public Discourse: Ethics, Law, and the Common Good a new publication of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, N.J..

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christ Our Joy is available at ChristianBook.com and other book retailers. Google Books has an excerpt, and Ignatius Insight Scoop has an interview with Murphy.

Christianity Today has other book reviews on a section of our website, as well as more coverage of Catholicism and theology.

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October (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52