Why Were The Gospels Written? by John Ashton, S. J. (review)

BOOK REVIEWS l'iO Paul IT, during whose pontificate he fell from favor because· he opposed the autocratic policy of Papa Barbo. The oration was made at the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on May ~. 1468, on the occasion of the first celebration of the feast after Catherine's canonization. The solemnity was transferred to Good Shepherd Sunday. The preacher built his oration around the text: "oves meae vocem meam audiunt." Pope Pius IT was present with the entire papal court. The oration is based on the documents of the process of her canonization and on the biography of Blessed Raymond of Capua. But it is her influence on this great figure of the fifteenth century that Msgr. Piolanti seeks to evoke in bringing to light the only published work of Domenichi. They were times when long orations were listened to as one listens to good music, for oratory was still an art. After turning over twenty pages the orator looked at the Pope and the Cardinals and said: " Possem, Reverendissimi Patres, multa alia persequi, sed ea quae dixi percipio fuisse longiora. Quamquam enim nihil ad commendationem eius praeclarius sit, quam in eius laudibus quis finem reperire non possit, habendum tamen est a me orationi modus, neque humanitate vestra, qui me benigne audistis, abutendum." They knew the peroration was about to begin. St. Charles' Seminary Nagpur, India JEROME TONER, O.P. Theology Today Series. 15. Why Were The Gospels Written? By JOHN AsHTON, S. J. Notre Dame Ind.: Fides Publishers, 1978. Pp. 91. $.95. The central position of the four gospels within the Christian tradition is an acknowledged fact; we rely on them almost exclusively for our information regarding the person of Jesus of Nazareth, his life, his teaching, and his message of salvation. How reliable are they as witnesses to the events that they proclaim? Do they present us with objective history, or interpreted history, or are they a combination of both? These and other .related problems have been the subject of prolonged study by Christian exegetes over many decades. Fr. Ashton, in his little booklet, traces briefly the history of the different solutions proposed by scholars to the problems posed by the gospels, evaluating the pros and cons of each theory as he goes along. In the central chapters of the book he outlines in a simple and lucid manner the development of the gospel traditions from their oral beginnings through their final written form as they are found in the four gospels, pointing out that 180 BOOK REVIEWS these traditions are " neither biography nor memoir nor catechesis nor kerygma, but a mixture of all four blended together." (p. 51) His treatment of the more important themes of each of the four gospels, e. g., the messianic secret in Mark, salvation history in Luke, etc., is both helpful and instructive. St. Charles' Seminary Nagpur, India MAURICE G. FEARON, O.P. The Science of Sacred Theology for Teachers. I. Introduction to Theology. (Pp. 70) II. Revelation. (Pp. 1~9) III. The Channels of Revelation. (Pp. 84) By EMMANUEL DoRONZO. Middleburg, Virginia: Notre Dame Institute Press, 1978. The style and method of these three booklets suggest a close dependence on the Latin text of the author's Theologia Dogmatica. As they represent an attempt to adapt the latter to the needs of teachers, the result would have been more successful, one feels, had the author been prepared to move further away from the categories and procedures of the Latin text. The preponderance of terms that are crudely literal translations from the Latin can hardly be helpful to teachers, who are after all expected to pass on much of the information to their pupils. It would be preferable if the meaning of technical terms were clear from the text itself without need to refer to the glossary included in each booklet. The author's treatment of his subject is quite satisfactory in Books one and three, which are largely positive in character. In Book 2, Revelation , however, it is marred by a too exclusive concern with the rational credibility of Revelation to the neglect of its more theological aspects and its relevance to the conduct of life. It is clear...