Teachings for an Unbelieving World: Newly Discovered Reflections on Paul's Sermon at the Areopagus

by Pope John Paul II, George Weigel (Foreword by), Scott Hahn (Introduction), Marta Burghardt (Afterword)

Overview

Winner of a first-place award for English translation editions from The Catholic Media Association.

Teachings for an Unbelieving World is a newly discovered work written by St. John Paul II—then Archbishop Karol Wojtyła of Kraków—in the years just after Vatican II. He uses St. Paul’s sermon to the people of Athens in Acts 17 as a framework for articulating the faith in a culture of skepticism and unbelief. These thirteen brief reflections provide compelling teaching for Catholics in today’s post-Christian world and give fresh insight into JPII’s pontificate. This is the first English-language publication of this important work.

St. John Paul II composed these thirteen reflections at a unique point of convergence in history—the closing of Vatican II in 1965 and the 1966 observance of one thousand years of Christianity in Poland.

Teachings for an Unbelieving World is an extended meditation on Acts 17 where Paul speaks to the cultural elite of Athens after he observed an altar of an unknown god in the city. Quoting from both the Bible and the documents of Vatican II, John Paul II draws timely wisdom from the apostle’s mission to bring the truth of the Gospel to a worldly culture of sophistication and disbelief, one not unlike our own.

The future pope reveals Paul’s memorable encounter as an enduring framework to boldly present the core truths of Catholic faith to those living under Poland’s communist regime. In so doing, JPII demonstrates how relevant Paul’s words are today and equips us to meet the challenges of proclaiming the faith in our times.

Teachings for an Unbelieving World affirms the continuity of Catholic faith about:

• humanity’s place in God’s creation;
• our search for meaning, truth, and freedom;
• addressing a culture of unbelief;
• the gift of redemption in Jesus Christ;
• the grace of the Holy Spirit;
• the role of the Church in the world;
• the power of the Eucharist;
• the redemptive and self-giving nature of human love; and
• the importance of prayer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646801855
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	05/27/2022
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	174,479
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

St. John Paul II was born Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18, 1920, in Poland. Ordained in 1946, he was named bishop of Krakow in 1958 and archbishop in 1964. Wojtyla was an active participant in the Second Vatican Council, became a cardinal in 1967, and in 1978 was elected the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years. He died on April 2, 2005, and was canonized on April 27, 2014.

Scott Hahn is a popular Catholic theologian, author, speaker, and apologist who founded the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology and teaches at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

George Weigel is a Catholic author, theologian, and distinguished senior fellow and the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Polish professor and author Marta Burghardt is the curator of the original manuscripts published in English as Teachings for an Unbelieving World.

Table of Contents

Foreword George Weigel ix

Introduction Scott Hahn xxi

Abbreviations for Source Documents Quoted in This Work xxix

Publisher's Note xxxi

Sermon at the Areopagus: From Acts 17:16-34 xxxiii

I "An Unknown God" 1

II "The One Who IS" 9

III The Human Being and Truth 17

IV The Human Being and Freedom 25

V The Truth of the Resurrection 33

VI The Mystery of the Incarnation 41

VII The Mystery of Redemption 49

VIII Christ "Reveals Man to Himself" 57

IX The Eucharist and the Church 65

X "Receive the Holy Spirit" 73

XI "You Will Be My Witnesses" 81

XII Love: Redemptive and Spousal 91

XIII The Fullness of Prayer 101

Curator's Notes Marta Burghardt 109

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book is one of the great hidden treasures unearthed in our time.” —From the introduction by Scott Hahn, Catholic theologian, author, and speaker

“What a joy to read this newly discovered series of reflections on the famous passage in Acts where Paul speaks to the skeptical Greeks about the ‘unknown God.’ Each brief teaching is a gem, taking us ever-deeper into the mind of St. John Paul II and the mystery of salvation.” —Mary Ann Glendon, Professor of law at Harvard University, Former US ambassador to the Holy See

“Here, then, is the antidote to modernity’s tendency to dumb down the human person." —From the foreword by George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center