Title:  The Christian Revelation: Word, Event, and Mystery Author:  Carmelo Dotolo Translated by Cavallo Domenica Imprint:  The Davies Group, Publishers soft cover 170 pp. USD 24.00 ISBN 9781888570793 2006 In an age characterized by religious, cultural, and social pluralism, where the crisis of religion and the return of the sacred live side by side, it is in the declared meaningless of the problem of God and the continuous search for the meaning of existence that the question of the Christian revelation becomes central and decisive. Believers and non-believers are obliged to confront themselves with those truths that God, with his revelation, wanted to communicate. But how can we explain these truths? How can we discuss the Christian revelation, the most profound essence of Christianity? In what manner does the Christian message distinguish itself from the message of other religions? It is to all these inquiries that this book responds, introducing the Christian revelation through three key categories: word, event, and mystery. To rediscover the meaning of the Christian revelation does not mean to learn something, but to encounter Someone who’s love is the principle of our freedom…. Contents Introduction Chapter 1 — Revelation, Religious Experience and Theology Beyond the sacrifice of reason; Religion: An unexpected guest in postmodern culture; In order to understand the mystery of existence: Religious experience; The three-fold meaning of the concept of revelation; Revelation, the starting point of theology Chapter 2 — God in Search of Man: Revelation in the Bible The foundation of revelation: The uniqueness of God’s break-in in history; God’s initiative; Revelation in the Old Testament; Jesus Christ, Truth of God and Truth of Man: Revelation in the New Testament; Conclusion Chapter 3 — Revelation: Initial and Original Foundation of Theological Reflection Revelation as salvation and knowledge; The criticism of revelation and religion according to the Enlightenment; The credibility of revelation: Vatican Council I; Revelation in the novelty communicated by Jesus Christ: Vatican Council II; Revelation, a truth that is food for thought; The dimensions of revelation in contemporary theology Chapter 4 — Revelation and Christian Existence God’s self-communication, a mystery that poses questions; Revelation, an event of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; Revelation and life’s time; History, the meeting of two freedoms; Love, revelation’s form Chapter 5 — Christian Revelation and Revelations in Other Religions The context of religious pluralism; Theology of the various religions: A brief overview; Some questions; Christian revelation as a universal sign; Revelation in the diversity of various religions; Revelation in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam; The uniqueness of Jesus’ revelation: A brief conclusion Chapter 6 — Conclusion Notes Review “Carmelo Dotolo is one of the most distinguished theologians Italy has produced in the past decade. After having contributed to the building of a concise dialogue between fundamental theology and postmodern philosophy in his previous books, in The Christian Revelation. Word, Event and Mystery he applies the message of Christian revelation to our globalized culture through the works of Thomas Aquinas, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Rahner, Bultmann, Pannenberg, Kasper, Ratzinger, and many others. It is not just through these different authors that he manages to individuate the meaning of the revelation for our new century, but also for religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam that play, side by side with Christianity, an essential role in our world. This book of striking originality and depth has already become an indispensable tool for all those, like us, who are interested in the meaning, return, and future of religion and, like his earlier works, The Christian Revelation will be a reference for many generations to come.” Gianni Vattimo, University of Turin Santiago Zabala, Pontifical Lateran University of Rome Author Carmelo Dotolo is Professor of Theology of Religion at both the Pontifical Urbaniana University and the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome. He has served as President of the Società Italiana per la Ricerca Teologica (SIRT) since 2004. Among his many publications are Sulle Tracce di Dio (1992), Teologia e sacro (1995), La teologia fondamentale davanti alle sfide del “pensiero debole” di Gianni Vattimo (1999), and Il Credo Oggi (2001)