Book Review: What is the Point of Being a Christian? by Timothy Radcliffe OP

 What is the Point of Being a Christian? by Timothy Radcliffe OP

Father Radcliffe argues that belief in Christianity is based on truth, at least that is what attracted him to the Dominican order. The order's motto is Veritas, the Latin word for truth. When he tells people who asked the titular question, "What is the point of being Christian?", Radcliffe was a bit befuddled at their dissatisfaction with his answer. People expected some results or benefit from being a Christian. Radcliffe explores the idea of what benefit or positive impact Christian faith has.

The book wanders around, taking on different issues like hope, suffering, violence, corporeality, and other topics. Radcliffe has a wide breadth of experience to draw from, but often it seems like he's just showing off his international travels and openness to other spiritual traditions. He grapples with our contemporary idolatry of consumerism and convincingly argues for a temperate attitude toward money and private property. He does not really get to the purpose of wealth and how to use it in a Christian way.

The scandal of the division among Christians gets a lot of coverage. He talks about both the separation of denominations and the internal division within denominations. He dislikes the left/right, traditional/progressive, and conservative/liberal descriptions of an internal divide within the Catholic Church. While I agree these are not the most accurate descriptions, Radcliffe's substitutions "Kingdom Catholics" and "Communion Catholic" are unwieldy and unconvincing. He identifies the problem but does not have a coherent solution.

Radcliffe has a broad range of ideas. The reader gets plenty to think about. But the big picture, i.e. the point of being Christian, gets lost somewhere along the way. I found the book unsatisfying and won't be hanging on to it.

Not recommended.