A Reader's Companion to Crossing the Threshold of Hope

In response to Pope John Paul II's Crossing the Threshold of hope (1994), Paraclete Press, the publishing arm of an interdenominational community under the Benedictine Rule called the Community of Jesus, has assembled 16 writers and theologians to reflect upon and respond to the pope's writings. The writers gathered here represent a variety of Jewish and Christian faith communities. While some writers like Christianity Today founding editor Carl F.H. Henry and Yale Law School professor Stephen L. Carter respond intellectually, others, like Eastern Mennonite University's President Emeritus Myron Augsburger and PW contributing editor Phyllis Tickle, choose to repond more personally. Especially provocative and thoughtful are the responses of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and Anthony Campolo, professor of sociology at Eastern College. Although the contributions are uneven in quality, this is for the most part a wonderful companion that should provide a good starting place for conversation among people of all faiths. (Nov.)