THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY AUG. 30-SEPT. 6, 2010 $3.50 Henri Matisse’s Great Risk LEO J. O’DONOVAN The Ethics of Nutrition GERALD D. COLEMAN The Jesus of History BERNARD BRANDON SCOTT ADELA YARBRO COLLINS OF MANY THINGS PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES he Jesus I know is the “living and some of his themes, like the new Jesus” described by Luke family of God, Jesus’ intimacy with the EDITOR IN CHIEF Drew Christiansen, S.J. Timothy Johnson in his recent Father and God’s kingdom, remain top- T America, article in “The Jesus ics of my preaching until today. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Controversy” (Aug. 2-9), the one he John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of MANAGING EDITOR called in an earlier book the “real Jesus.” Jesus, while the work of a theologian, Robert C. Collins, S.J. He is the Jesus of faith, the Jesus of the not an exegete, unpacked the social EDITORIAL DIRECTOR church and its tradition, the Jesus of background of the Gospels for genera- Karen Sue Smith prayer and liturgy, the Jesus of service tions of students. In the United States, ONLINE EDITOR and the hidden Jesus encountered, as it opened the way for a new wave of the Maurice Timothy Reidy the First Letter of John reminds us, in social gospel across denominations. CULTURE EDITOR the neighbor. But unlike Johnson, I Johnson, it seems to me, is especially James Martin, S.J. have not found the search for the his- allergic to that kind of social reading of LITERARY EDITOR torical Jesus an obstacle to faith. the Gospel. The approach has some- Patricia A. Kossmann I have been a critic of some of the times been overdone, but the uncover- POETRY EDITOR more pretentious endeavors of the ing of “the faith that does justice” in the James S. Torrens, S.J. search for the historical Jesus, like the Hebrew Scriptures, rabbinic Judaism ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jesus Seminar’s color-coded New and early Christian writings is one of George M. Anderson, S.J. Testament, marking authentic and the great gifts of contemporary scholar- Kevin Clarke putatively less authentic sayings of ship. Kerry Weber Jesus. But I have not been a fan of large For those who can handle his com- Raymond Schroth, S.J. tomes of scholarly minutiae from plex prose, N. T. Wright’s two-volume ART DIRECTOR Jewish antiquity, no matter how out- set called Christian Origins and the Stephanie Ratcliffe standing, in which the author is unwill- Question of God offers rich back- ASSISTANT EDITOR ing to take a theological position. ground for observing both the Advent Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. I do not trust an author who won’t and the Lenten seasons. An exploration ASSISTANT LITERARY EDITOR tell me what his findings add up to or of the religious movements leading up Regina Nigro what she believes. Even though it may to Jesus’ time, Vol. 1, The New take some sorting through, I like my Testament and the People of God, offers a BUSINESS DEPARTMENT Jesus scholarship to feed my faith and rich preparation for celebrating the PUBLISHER help me nourish the faith of the congre- coming of the Messiah; and Vol. 2, Jesus Jan Attridge gations to whom I preach. The decon- and the Victory of God, lends support to CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER structive imagination has a subordinate the view that Jesus’ own identity was Lisa Pope role in any intellectual exercise. It helps directed to accepting his death on the ADVERTISING us re-examine our assumptions, but if it cross. Wright shows that Jesus scholar- Julia Sosa does only that it is toxic. Without the ship and the Jesus of the liturgy com- positive movement of “a second naïveté,” plement each other. 106 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019-3803 such intellectual disassembling of his- What matters with historical Jesus torical detail is the chop-logic Plato dis- research is what we do with it. It Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 missed as “butchery.” needn’t lead us to accept an ersatz Jesus E-mail: [email protected]; Jesus scholarship can nourish faith nor leave our faith a shambles. There is [email protected] Web site: www.americamagazine.org. by engaging our minds, our affections a pragmatic test for the lived truthful- Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 and our spirit. My earliest encounter ness of Jesus research. Do we know © 2010 America Press, Inc. with the so-called New Search for the Jesus better? Are we inspired more to Historical Jesus came with the work of follow him? Are our desires more the German New Testament scholar, focused and committed? Are our hearts Cover: “Still Life After Jan Davidsz. Joachim Jeremias. He is notorious per- more generous? Are we readier to be de Heem’s ‘La Desserte,’” by Henri haps for having said that abba, “father,” led by God’s Spirit? Read critically, Matisse (1915). Oil on canvas. The was the one word we can say with cer- Jesus research can lead us to a deeper Museum of Modern Art, New York. (c) 2010 Succession H. Matisse/ tainty came from Jesus. But Jeremias encounter with the living Christ. Artists Rights Society (ARS). New wrote his own New Testament Theology, DREW CHRISTIANSEN, S.J. York. CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org VOL. 203 NO. 5, WHOLE NO. 4903 AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 6, 2010 ARTICLES 13 WHAT’S EXTRAORDINARY? Catholic wisdom on end-of-life care Gerald D. Coleman 17 THE JESUS OF HISTORY Two scholars respond to Luke Timothy Johnson. Bernard Brandon Scott and Adela Yarbro Collins COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 13 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial Give Labor Its Day 8 Signs of the Times 11 Column Seeking Peace in Sudan Maryann Cusimano Love 28 Letters 30 The Word Calculating the Cost; The God Who Seeks Barbara E. Reid 17 BOOKS & CULTURE 20 ART Henri Matisse at the Museum of Modern Art BOOKS The Promise; Koestler ON THE WEB ON THE WEB The editors share their favorite summer reads on our pod- cast, and Harry Forbes reviews “Eat Pray Love,” starring Julia Roberts, right. Plus, additional images from the Henri Matisse exhibit at MoMA. All at americamagazine.org. 20 HENRI MATISSE PAINTING BATHERS BY A RIVER IN 1913. PHOTO: ALVIN LANGDON COBURN. CURRENT COMMENT prove, costly to taxpayers and consumer-bystanders stuck Resignations Refused bailing out failing institutions. That attitude reveals It should come as no surprise that Pope Benedict XVI’s something, however, about the state of America’s debt- decision not to accept the resignations of Dublin’s auxiliary drenched society in which the only people morally on the bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field has unleashed hook for commitments they make are “bag-holders.” outrage in Ireland. The bishops had resigned at the urging Now where could consumers have learned that lesson? of Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who demanded During the Reagan era and again under President George that some accountability be demonstrated in the aftermath W. Bush, government spending beyond its revenue of the Murphy Report on sexual assault and abuse by cler- stream has been elevated to a fiscal virtue. Likewise, cor- ics in the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Vatican decision is porate players rolled the dice on risky investment strate- being interpreted in Ireland as a rebuke to Archbishop gies with little intention of accepting personal or institu- Martin and his persistent focus on greater accountability tional responsibility for their decisions. We live in a and penance among the hierarchy. world where trickle-down economics has never actually Archbishop Martin has been perceived not just as a rare worked, but trickle-down morality seems to be function- pastoral presence in the midst of this international crisis, ing just fine. but a prophetic voice offering direction to a church looking for a way to right itself. He has been a model of a respon- The Real Islam sive, proactive prelate. Hence the discouragement at this Again and again since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Islam inexplicable reversal. During an address in May to an Irish has been unjustly portrayed as a religion that fosters vio- church group, Archbishop Martin worried that “strong lent and extremist behavior. The fierce resistance to the forces” in the church wanted the truth about clerical sexual proposal to build a community center and mosque two abuse to remain hidden and confided that he had never felt blocks from ground zero in New York is rooted in the false so disheartened and dejected. belief that the Muslim faith is somehow to blame for the Two bishops offered themselves up in a small gesture of 2001 tragedy. Not only is this an erroneous reading of accountability. Much more is required, but even this effort events (Al Qaeda is no way representative of Islam); it is has been rejected in Rome. Can the Roman Curia really be emblematic of a larger misunderstanding of Islam as a tri- so oblivious to the anger and frustration of average umphalistic force in history. Catholics worldwide who are trying to make sense of years A welcome corrective to these historical misconceptions of clerical parish-shifting and coverups? It does not seem is now available from Harvard University Press. Muham- possible. But if they are, one is surely tempted to join mad and the Early Believers, by Fred M. Donner, is a brac- Archbishop Martin in his dejection. ing re-evaluation of the earliest days of Islam. Drawing on recent research, Donner explains how the “believers” move- Ethics by Default ment (a term taken from the Koran) was ecumenical in The latest installment in the nation’s evolving debt crisis nature, including Jews and Christians because they too has been an upsurge in home equity loans and lines of were monotheists who believed in the God of Abraham.