Christian Humanism: Creation, Redemption, and Reintegration

Rating:
Summary: An important contribution to authentic Catholic education
Review: At a time when Catholic higher education is struggling for its soul in the United States and elsewhere, Dr. Bequette has provided a handbook for how to do it right. He demonstrates, in this book, the sort of "integration of knowledge" so central to the project of liberal education. This integration is explicitly called for in "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," and comes in the long tradition of thought exemplified in Newman's "The Idea of a University." Bequette's book offers an authentic presentation of a Christian understanding of the human person, and of the way in which that understanding of the human person ought to inform a Christian (and, especially, a specifically Catholic) approach to liberal education. Additionally, it is phrased in clear and practical language the average college student should be able to understand. It is both nuanced and accessible at the same time. This book should be read by anyone who seeks to understand what the broad culture of Catholic liberal education ought to look like. It would make an excellent college-level text, or a fine study document for faculty and administrators at Catholic colleges and universities where the challenge of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" is embraced as a positive call to authenticity.