Christopher West: A Von Hildebrandian’s Perspective
“As professor of philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I have been teaching a course on the nature of love, using Von Hildebrand, Wojtyla, Pieper, and Kierkegaard (among others) for nearly three decades. I have known of Christopher West’s work more indirectly through the decidedly good influences his works have had on my children. However, this past Wednesday, June 3, I got the chance to finally meet Mr. West. It was my privilege to put on a joint presentation with him on purity and sexuality sponsored by the Personalist Project. Nearly two hundred were in attendance, including a great many young people, most I’m sure drawn by the prospect of hearing Christopher—who is a bit more well-known than I….”
Dr. Janet Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. In her article at CatholicExchange.com, she responds to Dr. David Schindler’s critique of Christopher West’s approach to the Theology of the Body. For his article, click here. For the origin of this debate, click here!
Here, I want to offer a brief, partial, response to Prof. David Schindler’s assessment of West’s work. The fact that Nightline got a lot wrong about West’s work is not surprising. In fact, it is surprising how much it got right. Those of us who work with the media know that potential martyrdom awaits us at the hands of an editor. West has likely been suffering a kind of crucifixion over the past week. What is puzzling is that an influential scholar chose this moment to issue a weeping, negative critique of West in such a public forum. I have great respect for the work and thought of Schindler and realize that it must be difficult to be on the receiving end of criticisms of the work of one of their most high profile graduates. I wish, however, he had found another occasion to express his reservations about West’s work…. (continue reading)
For the latest response from Dr. Michael Waldstein, click here. He is the Max Seckler Professor of Theology at Ave Maria University. He previously served as founding president of the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, and was the St. Francis of Assisi Professor of New Testament there. He is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and is a Distinguished Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He holds the degrees of B.A. from Thomas Aquinas College in California, Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas, S.S.L. from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, and a Th.D. in New Testament from Harvard Divinity School. His published works include his definitive translation of John Paul II’s Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, The Common Good in St. Thomas and John Paul II (Nova et Vetera), and Dietrich von Hildebrand and St. Thomas Aquinas on Goodness and Happiness (Nova et Vetera).
(The videos embedded in this post show a more articulated and contextual unpacking of key points in the Pope’s teaching on the Theology of the Body and are a necessary addition to the news interview mentioned below. I hope they help!)
In the past week since ABC Nightline aired a 6 minute video interview on Christopher West, articles have tried to articulate, posts have posited, and Twitter has been twittering with people’s reactions to its content. Many have been overwhelmingly positive, seeing through the roughly 10 substantial distortions and misquotes from the 6 minute piece (each clarified by Christopherhere), grateful that even a glimmer of the Church’s beautiful teaching slipped through the mainstream to potentially 4 million viewers. Others have used up large pockets of cyberspace to attack and belittle one of their own rather than the slanted ABC interview.
Samples of this attack:
“He (Christopher West) is one of the many self-help gurus out their that market their perspectives, attract people who are spiritually foundering, and make a living off their presentations, books, and dvd’s… In my diocese (that would be Philadelphia, folks), all those into West have no real spiritual foundation. They follow cultural phenomenon, become spoke people for this “New” understanding and wind up in the end with the usual nothing… Give him time, and he will self-destruct like the rest of them.”
– GM
“I’m shocked and horrified by the words that he uses. His mere mention of Hugh Hefner is to my mind an abomination.”
– AVH
“From what I have read, both in the article and from respondants to it, Mr. West has become inflated by the success of his venture. Humility and purity go hand in hand, and it seems he has lost both virtues.”
– C
I felt a deep sadness and frustration in reading some of these comments. It seems the Pharisees are alive and well in the Church today. Here is a deeply faithful, prayerful, humble, and yes, very passionate man who has given his life to unpacking the very dense and philosophical truth in the Theology of the Body for hundreds of thousands of people who may never have had the chance to read or hear it, while some of his brother and sister Catholics sit in their pews and criticize him.
Jesus was called a drunkard, he was mocked for eating with tax collectors and sinners and talking to prostitutes. He was completely misunderstood and misrepresented by the religious leaders of His day. And every person who follows in his footsteps and tries to engage the culture and bring them the Water of Life gets the same wagging finger from the self-righteous.
Of course the media gave a skewed reading of this teaching. The lens with which it looks is still cracked. But some of the Truth could still be seen through that camera, and it has cut like a surgeon’s knife right into our Manichean tumor that has thought the body evil or dirty, and sex something we shouldn’t talk about in public. But if the Church doesn’t speak of this beautiful mystery of human sexuality, who will? We all know the answer to that question.
The silence on sex in the pulpit and from many of our parents regarding sexuality since the 60’s has not prepared any of us well for the media tidal wave that is sweeping away another generation. I say God bless Christopher for speaking this truth.
Has he perhaps gone too far south in his work? Is he too “vulgar”? Well the word means the “folk speech, the common tongue.” Maybe going south is exactly where the Spirit is leading him. Deep south… into the heart…
The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter… – Pope John Paul II
Some who severely critiqued Christopher rather than the interviewers have clearly never read the Pope’s words, let alone Christopher’s. They are crucifying a man based on a distorted 6 minute news clip. Read the Theology of the Body. Be still with it, pray… and pray for God’s flawed and faithful servants who have the courage to face the culture, and speak to its heart.
Please pray for a great outpouring of grace tonight as the potential to reach millions with a little taste of Theology of the Body hits ABC’s Nightline. Here’s a link to the article, and the time tonight is 11:30ish EST.
Taken from Christopher’s website:
About the Theology of the Body
A New Sexual Revolution Pope John Paul II devoted the first major teaching of his pontificate to what he called the Theology of the Body. This teaching is being hailed as a “new sexual revolution,” because it calls everyone to an authentic understanding and living out of what it means to be created male and female in the image and likeness of God. There are good reasons why the Theology of the Body is in such demand around the world. It is renewing marriages, awakening vocations, healing deep personal wounds, and setting people free to live the life of greatness for which they were created. This is no passing theological fad, but a rich, refined understanding of our Catholic Faith.
Christopher West: A Von Hildebrandian’s Perspective
The Heart of Things 