Definitive Expert on JPII's Theology of the Body Defends West

Dr. Michael Waldstein who is the official translator of John Paul II's Theology of the Body - the guy who knows the stuff as it was written in its original language - the guy the Vatican trusted with the late Pope's archives - wrote a very strong article in support of West and his teaching of Theology of the Body which is published on www.insidecatholic.com today.

I will only quote a short piece of the article here, but I encourage you to go read the entire article for yourself.

I know that David Schindler is a careful scholar, but I was surprised and taken aback by his recent blanket negative statement about Christopher West in reaction to West's Nightline interview. He cites a few anecdotes, quotes some snippets of texts, recalls some discussions he had with West in the past, and then makes a number of sweeping, massive accusations against West's work as a whole.

His West is not the Christopher West I know from studying West's commentary on the Theology of the Body. - Dr. Michael Waldstein - on InsideCatholic

I am very grateful that such great people as Waldstein are standing on West's side on this issue. The reason I say this is because West's work has been pivotal in transforming the lives of so many people and it has been dishearteing to see him attacked in the way he has been.

I encourage you to read the original story on Inside Catholic here. If you are unfamiliar with the whole story and would like to catch up you can first go to this piece that I wrote a few weeks back which has a full synopsis of the story.

Does Christopher West Misrpresent JPII's Thought?

I am including here an excerpt of David Schindler's critique of Christopher West with links to read the full story. I would love for you to come back here and comment with your own thoughts on the matter. Do you agree with Schindler and others who are critical of West? I'd love your thoughts - feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

EXCERPT

Christopher West's Theology of the Body

by David L. Schindler
Provost/Dean and Gagnon Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Regarding his interview on Nightline, Christopher West says that his remarks were taken out of context. In some sense, this is surely true. However, the comments as aired are the latest in a long list of statements and actions not inconsistent with the context set by the Nightline editors.

Though occasioned by West’s Nightline appearance, the present statement addresses his theology as a whole.

Let me stress that I agree with those who vigorously defend West’s intention of fidelity to the Church. Certainly he has had positive results in drawing many Catholics into a deeper understanding of their faith. As for myself, I do not initiate anything about West in my classes, but only respond when asked a question. Then I begin by emphasizing West’s intention of orthodoxy. As I have often put it, "he would throw himself in front of a bus for the Church." It is important to understand, however, that good will is not synonymous with sound thought; and I must say, not without reluctance, that West’s work seems to me to misrepresent in significant ways the thought of John Paul II. - From Headline Bistro

Go here to view the full piece

For the full story regarding the Nighline interview and my thoughts you can view this post from last week.

Please leave your comments below.

Christopher West on Nightline - The FULL Story

I have compiled here the full story of Christopher West's Nightline Appearance. In the links below you will find everything you need to get a complete picture of West's appearance - and what others are saying. Then you can feel free to comment - but take the time to get the full story before making assumptions as some people have already done.

My Humble Opinion -
It seems there are differing opinions regarding Christopher West's appearance on ABC's Nightline - sharing about Theology of the Body. I wrote about it on Friday "ToB on Nightline" and shared my thoughts. As I stated some will complain that West is doing an injustice to ToB and somehow causing harm. Well the war of words has begun as a few "theologians" have come out to share their issues with West and his interpretation of JPII's ToB.

In the ABC interview West shares an overview of what this Theology of the Body is and shares a few insights. Apparently the interview that West did lasted two hours and ABC was given four hours of tape of his talks - all to make a seven-minute interview. Obviously something will get lost in that time frame.

Some have said West should not have done the interview - because he should have known that the material would be distorted and for that reason should have declined. I beg to differ greatly. How can you decline an opportunity to share this profound message with the world? Did Jesus not call us to teach and to preach to reach out? Has not the Church called us to reach out through the media to offer truth to this hurting world? Are we to recoil into our "hermitage" because of fear that our message will be misinterpreted or sensationalized? Absolutely not! Jesus did not recoil from speaking the truth even to those who would disagree with him or even who were seeking to trap him in.

I applaud West for first taking the time to discern how to break open ToB for the everyday man and woman to be able to enter in. If you've ever been to any of his presentations or watched/listened to his talks you would know that he does not stay in modern culture but merely uses the fallen nature that is expressed through modern culture to help us see the truth's presented in Theology of the Body. He may use the song "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" as an intro point into expressing man's desire for communion - but his teaching is not based in the song. I want to see one other theologian who is getting people intrigued by Theology of the Body as West is doing. His work is heroic. His appearance on ABC was heroic as well. He knew he would be misunderstood but he also knew that if even a few people decided to go deeper in the message it would be worth it. Sad that he is now being attacked by folks on the same team.

Todd Lemieux has a great post regarding West's work which you can find by clicking here.

I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts in the comments section - whether you agree or disagree with me. But please be sure you check out the links below to get the full story and understand the context.
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If you have not watched the ABC Interview you can view it here


- Because West knew that things would be misconstrued he also published some clarifications on his website which you can find here: West Clarifies Misconceptions in ABC Interview

- In order to understand West's references to Hugh Hefner you have to watch this video - it is quite profound and makes much more sense if you hear the context.


- West was interviewed by Catholic News Agency and answers some of the misconceptions from the article. You should read "ABC Interview 'Sensationalized' Theology of the Body"

- Catholic News Agency also printed a story with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand - Theologian - who says "Christopher West’s ideas on sexuality ignore ‘tremendous dangers'"

For more information and understanding of the Theology of the Body you can find great resources here:
http://tob.catholicexchange.com/
http://tobinstitute.org/default.asp

Theology of the Body on Nightline

UPDATED

YOU CAN READ MY FOLLOW UP ARTICLE WITH THE FULL DETAILS OF THE WHOLE WEST STORY BY CLICKING THIS LINK.

Christopher West was on ABC's Nightline on Thursday night in a feature about the Theology of the Body. Other than a few misquotes and misinterpretations the story was fairly well done and hopefully will open the door to allow others to peak in and see what this is all about.

I have long believed that the Theology of the Body is a avenue for evangelization. It's teachings are not merely about sex and do not only apply to married couples. It is in fact a look into the deep mystery of God's love and plan for creation. By coming to know the principles in the Theology of the Body people can come to understand and know themselves and God's plan.

I've already seen more than a few people exclaim that this story will just lead to misunderstanding and people not getting the full picture, etc. The truth is that if people leave it at what they saw on ABC they will miss 99.9 percent of what TOB teaches and what West is trying to proclaim. However, those people also will most likely forget what they saw/heard. However, I can imagine that many people were intrigued enough to take a closer look.

Once you open the door to this vault of truth that is held in the TOB, you will not be able to leave and you will walk around awhile, I believe in my heart of hearts that if you walk around this vault, conversion of heart and mind is bound to come.

Certainly, it is impossible to grow a field of grain from six minutes of planting - which is how long the story ran - however, if that six minutes of planting sprouts even one more row of crop just think of how much more seed will be scattered in the future?

I'm including here a link to the print and video story. I'm also including a link to a blog by my friend Todd Lemieux thanking West for unlocking this vault for so many of us. I also include a link from the Theology of the Body Institute which clears up some of the errors in the story in order to help clear up any misconceptions.

I encourage you to watch the story and share it with as many people as you can. Perhaps you can open the door for someone else who might be able to come inside. Or perhaps you can scatter some seed in your family or community.

Check out the links below for more and come back here to comment on the question below.

Watch the feature story here
Read the TOB Institute's Response and Clarifications here
Read Todd Lemieux's blog thanking Christopher West for his work here
For more resources on Theology of the Body check out Catholic Exchange here

Click on the comments button below and let me know your thoughts on the story... did this help or hurt in spreading the Gospel message contained in Theology of the Body?

YOU CAN READ MY FOLLOW UP ARTICLE WITH THE FULL DETAILS OF THE WHOLE WEST STORY BY CLICKING THIS LINK.