My review:
Boy , this guy was a master rhetorician. Woe to anybody who stood in his way. And woe to Charles Kingsley who felt the brunt of Newman’s force of reasoning. Henry Newman wrote this book in response to Kingsley’s accusations of him being a two-faced, dishonorable liar when Newman converted to the Catholic faith. There was not a single dry thread left on Kingsley’s body by the end of this book. He was left soaked with shame while Newman’s public life was vinidicated.
Having said all this, the book itself (that also contains Newman’s initial pamphlet responses to Kingsley’s accusations) will be very dry to those unacquainted with theology, the Anglican-Catholic story, and the saga of Newman’s life. Most of the book is Newman laying out his intellectual progression in theology from Anglicanism towards the teachings of the Catholic Church. This progression spanned a good few decades. But those familiar with the topics discussed in this book will find the read riveting and more so as a result of Newman’s sublime writing style. He truly was a master of rhetoric and literary style.
I must also add that this work has the best explanation and defence of the need for an (divinely inspired) infallible Church. The Church, with its infallible edicts, does not stifle intellectual freedom but guides it. It doesn’t cut off people from the source of creativity but nudges them in the direction where their creativity can be most fruitful. Why waste time in thought that is not in adherence to reality? It’s wasted time and energy. Reality itself is an untapped infinite horizon that cannot be exhausted by thought. Plenty of space there for every mind! Why go anywhere else? Newman shows this exceptionally well.
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