Cardinal Ratzinger began by asking crucial questions at which he provided the answers later in the book.

He asked what caused the conflicts in the past such as of the Auschwitz? Does this hostility result from something in the very faith of Christians? Is it something in the essence of Christianity, so that one would have to prescind from Christanitys core, deny Christianity its heart, in order to overcome to real reconciliation?

Chapter II THE NEW COVENANT On the Theology of the Covenant in the New Testament Testament or Covenant? From an Anaylsis of the Word to the Subject at Issue. The totality of the scriptures on which the Christian faith rests is Gods Testament to mankind, issued in two stages, as a proclamation of his will to the world. Agreement or Ordinance Testament, mean one will establishing an ordinance not two will reciprocally agreement. Gods free ordinance But covenant is not symmetrical relationship between God and man, for man is no position to create relationship with God, it is quiet out of the question that man should bind God to obligationsbut God receives nothing from man, but God give man his law, he gives man the path of life. The contractual act of love story Even the contractual act of marriage in patrachical way is also ordinance. What is the difference between old and New Covenant Relatio non mutual, a relatedness without reciprocity. Immutable God could not enter into mutable relationship and that relationship is not proper to mutable man. Covenant and Covenants in the Apostle Paul. The covenant in Christ and the Mosaic Covenant Mosaic covenant is a thing of the past but a new one is formed in Christ. The Covenant with Noah, with Abraham, and with Jacob-Israel. Three covenants Sabbath, rainbow and circumcision. Of Abraham and of Moses link to Christs covenant. Legal prescription and promise. Covenant of promise of Abraham and covenant of laws imposed on man of Moses. A unity in tension: The one Covenant in the plurality of covenants. Covenant with the Patriarchs of promise is eternally in force and it is realized in the plurality of covenantsthus unity of covenants in OT and NT. The Idea of the Covenant in the Texts of the Last Supper Last supper covenant of NT versus Mount Sinai covenant to understand the NT covenant. The new unity of covenant ideas.

All different accounts of the last supper of Mat, Mark, Luke and Paul base themselves on OT covenant traditions. The Sinai Covenant heightened to a staggering realism The NT idea of cup in last supper is taken from Moses covenant idea of cup of blood sprinkled. Sinai Cv is climaxed in Christs blood covenant a community with human beings. A new relationship with God. In Jesus covenant, we are united to the Lord with him in spirit. A sacramental relationship with him, Jesus take others destiny into his own; he lives for them, and he dies for them. Covenant renewal in its highest possible form. Last supper sees itself as making a covenant: it is the prolongation of the Sinai covenant, which is not abrogated, but renewed. The New Covenant established by God is itself present in the faith of Israel Even though Israel broke the covenant and lost tablets, they renewed continually their covenant because they knew that God himself had not withdrawn his love for Israel. Because of Gods unfailing love, the covenant of Gods love was already present in the promise. Covenant renewal is not superfluous in the New covenant Last supper ask for repeat of words, reminding of mans nature. How are the individual covenants related to each other, and, in particular, how is the New Covenant related to the covenants we find in Israels Bible? What is the ultimate relationship between testament and covenant? Should we speak of a one-sided or two-sided covenant? The One Covenant and the Many Covenants The new covenant is universal. Old covenant depends on inheritance and on keeping the law. New covenant depends on spiritual relationship created by sacrament of faith. The irrevocable gift of friendship Last supper we find the prophetic promise of the gift of friendship, irrevocably bestowed. Instead of law we have grace. The inner continuity of salvation history Abraham covenant has universalist orientation and looks toward the many sons of Abrahamdown to Christ and the gentiles. Sinai limited to Israel people only. But the law is not forgotten but it is written in the hearts of people of todayform of grace. Jesus the Messiah; the Torah of the Messiah. Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus brings the definitive interpretation of the Torah, in which the Torah is itself renewed. Thus Sinai covenant is not conflicted but Jesus fulfils it and makes it defininitive. Testament and Covenant All New and Old covenants are asymmetrical and grace is an action that is freely given without any preceding merit. God binds himself to partnership Even when the covenant is continually being broken, God, by his very nature, cannot allow it to fall. Then you shall remember and be ashamed; for shame you shall no more dare to open your mouth,

because I have forgiven all that you have donewhen you break the covenant eternal. Binding himself even as far as the cross Incarnate God hands himself to mankind in a radical way= to divinization of man. God guarantees that the covenant cannot be broken when he hands himself, his son, to mankind to the death on the cross. The Picture of God and Man in the idea of Covenant Covenant as a relatiorelationship between God and man. The God of the Bible is a God-in-relationship Covenant as Gods self-revelation the radiance of his countenance. CHAPTER III THE NEW MANNA Homily for the 19th Sunday in Year b, 1997 The northern kingdom-left GodOnly Prophet Ellijah is left against 400 false prophets. Fire from Heaven Elijah thought fire from heaven destroying all 400 false prophets will convert people but it failed and he fled the land, human nature does not want such signs for conversion. The flame of Horeb Elijah goes to Mount Horeb for 40 days and 40 nights for his faith to be strengthened. He goes back to convert people with power. Jesus does the same before his ministry. We do the same in Lent, and we do the same before consecration. The God who is poor Elijah met God in Mount Horeb who is not noisy, not in fire or storm, not in violent signs. This is the same God manifested in Jesus whose only weapons are the humble weapons of love and truth who is always closer. God is sometimes powerlessness to us today, but we must learn to it is only in the silent, barely noticeable things that what is great takes place. The new manna. Elijah experience new manna in a humble and simple forma piece of bread and jug of water. Meaning is that man depends on God alone, if we live in him, we have eternal life, that is dependence on God. God has become our bread We can live by God because God now lives for us. Living by God means believing, being in touch with him, entering into an inner harmony with him. God incarnate in sacraments, we encounter him, and we believe in him living by God. Be imitators of God We imitate God today, for instance, bringing down fire from heaveanwe can manipulate technology and it give ourselves sovereign authority over this world, we are masters of this worldbut its doomed to failure, for it tortures both the world and us. To imitate God, is to love one another. The miracle of the manna made concrete

Jesus incarnate come down and become one of us, he has given himself and does so continually. CHAPTER IV THE DIALOGUE OF THE RELIGIOUS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY Cardinal Nicholas Cusanus utopia: Christ brought seventeen representatives of the various nations and religions, are shown by the divine logos, how their concerns can be settled in the Church represented by Peter. They all presuppose one faith: God as Creator is neither Triune nor the One, he is Infinite. For names that are attributed to God come from creatures, he in himself is ineffable, sublime above everything that can be named and uttered. From Christian Oikumeme to the Dialogue of Religions Ecumenism started with protestants who saw it as necessary for their mission as there were many religions in their missionary work. The Church before it did not allow that but Vatican II opened doors for dialogue with other religions. No more language of pagans. It was necessary to know them and their religion. To understand them from within and bring into Christianity the inheritance that was theirs. Christian ecumenism gradually expanded into the dialogue of religions. Today we say, relgion to be understood, it must be experienced from within. The Question of Unity in Diversity World which is becoming a single common arena of human history is three threatened by tensions of richpoor, misuse of technology, shaken by wars. But blessing is a new canon of ethical values has formed, to define humankinds moralpeace, justice and preservation of creation. Religion and morality are not identical, yet they are indissolubly connected. Religions share a common responsibility to overcome the threefold destruction of the earth. So first peace among all religions for the world to have peace. Now How? Within the confusing plurality of the world religions, there are underlying common patterns in the universal religions. Universal religions are divided into theistic and mystical types. We can combine theistic into mystical larger religions or vice vesa. The third solution: the pragmatic solutionall religions should know that what they are all aiming at is found in orthopraxywhich means to give peace, justice and protection of creation. All religions should keep their identity but geared to practice of orthopraxy. The Greatness and Limits of the Mystical Religions Look at the mysical way gathering dialogue or the theistic gathering of dialogue or the orthopraxis. On theistic, will dwell on Christian and Jewish monotheism and Islam. Religion no longer defined by its positive content Religion is now found entirely at the level of mystical experience, which means all conflict of reason and science is excluded. The divine, personal or non-personal It does not matter whether the divine is personal or non-personal, prostrate or meditate, the divine is worshipped is Infinite and can be worshipped in various ways.

The Cosmos no longer has anything to do with God. Everything we uttered is ultimately only a distant reflection of the Ineffable and the dissimilarity to what we can imagine and think is always greater than any similarity. The cosmos, which is no longer creation, has nothing to do with God. Salvation lies outside the world Religion becomes an individual therapy, world is god-less and empty of God. Faith in God cannot dispense with a truth whose substance can be articulated Theistic essential part is the acknowledgement of Gods will. The Pragmatic Model A short circuit No doubt peace, justice and protection of creation is all religions substantial action or goal. But the challenge lies in common understanding of how to achieve the three. The how requires free debate between differing opinions and respect for different paths. But that will make religion as a means to end of three, and it becomes an idoldman making God the slave of his plans, would degrade both God and himself. Lucifers most subtle temptation Lucifer would want us to make mankind happier by bringing together religions in to one thing; without praying for the unifaction of all mankind in the love of the same: he does that to frustrate us. Judaism and Christianity Theism manifests itself in history in the three great forms of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They can be dialogued in mystical model. Through Jesus the God of Israel has become the god of all the nations of the world It is through Christ that the bible of Jews has come to non-Jews. Through the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth, the God of Israel has become the God of the nations of the world. Through him the promise has been fulfilled that all nations shall pray to the God of Israel as the one God. Jesus: Gods Son and Servant Israel may find it difficult to see Jesus as the Son of God but they can see him as the servant of God who carries the light of his God to the nations. Faith, hope, and love and the three dimensions of time There is the Torah, Gods commitment of his rule in the world. Hopeexpectation of the Messiah to create justice. Faith, hope and love obedience of faith accepts the word, transforms it into love and so opening the door of hope. The Churchs messianic expectation The Church is waiting for the second come of Christ with the same three faith, hope and love. The Christian Faith and the Mystical Religions What is Christianitys position in the dialogue of religions? The mystical dimension of the Christian faith

In Christian religion, their God is mystical and thus cannot be fully understood as Gregory of Nyssa says. Then it goes into dialogue with that openness to mystical God. The cloud of mystery Christian God who became graspable is still utterly mysterious. His suffering, kenosis, is the clod of mystery in which he both conceals and reveals himself God who can be killed? Concluding Points Unification of religions is impossible. No renunciation of truth Encounter of religions is not possible by renouncing truth but by deepening into it. We need respect for beliefs of others and the readiness to look for the truth in what strikes us as strange or foreignlook for the deeper truth hidden in the others. Break my narrow understanding of truthcertain that I will never hold the whole truth of God in my own hands, am a learner on a journey. Criticism of ones own religion Look for positive in other. Accept criticism of my religion. Religionfaith must be lived out, must continually be purified on the basis of truth, truth that reveals itself through dialogue. Truth is mystery and infinity. Proclamation of the gospel as a dialogical process Mission/evangelization and dialogue should now no longer be opposites but should mutually interpenetrate. Dialogue aims at finding truth in the other. Proclamation of the gospel must be necessarily a dialogical process. We are not telling someone what is entirely unknown to him; rather, we are opening up the hidden depth of something with which, in his own religion, he is already in touch. The missionary is also the receiver from the one he is giving.