In
The Smoke of Satan in the Temple of God, Timothy Wallace presents to the
reader—a synthesized, truthful, and most of all—easily graspable account of the
state of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. It is to be
lamented that many Catholics are unaware of the assault taking place against
the Church in this age. While they can look out and witness the effects,
they remain in the dark regarding the symptoms. Wallace accomplishes a great
service to these individuals by providing a comprehensive, yet completely
accessible account of the historical and philosophical movements that
influenced a generation of Catholic thought and practice in the fields of,
among other things, sexual ethics, liturgical worship, religious life,
catechesis, and the episcopacy. After laying out the symptoms, Wallace
also discusses the key to discovering the true teaching of the Council—which is
found in documents themselves and in particular, the thoughts of two
individuals who were part of the Council from the very beginning—Joseph
Ratzinger and Karol Wojtyla. Thus, this is also a book of hope—one that
promises that while the smoke of Satan may seem to pervade the Church for a
time, it will ultimately be blown out by the renewed faith and hope of the
Church’s members—who accept the challenge to be light where darkness may
prevail.
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