Edith Stein: Philosopher and Mystic

by Josephine Koeppel

The twentieth anniversary of the beatification of Edith Stein (1891–1942), the accomplished Jewish philosopher who made a spiritual journey from atheism to agnosticism before eventually converting to Catholicism, will be celebrated in 2007. In Edith Stein: Philosopher and Mystic, Josephine Koeppel chronicles the life of this influential saint from her secular youth and entrance into a German monastery to her tragic death at Auschwitz. This accessible work will reward readers of all faiths interested in the life of a remarkable woman who changed the modern conception of sainthood.

 

 

 

196 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

Reviews

[Connor Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed learning about the life of Edith Stein, a 20th century German born Jewish convert to Catholicism. Her story starts as a Doctor in philosopher and we learn about her spiritual transformation into become a Carmelite nun up until her death in the Holocaust. Her incredible strength and wisdom is a great example to not only catholics but human beings. She was canonized as a saint in 1998. I'll probably read her autobiography next...

[Amy GB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edith Stein is a really interesting and inspiring person: a Jewish atheist philosopher who converted to Catholicism, became a nun, and died in the Holocaust.
The fact that her biography is written by a nun as part of a series on Christian mystics means that aspects of her life are forced into a mould that they don't necessarily fit. The first part of her life, pre-conversion, is frustrating to read because of the author's need to portray Edith, God and Catholicism in a certain light. Things like the insistence that Edith couldn't possibly have converted because of heartbreak or loss, but only because Catholicism was the superior choice and it was where God was leading her. I wanted to hear more about the heartbreak, not have it dismissed and skipped over. I would have understood her conversion better if I had understood that, and also her atheist philosophy. The treatment of a gas-lamp-based emergency in her youth as a sort of spiritual rehearsal for being gassed in Auschwitz later in life was especially crass.
But. Once we get to Edith's life in the nunnery, the book picks up, presumably because this part of her life is in the author's wheelhouse. It is really interesting and at times inspiring to read about the gifts and challenges of an old-school cloistered life, and about Edith's personal theology and how that stood her in good stead when she and her sister were arrested, detained, tortured and murdered by the Nazis. [One benefit of the author's dismissal of anything God-related is that there isn't any Holocaust torture-porn.] "Come, let us go for our people" was apparently her response to arrest, and the theology that leads a person to that level of peace is a thing of wonder.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read, a Carmelite nun’s analysis of the life of St Edith Stein.